Kimberly Guise is the Senior Curator and Director for Curatorial Affairs at The National WWII Museum. She holds a BA in German and Judaic Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She also studied at the Universität Freiburg in Germany and holds a masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from Louisiana State University. Kim is fluent in German, reads Yiddish, and specializes in the American prisoner-of-war experience in World War II. After working at the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, she began working at The National WWII Museum in 2008, where she has since facilitated the acquisition of thousands of artifacts, led numerous Museum tours, and curated several exhibits including Guests of the Third Reich: American POWs in Europe.
Kim Guise
Senior Curator and Director for Curatorial Affairs
More from the Contributor
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Benevolence in Tokyo Bay: The USS Benevolence (AH-13)
The USS Benevolence was one of three hospital ships in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The ship served as a haven and first stop in rehabilitation for thousands of Allied POWs.
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"I've too damned much to say": Kurt Vonnegut, World War II, and Slaughterhouse-Five
From January 1943 - June 1945, writer Kurt Vonnegut served in the US Army. His experiences with the 106th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge and then later as a POW in Dresden imprinted his life and provided traumatic (and sometimes comedic) material for his novel Slaughterhouse-Five and other works.
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Curator to Curator Q & A: Kurt Vonnegut
In advance of a discussion on Slaughterhouse-Five, Assistant Director for Curatorial Services Kimberly Guise posed some questions to Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Curator Chris Lafave.
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WWII Buffalo Soldier Rothacker Smith, 366th Infantry Regiment
Dr. Rothacker Smith looked death in the eye several times during World War II. In these moments during his wartime service, during captivity as a German POW and beyond, his faith carried him through and indeed directed much of his life, as did the proud tradition of the Buffalo Soldier which he upheld.
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Potsdam Calling: WACs on the Switchboard
As Allied troops gained ground in Europe, members of the Women’s Army Corps [WAC] were there to serve. Bringing vital communication skills, they jumped into seats at switchboards still warm from the enemy operators who had just vacated their posts. In July 1945, the WAC telephone operators were selected to manage the "Victory switchboard" at the Potsdam Conference.
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The 156th Infantry Band, the Potsdam Conference House Band
The 156th Infantry Band from Louisiana brought a New Orleans flair to one of the most influential postwar moments in Europe, when they were selected to provide the musical backdrop for the Potsdam Conference as the “house band” at the Little White House.
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New Citizen Soldiers: Naturalization During World War II
Foreign-born US troops made a significant contribution to American victory in World War II. Between July 1, 1942 and June 30, 1945, 109,382 foreign-born members of the US Armed Forces became naturalized citizens.
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Camp Lucky Strike: RAMP Camp No. 1
The cigarette camp “Camp Lucky Strike” was a bustling tent city of 58,000 impatient American troops awaiting transportation back to the United States after Victory in Europe. Lucky Strike was described as both “seventh heaven” and complete chaos.
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Bullies and Bad Guys: World War II in Letters to American Children
The Museum’s archives contains many examples of letters written to children and the tones struck in the letters are as varied as the paper they’re written on. How did those in service help children understand what was happening in World War II while still trying to make sense of it themselves?
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Remembering Pearl Jacobs Daube, War Bride
The Museum looks back and remembers volunteer Pearl Jacobs Daube (1924-2013), WWII war bride and National WWII Museum volunteer from 2006-2013.