HIS242H5: Contemporary European History

PERIOD COVERED: from the 18th – 1918 or 21st centuries
This includes:
— Bills: drafts of legislation, to be reviewed through various parliamentary stages.
— House of Commons Papers: documents resulting from the work of the House of Commons.
— Command Papers: government papers conveying information or decisions the Government wishes to draw to attention of the House, presented ‘by Command of Her Majesty’.
The latter two categories breakdown further into:
— — Reports of Committees: Select or the Whole House. Appointed to investigate issues of concern.
— — Reports of Commissioners: commissions appointed by the Crown to investigate social problems, to conduct inquiries into events, and as a preparation for legislation.
— — Accounts: statistical information, originating primarily from the Treasury, the Board of Trade and the War Office/Admiralty.
— — Papers: correspondence from ambassadors, governors, army officers abroad; commercial, trade and navigation accounts, statistical abstracts: judicial, taxation, etc; census data; slavery and slave trade documents; treaties.

— Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980
— Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan 1834 - 1922
— Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966
— Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969
— Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
— Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961
— Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980
— Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980
— Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952
— Foreign Office Files for the Middle East, 1971-1981
— Foreign Office Files for Southeast Asia, 1963-1980
— Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963
— The Nixon Years, 1969-1974
— Women in The National Archives, UK

PERIOD COVERED: 1898 – 1990
This database is the online version of three print content sets:
— British Documents on the Origins of War (1898-1914), which includes documents related to the Anglo-German tensions leading to World War I
— Documents on British Foreign Policy (1918-1939), which addresses post-war settlement, re-armament, and growing tensions in Europe, Africa, and the Far East
— Documents on British Policy Overseas (1946-present), which covers topics such as atomic energy, the Korean Conflict, and the Cold War

— The Security Service (MI5): KV 2, KV 3 & KV 4
— The Ministry of Defence: Communications and Intelligence Records: DEFE 21, DEFE 26, DEFE 28, DEFE 31, DEFE 41, DEFE 44, DEFE 60, DEFE 62, DEFE 63 & DEFE 64
— The Special Operations Executive: HS 7 & HS 8
— The Colonial Office: Intelligence and Security Departments: Registered Files (ISD Series): CO 1035
— The Cabinet Office: CAB 56, CAB 121, CAB 176 & CAB 301, and more.

Topics British and European History include, for example, Poland: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1963, Turkey, Greece, and the Balkan States: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1930-1944, and so forth.
Topics Holocaust Studies include, The Jewish Question: Records from the Berlin Document Center and Holocaust and the Concentration Camp Trials: Prosecution of Nazi War Crimes.

The collection provides access to British government secret intelligence and foreign policy files from 1873 to 1953, with the majority of files dating from the 1930s and 1940s.
The resource spans four key twentieth century conflicts: the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, the early years of the Cold War and the Korean War.

— U.S. Military Intelligence Reports, 1911-1944
— U.S. Diplomatic Post Records, 1914-1945
— World War I: British Foreign Office Political Correspondence, 1914-1920
— CIA Cold War Research Reports and Records on Communism in China and Eastern Europe (1917-1976)
— Creation of Israel: British Foreign Office Correspondence on Palestine and Transjordan, 1940-1948
— World War II: U.S. Documents on Planning, Operations, Intelligence, Axis War Crimes, and Refugees
— Office of Strategic Services (OSS)-State Department Intelligence and Research Reports, 1941-1961
— Nazi Looted Art and Assets: Records on the Post-World War II Restitution Process (1942-1998)
— Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, Africa and Middle East, 1960-1969
— Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, Asia, 1960-1969
— Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, Europe and Latin America, 1960-1969
— Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975

Formerly classified U.S. government documents (most of them classified Top Secret or higher).
This provides record about the successes and failures of the U.S. intelligence community in its efforts to spy on the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It includes more than 800,000 pages of original documents, produced between 1874 and 1965, ranging from Winston S. Churchill’s personal correspondence to his official exchanges with kings, presidents, politicians, and military leaders.

PERIOD COVERED: 1900s–2010s
The collections cover, for example, British Home Office Registered Papers Regarding British Fascists and Suspected Nazi Sympathisers, Searchlight Oral Histories Collection, Leaflets, Stickers, Posters, Electoral Ephemera from Fascist and Anti-Fascist Groups, and The American Radicalism Collection.

