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Military Resources: World War II

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NARA Resources

Bletchley Park's Hut 11 Visitor Book
A copy of the visitors' book to England's super-secret code-breaking headquarters during World War II was presented to the National Archives, and now resides in ALIC.

Continuing the Fight: Harry S. Truman and World War II
This Truman Library website contains a "collection of documents, photographs, and eyewitness accounts concerning the latter stages of World War II."

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Digital Archives
FDR Presidential Library's release of 10,000 digitized documents includes material on Roosevelt's relationship with Winston Churchill, German Diplomatic Files, and Vatican Files.

Holocaust Era Assets
Information about the records and research available in the National Archives and Records Administration regarding Holocaust Era Assets.

Information Concerning Philippine Army and Guerrilla Records
This NARA site gives in-depth information on the collection of records of World War II Philippine Army and Guerrilla members, which have recently been transferred to the National Personnel Records Center.

Irving Berlin: This is the Army
This article by Laurence Bergreen is from the Summer 1996 issue of the NARA publication Prologue (vol. 28, no. 2), and presents an in-depth look at Irving Berlin's production of This is the Army .

Japan Surrenders
On September 2, 1945, Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument of Surrender. Both pages of the short document are available as digital images.

The Lions' History: Researching World War II Images of African Americans
An article from the Summer 1997 issue of NARA's publication, Prologue (vol. 29, no. 2), by Barbara L. Burger.

Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group (IWG)
The Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group (IWG) is made up of public members and federal agency representatives who are directed to locate, inventory, recommend for declassification, and make available all classified Nazi war criminal records, subject to certain specified exceptions; coordinate with federal agencies and expedite the release of such classified records to the public; and complete its work to the greatest extent possible and report to Congress within 1 year.

Return to Sender U.S. Censorship of Enemy Alien Mail in World War II
Lois Fiset's article on the U.S. government's mail examination and censorship programs on the correspondence of enemy aliens during World War II.

Safeguarding Hoover Dam during World War II
Christine Pfaff's Prologue article on the measures taken during World War II to thwart potential sabotage of the Hoover Dam.

"Semper Fidelis, Code Talkers"
Adam Jevec's Prologue article on the impenetrable Navajo language code used by U.S. Marine Forces in World War II.

Sixty Years Later, the Story of PT-109 Still Captivates
Stephen Plotkin's Prologue article on the sinking of a Patrol Torpedo boat commanded by John F. Kennedy in the South Pacific in August 1943.

Teaching With Documents Lesson Plans: Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
Provides background on the Marine Corps' decision to enlist and train the Navajos as messengers during World War II.

Archives Surviving from World War II
An excerpt copied with permission of the author, Gerhard Weinberg, from his book A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II.

Other Resources

Axis and Allied Reference Websites
Web resources on World War II.

Combat Chronicles of U.S. Army Divisions in World War II
The following combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. 510-592.

The Day After the Day Which Will Live in Infamy
On December 8, 1941, Alan Lomax, head of the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song, sent a telegram to folklorists in ten different localities around the United States, asking them to collect "man on the street" reactions to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

A Guide to Research Resources Relating to World War II
A National Gallery of Art publication in PDF format, this manual offers comprehensive information on the branches of the federal government, departments, offices, and related bodies.

Hyperwar: U.S. Navy in World War II
Provides lists of ships, Naval Intelligence Combat Narratives, U.S. Naval Operations, Naval Stations and Facilities, U.S. Coast Guard members, and US Navy Histories from WWII.

July, 1942: United We Stand
This is a companion web site for a Smithsonian Institution temporary exhibit that ran through October 2002. The exhibit highlights nearly 300 magazine covers featuring American flags, the slogan "United We Stand", and appeals to buy war bonds.

Normandy
A presentation of Britannica.com, this site includes information about the buildup and the invasion, the fighting, the breakout, and memories of the invasion.

Nuremberg Trials Project: A Digital Document Collection
Maintained by the Harvard Law School Library, this site provides access to trial documents and transcripts from the Medical Case held in 1946-1947 against 23 defendants accused of crimes against humanity in the form of harmful or fatal medical experiments and procedures. The site also provides a list of additional resources related to the Nuremberg Trials.

Open-Source Intelligence From the Airwaves: FBIs Against the Axis, 1941-1945
Stephen Mercado's article provides extensive information on the establishment and operation of the Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service, an agency devoted to monitoring and analyzing foreign radio broadcasts for intelligence purposes, during World War II.

The OSS and Italian Partisans in World War II
Peter Tompkins, CIA, is the creator of this site on the intelligence and operational support for the Anti-Nazi Resistance.

The Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II
This archives, directed by Sandra Stewart Holyoak, is an "enterprise to record the personal experiences of men and women who served on the homefront and overseas" during World War II.

Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945
Specifications, history, and one or more photographs of most WWII Navy ships.

Student Voices from World War II and the McCarthy Era
A compilation of narratives from Brooklyn College students during World War II and the Cold War. Includes the oral histories of both participants in the school's Farm Labor Project and employees of the student newspaper.

Untold Stories of D-Day
This National Geographic Site is an online gallery of stories and photographs telling the D-Day story.

U.S.-Russia Joint Commission Documents Database
The documents found in the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission Database consist mainly of translations of Russian-language documents retrieved from various archives in the Russian Federation pertaining to American personnel missing from World War II to the present.

Victory at Sea
From The Atlantic Monthly, this article describes the sea battles of World War II.

War Letters
This PBS website provides context to their film War Letters, based on Andrew Carroll's book of personal correspondence from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War. Features letters, biographies, timelines, cartoons, and local resources.

World History Chronology: The Second World War
Created and maintained by David Koeller at North Park University, this site chronicles the history of World War II by year and topic.

World War II timeline
Provides a timeline of the major events of World War II.

World War II History
From the Internet Public Library, this site includes print and Internet resources for high school and college students beginning research on World War II.

World War II Maps
This site is compiled by Melinda Mosley of the Air University Library.

World War II Poster Collection
The Government Publications Department at Northwestern University Library has a comprehensive collection of over 300 posters issued by U.S. Federal agencies from the start of the war through 1945.

World War II Resources
Primary source materials on the web covering all aspects of the war.

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