Archives

The Museum archives collects in a number of areas distinct from the artifacts on exhibition. Collections of letters illustrating aspects of World War II life, diaries, journals and log books, photograph albums, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, leaflets and all the other materials that reflect and give insight into life during the war are collected.

Of particular importance and interest are these collections:

PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS.

These are mainly German soldier's but no area is not represented, from extraordinary photographs taken from American bombers to extensive collections taken by Russian soldiers, the building of the Burma Road, training in Hawaii, the invasion of Europe, the war inside Germany and photograph albums made by the first soldiers to enter the concentration camps. About 750 albums comprise the current archive.

PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS.

The collection of aerial leaflets dropped by planes or fired by artillery shells by all sides is virtually complete. Beginning with German leaflets to the French dropped during the "phony War", British leaflets to the Germans, leaflets dropped over London during the Blitz, Allied propaganda to the occupied countries, Germans to the Russians, the Russians to the Germans, extraordinarily rare leaflets delivered by V1 and V2 rockets and equally comprehensive archives in the Japanese war, the collections number well over 10,000 leaflets.

PHOTOGRAPHS.

HIGH QUALITY photographs, particularly news photo archives are collected in all areas. Presently over 20,000 are in the archives.

BLACK PROPAGANDA.

The most fascinating area of propaganda, black, appears to orginate from one source when it is actually created by the opposition. German black was never well done and had no impact; British on the other hand was very cleverly done and very effective. This collection includes forged currency, postage stamps, newspapers, official army discharge documents, fake ration stamps, identity papers-just about everything was forged by the British. This section incorporates the collections of the pioneer collectors in this field and is exceeded only by the British Library.

FRENCH RESISTANCE.

Newspapers, handbills, posters, documents, leaflets and other printed pieces. This collection was formed by a Frenchman starting in 1945 and is very comprhensive.

RUSSIAN INVASION.

The German plans including archives on the plans to strip Russia of its natural resources, a complete set of the invasion maps and booklets and bombing and artillery target maps.

PRISONERS OF WAR.

This is an area that I have been particularly interested in collecting because of my own fascination with how people survived. Diaries written on cigarette paper and other available materials, both from Japanese camps and German ones stress the boredom and longing for home.

DOUGLAS MACARTHUR.

The archives of MacArthur's Chief of Staff for Public Relations, are at the Museum and give an extraordinary insight into his life and actions from the Japannese air raid on Manila the day after Pearl Harbor, through the evacuation from Corregidor, the return to the Phillipines and the Japannese surrender.

OTHER AREAS.

Other areas in the archive reflect what I have been particularly interested in as well as what I have been able to find. The D-Day archives, for example, reflect numerous trips to Normandy acquiring the artifacts on display and the acquisition of the collections of several private D-Day museums in Normandy.