Research Guides: HIST 491C: The Great Crisis: International Politics, 1919-1941 (Spring 2024): Primary Source Databases

Introduction

The primary source databases listed below are just a small number of those available at W&M Libraries, but are good starting points for research during the Interwar period. When searching primary sources remember to consider the language that would have been used during that time.

Tips

Don't use too many words. Keep it simple.
Use the build-in features of the databases to narrow results, not additional search terms.
Spend time trying the same search in multiple databases.
Spend time thinking about the types of sources your topic will need: letters, newspapers, unpublished materials, etc.
If you're stuck, look at the footnotes of your published secondary sources to see where they are finding their sources.
Be mindful of how language changes over time. What terms would writers be using during the time period you're examining?

So Many Options

FInding Primary Sources in the Main Catalog

Many of our primary source databases (GALE, Historic Newspapers) are catalog in our main catalog, as are books in HathiTrust. As a result, our main catalog is an excellent way to find primary sources. Limit the search to your time period of interest to find primary sources. You can also add the following words to a search to find republished primary sources:

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autobiography/autobiographies
correspondence
description and travel
diary/diaries
documents
early works to 1800
interview/interviews
journal
letters
pamphlets
personal narratives
trials
sources
speeches

United States

History Vault [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
Researchers can access digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and many more primary source materials taken from the University Publications of America (UPA) Collections. Includes multiple sub-collections in broad subject areas like Civil Rights; Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War; American Indians and the American West; American Politics and Society; International Relations and Military Conflicts; Women's Studies; and Workers and Labor Unions. Focus of American History primary sources is largely after 1775.
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West's Response to Jewish Emigration This link opens in a new window
Resettlement of refugees from Europe during the Nazi era. Memoranda, records, government documents, correspondence, and other files from the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1938-1948.
This collection comprises, in its entirety, the Primary Source Media microfilm collection entitled Records of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, 1938-1947.
Papers of Woodrow Wilson This link opens in a new window
The ROTUNDA Digital Edition includes the complete contents of the landmark letterpress edition of the papers, with nearly 35,000 documents across 69 volumes. Coverage: 1856-1924.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a broad range of previously classified federal records from 1900 to within the current decade, including intelligence studies, policy papers, diplomatic correspondence, cabinet meeting minutes, briefing materials, and domestic surveillance and military reports. Coverage: 1900-2008.

Artstor: World War I and II Posters and Postcards
The University of Minnesota Libraries has contributed more than 5,700 images of posters and postcards from World Wars I and II to the Artstor Digital Library. The collection includes posters produced by governments, charitable organizations and commercial businesses from around the world from 1914-1945 dealing with wartime issues.

UK, Germany and Soviet Union

Psychological Warfare and Propaganda in World War II This link opens in a new window
Most items in this collection were dropped by the Allies over German occupied territory, many printed in more than 10 languages. Only shelled leaflets, Germans to Allies (115 items), are in English. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1939-1945.
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diariesincludes the immediate experiences of approximately 500 women, as revealed in over 100,000 pages of diaries and letters. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. The collection now includes primary materials spanning more than 300 years. Each source has been carefully chosen using leading bibliographies. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database. Coverage: 1500-1950
Economy and War in the Third Reich, 1933-1944 This link opens in a new window
The German economic situation during the Third Reich up to and throughout World War II. Statistical data from three official German publications. In German and English. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1933-1944.
Papers of Neville Chamberlain This link opens in a new window
The Papers of Neville Chamberlain contain political papers documenting his policies as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister, but also highlight his personal correspondence with his family. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1869-1940.

Artstor: World War 1 and II Posters and Postcards
The University of Minnesota Libraries has contributed more than 5,700 images of posters and postcards from World Wars I and II to the Artstor Digital Library. The collection includes posters produced by governments, charitable organizations and commercial businesses from around the world from 1914-1945 dealing with wartime issues.

Japan and China

Japan at War and Peace, 1930-1949: U.S. State Department Records on the Internal Affairs of Japan This link opens in a new window
International politics, history, intellectual trends, and economics. Special reports, interviews, statistics, court proceedings, letters, translations of documents, etc. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1930-1949.
Political Relations and Conflict Between Republican China and Imperial Japan This link opens in a new window
The records of the U.S. State Department in this collection relate to political relations between China and Japan. The records are mostly instructions to and despatches from diplomatic and consular officials; the despatches are often accompanied by enclosures. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1930-1939.