It offers primary sources for Western trade, encompassing the coal, iron, and steel industries, the railway industry, the cotton industry, banking and finance, and the emergence of the modern corporation. It also offers resources in the role of finance and taxation and the growth of the early modern monarchy.
PART II: 1851–1914
PART III: 1890–1945
The collection includes more than 30 percent of the content in non-English languages.
The majority of the material within this collection was collected by one man, Herbert Foxwell (1849-1936), a preeminent British economist and one of the most important collectors of economics literature.

PERIOD COVERED: 1650-1942
— Colonial Discourses Series 3: Colonial fiction, 1712-1933
— The official and personal papers of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, 1898-1905, from the India Office Records
— The Empire Writes Back Part 1: Indian views on Britain and Empire, 1810-1915
— India during the Raj: Eyewitness Accounts
— India in the Age of Empire: The journals of Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812-1881) from the Bodleian Library, Oxford
— Indian Newspaper Reports, c. 1868-1942

[Royal Institute of International Affairs] Key research topics covered in the archive include:
— Diplomacy and international relations
— Energy, environment, and development
— International economics, trade, and business
— International and national politics
— International security and law
— Global health security
The archive provides researchers with coverage of every region of the world, including Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Eurasia.

— Module 1: Publications and Archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1920-1979
— Module 2: Publications and Archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1980-2008

PERIOD COVERED: 19th to 21st centuries
Predominantly covers the US, UK, and Canada
The thematic areas includes:
Women's Suffrage, Feminism, The Men's Movement, Employment and Labour, The Body, Conduct and Politeness, Domesticity and the Family, Government and Politics, Legislation and Legal Cases, etc.

[Archives Unbound] PERIOD COVERED: 1914 - 1918
The First World War had a revolutionary and permanent impact on the personal, social and professional lives of all women. Their essential contribution to the war in Europe is documented in this definitive collection of primary source materials brought together in the Imperial War Museum, London.

PERIOD COVERED: 1937-1967
This resource covers the original Mass Observation project, the bulk of which was carried out from 1937 until the mid-1950s, offering an unparalleled insight into everyday life in Britain during these transformative years.
The material covers:
— The end of the ‘Hungry Thirties’ when the impact of the Depression was still being felt;
— The onset of war, the Blitz and war on the home front;
— The post-war world, with the rise of consumerism and television.

Music, Politics, Fashion, Youth Culture – the period from 1950 to 1975 witnessed dramatic changes in society. There was the onset of Rock & Roll; the introduction of computers and credit cards; the boom of radio and television; and campaigns for black power, civil rights and women’s liberation. All around the world there were challenges to authority.

The (London) Times is the world's oldest continuously published newspaper.

The Sunday Times launched itself on the world on Oct. 20th, 1822, promising to instill "an invigorating spirit" in its readership, and uphold the freedom of the press against those "emperors, kings, and their ministers" who would stifle it.
Despite the similarity of names, The Sunday Times was an entirely separate paper from The Times until 1st January 1967, when both papers came under the common ownership of Times Newspapers Ltd. To this day, The Sunday Times remains editorially independent from The Times with its own remit and perspective on the news.

With its debut in 1842, the Illustrated London News became the world's first fully illustrated weekly newspaper. The publication presented a vivid picture of British and world events – including news of war, disaster, ceremonies, the arts, and science. For example,
― Military History: War artists were sent to cover the 1848 revolution in France, the Crimean War, the American Civil War, the Boer War, and World Wars I and II
― Politics: Fine illustrations chronicle the great statesmen of the Victorian era, including Peel, Wellington , Palmerston, Disraeli, and Gladstone and their cabinets. The ILN also documents the major players during the two world wars and the years in between
― Social History: Illustrated coverage of servants, female suffrage, strikes, homes, crime, leisure, emigration, and religion

Over 8,000 issues will provide:
— Editorials, news, commentary and letters that afford insight into British, European, American, and world affairs
— Country reports, industry reports, supplements, and surveys that offer the ability to track regional trends and forecasts.
— Special surveys and supplements on countries and industries that offer perspectives on markets and geographies

PERIDO COVERED: 1845-2015 (20th century)
This collection covers Communist, Socialist and Marxist thought, theory and practice. Issues covered include workers’ rights, organized labor, labor strikes, Nazi atrocities, McCarthyism’s rise after WWII, Civil Rights, and modern-day class struggles which give rise to renewed interest in alternative social organizations.
Most of the periodicals were published in the U.S. and London (U.K.).

