- St. Olaf Libraries
- Research Guides
- History 188C: World War I and World War II
- Finding Primary Sources
History 188C: World War I and World War II
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Research Librarian
What is a primary source
Primary sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Newspapers, letters, diaries, government reports, images, etc., can all be considered primary sources. These sources are published and shared in a variety of ways. See below for some suggestions for finding primary sources:
- In Catalyst, search your topic and include words like letters, diary, correspondence, interview, autobiograpphy, etc. as keywords
- In Catalyst, search your topic. When the results appear, look to the left and scroll down to the category of filters called Genre/Form. Open this set of filters and look for terms that would point to a primary source. Sources is also a category here and it frequently includes primary sources.
- On the open web search your topic and use some of the same words as above but also use words like archive or museum.
Primary Source Databases at St. Olaf
- First World War This link opens in a new windowIncludes three databases: Personal Experiences draws from diaries, photos, souvenirs, and other artifacts from the era. Propaganda and Recruitment includes sources from leaflets to training manuals. Visual Perspectives and Narratives includes official and personal photographs, manuscripts, rare printed material, artwork, objects and film.
- Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War This link opens in a new windowThese magazines were written and illustrated by service personnel from a huge variety of units: the infantry, artillery, air force, naval, supply and transport units, military hospitals and training depots of all combatant nations including America, Britain, Germany, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand.
- Women, War & Society 1914-1918 This link opens in a new windowDigitized primary sources related to women's roles in and experiences of World War I, plus full-text interpretive essays. Includes pamphlets, photographs, charity and international relief reports, press cuttings, correspondence, and other materials.
- American Newsreels in Video This link opens in a new windowComprised of news footage covering the years leading up to and during the Second World War.
- History Vault: World War II: U.S. Documents on Planning, Operations, Intelligence, Axis War Crimes, and Refugees This link opens in a new windowIncludes records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Records of the War Department Operations Division, U.S. Navy Action and Operational Reports, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Map Room Files, Records of the Office of War Information, Papers of the War Refugee Board, and several other collections documenting U.S. planning and participation in World War II.
- Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies This link opens in a new windowThe Fortunoff Archive’s collection consists of over 4,400 testimonies of Holocaust survivors, witnesses and liberators. Please note: first-time users will need to register for an account. Please follow instructions here (scroll down for video instructions on how to register on the Aviary platform).
- Testaments to the Holocaust This link opens in a new windowDigitized documents, rare printed materials, and photographs illuminating Jewish life in Germany from 1933 to the postwar period, life in the concentration camps, the domestic policies of Nazi Germany, Nazi propaganda, and the experiences of refugees.