Main content
Arno Viehoever FIAT Records
Notifications
Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Arno Viehoever Arno Viehoever (1885-1969) was a German-American pharmaceutical chemist. He was noted for his work in the areas of microbiology, food chemistry, and pharmacognosy. From 1946 to 1947, he served in the Field Information Agency, Technical (FIAT).
Viehoever was born in Wiesbaden, Germany on November 3, 1885. He earned his Degree of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (1908) and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Micro-Physiology from the University of Marburg (1913). He moved to the United States in 1913 when he accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Chemistry, where he served as Director of the Pharmacognosy Laboratory (1913-1923). In 1923, Viehoever joined the faculty of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, where he served as Head of the Department of Biology and Pharmacognosy (1923-1934) and Director of the Gross Laboratory for Biological and Biochemical Research (1934-1938).
In 1939, Viehoever accepted a position with the Government of Thailand's Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he served as Scientific Advisor and Director of Research in the ministry's Department of Science (1939-1941). When Japan invaded Thailand in December 1941, Viehoever was interned by the Japanese as an enemy civilian. He was repatriated to the United States as part of an internee exchange in 1942.
Viehoever reentered federal government service upon his return to the United States. From 1942 to 1944, he served as Principal Biochemist at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Food Supplies and Nutrition. In 1944, he joined the Foreign Economic Administration's Office of Food Programs, where he served as Regional Economist and Food Advisor for the Far East (1944-1945). Viehoever returned to Thailand in 1945, where he served as Regional Economist and Deputy Chief of the Special Siam Committee for the U.S. Rice Commission (1945-1946).
In 1946, Viehoever joined the U.S. Army's Field Information Agency, Technical (FIAT). Serving first as a Technical Consultant, then as Chief of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Food, he worked out of FIAT's Karlsruhe, Germany (1946-1947) and London, England offices (1947). In this capacity, he contributed to FIAT's efforts to evaluate the state of Germany's science and technology and to make public scientific and technological advances made by the Germans during World War II.
After serving with FIAT, Viehoever joined the of the staff of the U.S. Army's Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he served as Chief of Research and Consultant to the Director of the Veterinary Division (1948-1950). In 1950, he went to work for the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Science Information, where he served as Chief of the Pharmacological, Biological, and Nutritional Branch's Medicine Division (1950-1958). Viehoever was later the Founder and Managing Director of Viehoever & Campbell Waste Consultants in Oxon Hill, Maryland (1965-1969). In 1968, he was certified as Maryland's first professional engineer in biochemistry.
Arno Viehoever passed away in Oxon Hill, Maryland on December 11, 1969.
Field Information Agency, Technical (FIAT) The Field Information Agency, Technical (FIAT) was a U.S. Army agency that was active in Allied Occupied Germany during the years immediately following World War II. Its mission was to "secure the major, and perhaps only, material reward of victory, namely, the advancement of science and the improvement of production and standards of living in the United Nations, by proper exploitation of German methods in these fields".
Established in early 1945 under the auspices of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), FIAT was first conceived as a post hostilities agency. It was initially authorized to "coordinate, integrate, and direct the activities of various missions and agencies" interested in scientific and technical intelligence. The new agency was at first prohibited from collecting and exploiting such information on its own responsibility.
When SHAEF was dissolved in July 1945, FIAT was placed under the joint control of the U.S. Group Council and the U.S. Forces, European Theater (USFET). Under the control of its new parent agencies, FIAT provided accreditation, support, and services to the Technical Industrial Intelligence Committee (TIIC), which was gathering scientific and technical information from German laboratories and industrial sites. This led to FIAT becoming the custodian of German documents and equipment gathered by the TIIC.
In late 1945, under the orders of the U.S. Department of War, FIAT assumed control of the Publications Board. Established in June 1945 by U.S. President Harry Truman, the Publications Board was charged with reviewing all scientific and technical advances developed with government funds during the war with a view towards declassifying and publishing it. Shortly after V-J Day, President Truman ordered the public dissemination of scientific and industrial information obtained from the enemy and assigned this responsibility to the Publications Board.
Over the course its existence (1945-1947), FIAT sent its teams across Germany, screening, editing, and translating reports, and shipping reports and equipment back to the United States. The end result of FIAT's work was that it made public many of the scientific and technological advances made by the Germans during World War II. The information published by FIAT allowed Allied businesses and industries to take advantage of German science and technology. The newly published information also helped scientists and researchers in former Axis countries, who had been denied access to German research. FIAT also discovered that German scientists and researchers had been hampered by a lack of paper for printing, which prevented much of their work from being disseminated during the war.
FIAT ceased operations in June 1947.
