The Alger Hiss Papers reproduced in this collection are from the State Department’s Office of Special Political Affairs. For the most part, they document the post-war planning process, Alger Hiss’ role, and work on the Dumbarton Oaks and United Nations conferences. The papers are organized as subject files. They include memoranda addressed to Hiss, occasional responses, correspondence, and associated reports. Much of the correspondence in this series consists of letters and reports that Alger Hiss was copied on. This record group provides excellent documentation about U.S. politics and policy as they related to the war, post-war planning, and the founding of the United Nations.

These files describe the post-war planning process undertaken by the State Department in late 1943. They document the process by which the United Nations was created, beginning at the Dumbarton Oaks conference in 1944 and culminating in the San Francisco conference two years later, with an emphasis on Alger Hiss’ role as first Secretary-General of the United Nations.