AU Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the availability of the guide to the Anna K. Nelson Papers.

Nelson (1933-2012) was an expert on access to and declassification of government records, the John F. Kennedy assassination, and the origins and evolution of the national security state in the United States. She was an adjunct professor 1986-1988, 1992-1995 and a Distinguished Historian-in-Residence 1996-2012 at American University.

Her papers in both analog and digital format consist of audiovisual materials; research files; speeches and writings; and teaching materials. Nelson’s research files consist of materials she collected on the National Security Council and women in the foreign policy establishment. The strengths of this part of the collection include the Aswan Dam, the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin blockade and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As a member of the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board, Nelson’s papers provide insights into the declassification process. Of note are oral history interviews with JFK assassination witnesses still living in the late 1990s.