Launched in 1855, The Telegraph is generally seen by press historians as the start of a new era of journalism that emerged following the repeal of stamp duty and signalling the first step towards the mass-market journalism of The Daily Mail.
Directed at a wealthy, well-educated readership, the newspaper is commonly associated with traditional Toryism despite its more liberal beginnings, especially in regard to foreign policy.

The paper began as a City of London news sheet and grew to become one of the best-known and most-respected newspapers in the world.
Initially focused on the global financial and economic issues that were to become the predominant forces of the twentieth century, the Financial Times expanded coverage in the postwar years, reporting on topics such as industry, energy, and international politics.

Described by the New Yorker as "the newspaper that rules Britain," the Daily Mail has been at the heart of British journalism since 1896, regularly changing the course of government policy and setting the national debate. It currently boasts a circulation of over 2 million, and its website is the most visited news site in the world.

Founded in 1903, the (Daily) Mirror plays a pivotal role in the history of journalism. Peaking in 1967, with a daily circulation of 5.25 million, the newspaper has had a history full of highs and lows. Today, it is the only mainstream left-wing tabloid remaining in the UK.

The Listener was a weekly publication, established by the BBC in 1929 as the medium for reproducing radio - and later, television - programmes in print. It is our only record and means of accessing the content of many early broadcasts. With major contributors including E. M. Forster, George Orwell and Bertrand Russell, it also provided an important platform for new writers and poets; W. H. Auden, Sylvia Plath and Philip Larkin being notable examples. As well as expanding on the intellectual broadcasts of the week, The Listener also discussed major literary and musical programmes. 10% of its content was not connected to broadcasting at all, and it regularly reviewed new books.

PERIOD COVERED: 1939-1948
The collection contains a range of both rare and well-known wartime publications for soldiers serving in major theatres around the world.
Publications are included from many key nations involved in the conflict, such as Great Britain (over 119), U.S. (64), New Zealand (48), Germany (17), Canada (16), South Africa (10), and so forth. Both Allied and Axis publications are presented.

Picture Post's innovative use of photojournalism captured the imagination of the British people. In the era before television, it became the window on the world for ordinary people, bringing the major social and political issues of the day into popular consciousness.

The newspaper was originally set up as the European edition of the New York Herald, a newspaper that was closed down in 1966, at which point the European paper changed its name to the International Herald Tribune. It has always had an independent editorial spirit from its various US sister papers, and has a strong focus on objective reporting of international news.

PERIOD COVERED: 1558 - 1945
The collection spans more than 400 years of personal writings, bringing together the voices of women from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Interview Dates: 1930s–2000s
Historical Events are about U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865, World War I, 1914-1918, World War II, 1939-1945, Cold War, 1945-1989, Korean Conflict, 1950-1953, Vietnam Conflict, 1955-1975, Persian Gulf War, 1991, and so forth.

[Yale University] 4,400 testimonies
The Fortunoff Archive and its affiliates recorded the testimonies of willing individuals with first-hand experience of the Nazi persecutions, including those who were in hiding, survivors, bystanders, resistants, and liberators.
Visit How to Connect to the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

The collection includes over 54,000 video testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocide. Many testimonies are from the Holocaust, and so forth. It also includes testimonies about contemporary acts of violence against Jews.

Include: — French Poetry: selected works from middle ages to the 20th century.
— Philosophical works in French from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
— Histories of the French Revolution from 1789 to the 20th century.
— The ARTFL subscriber edition of Les Dictionnaires d'autrefois containing 16 complete dictionaries from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

This collection contains many films that were produced during the decades of the 1930s and 1940s in U.S. and some British and Danish films. Film production companies/Studios include Warner Brothers, RKO Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, and so forth.
Genres include war, which also includes National Socialist German Workers' Party and Adolf Hitler.