John Van Ellis papers

Document | Digitized | Accession Number: 2017.432.1

Overview

Description: The collection documents the military career of John Van Ellis in the Signal Corps of the United States Army, including his photographs and his work with establishing V-mail stations in London and Paris. Included are records related to the Signal Corps, V-mail program reports, correspondence with his wife Helen Van Ellis (née Harris), photographs, and a scrapbook. Also included are copies of arrest records of high ranking Nazi officials prepared in Camp Ashcan (Central Continental Prisoner of War Enclosure No. 32) prior to their transfer to Nuremberg for prosecution by Allied authorities. The arrest records are of Karl Dönitz, Hermann Göring, Wilhelm Keitel, Albert Kesselring, Alfred Jodl, and Franz Papen.
Date: inclusive: 1942-1949
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peter H. Van Ellis and the Van Ellis family
Collection Creator: John B. Van Ellis
Biography: John Bailey Van Ellis (born John Bailey Vanellis, 1917-2000) was born 16 February 1917 in Trenton, New Jersey to George (1877-1973) and Martha (1888-1946) Vanellis. He graduated from the Price School of Advertising and Journalism and the Trenton School of Industrial Arts. Prior to the war, he operated an advertising and photography business and then worked at the Health Education Service Unit in the New Jersey State Department of Health. He joined the United States Army in 1942, serving in the Signal Corps. While in the United States, he taught photography and wrote a photography textbook for the unit. When he went overseas, he designed and installed V-mail laboratories in London and Paris. He was discharged from the Army in 1946 at the rank of Captain, and resumed his career at the New Jersey State Department of Health. He was married to Helen Harris (1915-1990).

Physical Details

Language: English French
Genre/Form: Photographs. Photograph albums. Scrapbooks. Correspondence.
Extent: 1 box
3 oversize boxes
1 oversize folder
System of Arrangement: The collection is arranged as three series: Series 1: United States Army records, 1942-1947; Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-1949; Series 3: Photographs, 1942-1946

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
Conditions on Use: Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: V-mail. World War, 1939-1945--Veterans--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Photography.
Geographic Name: London (England) Paris (France)
Personal Name: Van Ellis, John B., 1917-2000.
Corporate Name: United States. Army. Signal Corps

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Peter H. Van Ellis and the Van Ellis Family in 2017.

Record last modified:: 2023-08-25 17:41:06
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn563809

Additional Resources

Finding Aid (English)

Download & Licensing

In-Person Research

Available for Research
Plan a Research Visit
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD

Contact Us

Give Feedback

Also in John Van Ellis collection

Collection of John B. Vanellis, later Van Ellis, pertaining to his years of service with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Collection is comprised of 2 albums/scrapbooks, unit histories, military commendations, photographs, unit patches, undeveloped film, publications, correspondence, shell fragment, and other original materials. Among these items are period copies of original arrest records of high ranking Nazi officials prepared in Camp Ashcan (Central Continental Prisoner of War Enclosure No. 32) prior to their transfer to Nuremberg for prosecution by Allied authorities.