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I attended a paper given about this subject here in town this week.  It was
given to the meeting of the Federation of East European Family History
Societies and the thrust of the presentation was a way of finding photos of
your ancestral village in Europe.
 
The presenter talked about aerial photos taken by the Germans during WW II
and now kept by the US National Archives.   I understood that the raw
materials were about two million contact prints from which vendors or
visitors are permitted to make negatives.  They do not have the original
negatives.
 
The collection has been indexed and the photos outlined on 1:250,000 map
overlays.  By locating a town of interest on the 1:250,000 map one can use
the overlays to determine which available photo coverage and scale will be of
the most interest.   The researcher can look through the photos and select
ones to have copied.
 
The collection is located in "Archives 2", not in downtown Wash. DC.
  Address is:
    Cartographic and Architectural Branch (NNSC)
    National Archives and Records Service
    8601 Adelphi Rd.
    College Park, MD  20740-6001
                 phone 301-713-7040
 
I would assume that somewhere the aerial photos that OUR military took are
also housed and indexed?
 
I speak with NO personal knowledge of this information.  I only pass along
what I was told.    Hope it helps.    I certainly intend to look it up when I
next find myself there.
 
Don Wester
Minneapolis, MN