I think what would be really useful for veteran and budding researchers alike is if we work together on this site to pool together a list of archival centres containing original (primary source) ww2 material. Having spent the last few years researching a single topic (I've more or less finished my research and am just chasing a few loose ends) and also being a PhD student who is used to the fustrating world of research... I know how useful this would have been from the start, particularally in regards to knowing what is out there in foreign countries. So feel free to post with any particular center or archive you know of. I'll start with the more obvious ones in the US/UK as I'm used to researching in both. I'd also be interested in finding out where the Commonwealth records for individual countries are. UK: British Library: Original British ww2 Military Maps, and books (obviously). Imperial War Musuem: Accounts (published and unpublished) photographs, movies, art, etc. National Archives UK: Original War diaries and home of the majority of original british ww2 documents. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives: Held by Kings College in London this is an amazing resource for the proffesional researcher. USA: NARA/NACP An awful search engine does a lot to disguise the sheer volume of documents held here, including original unit diaries and reports. Captured german documents In fact using NARA is so damned awful... i've put a direct link to its most valuable resource. Some might argue it has more original german documents (including unit records) then Berlin. But then I've never been to Berlin and I doubt its interface can be worse then NARA, even if you don't speak/read German. West Point Library For use by the US military, if you can direct a decent enough inquiry (waffle/be vague and don't expect a reply) or have good connections you can get access to their original document arcgives. This site has plenty of original reports and accounts not seen elsewhere. US Army War College As above. Various Research Aids Echo Delta. Its not technically an archive, but its damned useful for translating european (not north african) coordinates from war diaries into modern lat/long. Surprisingly accurate down to 100 foot in many cases (as Tom Canning once told me, you have to remember people at the time often had no idea where they were) It beats a trip to the British library.
Phaethon I thought the Forum was halfway there with it's super list on the Home page under FINE SITES ? To wit......... Poppy Appeal 2010 » Psywar » Geoff's WW2 CWGC Search Engine » Geoff's WW1 CWGC Search Engine » WW2 Army Number Search Tool » Geoff's AFM Search Engine » WW2 Forums » Royal British Legion - Berlin » North Irish Horse » CWGC » Volksbund » US Battle Monuments » Australian War Memorial » Armed Forces Memorial » AFM Roll of Honour » UK National Archives » IWM Collections » In From the Cold Project » Aircrew Remembrance Society » UK War Memorial Inventory » German War Memorial » War Memorials Trust » Irish War Memorials » British War Graves » Polish War Graves » Special Forces Roll of Honour » Ron's Army Album » Ron's 'Actual' Army Album » WW2 Unit Histories & Officers » Scarlet Finders WW2 Hospitals » Tanks! » Armoured Acorn » Anzac Steel » Third reich in Ruins » BBC - People's War » The Royal British Legion » Veterans UK » British Equipment of WW2 » TRUX » Lone Sentry » Oldtimers Gallery » Nizkor Holocaust Resource » The Burma Star Association » NZ Electronic Text Centre » Help for Heroes » Chelsea Pensioners » St. Dunstan's » FEPOW Community » Durham Light Infantry » The Tiger Triumphs » Ball of Fire - 5th Indian div. » Corps of Military Police » Gatekeepers, Guns of Dover » British Artillery In WW2 » Royal Artillery 1939-45 » US Field Artillery Journal » RA Units in the Netherlands » The Pegasus Archive » ParaData » Defending Arnhem » The Glider Pilot Regiment » The Airborne Soldier » Market Garden » Remember September 44 » 16 & 133 PFA » Keep 'em Moving QOCH » War Years Remembered » Hurtgen Forest » The National Army Museum » The RAF Museum » IWM Duxford » Bovington Tank Museum » The Wheatcroft Collection » The Research Squad » The Russian Battlefield » RKKA in WW2 » Pobediteli » Russian Front Photographs » Russian Archive Photographs » Engines of the Red Army » Hyperwar » Poland in Exile » Comando Supremo » The Avalon Project » Battlefields of WW2 » Battlefield Relics » Oradour-sur-Glane » Britain's Small Wars » British Battles » Cloudworth WW2 News Feed » Uboat.net » Atlantik Pirat » PIBWL - Polish Vehicles » The AFV Register » Daimler Fighting Vehicles » Armour in Focus/Churchill Register » Surviving Panzers/Tanks » Achtung Panzer! » Sturmgeschütze vor! » Sturmpanzer » Sdkfz 251 » WW2 Armour & Drawings » War Wheels » Senshan - japanese AFVs » Overvalwagens » Panzerworld » Antitank rifles » Warbird Resource Group » AfrikaKorps.org » RAF Commands » 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron » 156 Squadron RAF » Bombercrew » Luftwaffe 1933-45 » USAAF » Aerial Combat Claims & casualties » Axis History Factbook » The Hitler Pages » Militaria Archive - Photographs » France 1940 » Maginot Line at war » Generals of WW2 » Island Farm POW camp » Defence of Britain » Defence of East Sussex » Pillboxes UK » Pillbox Study Group » GHQ Coleshill - Auxiliary Units » British Ordnance Collectors » Grenades, Mines, Boobytraps » Maple Leaf Up » HMVF » ARmy Rumour SErvice - ARRSE » WFA WW1 Forum » Landships » The Worcestershire Regiment » 16th battalion DLI » Naval History .net » Royal Naval Museum » Royal Navy Submarine Museum » Navy Documents & Manuals » Bismarck » WW2 Cruisers » Japanese Navy » The Desert Rats » LRDG Preservation Society » Battalion Organisation » The Wardrobe » Portsdown Tunnels » Milweb » MV Video Ads » The Pathfinder Magazine » Britain at war Magazine » After The Battle » Abebooks » Google Earth » Passchendaele Prints » Naval & Military press » 6 Mil Phil » Miliblog » Daly History » Ramblings of robert » Incident at Jebel Sherif » Z-Panzer Miniature Trains » Scottish Military Research Group » Scottish war Graves Project » Scottish war Memorial Project » Scottish Military Blog » WW2 in Northern Ireland » Falkeeins Luftwaffe Blog » All World Wars » LMGTFY Best regards Ron
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/research-material/4992-source-documents-online.html http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/other-research/23187-ww2-research-sources.html
Whilst the list of sites on the main page is listed under fan sites, it includes non archive based material and general helpful ww2related bits of information. This is indended as a concise list of paper-archive material, (and what an archive contains) rather then a rag-bag list for general ww2 sites. Regarding your second link, that is online source material. This thread consists of hard-copy archives, but I take it from your posts that you feel the thread is redundant... so I guess that's that then.
"Firepower" the Royal Artillery Museum.Woolwich, for everything RA. Bishopsgate Institute & Library. Bishopsgate, London. for London & City Regts mainly WW1. List here; Rob http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/research-material/29843-bishopsgate-institute-london-military-research-source.html
Phaethon Thought I'd come back here to clarify my earlier remark. I was in no way seeking to disparage the concept of your thread "List of WW2 Archives" but just drawing your attention to the links already provided on the main page. I see that others have already posted a few additional links on this thread and I am sure you will get more. Best regards Ron
many Indian Army and SOE/OSS files are in the Indian Office Collection at the British Library - much of this is not replicated at TNA Kew
A steadily expanding German archive, with books, magazines, films and propaganda items of all sorts. All freely available online. R*e*i*chsarchiv.com
A steadily expanding German archive, with books, magazines, films and propaganda items of all sorts. All freely available online. R*e*i*c*hsarchiv.com Just had a look at that site - and I'd be careful about it. It doesn't say who the owner/creator is or what their aims really are (which doesn't ease my doubts in the least) but they state: Von der Kriegsschuldfrage über den Nationalsozialismus bis hin zum "Holocaust" und vielen anderen Themen gibt es eine Menge sehenswertes Material, welches in der Öffentlichkeit entweder totgeschwiegen oder verboten wird. I.e. they host material "worth seeing" about the (so-called) war guilt question, nationalsocialism and the holocaust, which is "either hushed up in public of forbidden altogether". And judging by the literature they feature on the site I'm not surprised the material isn't supposed to be available for the general public. Their intentions might be noble, but being the pessimist I am I doubt it and would rather stay away from that site. *edit* I just had a closer look at the books and films; even if I was seriously researching (neo!) nazi propaganda I'd hesitate to get anything off that site.
Thanks for the "heads up" Heimbrent. It is so easy to be fooled by sites like this, especially if you dont speak the language!
