WWII Resources
Recommended Reading & Research Materials
In the eighty years since the war ended, historians and others have preserved millions of records and artifacts, written thousands of books, and produced both documentary and fictional depictions of the war and its impact on society. The list below features some recommended resources to help you learn more about WWII history, the Holocaust, and to further your own research.
​
Need help getting started? Contact Richard for additional recommendations based on your personal research objectives.
Books
The Good War
by Studs Terkel
An oral history of WWII featuring interviews with men and women from around the world who experienced the war. It received the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
The Drowned & the Saved
by Primo Levi
Based on the author's time at Auschwitz, this book is a moving meditation on memory, resiliency, and struggle to comprehend unimaginable tragedy.
Myth & the Greatest Generation
by Kenneth D. Rose
Rose presents a perspective on the war as more culturally and socially disruptive on Americans' lives than the dominant view of the "good war."
The Liberators
by Michael Hirsh
Through 150+ interviews with U.S. liberators of Nazi death camps, Hirsh presents an intimate view their courage and the impact of what they saw on the rest of their lives.
Wow!
by Ralph Welsh
A collection of over 160 short stories about the B-24, 8th Air Force, and other stories chronicling the WWII experience from the author's and other veterans' perspectives.
The Good Old Days
by Ernst Klee, Willi Dressen & Volker Riess
An unflinching view from the perspectives of the perpetrators and bystanders of the Holocaust through their own photos, letters, diaries, and confidential reports.
Digital Archives
Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs), National Archives Catalog
National Archives Records Administration's holdings on U.S. Army Air Corps missing crew reports.
​​
European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) Portal
Digital access to Holocaust-related archival material held by institutions around the world.
​
WWI & WWII Photographs, National Archives Catalog
National Archives Records Administration collections of wartime photographs and imagery, most in the public domain.
​
Online World War II Indexes and Records - WWII ( USA)
Great list of genealogy-type resources and documents available online.
​
​
​
Primary Sources & Testimonies
Example of an official U.S. Army combat history authored in 1946.
​​
Morning Reports for June 1944 for A Company of the 331st Infantry Regiment
Example of a US Army ‘morning report.’
​
Home | 83rd Thunderbolt Division
Great credible example of a private effort to accurately remember and preserve a unit’s history from WWII.
​
Page containing one in a series of Hitler’s speeches in English.
​
​
Museums
The National WWII Museum
New Orleans, Louisiana
Founded in 2000 as the National D-Day Museum, it was later desinated by Congress as America's official WWII museum in 2003. Both the physical museum and its website are excellent resources.
American Air Museum in Britain
Duxbridge, UK
This musem explores Anglo-American collaboration and the experience of people whose lives were shaped by American airpower over a century of war. They also offer an online archive of data, photos, and documents.
Yad Vashem
Jerusalem, Israel
Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial institution to victims of the "Shoah." Their digital collection includes documents, photos, survivor testimonies, and other artifacts documenting the Holocaust. ​​​
National Museum of the
Pacific War
Fredericksburg, TX
A Smithsonian affiliate, NMPW provides a comprehensive account of WWII in the Asiatic-Pacific theater. Their online Learning Resource Library includes searchable resources, stories, and activities that bring the Pacific war to life. ​​​
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, D.C.
Opened in 1993, the USHMM is America's official memorial to the Holocaust. It's the home of the Center for Advanced Holocaust studies and its website includes more than 270,000 searchable digital records.​​​
Pearl Harbor National Memorial
Honululu, Hawai'i
This site includes two museums and the USS Oklahoma Memorial, the USS Utah Memorial, and the USS Arizona Memorial. The Arizona memorial is situated above the remains of the battleship, which serves as the final resting place for more than 900 crew members who perished during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, as well as survivors who wished to be laid to rest with their shipmates later.
Other Resources
​​​
Holocaust Encyclopedia | United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Searchable database from the USHMM.
​
Comprehensive memory and learning site about the Holocaust.
​
Detailed information on WWII dog tags.
​
European Theater Archives - DESTINATION: WWII
WWII sites in Europe - a review of recent visits by a traveler.
​
Wings Tracks Guns | A Plastic Military Modeling Blog
Fun website with photos of practically every vehicle and plane from WWII. It’s good for research, too.
​
D-Day 80: The most poignant wartime songs - Classic FM
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Research Resources
​​​
How to Research: Photographs Relating to World War II Army Units – The Unwritten Record
Information about photographs - the unwritten records - from the Archives.
​
The Archives’ official page for ordering military records from WWII.
​
WWII Army Enlistment Records - KSGenWeb Digital Library
Good information here about what to expect from the Archives and how to decipher information that may be found in a service record.
United States, World War II Army Enlistment Records - FamilySearch Historical Records • FamilySearch
Good information about online resources and guidance on how to track down WWII records of individuals.
​
U.S. Army Center of Military History
US Army’s official history center.
Air Force Historical Research Agency
US Air Force’s official history center.
​
US Navy’s official history center.
​
US Marine Corps’ official history center.
​