Rapatronic Nuclear Photographs
Unique images of early nuclear explosions
15: World War II
Hiroshima Directory
Hiroshima Directory offers Internet resources as well as a selected bibliography of printed books, articles, and other research materials regarding the bombing of Hiroshima. Its main foci are history and the arts.
The Hiroshima Myth by John V. Denson
Site to accompany book that argues the Japanese were willing to surrender before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Modern History: The Atomic Bomb
Decision to drop the bomb lesson plan from Columbia University, East Asian Curriculum Project
Hiroshima: The Henry Stimson Diary and Papers (part 1)
Excerpts from Sec. of War Henry Stimson's diary and papers that have relevance to the atomic bombing of Japan from Yale University Library
Naval dispatch Pearl Harbor
Naval dispatch from the Commander in Chief Pacific (CINCPAC) announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.
"Negro-Japanese Fifth Column Possible" 1942
Newspaper article warning San Francisco of attempts by Japanese to recruit African-Americans in their war effort against the United States
EyeWitness To World War Two
long, annotated list of primary sources with links.
Report of the Joint Congressional Investigation of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Lend-Lease Act (1941)
Passed on March 11, 1941, this act set up a system that would allow the United States to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed "vital to the defense of the United States."
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)
On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered this "Day of Infamy Speech." Immediately afterward, Congress declared war, and the United States entered World War II.
Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941)
In June of 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. The order also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new policy.
Surrender of Germany (1945)
This instrument of surrender was signed on May 7, 1945, at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters in Rheims by Gen. Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the German Army. At the same time, he signed three other surrender documents, one each for Great Britain, Russia, and France.
Manhattan Project Notebook (1945)
This notebook records an experiment of the Manhattan Project, the all-out, but highly secret, effort of the Federal Government to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Recorded here is the world's first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, achieved on December 2, 1942.
Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)
Issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, this order authorized the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland.
Surrender of Japan (1945)
Aboard the USS Missouri, this instrument of surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, by the Japanese envoys Foreign Minister Mamora Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu.
United Nations Charter (1945)
On June 26, 1945, in San Francisco, the United Nations was established. Article 111 of its charter indicated that "The present Charter, of which the Chinese, French, Russian, English, and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America. Duly certified copies thereof shall be transmitted by that Government to the Governments of the other signatory states."
Exchange of Letters Between Churchill and Roosevelt on American Contributions for British Relief
World War II Conscientious Objectors Project
Many issues studies from the University of Illinois at Springfield Oral History Collection
The Political Dr. Seuss
Examines Seuss's political views shaped by World War II and illustrated in his cartoons.
Dr. Seuss Went to War
Examines Seuss's political views shaped by World War II and illustrated in his cartoons.
GI -- World War II images
This collection of photographs from the National Archives provides a pictoral history of a select group of events from World War II
Fly Girls PBS
Companion site for American Experience documentary. Includes timeline and extra information of people and events in film
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
World War II Poster Collection from Northwestern University Library
The Government and Geographic Information and Data Services Department at Northwestern University Library has a comprehensive collection of over 300 posters issued by U.S. Federal agencies from the onset of war through 1945.
Vogue Picture Records, 1946-1947.
Approximately seventy-four titles were produced by Sav-Way Industries of Detroit, Michigan from May 1946 through August 1947 which are highly prized by collectors for their colorful designs. Images from 12 discs are reproduced here
Map of Japanese Internment Camps
Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive (JARDA)
Personal and official photographs, letters and diaries, transcribed oral histories, art. Be sure to check lesson plans
A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the Constitution
Interactive galleries that combine music, text and first-person accounts. Based on 800 artifacts in Smithsonian collection
Japanese American Internment - Smithsonian Education
Online exhibit of materials from the Smithsonian Institute