Office of Strategic Services


Also found in: Dictionary, Acronyms, Wikipedia.

Office of Strategic Services

(OSS), U.S. agency created (1942) during World War II under the jurisdiction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the purpose of obtaining information about enemy nations and of sabotaging their war potential and morale. Headed by William J. DonovanDonovan, William Joseph
, 1883–1959, U.S. lawyer and government official, b. Buffalo, N.Y., grad. Columbia law school. Distinguished service in World War I won him medals and the nickname Wild Bill Donovan.
..... Click the link for more information. , the OSS comprised personnel from all the branches of the armed forces as well as civilians. Although the "cloak and dagger" section gained the most publicity after the war, some of the most valuable work was done by the research and analysis section. Behind enemy lines, the OSS acted as a liaison with the underground in Nazi-occupied countries. The OSS was disbanded in 1945. Later many of its functions were assumed by the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
(CIA), independent executive bureau of the U.S. government established by the National Security Act of 1947, replacing the wartime Office of Strategic Services (1942–45), the first U.S. espionage and covert operations agency.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See S. Alsop and T. Bradon, Sub Rosa: The O.S.S. and American Espionage (1946, repr. 1964); R. H. Smith, OSS (1972).

Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
Eduard Bloch, "My Patient Hider, "Collier's Wanly, March 15 and 22,1941, quoted in Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Hitler Source Book: Interview with Dr.
Can Adolf Hitler really have existed? Jay Neugeboren's revelatory novel on Dr. Eduard Bloch
As the predecessor to the present day Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of Strategic Services pioneered intelligence gathering techniques, tactics, and safeguards which are reportedly still in use today.
Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: the Unknown History of the Men and Women of World War II's OSS
intelligence community, as well as a summary of significant historical intelligence developments since the creation of the Coordinator of Information and the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.
Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy. (Book Reviews)
The compound that currently houses the Catalina Marine Institute was used by the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency.
CAPE CANYON DISCOVERIES NEW CATALINA TOUR DELVES INTO ECOLOGY, HISTORY OF ISLAND'S INTERIOR
The author, a 21-year-veteran of the agency, which evolved from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1947, takes readers on a fascinating journey through many of the fractious Moslem countries.
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was established in 1942 to manage intelligence and clandestine operations during the war.
Former OSS agent tells of wartime espionage
Brown talk about his World War II service in the Army Air Force and Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor to the CIA).
Ernest J. Brown, tax giant: a personal remembrance. (In Memoriam)
Donovan, head of the US Office of Strategic Services.
CIA Plotted Globalization
At the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, Richard Ruggles developed a surprisingly accurate system for estimating German tank production on the basis of the serial numbers of captured German tanks (Feder 2001, A-25).
Ruggles and Ruggles--A National Income Accounting Partnership
war effort during the Second World War, in support of such propaganda agencies as the Office of War Information (OWI), on the domestic front, and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), overseas.
Glander, Timothy. Origins of Mass Communications Research During the American Cold War: Educational Effects and Contemporary Implications
The former ER star is also interested in co-producing the story of Berg, a 1930s baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers who was recruited as a spy by the Office of Strategic Services, which later became the CIA.
Izzard stars in revival
This development was continued after the war and was enhanced by World War II and the Office of Strategic Services.
The Vocational Evaluation and Work Adjustment Association

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?