Research Guides: HIST 1006: Primary Sources

HIST 1006: Perspectives on America at War

Utilize this guide to search databases listed below for primary sources on your topic related to your course assignments. These are just a few of many, many resources on WW II primary documents. If you have questions please use the chat box.

Text Primary Source Websites

Internet Modern History Sourcebook
Hosted by Fordham, this website links and hosts primary sources for modern world history. Specific, helpful categories include Fascism, Nazism, Holocaust, WW II, and US Power.
Library of Congress: World War II Primary Sources
A selection of documents from the Library of Congress's digitized collections on WW II.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Chronicling America provides access to nearly 3,000 digitized newspapers.
Eisenhower Communiqués
The Daily Battle Communiqués issued by the Communiqué Section, Public Relations Division of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Europe (SHAEF), relate the daily progress of the Allied campaign in Europe from D-Day on June 6, 1944 until the German surrender on May 7, 1945.
Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project
The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project (WVHP), established at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 1998, documents the contributions of women in the military and related service organizations since World War I. The WVHP includes a wide range of source material including photographs, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, oral histories, military patches and insignia, uniforms, and posters, as well as published works.
Historic Government Publications from World War II
The Historic Government Publications from World War II contains 343 Informational pamphlets, government reports, instructions, regulations, declarations, speeches, and propaganda materials distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) during the Second World War.
Avalon Project in Law, History, and Diplomacy: WW II
Full text of agreements, commission reports, treaties, and more.
FRANKLIN: FDR Library's Digital Collections
Digital copies of significant documents and photographs from the archives of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum. FRANKLIN hosts over 800,000 pages of archival documents and 2,500 historical photographs, along with many detailed descriptions of archival collections not yet digitized.
The Nuremburg Trials Project
The Harvard Law School Library's Nuremberg Trials Project is an open-access initiative to create and present digitized images or full-text versions of the Library's Nuremberg documents, descriptions of each document, and general information about the trials.
The Real Rosie the Riveter Project
"Spargel Productions and New York University’s Tamiment Library are collaborating on a project to document the stories of Rosie the Riveter. These oral histories were created on digital video and portions of them will be used in the forthcoming Spargel Production new media project 'The Girl With The Rivet Gun.'"
World War II: Women on the Home Front
"Women entered the workforce in large numbers during World War II, replacing men who had joined the armed forces. Symbolized by “Rosie the Riveter,” these women significantly changed the place of women in labor and in society. From driving street cars to selling war bonds to working in defense industries, women played an important role in helping the country prepare for and win the war. Through this set, readers will learn about the opportunities and experiences of women laborers on the home front during the war."

Photographs and Art Primary Source Websites

Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photograph (LOC)
Photographers working for the U.S. government's Farm Security Administration (FSA) and later the Office of War Information (OWI) between 1939 and 1944 made approximately 1,600 color photographs that depict life in the United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The pictures focus on rural areas and farm labor, as well as aspects of World War II mobilization, including factories, railroads, aviation training, and women working.
Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar (LOC)
In 1943, Ansel Adams (1902-1984), America's most well-known photographer, documented the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California and the Japanese-Americans interned there during World War II.
WW II Propaganda Posters
Original American, German, and Russian World War II propaganda posters.
National Archives: WW II Photographs
Pictures are listed by subject and campaign. Original captions are in quotation marks. Photographers, artists, locations, and dates, when known, are also included. This information is followed by the local identification number and the National Archives Identifier number (NAID). The National Archives Identifier number is linked to the online catalog where a digitized file of the photograph will be available for download.

Audio and Film Primary Source Websites

After the Day of Infamy: "Man-on-the-Street" Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor (LOC)
After the Day of Infamy: "Man-on-the-Street" Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor presents approximately twelve hours of opinions recorded in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from more than two hundred individuals in cities and towns across the United States.
Voices of the Holocaust
In 1946, Dr. David P. Boder, a psychology professor from Chicago's Illinois Institute of Technology, traveled to Europe to record the stories of Holocaust survivors in their own words. Over a period of three months, he visited refugee camps in France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, carrying a wire recorder and 200 spools of steel wire, upon which he was able to record over 90 hours of first-hand testimony. These recordings represent the earliest known oral histories of the Holocaust, which are available through this online archive.
Disney's Propaganda: Film Shorts
A selection of 19 Disney propaganda films from WW II on the Internet Archive.

Here are a selection of WW II propaganda news films from famous Hollywood directors who enlisted in WW II, such as Frank Capra and John Ford. Content Warning: some of these films feature scenes of military conflict, including allusions to the death of combatants. If you would like more historical context on these films, look into watching Netflix's Five Came Back.

The Battle of Midway
"'The Battle of Midway,' directed by John Ford, provides a relatively brief account of the Japanese attack of American ships at Midway atoll. The film is comprised mostly of authentic footage from the battle, with dramatic narration by Henry Fonda."
Why We Fight: Prelude to War
"'Prelude to War,' Chapter I of Frank Capra's 'Why We Fight' series, describes World War II as a battle between the 'slave world' of fascism and the 'free world' of American liberty."
Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia, Part I
"'The Battle of Russia,' Chapter V of Frank Capra's 'Why We Fight' series, follows the beginning of the end for Adolph Hitler. Part One shows how the Nazi regime, frustrated by the tenacity of British resistance, sets its sights on the Soviet Union instead."
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
"'The Memphis Belle,' directed by William Wyler, is a tribute to the crew of the United States Air Force's 324th Squadron, 91st Heavy Bomber Unit, an airplane more familiarly known as the Memphis Belle."
The Battle of San Pietro
"Documentary of the US efforts to take Italy by acclaimed director John Huston. The US Army which commissioned the film refused to show it because it was too honest in its portrayal of the high cost of battle and the difficulties faced."
Let There Be Light
"It was the last in a series of four films directed by Huston while serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. Intended to educate the public about post-traumatic stress disorder and its treatment among returning veterans, the film's unscripted presentation of mental disability caused the U.S. government to suppress the film, and it was not released until the 1980s."
The Negro Soldier
"WWII recruitment film aimed at African Americans. The film opens with an African American minister in church telling his flock why they should join the armed forces to fight the Nazis. We see historical re-enactments of African Americans as valued participants in US armed conflicts dating from the American Revolution. The balance of the film deals with the African American experience within the present war effort, the conditions of their living and training, with special attention paid to the respect and dignity they will have."
Report from the Aleutians
"'Report from the Aleutians,' directed by John Huston, follows the daily life of American soldiers serving in the Aleutian Islands, which extend in sequence off the shores of Alaska."
Nazi Concentration Camps
"**This film contains extremely graphic scenes of human suffering, please exercise caution when viewing.** Compilation footage of Nazi concentration camps in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The footage was gathered by the US Department of Defense as part of the effort to conduct war crimes trials."