Library Resources: Primary Sources: World War II

"Man-on-the-street" reactions of ordinary Americans to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war by the United States.

Comprehensive collection of declassified U.S. government documents on the atomic bomb and the end of the war in the Pacific.

"This collection focuses on the decision to drop the atomic bomb. It includes documents totaling almost 600 pages, covering the years 1945-1964."

This collection consists of nearly 150 bound volumes of Nuremberg trial transcripts and documents from the personal archives of General William J. Donovan (1883-1959). Selections from the collection are available online.

Four hundred political cartoons from 1941-1943, when Dr. Seuss was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM.

Presents informational pamphlets, government reports, instructions, regulations, declarations, speeches and propaganda materials distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office during the Second World War.

Access to about 1 million pages of documents (trial transcripts, briefs, document books, evidence files, and other papers) relating to the trial of military and political leaders of Nazi Germany. Documents are in German and English.

Collected here are documents from the 23 volume, 40 part, 25,000 page report of "Hearings before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Congress of the United States" which was released July 20, 1946.

Collection of documents, speeches, photographs and other primary source material.

Documents related to thousands of cases against accused World War II criminals in Europe and Asia, some of which have been digitized.

Collection of over 300 posters issued by U.S. Federal agencies from the onset of war through 1945.

Posters from government, commercial and charitable organizations. Subject matter is diverse, covering such topics as military recruitment, rationing, films/theatre, anti-war movements and many others.