Primary Sources - Newspapers
Always keep in mind that primary sources use the language of a particular place and time. Words may be spelled differently, and terms used to refer to events or people may vary from more recent usage.
When searching for information related to an event, use the limits in the database to narrow your search to a particular date or period of time. This will eliminate later material on the same subject from your search results.
- The Times (London) Archive (1785-1985)Search the complete digital edition of The Times (London) to retrieve PDFs of either a specific article or a complete page.
- The Guardian (1821-2003) and The Observer (1791-2003)
Full text coverage of the British newspapers The Guardian (1821-2003) and The Observer (1791-2003)
- New York Times, Historical (1851-2020)
Full text coverage of the entire New York Times newspaper from 1851-2020
- Missouri Digital Newspaper ProjectDigitized historical Missouri newspapers
Websites
- EuropeanaProvides access to Europe's digital cultural heritage; includes a collection of material related to World War I
- EurodocsProvides links to open access primary sources for European history, some with English translations
- 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World WarAn encyclopedia giving a transnational overview of World War I
- British PathéA collection of 220,000 news films from 1896-1984
- Imperial War Museum CollectionsSearchable collections from British museums that include art, photos, film, audio, and more related to conflicts from World War I to the present
- British Library World War One CollectionContains information about historical sources from across Europe along with articles written by historians
- Sassoon JournalsNotebooks kept by British soldier and poet Siegfried Sassoon during World War I
- WWI Diary of Albert HuetA diary and other materials related to the experiences of a French soldier in World War I
- German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)A collection of German historical materials with English translations
- Seventeen Moments in Soviet HistoryA multimedia archive of primary sources from the Soviet Union with English translations
Primary and Secondary Sources - Books
To find books in our library and other UM System libraries, search here. Use the "Place Request" link to borrow books from the other libraries.
Search for specific books by author or title, or do a keyword search to find books on a particular topic. Remember to put phrases in quotation marks ("Prague Spring") to search the words together.
Search tip for primary sources: To find primary sources in books, try adding one of the following to your keywords: diaries, personal narratives, documents, sources, oral history, interviews, speeches, and correspondence.
Find even more books by searching the MOBIUS catalog, which contains the holdings of over 60 Missouri libraries. Use the "Request" button to have materials sent to our library.
Books generally take between 2 and 5 business days to arrive from another Missouri library. You will receive an email when they are available to check out.
Primary Sources - Oral Histories
- Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust TestimoniesProvides testimonies of people with first-hand experience of the Nazi persecutions. Instructions for viewing: Visit this website first to create an account. Then submit a request to view any individual testimony. All videos should be available to view once access is approved by email.
- Visual History Archive | USC Shoah FoundationContains more than 55,000 video testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocide; users must create a free account to view the videos
Secondary Sources - Articles
- Academic Search PremierA multidisciplinary database providing articles from thousands of journals, many of them available in full text
Secondary Sources - Journal Collections
This database is a collection of journals covering many subjects, including history and European studies. Pro tip: To get fewer results, use the Advanced Search to select specific subject journal collections to search rather than searching the entire database.
- JSTOR
JSTOR provides access to PDFs of articles from scholarly journals in a wide range of disciplines, including the arts, business and economics, language and literature, history, political science, philosophy, and more. Coverage extends back to the 19th century for some journals, but content from recent years is generally not accessible.
Primary and Secondary Sources - Films
- Films on DemandView documentaries on topics related to European history as well as primary sources like newsreels and archival video
