World War II Archives

The following archives are those I have come across so far for Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States and the Vatican.  I would welcome suggestions for additions to the list.

Australia

• Australian War Memorial: See in particular the page “Researching Australian Military Service: Second World War, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF): https://www.awm.gov.au/research/infosheets/raaf_ww2/.  For the home page, go to https://www.awm.gov.au/.

Belgium

• Archives and Documentation Service of the Department of War Victims (Service Archives et Documentation du Service des Victimes de la Guerre), Belgium: http://www.socialsecurity.fgov.be/fr/nieuws-publicaties/bibliotheek/bibliotheek-oorlogsslachtoffers.htm

• Belgian Armed Forces, Center for Historic Documentation (Centre de Documentation Historique des Forces Armées): http://www.mil.be/is/units/index.asp?LAN=fr&ID=1210

• Belgian State Archives (Rijksarchief in België)): http://arch.arch.be/index.php?lang=nl_BE

• Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (CEGES-SOMA), Brussels: (French) http://www.cegesoma.be/cms/index_fr.php, (English) http://www.cegesoma.be/cms/index_en.php

• Directorate-General War Victims (Belgium): http://warvictims.fgov.be/en/index.htm

Canada

• Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, Directorate of History and Heritage: http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/index-eng.asp

• Library and Archives, Canada, Ottawa, Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html

France

• Archives Nationales (French National Archives): http://www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/.  For their records on WWII Resistance organizations, go to: http://chan.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/sdx-23b1-20090531-chan-pleade-2/pl/toc/FRAN_72AJ_35_89.xhtml?id=FRAN_72AJ_35_89_d0e78507&lang=fr&mode=sync#FRAN_72AJ_35_89_d0e78507.

• Institute of History of Time Present (French WWII archives – Institut d’histoire du temps présent): http://www.ihtp.cnrs.fr/

• Service Historique de la Defense (SHD), Fort de Vincennes, France: http://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/

Germany

• German Military Archives: http://www.bundesarchiv.de/bundesarchiv/organisation/abteilung_ma/index.html.en

• International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen, Germany: http://www.its-arolsen.org/en/homepage/index.html

Netherlands

• Amsterdam City Archives (Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsarchief): http://stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl/ (English: http://stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl/english/home.en.html

• ARCHIEVEN.NL: http://www.archieven.nl/nl/.  According to this site, it is supported by 85 participating organizations, contains 100 million descriptions of records, refers to 55 million people, and includes 3000 historical institutions or websites.  See also  http://kranten.kb.nl/.  This website allows you to search for particular words or persons in city archives in The Netherlands.

• Beeldbank Noord-Holland (Image Bank North Holland), Alkmaar, North Holland: http://www.beeldbank-nh.nl/

• Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum: http://www.brabantsarchief.nl/

• Database of the Righteous Among the Nations from the Netherlands and Ukraine: http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/search.html?language=en

• Foundation War and Resistance Center Groningen (OVCG):http://www.ovmg.nl/

• Gelders Archief: http://www.geldersarchief.nl/.  Gelderland includes the city of Arnhem.  For WWII holdings, gto directly to http://www.geldersarchief.nl/tweede-wereldoorlog.  For the Boree collection, click here.

• Netherlands Red Cross (Nederlandse Rode Kruis).  Their archive of correspondence relating to WWII was turned over to NIOD (see below) in 2018.

• Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD), Amsterdam:http://www.niod.knaw.nl/.  For English, go to: http://www.niod.nl/default.asp.  For information on the LO/LKP archival records (Collectie Stichting LO-LKP): http://www.niod.knaw.nl/actueel/actueel_detail.asp?ID=766.  To go directly to the index to their newspaper clipping (knipsels) file, see: http://www.niod.knaw.nl/sites/niod.nl/files/KnipselcollectieNIOD.pdf.
  

• Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH), The Hague: http://www.defensie.nl/english.  For their military history collections, go to http://www.defensie.nl/english/topics/military-history-collections/contents/documentation.

• Netherlands Ministry of Defence (Ministerie de Defensie): http://www.defensie.nl/ (English: http://www.defensie.nl/english/)

• Netherlands National Archives (Nationaal Archief):http://www.en.nationaalarchief.nl/.  For their Inventaris van de collectie van het Bureau Registratie en Informatie Ontslagen Personeel (BRIOP), gevormd uit archieven van de Ordedienst, de Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten, het Militair Gezag en van andere organisaties, (1934), 1940-1947 (2003), go to http://web.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=181860&part=2.

• Stichting 1940-1945 (Foundation 1940-1945), Netherlands:http://www.st4045.nl/

• The Hague City Archives (Het Haags Gemeentearchief): http://www.denhaag.nl/home/bewoners/de-gemeente-Den-Haag/Haags-gemeentearchief.htm

• The Hague Municipal Image Database: http://www.haagsebeeldbank.nl/thema

• Tilburg Regional Archive (Tilburg Regionaal Archief): http://www.regionaalarchieftilburg.nl/

• War and Resistance Center Groningen (The Netherlands) (Stichting Oorlogs- en Verzetscentrum Groningen (OVCG): http://www.ovcg.nl/

United Kingdom

• Archives Hub (a centralized resource for all UK archives): http://archiveshub.ac.uk/.  To conduct a search of archives at 220 institutions, go to: http://archiveshub.ac.uk/search.html.

• Daily Telegraph, Britain at War, archived articles: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/britainatwar/

• Gibraltar Archives: http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/gibraltar-archives

• Imperial War Museum: http://www.iwm.org.uk/.  Imperial War Museum Collections: http://collections.iwm.org.uk/.

• National Archives (British), Kew, (formerly the Public Record Office):http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/.  See also their Bookshop and its WWII selection of books at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/bookshop/category.aspx?c=76.

• Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Archive: http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/

• Second World War Experience Centre: http://www.war-experience.org/

• WW2 People’s War, an archive of World War Two memories — written by the public, gathered by the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/categories/.  This site contains 47,000 stories organized by event, home front, armed services, type of activity, etc.

United States

• Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA):http://www.afhra.af.mil/.  To contact them, go to http://www.afhra.af.mil/main/contactus.asp.

• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives WWII-era records available online: http://archives.jdc.org/about-us/articles/jdc-world-war-ii-era-records.html.

• FBI World War II documents electronic reading room: http://vault.fbi.gov/world-war-ii

• Hoover Institution, Stanford University: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives.  The papers of John Henry Weidner, head of the Dutch-Paris Line are at: http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10178748

• Library of Congress Web Guides, A Guide to World War II Materials: http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/WW2/WW2bib.html

• National Archives II, College Park, Maryland (National Archives and Records Administration) :  http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park/.  Archives Library Information Center (ALIC), Military Resources: World War II: http://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/military/ww2.html.

• National Archives and Records Administration: See http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/ in particular for links to a wide array of WWII-related resources available from the National Archives.

• Weidner Foundation: http://weidnerfoundation.org/en/index.php/archives/s  (See also the Hoover Institution above.)

Vatican

• Vatican Secret Archives: http://www.archiviosegretovaticano.va/?lang=en.