Primary Sources

A collection of speeches given by prominent Americans between 1918 and 1920, focused largely around World War I. *The search bar is located at the top of the page. Click "Collection Items" to browse.

Just over 500 historical sources examining key themes in the history of World War I. *Best used by browsing the themes on the left side of the page. The search feature will include articles that are not primary sources.

Resources from libraries and archives across Europe, focused on exploring the stories and histories of World War I.

Collection that illustrates Patton's activities during the Mexican Punitive Expedition, World War I, and World War II.

German photographic postcards made during 1914-1918, primarily views of military operations, troop movements, and military life.

A collection consisting of mainly photographs at the moment. *When searching, check the 'Items with Images Only' box to assure that the item has been digitized.

The images in this collection track American sentiment about the war in Europe, week by week, before and after the United States became involved. Events of the war are detailed alongside society news and advertisements touting products of the day, creating a pictorial record of both the war effort and life at home. *The search bar is located at the top of the page. Click "Collection Items" to browse.

A Tennessee State Library & Archives project to digitize, preserve and present the World War I memorabilia of Tennessee families.

A newspaper written by servicemen abroad in France during WWI. *The search bar is located at the top of the page. Click "Collection Items" to browse.

The Air Scoop weekly newsletter informed and entertained members of the 63rd College Training Detachment based at the University of Tennessee during World War II. The detachment’s goal was to run a publication for and by aviation students in the detachment in order to unify the organization and to share news related to military training and social events occurring on and around the Knoxville campus.

An Italian archive of War Department photographs. Only in Italian, but works well with Google translate.

Approx. 11 million still pictures, aerial photographs and posters from modern German history. First photographs date from the 1860s. Most pictures show events and/or persons, in particular from the WWII era.
*Information and description of photographs is in German. This resource is best used by searching particular names, places, or events.

Photographs documenting American life between 1935 and 1944. Includes photos of factory workers supporting the war effort, American propaganda, soldiers at home, and much more. *Use the search bar, or select "View All" on the left to browse.

Collection that illustrates Patton's activities during the Mexican Punitive Expedition, World War I, and World War II.

The National World War II Museum is home to thousands of oral histories and hundreds of thousands of photographs.

The Museum’s Collections document the fate of Holocaust victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others through artifacts, documents, photos, films, books, personal stories, and more.

300 hours of Oral History interviews focusing on Veterans' experiences before the war, during combat, and while returning home.

This collection contains maps showing troop positions beginning on June 6, 1944 to July 26, 1945. Starting with the D-Day Invasion, the maps give daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe, showing the progress of the Allied Forces as they push towards Germany. *The search bar is located at the top of the page. Click "Collection Items" to browse.

Multiple collections that document Jewish life before, during, and after the war, the victims of the Holocaust, and the Righteous Among the Nations. Includes photographs, documents/records, and oral histories.

A small collection of documents and images. The main page of information is NOT a primary source, but the items linked below are.

This collection contain propaganda leaflets produced by the United States Army as well as leaflets produced by the communist forces in Korea.

A collection of primary source documents related to the Korean War. Obtained largely from Russian archives, the documents include reports on Chinese and Soviet aid to North Korea, allegations that America used biological weapons, and the armistice.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum acquires, preserves, arranges and describes, and provides access to primary-source materials in all formats that document the life, political career, and times of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. *Not all materials have been fully digitized.

A collection of materials from LBJ's presidency. Includes photographs, oral histories, LBJ's daily dairy, and phone records. *Limit to "digital item" to assure access.

"Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force" commissioned in 1967 and recently declassified.

The mission of the OHP is to create and preserve a more complete record of the wars in Southeast Asia by preserving, through recorded interviews, the recollections and experiences of all who were involved in those wars.

These telegrams, minutes, and discussion notes range from the mid-1950s to the end of the 1970s, and most come from Chinese and Albanian archives. There are many documents from Albania archives on Vietnam-Albanian relations. The collection also includes several Chinese telegrams and memorandums on foreign and economic relations with Indochina, as well as discussions with Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong.

Transcriptions of law and diplomacy documents relating to The Cold War.

Interesting collection of declassified documents from the CIA. *The small search bar under 'Search Query for FOIA ERR:' searches the collection.

A collection of primary sources from the year the Berlin Wall came down. Easily browsable by country and topic, as well as fully searchable.

A tremendous collection of archival documents on the Cold War era from the once secret archives of former communist countries.

A small collection of articles and opinion pieces written about and during the Iraq War.

Online collection that documents the Clinton presidency. Browse by collection or use the small search bar in the upper-right corner to search all materials.

Collected papers and speeches of President George Bush from the period 20 January 1989 to 19 January 1993. *These are searchable, but do not provide a preview. Open the items that come up, then use your computer's search function to search again in the document to jump to the right place.

This briefing book primarily focuses on the intelligence, space operations, and Scud-hunting aspects of the war. It also includes a report describing how Desert Storm affected China's view of future warfare, a document that raises questions as to what lessons other nations have drawn from U.S. military engagements in the Middle East and the Balkans.

Collection of Iraqi documents translated and made available by the Conflict Records Research Center about the 1980 to 1988 conflict also known as the First Persian Gulf War.

Documents on the history of Israeli nuclear development.

This collection contains a wide range of Iraqi government files including transcripts of high-level meetings, speeches by Saddam and senior officials, correspondence between ministries, and records of the Presidential Diwan.