HIST 150: Memoirs of World War II Germany (Fall 2024)

Secondary Sources are materials written after the event. Examples:

• Books
• Articles
• Documentaries

Primary Sources are the direct historic article or event being examined, or contemporary materials about the event. Examples:

• Original Documents
• letters, books, memoirs, diaries -- anything written at the time

NOTE: Whether a a source is primary or secondary depends on the topic being studied. Example:

Misha is a terrible primary source if your topic is Memoirs from WW2, but it could be a really interesting primary source is your topic is profiteering through the Memory of WW2 in the 1990s

Use the following subject terms in the main library catalog to find other diaries and memoirs:

Key Subject Headings  

• "Personal Narratives"
• Diaries
• Biography
• Autobiography
• Diaries

Important Note

Use the catalog to find primary sources by narrowing the publication date.

EX if I'm interested in a primary source about higher education in Germany during WW2:

example 1

example 2

• Language has changed over the centuries, and it is often difficult to speak like - and think like - our ancestors, even in the 20th century.

  Words like college, race, gender meant different things.

• Most primary source databases will have "thematic" filters to get you started. Before keyword searching, start there. See what curated documents come up. From those documents, see what terminology is being used by contemporaries.   

• Begin with basic searches and do not be too complicated.  DO NOT USE TOO MANY TERMS AT ONCE

• Be sure to use period-specific language.

• Do NOT search a bunch of terms. This will give more, not less, false its.

• Pick keywords carefully -- remember that words and their meaning change over time
• Use the database limiting tools (publication date, place of publication, etc) to limit results. Do this instead of adding more search terms. 
• Use boolean (and or not) to make the best searches.