Primary Sources: The Holocaust: General Sources

"Center for Jewish History and partner collections span five thousand years, with tens of millions of archival documents (in dozens of languages and alphabet systems), more than 500,000 volumes, as well as thousands of artworks, textiles, ritual objects, recordings, films, and photographs. "

Centropa is a non-profit, Jewish historical institute dedicated to preserving 20th century Jewish family stories and photos from Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and disseminating these stories and photos through films, books and exhibitions.

"DigiBaeck is your gateway to LBI's digital collections, a growing treasury of artifacts that document the rich heritage of German-speaking Jewry in the modern era. DigiBaeck provides instant access to materials ranging from rare 16th century renaissance books to memoirs that document the experience of German-Jewish émigrés across the world in the 20th century."

The EHRI portal offers access to information on Holocaust-related archival material held in institutions across Europe and beyond. For more information on the EHRI project visit https://ehri-project.eu.

The German Historical Institute (GHI) was established in April 1987 as an independent non-profit foundation. The GHI is funded by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany but also seeks grants and accepts support for individual projects from other German sources.The GHI is an independent institute dedicated to the promotion of historical research in the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany and to the dissemination of historical knowledge." Use the site to find out about resources available in the Institute's Library, access Reference Guides on specific topics, find out about publications produced by the Institute and view selected issues online, search the directory of German Studies Scholars, and view selected documents and images online. In addition the site also provides information on programs, fellowships, events etc. of interest to German Studies Scholars.

German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) is a comprehensive bilingual collection of original historical materials documenting German history from the beginning of the early modern period to the present. The project comprises ten sections, each of which addresses a discrete period in Germany's history. In addition to primary texts, GHDI also offers new access to a range of historically significant visual images and maps.

This site is from Randall Bytwerk, a Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA). The archive contains "a growing collection of English translations of propaganda material from Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic."

known as the “House” – is not only the first Holocaust museum in the world but also the first of its kind to be founded by Holocaust survivors. Since its establishment in 1949, the museum tells the story of the Holocaust during World War II, emphasizing the bravery, spiritual triumph and the incredible ability of Holocaust survivors and the fighters of the revolt to rebuild their lives in a new country about which they had dreamed – the State of Israel.

History Unfolded is a project of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. It asks students, teachers, and history buffs throughout the United States what was possible for Americans to have known about the Holocaust as it was happening and how Americans responded. Participants look in local newspapers for news and opinion about 39 different Holocaust-era events that took place in the United States and Europe, and submit articles they find to a national database, as well as information about newspapers that did not cover events. History Unfolded raises questions for scholars and will inform the Museum’s initiative on Americans and the Holocaust.

Browse clips of testimony addressing more than 50 different topics. Registered IWitness users can search and watch full length testimonies.
Search the library of ready-made activities in several languages or customize your own.

Students use embedded tools to build videos, word clouds and other testimony-based projects.
Explore our international resources, discover new ways to integrate IWitness into your classroom, and learn about our impact on both students and educators.

A site from the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise it contains over 1000 articles and more than 5000 photographs and maps. The Library has several browsable categories available such as History, Women, and the Holocaust. The site also includes a glossary, links to other sites, publications, and other information. There is a search feature available.

"The Museum protects the historical record and promotes understanding of Jewish heritage. It mobilizes memory to teach the dangers of intolerance and challenges visitors—including more than 60,000 schoolchildren a year—to let the painful lessons of the past guide them to envision a world worthy of their futures."

Dedicated to the 6-million Jewish victims and all other victims who suffered and died in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators.

"A global Jewish human rights organization that confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations."

An overview of the people and events of the Holocaust through photographs, documents, art, music, movies, and literature
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 1997-2019.

See the resources under the Research section of the site.

"The Institute currently has more than 55,000 video testimonies, each one a unique source of insight and knowledge that offers powerful stories from history that demand to be explored and shared. The Visual History Archive forever preserves the faces and voices of the people who witnessed history, allowing their firsthand stories to enlighten and inspire action against intolerance for generations to come."

"The Holocaust provides a wealth of primary sources to examine how genocide unfolded in Eastern Europe. The Nazis spent years reshaping their government and constructing a society around the idea of racial purity. By examining primary source material, it is easy to see this progression. The following are made available (in English translation) for researchers, students, teachers, and anyone with an interest in this time period."

The Wiener Holocaust Library is one of the world's leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust and Nazi era. Formed in 1933, the Library's unique collection of over one million items includes published and unpublished works, press cuttings, photographs and eyewitness testimony.

" The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has gathered millions of historical documents containing details about survivors and victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution during World War II.

Ancestry.com has spent more than a decade creating advanced technological tools that have allowed billions of historical documents to become searchable online.

Together, the two organizations have created the World Memory Project to allow the public to help make the records from the Museum searchable by name online for free—so more families of survivors and victims can discover what happened to their loved ones during one of the darkest chapters in human history."

"Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is the ultimate source for Holocaust education, documentation and research. From the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem's integrated approach incorporates meaningful educational initiatives, groundbreaking research and inspirational exhibits."