Home » America & World War II - Directory of Online Resources

America & World War II - Directory of Online Resources

Directory of Online Resources for the Study of America and World War II

History > U.S. > Modern America > World War II

See also

The Afro American Newspaper
Online version of the weekly newspaper from Baltimore.

History
Sections include: Black Resistance...Slavery in the U.S. ; The Tuskegee Airmen ; Jackie Robinson ; The Black Panther Party ; Black or White ; The Million Man March ; The Scottsboro Boys ; This is Our War.
- This Is Our War
  "A compilation of articles written by AFRO correspondents while following Black American troops during World War II. Includes a short history about each of the correspondents with pictures and cartoons."

Aviation Nose Art and Pin-Ups
Sections include Pin-Up Influence ; Modern Nose Art ; Historic Nose Art ; Don Allen Gallery
From Historic Wings

Color Photographs from the FSA [Farm Security Administration] and OWI [Office of War Information] Home Page
"The FSA color photographs depict life in the U.S., including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with a focus on rural areas and farm labor...[the OWI] depicted life and culture in the U.S., with a focus on factories and women employees, railroads, aviation training, and other aspects of World War II mobilization."
American Memory, The Library of Congress

Dr. Seuss Went to War:
A Catalog of Political Cartoons By Dr. Seuss
400 political cartoons by Theodor Seuss Geisel penned from 1941-1943 in the New York newspaper PM.
Mandeville Special Collections Library, University of California, San Diego

The Good War And Those Who Refused to Fight
"...sheds light on a previously ignored part of the World War II saga - the story of American conscientious objectors who refused to fight "the good war." It is a story of personal courage, idealism and nonconformity based on both ethical and religious beliefs - about men whose love of country could not extend to killing their fellow man."
Sections include: The Story ; World War II Pacifists ; The Arts ; Timeline ; American Pacifism ; Post-War Contributions ; Resources ; Guides ; Talkback ; The Film.
PBS Online - Originally Aired January 15, 2002

Historic Government Publications From World War II - A Digital Library
First phase in the creation of a online database of government publications from WWII.
Southern Methodist University

HyperWar
A Hypertext History of the Second World War
"...a collection of material related to the, primarily military, history of the Second World War, completely cross-referenced via hypertext links and enhanced, where appropriate, by various multi-media computer technologies, such as sound, movies, Java applets, etc...The source of the material presented here is almost exclusively U.S. Government produced, -- and therefor U.S.-oriented."
By Patrick Clancey

July 1942: United We Stand
Online gallery of magazine covers from the flag-cover campaign of July 1942.
Smithsonian - National Museum of American History

Fort Collins Public Library - Local History Archive

World War II Oral History Excerpts

HOLOCAUST: The Untold Story
"...Although major American newspapers had been receiving reports of the mass extermination of Jews in Europe, the stories rarely reached the front pages, except in the Jewish press. Could a more aggressive press in the United States during World War II have saved lives? This exhibit dispels the myth that the Holocaust was a secret and explores the reasons why America's newspapers downplayed the horrifying reports from Europe."
- Online exhibit from Newsuem.

The Last Wave from Port Chicago
"The result of a 20 year investigation into the July 17, 1944 explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine. This web-based book chronicles the total history of the explosion and connections with Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project."
By Peter Vogel

Library of Congress - Exhibitions

Churchill and the Great Republic
"This exhibition preview examines the life and career of Winston Spencer Churchill and emphasizes his lifelong links with the United States--the nation he called 'the great Republic.' The exhibition comes nearly forty years after the death of Winston Churchill and sixty years after the D-Day allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II. It commemorates both of these events."

National Archives and Records Administration

Implementation of the Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act and the Japanese War Crimes Provisions of the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act - (dead link) (March 2002)
IWG Reports to Congress on U.S. Declassification of WWII Japanese War Crimes Records

National Geographic - Untold Stories of D-Day
"Step into the world of writers and photographers as they tell you about the best, worst, and quirkiest places and adventures they encountered in the field."
Include: Did You Know ; Related Links ; Bibliography ; NGS Resources.

National WWII Memorial
Official site of the memorial dedicated May 29, 2004.
Sections include: Overview ; Dedication ; Pictures ; Construction ; Design ; Funding ; Archives ; Education ; WWII Registry ; E-Store.

Navajo Code Talkers
Record of the legislation Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers bill introduced by Senator Jeff Bingman.
Sections include: The Ceremony [Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony and Congressional Silver Ceremony] ; The Medal ; The Call ; The Code ; The Men ; The Legislation.
- Senator Jeff Bingman

Public Law No. 106-554
signed by the President on 21 December 2000. The bill was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2001.

[Normandy] National Geographic - Untold Stories of D-Day
"Step into the world of writers and photographers as they tell you about the best, worst, and quirkiest places and adventures they encountered in the field."
Include: Did You Know ; Related Links ; Bibliography ; NGS Resources.

Normandy
"This brochure was prepared in the U.S. Army Center of Military History by William M. Hammond. I hope this absorbing account of that period will enhance your appreciation of American achievements during World War II."

