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There is also Leonard N. Abrams' OUR SECRET LITTLE WAR (Bethesda, MD: International Geographic Information Foundation, 1991) which recounts his experiences as a model maker in WW II. Yes, we face the philosophical question of the relationship between models and maps. After the War, Abrams ran Panoramic Studios which made models for courtroom litigation (and other uses to which models were put) as well as raised relief maps. JBP -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tony Campbell Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2010 6:00 AM To: *MapHist Subject: [MapHist] The American cartographic planning for D-Day The American cartographic planning for D-Day November 25 http://www.gsu.edu/magazine/2010fall/269.html 'Mapping History: Geography professor Jeremy Crampton tells the story of mapmakers who helped win World War II and shape post-war Europe' (by Jeremy Craig for the GSU Magazine [Georgia State University]), Fall 2010. An informative note about the cartographic preparations for D-Day and of the creation of a cartographic unit in the Research and Analysis (R&A) branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), led by a young professor from Ohio State University, 26-year-old Arthur H. Robinson: 'To navigate the dangers that lay ahead in this and other battles, intelligence relied on specialized 'bigot' maps - bigot standing for the maps' secret classification. Gathering the information for these critical maps was a responsibility of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), America's first centralized spy agency. From a network of secret agents, informants and resistance fighters stationed in cities and villages across Europe - who often faced great risk, even death, if apprehended by the Nazis - the OSS amassed the data they needed. Then, quietly, behind closed doors in Washington, D.C., a group of men and women from academia helped win the war simply by making sense of the data and putting it on maps that were easier to understand. 'For years, the stories of these geographers and cartographers remained in the background, as most historians focused on the drama of OSS spies and informants on the front lines. Now, Jeremy Crampton, an associate professor of geography, is using newly declassified archives from OSS vaults to help tell the stories of those whose maps helped soldiers navigate the battlefields and later helped policymakers draw up new boundaries for the post-war years. He has co-authored a chapter of an upcoming book, 'Reconstructing Conflict: Integrating War and Post-War Geographies,' about the geographers' and cartographers' work. 'The importance of the geographers' role in planning can't be underestimated,' Crampton said. 'Not many people have looked at this period in geography. And because there were so many people, not just geographers but academics working for this short, intense period in government, I think it says a lot about the relationship between academia and intelligence, and the policies of the war ...' [see remainder of the article] Tony Campbell [email protected] ** extract from: 'Latest News' - for the full story see the link above http://www.maphistory.info/newslatest.html [Note. Most news entries are NOT posted to MapHist]
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