The Gilder Lehrman Institute. Modules on American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Students at the Notre Dame School, New York, N.Y.

Recommended Document:

Pearl Harbor Attack Documents (1941)

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1941PEARL.html
Primary sources can help you understand the origins of World War II, the reasons for the success of the Pearl Harbor attack, and the nature of the alliance between Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States. You can also learn about the impact of the war on American society, the nature of the air war waged against Germany and Japan, and the decision to use nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagisaki.

Related Documents:

Italian Fascism
	Benito Mussolini, What Is Fascism (1932) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html The Italian dictator describes his program.

Nazi Ideology
	Adolf Hitler: First Antisemitic Writing (September 16, 1919) http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~german/gtext/kaiserreich/hitler2.html Hitler's early anti-Semitic ideas. The 25 Points (1920) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/25points.html An early statement of Nazi principles. Adolph Hitler, Excerpt from Mein Kampf (1925) http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~german/gtext/kaiserreich/hitler1.html Hitler discusses the development of his anti-Semitic ideas.

Nazi Policies
	The Nuremberg Laws Introduction (1935) http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/nurmberg.html Law of Protection of the German Race: Hereditary Health http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/nurmlaw1.html Law of Protection of the German Race: Citizenship http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/nurmlaw2.html Law of Protection of the German Race: German Blood and German Honor http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/nurmlaw3.html Kristallnacht (1938) http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/knacht.html Hitler Signs an Order Authorizing Involuntary Euthanasia in Germany (October 1939) http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~german/gtext/nazi/euthanasia-eng.html

The Road to War
	The Nanking Massacre, The New York Times (December 18, 1937) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html The Munich Pact (September 29, 1938) http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/munich1.htm Neville Chamberlain: Peace in Our Time (1938) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1938PEACE.html Nazi - Soviet Relations (1939-1941) http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nazsov/nazsov.htm Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (August 29, 1939) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1939pact.html

The War In the European and Pacific Theaters
	Documents of World War II http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/ww2.htm Extensive collection of documents, including many decoded secret Japanese dispatches. Winston S. Churchill, "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" Speech to the House of Commons (June 4 1940) http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111chur.html Winston S. Churchill, "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" Speech (1940) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-blood.html Winston S. Churchill: "Their Finest Hour", To the House of Commons (18 June 1940) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1940churchill-finest.html British Songs of World War II http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/ww2-music-uk.html

The Pearl Harbor Attack
	Pearl Harbor Attack Hearings Before Congress http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pha/invest.html Pearl Harbor Attack Documents (1941) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1941PEARL.html

The United States Homefront
	Franklin D. Roosevelt , A Call for Sacrifice (April 28, 1942) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1942roosevelt-sacrifice.html Describes the need to increase government control over the economy. What Did You Do in the War Grandma? http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/tocCS.html

The Holocaust
	The Final Solution: Introduction http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/finlsol.html Forced Emigration and Resettlement http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/emigrate.html Deportation to Concentration Camps http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/ghetto.html The "Einsatzgruppen" (Mobile Killing Units) http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/einsatz.html The Wannsee Conference Protocol (January 1942) http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~german/gtext/nazi/wanneng2.html Heinrich Himmler: Speech to SS Group Leaders at Posen (October 4, 1943) http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-posen.htm A statement of Nazi policies. Hermann Friedrich Graebe, Account of Holocaust Mass Shooting (1942) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1942graebe.html An eyewitness account of a mass shooting. Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of Auschwitz, Testimony at Nuremburg (1946) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1946hoess.html The Death Camps http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/yvscamps.html http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/yvsdocs.html U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum http://www.ushmm.org/topics/ Teaching resources from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (in PDF format) http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/teachabo/ teaching_holcaust.pdf

Development and Deployment of the Atomic Bomb
	Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy--Hiroshima http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/hiroshim.htm An extensive collection of documents related to the Manhattan Project and the decision to deploy the bomb. Documents on the Decision to Drop the Bomb http://www.whistlestop.org/study_collections/bomb/large/bomb.htm Extensive materials from the Truman Archives Hiroshima: Was It Necessary? http://www.doug-long.com/ Includes excerpts from President Truman's diaries and papers and Secretary of War Henry Stimson's diary and papers.

Nuremberg War Crimes Trial
	Nuremberg War Crimes Trial http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/imt.htm Court TV: Nuremberg Documents http://www.courttv.com/casefiles/nuremberg/ Charles E. Wyzanski Jr., Nuremberg - A Fair Trial? Dangerous Precedent, The Atlantic Monthly, April 1946 http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/nurember/wyprec.htm Charles E. Wyzanski Jr., Nuremberg in Retrospect, The Atlantic Monthly, December 1946 http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/nurember/retrowy.htm

Continue to Learning Tools