World War II Websites and Resources
Dr. Seuss Goes to War from 1941-1943, Dr. Seuss was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM (1940-1948), and for that journal he drew over 400 editorial cartoons relating to US participation in WWII. See these historic cartoons here!
World War II Propaganda, Cartoons, Film, Music, & Art: A vast collection of resources that illustrate the variety and extent of US and non-government propaganda during WWII
Powers of Persuasion: US poster Art from WWII
Japanese Internment Camps in Arizona, 1942-1946
Fighters on the Home Front: Oregons Emergency Farm Labor Service, 1943-1947
Hyperwar: WWII on the WWW: a collection of mostly military sources for WWII battle buffs
Documents:
World War II Documents: An excellent international collection of documents from the Avalon Project at Yale Law School
PEACE AND WAR, UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY 1931-1941 - a huge collection of primary sources from the US government documenting the buildup to war in Europe and Asia.
Documents of World War II extensive collection from Mt Holyoke University
World War II in other Countries
BBC's World War II in Britain- an excellent website for understanding the war from the perspective of the United Kingdom
THE DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB
A multi-actor unit on the decision to drop the bomb
The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II: A Collection of Primary Sources: a wide-ranging collection of documents that you can use to explore the Presidential Decision to drop the Atomic Bomb
Geoffrey S. Smith, "Beware, the Historian! Hiroshima, the Enola Gay, and the Dangers of History." Diplomatic History (Winter 1996), 121-131.
"The Causality Issue": This collection of materials investigates the question whether American lives saved or expanded by our use of the bomb. The material on this page suggests that Truman deliberately exaggerated the potential loss of American lives in order to justify his use of the bomb.
Making the Decision to Use The Atomic Bomb: An impressive list of primary documents related to the decision to drop the bomb.
President Truman Did Not Understand: An interview with Leo Szilard, a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project, in which Szilard concludes that Truman did not comprehend the political and moral consequences of dropping the bomb.
Robert Maddox, "The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Bomb," and Gar Alperovitz, "Hiroshima, Historians Reassess," in Major Problems in American History, 2nd Ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 2002): 50-58.
"Henry Stimson's Memo to Truman": Henry Stimson, Secretary of War, advised Truman on the atomic bomb project. In this memo he records what they discussed on April 25, 1945, four months before the bomb was used.
"Harry Truman's Diary and Papers": These materials reveal Truman's attitude and beliefs about the bomb. Key are the diary entries for June 17, July 18th, 20th and 25th, and August 9, 1945.
Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy - Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Books and Articles:
John Dower, War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War
Divine, Robert, The Reluctant Belligerent: American Entry into World War II, NY, 1965.
Cole, Wayne, Roosevelt and the Isolationists, 1932-45, Lincoln, NE, 1983.
Reynolds, David, From Munich to Pearl Harbor: Roosevelt's America and the Origins of the Second World War, Chicago, 2001.
Alperovitz, Gar, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth, NY, 1995.
Beschloss, Michael, The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman, and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1945-1945, NY, 2002.
Iriye, Akira & Warren Cohen, eds., American, Chinese, and Japanese Perspectives on Wartime Asia, 1931-1949, Wilmington, DE, 1990.
Kolko, Gabriel, The Politics of War: The World and United States Foreign Policy, 1943-1945, NY, 1968.
Stoler, Mark, Allies and Adversaries; the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Grand Alliance, and U.S. Strategy in World War II, Chapel Hill, 2000.
Videos:
To serve my country, to serve my race [videorecording] directed by Lawrence E. Walker.(1997 )
America goes to War: The Home Front, WWII, Directed by Anthony Potter (1998), 261 min.
World War II: The Propaganda Battle, Directed by David Gruben (1982), 60 min.
World War II: Why We Fight, Directed by Frank Capra (2000), 7 parts, 415 Minutes.
US, Public Broadcasting System, "The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight it"