By Charles Fenyvesi
Suppose you want to find out what American documents can add to the latest buzz in Russia, a new theory that trashes the consensus about Hitler's surprise 1941 attack on Stalin. The Soviet dictator, conventional wisdom says, had foolishly trusted his German ally and failed to protect the motherland. A lie, thunder several of today's iconoclastic Russian scholars. Their theory is that Hitler sent his forces against the Soviets because he knew that Stalin was preparing to attack Germany, and expected to win by striking first.

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One place to sort this out is the vast National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Md. Here, hundreds of millions of documents on World War II are crammed into 5-inch-wide boxes, stacked as high as 12 feet. The labyrinthine facility boasts 550 miles of mobile shelving. What files should you look at? Where do you even begin?

The answer is John E. Taylor. "Mr. Taylor knows everything," says a polite young archives employee. The tone is reverential, the advice sound. And for good reason. When it comes to World War II, the 82-year-old Taylor is acclaimed by researchers worldwide for his uncanny recall of events and a dowser's knack for pinpointing relevant documents. He is a one-man memory bank, innocent of Google.com; he uses an ancient Royal typewriter, and his fingers have yet to tickle a computer keyboard.

Taylor, whose official title is archivist for intelligence records, doubted that American reports revealed anything on Stalin's plans against Germany. But he suggested a search through Japanese diplomatic cables intercepted by the United States. True to form, he recalled a document reporting the words of a German official to a Japanese colleague: "We will annihilate the Soviet Union!" Thus, Taylor says, the Japanese had advance knowledge of Hitler's offensive. He also points out that the Japanese who tracked German and Soviet war strategy might have picked up hints of Stalin's plans.

Now then, where to look? Taylor doesn't hesitate: Record Group 457, Entry 907, Stack 190, Row 36, Compartment 13, Shelf 3.

Although slight and stooping and years past the normal retirement age, the tweed-jacketed archivist has no trouble remembering the long sequences of numbers that unlock the secrets of the archives. Likewise, when a researcher needs background information, Taylor produces just the right books, often volumes inscribed by the authors themselves in gratitude for Taylor's help. One such writer is John Waller, whose The Unseen War in Europe is considered a classic of World War II intelligence. A retired CIA officer, Waller calls Taylor "indispensable." Although his own former job as inspector general gave him a rare overview of the agency, Waller confesses he would have been lost without Taylor's "comprehensive vision" of U.S. intelligence files. So respected is Taylor, in fact, that the section of the library dealing with World War II intelligence is named after him. He has donated many of the section's more than 700 books.

"Just a gift." When intelligence files arrive at the archives, Taylor is the first to take a peek. He remembers their contents, as well as the researchers who have expressed interest in certain subjects, and he phones them to come have a look. "Memory is just a gift I have," he says with a shrug. "Nothing more. I've never read a book on how to retain information."

At the University of Arkansas, Taylor wanted to be a journalist and wrote for the college paper. "I was a bit too aggressive," he says, recalling a tiff with the dean. He ended up majoring in social work, but his real love was history. During World War II, a recruiter for the U.S. intelligence service suggested that he join the code breakers. But he was disqualified after acknowledging that he was blind in one eye. He wouldn't make that mistake again. When applying for a job with the federal government, he made no mention of his disability. A few months later, while working in a California canmaking factory, he received an offer from the archives. That was in 1945. He hasn't held another job since.

Taylor shows up for work every day by 7 a.m. and leaves sometimes as late as 6 p.m. Asked if he plans to retire, he has a stock answer: "Not this week."