Sources
Arno Viehoever FIAT Records, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"Reports on German War-time Industry and Science." Nature 161 (March 13, 1948): 388-389. Untitled-1 (nature.com)
Ziemke, Earl F., The Army Historical Series: The U.S. Army in the Occupation of Germany. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army. 1975. The U.S. Army and the Occupation of Germany, 1944-1946 (fdlp.gov)
The Arno Viehoever FIAT Records contain records of the Field Information Agency, Technical (FIAT), which were collected and maintained by Arno Viehoever during his service with the agency. The materials in these records document Viehoever's activities with FIAT and of FIAT itself in Allied Occupied Germany in the years immediately following World War II. The records are arranged into the following five series:
- Chronological Files
- Subject Files
- German Technology Evaluation Sheets
- Printed Materials
- Reference Cards
The Arno Viehoever FIAT Records were donated to the Science History Institute by Merritt Chesley in August 2020.
The Arno Viehoever FIAT Records were processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in June 2021.
Organization
- United States. Army
- United States. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services
- United States. Joint Chiefs of Staff
Subject
- Industries -- Germany -- History -- 20th century
- Science -- Germany -- History
- Technology -- Germany -- History -- 20th century
Place
- Publisher
- Science History Institute Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid created and encoded into EAD by Kenton G. Jaehnig.
- Finding Aid Date
- 2021
- Access Restrictions
-
The Arno Viehoever FIAT Records are open to researchers with the exception of the following files:
Box 1 Folders 1-5, 7-9, 11-12, 14 are closed to researchers until further notice.
Box 2 Folders 3, 11-12 are closed to researchers until further notice.
- Use Restrictions
-
The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Arno Viehoever FIAT Records. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Collection Inventory
Arranged chronologically by date, this series contains chronological files that were collected and maintained by Arno Viehoever during his service with FIAT. The materials in this series provide documentation of Viehoever's activities with FIAT. This series also contains materials documenting FIAT's activities in Allied Occupied Germany, which included its visits to German industrial and research sites, its evaluation of the German scientific and technological advances it found, and the agency's release of its findings to the public. Information regarding FIAT's working relationships with other American and Allied agencies working in Occupied Germany, including the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Forces European Theater, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee are found in this series. Some information regarding specific German scientific and technological advances handled by FIAT is also preserved here.
The contents of the Chronological Files consist of a variety of materials. Correspondence, memoranda, reports, and accession lists are the most common materials found in this series. Smaller, but noticeable, amounts of censorship submissions, notes, and resumes of a few German scientists and researchers are also found in these files. Small amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, press releases and indexes are preserved here as well.
Box 1 Folders 1-5, 7-9, 11-12, 14 are closed to researchers until further notice.
Contains 4 black and white images.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains subject files collected and maintained by Arno Viehoever during his service with FIAT. The files in this series concern products and technology that were developed by the Germans during World War II, and subsequently evaluated and released to the public by FIAT. Four of the files concern the following individual products and technology: acrylic resins for dental fillings, amidone, ampule filling machinery, and periston. Three of the files provide overviews of products developed and manufactured by Katadyn G.m.b.h., a German manufacture of water treatment products and pharmaceuticals.
The contents of the Subject Files consist of reports, notes, product literature, brochures, correspondence, photographs, and an article reprint.
Box 2 Folder 3 is closed to researchers until further notice.
Contains 3 black and white images.
Arranged chronologically by date, this series contains U.S. Department of Commerce German Technology Evaluation Sheets, which were collected and maintained by Arno Viehoever during his service with FIAT. These evaluation sheets contain information about German technology that was developed during World War II, and subsequently evaluated and released to the public by FIAT. The evaluation sheets were filled out by investigators from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technical Services, who worked under the FIAT's oversight.
Information listed in the German Technology Evaluation Sheets includes the names and professional affiliations of U.S. Department of Commerce investigators, sources of data, subjects, types of data, evaluations, and investigator comments.
Arranged alphabetically by subject, this series contains miscellaneous printed materials collected and maintained by Arno Viehoever during his service with FIAT. The materials provide a small amount of information regarding German scientific and technological advances that were evaluated by FIAT. A small amount of information regarding the conditions in Allied Occupied Germany is also found here.
The contents of the Printed Materials series consist of two reports, an invitation, a guide to Karlsruhe, Germany, a periodical, a ration card, a bulletin, and three press releases.
Restrictions - Box 2 Folders 11-12 are closed to researchers until further notice.
Arranged in what is believed to be its original order, this series contains reference cards collected and maintained by Arno Viehoever during his service with FIAT. A large majority of reference cards concern individual German scientific and industrial personnel who were of interest to FIAT. This series also contains a small number of reference cards regarding the document holdings at the three German institutions: the Dusseldorf Municipal Hospital, the University of Erlangen, and the University of Freiburg. A small number of reference cards regarding individual FIAT personnel are preserved here as well.