Normandy: 1944
Sections include: Buildup ; Invasion ; Fighting Inland ; Breakout ; Normandy in Memory.
- Britannica.com

NPR [National Public Radio] Morning Edition

World War II Memorial Opens (May 3, 2004)
"Public, Dignitaries Get an Early View Before May 29 Dedication"

PBS - American Masters - Robert Capa (May 2003)
"Nothing tells a story like a picture - and Robert Capa's pictures are some of the most famous in the world. Capa, the preeminent documentarian of 20th century war, photographed five epic conflicts on three different continents."
Sections include: Feature Essay ; Career Timeline ; Additional Footage ; Filmmaker Interview ; For Teachers.

PBS - NOVA - Last Flight of Bomber 51 (January 2003)
Website companion to the TV broadcast
"Forensic scientists set out to discover what happened to seven airmen whose plane crashed in Kamchatka during World War II."
Sections include: Bombers of World War II ; Tour Kamchatka ; Bringing Home MIAs ; Identifying remains with DNA ; Links & Books ; Teacher's Guide ; Transcript.

PBS - Secrets of the Dead - Bridge on the River Kwai (November 2003)
"Watch video clips from an interview with Howard Brooks, a retired U.S. Navy officer who was captured by the Japanese army in February 1942 and spent the remainder of the war working as a POW on the Thailand-Burma railway."
Sections include: Background ; Clues and Evidence ; Interview ; Resources.

PBS - The American Experience - Fly Girls
"During WWII, more than a thousand women signed up to fly with the U.S. military...joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) test-piloted aircraft, ferried planes and logged 60 million miles in the air. Thirty-eight women died in service. But the opportunity to play a critical role in the war effort was abruptly canceled by politics and resentment, and it would be 30 years before women would again break the sex barrier in the skies."
Sections include: Program Description ; Enhanced Transcript ; Interview Transcripts ; Bibliography ; Timeline ; Teacher's Guide ; Primary Source Documents.

PBS - The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color (February 2003)
Website companion to the TV broadcast
"Witness World War II through rare color film, and read letters from a nation redefining itself."
Sections include: The Battlefield ; Psychology of War ; The Home Front ; Social Aspects ; View WW II Timeline ; Rediscovering the Film ; Preserving Our History ; Special Features ; Teacher's Guide.

The Port Chicago Disaster
A Resource for the Classroom
"...on July 17th, 1944, the worst home front disaster of WWII, occurred at a Naval pier in the San Francisco Bay Area. Five thousand tons of ammunition in ships being loaded by black sailors exploded, sending a blast more than 12,000 feet into the sky."
Sections include: The Site ; The Explosion ; The Mutiny ; The Court Martial ; The Pardon.
By Contra Costa County Office of Education

Remembering Pearl Harbor
Includes: "Multimedia Map and Time Line: Photos, footage, firsthand accounts, and narration bring the attack on Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, to lifeómoment by moment, target by target" ; Searchable Archive of Survivors' Stories.
National Geographic Online

Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II Web Archive
Mostly Rutgers College alumni and Douglas College alumnae (formally, New Jersey College for Women).
"During its six years of existence, the project achieved an impressive record of success. More than 300 individuals have been interviewed and a pool of over 400 individuals have completed preliminary surveys and await their interviews."

"A Summons to Comradeship" - World War I and II Posters
"The University of Minnesota Libraries owns six thousand items and the Minneapolis Public Library's collection consists of nearly two thousand posters. Both collections contain posters from government, commercial, and charitable organizations. These collections are multi-national in scope...This database will grow over a two-year period to 6,000 images."

They Drew Fire
Combat Artists of World War II
"This Web site is a companion to the PBS documentary They Drew Fire, airing nationally on May 15th, 2000. Here you will find an extensive art gallery displaying the pieces shown in the film, as well as other paintings by the combat artists. Many of these images have been hidden from the public eye since the time of the war. In addition, biographies of the artists themselves help fill out their stories as seen in the film. The site also provides a page of resources, including information about the history of World War II combat art programs, addresses of museums where the art is kept, and information about the filmmakers, for viewers interested in learning more."
PBS Online

University of Hawai'i at Manoa - Digital Archive Collection

Voices of World War II: Experiences from the Front and at Home
"A project in partnership with the Truman Presidential Museum and Library. Audio from the collections of the Marr Sound Archives, Dept. of Special Collections, Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri, Kansas City."

War and War-Era Movies
Sections include: US Civil War ; World War I ; Spanish Civil War ; World War II ; Korean War ; Vietnamese War ; World War III.
UC Berkeley - Media Resources Center

What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?
An Oral History of Rhode Island Women during World War II
Written by students in the Honors English Program at South Kingstown High School

Internment of German-Americans During World War II

The Internment of German Americans in the U.S. During WWII
A well researched site for this often overlooked chapter in U.S. history; includes selections from Mr. Jacob's recent book on the subject.
By Arthur D. Jacobs, Major, USAF Retired

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