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World War II  

world war; WWII; military history
Last Updated: Jan 31, 2013 URL: http://hbl.gcc.libguides.com/ww2 Print Guide RSS UpdatesShareThis

Starting your Research: Tools and Tips Print Page
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World War II Notes

Important Names, Dates, & Facts: 

  • 1939-1945
  • World War II is also known as "the Good War"
  • Presidents during the War -- Franklin Roosevelt, 1939 - April 1945; Harry Truman, April 1945 - 1952
  • Bookends to US active involvement: 12/7/1941 - Pearl Harbor attacked by Japanese; Dropping of atombic bomb on Hiroshima (8/6/1945) and Nagasaki (8/9/1945)
  • No armistice for WWII -- allies took the war into Germany to Hitler's front stoop and into Japan and drubbed both into submission
  • V-E Day (Victory in Europe) = May 8, 1945
  • V-J Day (Victory in Japan) = August 14, 1945 

Important Associated Happenings:

  • Lend-Lease
  • Manhattan Project
  • Internment camps for Japanese/Americans
  • Holocaust
  • Nuremberg war crimes trials (also lesser publicized Japanese war crimes trials)

Important Outcomes/Changes because of the War

  • United Nations
  • Nationhood of Israel -- direct response to world reaction to Holocaust
  • Nuclear age
  • Integration of armed forces
  • Women moved from the home to the work force -- effect on marriage, children, labor...
  • GI Bill
 

Librarian's Research Tips:

Start with some background reading. While it is tempting to start your research by identifying available books and articles, this process will be very time-consuming if you have not read up on your topic.

Use some of the reference databases and/or books recommended on this guide to help you locate important names, dates, and keywords. Using this strategy, research is often better and takes less time!

 

Many resources include a bibliography. Use them to locate other books, journals, web sites, etc.

 
After you have completed your background reading and developed a good list of keywords, you are ready to move onto the next step: Finding Books.

 

Chronologies & Maps

Wars of the Americas: a Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere
Call Number: Oversz E 18.75 .M374 2008 v.1-2
This works provides a detailed chronology of the events of military conflict involving the Americas beginning in 1492 and continuing through modern times.

Volume 2 begins with the American Revolution continues into the 21st century.

The Army Air Forces in World War II: Combat Chronology, 1941-1945
Call Number: D 790 .C29 1975
Compiled for the Historical Research Center, Air University and Office of Air Force History.

Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945: the Naval History of World War II
Call Number: D 770 .R5913 2005
Published by the Naval Institute Press

United States Military Academy Atlases
Includes atlases depicting individual battles from ancient times through modern Iraq, including WWI.

World War II Military Situation Maps
Part of American Memory, this site "contains maps showing troop positions beginning on June 6, 1944 to July 26, 1945. Starting with the D-Day Invasion, the maps give daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe, showing the progress of the Allied Forces as they push towards Germany."

 

Great Sources for Background Reading - Databases

  • Salem History Online
    Full-text access to the Great Lives & Great Events Encyclopedias, which provide overviews of important events and major figures throughout history. Volumes begin with the ancient world and continue through the 20th century.

    Also available in print.
    Check HENRY for call numbers.
  • Cambridge Histories Online
    Includes histories in a number of subject areas, including: American Foreign Relations, Economic History, Modern History, Political Thought, and others.
  • World at War: Conflict and Society
    Provides overviews of 26 conflicts, including opponents, causes, consequences, timelines, and primary sources.
  • Encyclopedia of War
    This encyclopedia covers all aspects of war, including battles, culture and society, key figures, strategy and tactics, and weapons, across all continents and all periods of human history.
 

Great Sources for Background Reading - Print

20th Century
Call Number: Ref D 421 .P87 v. 1-20
Includes overviews of countries and important topics throughout the twentieth century, supplemented by numerous primary source photographs, art works, advertisements, and the like.

War Since 1900
Call Number: Ref U 21.2 .W3775 2010
Examines war as a catalyst for change in the twentieth century, discussing the two world wars, post-World War II anticolonial conflicts, the Cold War, and conflict in the Middle East since 1945, with special features on technological innovations in warfare.

Encyclopedia of War & American Society
Call Number: Ref E 181 .E634 2006 v.1-3
Covers topics surrounding wartime ranging from art, culture, and memory to education to religion, as well as coverage of key people and the wars themselves. Primary sources are available for each military conflict in Volume 3.

The Second World War
Call Number: Ref D 743 .S42 1989
A three-volume set published by the U.S. Military Academy Department of History.

The Second World War
Call Number: D 743 .S38 2007
A seven-volume collection of articles about the war in Germany and Japan, the home front, the Holocaust, causes & background, and alliance politics & grand strategy.

American Women During World War II: An Encyclopedia
Call Number: Ref D 810 .W7 W435 2010
Includes entries on a wide range of topics related to women's history and issues during WWII, from advertising to opposition to the war to war brides. Bibliographies are included.

History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series
Call Number: See Henry for Call Numbers
A featured example is Grand Strategy by J.R.M. Butler -- considered to be the "official military history of the war."
Call Number: D 743 .B83 1956 vols. 2, 3, 5, 6

Click on the link above to access the complete list of the available titles.

Encyclopedia of the Holocaust
Call Number: Ref D 804.3 .E53 1990 v.1-4
This four-volume encyclopedia includes entries on cities, countries, people, movements, organizations, etc. Bibliographies are listed with each entry.

Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy
Call Number: Ref E 183.7 .E52 2002 v.1-3
Includes signed entries and substantial bibliographies on a number of subjects, including Wilson's diplomacy.

Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History
Call Number: Ref E 183 .E53 2009 v.1-7
Entries cover people, states, conflicts, political issues, and more from colonial times to the present. Articles include quality bibliographies.

The Army Air Forces in World War II
Call Number: D 790 .A47 1948 v.1-7
A collection of articles covering 1939-1945, including Europe, the Pacific, and other parts of the world, as well as military training.

Dictionary of American History
Call Number: Ref E 174 . D52 2003 v.1-10
Includes information on wars, states, social movements, political parties, voting and more. Volume 9 includes maps and primary sources.

The Thirties in America
Call Number: Ref E 169.1 .T475 2011 v.1-3
An encyclopedia of the popular culture, people, and events of the 1930s.

Also available online via Salem History Online.

The Forties in America
Call Number: Ref E 169.12 .F676 2011 v.1-3
An encyclopedia of the popular culture, people, and events of the 1940s.

Also available online via Salem History Online.

 

World War II -- Instruction Notes

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Instruction Librarian

 

Kim Marks
Reference/Instruction Librarian
Office: Library -- Room 205
Email: ksmarks@gcc.edu
724.450.1532

My Reference Hours

 

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