Dillinger’s files in the FBI archives of 1933

Abstract

John Dillinger (1903-1934 years), a famous American criminal and bank robber of the times of the Great Depression (1929-1939 years), "The Public Enemy number one". Dillinger became a symbol of his time, and his annihilation was one of the first major operations of the FBI which was still growing in strength. Over time Dillinger gained a glory of a public hero of the United States, kind of a "Robin Hood of the Great Depression". This article focuses on the FBI archive documents that show the initial stage of image-building and his high profile case. Materials of the National Archives of the FBI are used in this article.

Keywords

• Dillinger
• criminality
• the Great Depression
• USA
• the American press of the 1930s