Ad*Access
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu:80/adaccess/
“The Ad*Access Project, funded by the Duke Endowment "Library 2000" Fund, presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.”
Advertisements and marketing schemes for commercial products offer a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into the history of our culture. Hosted by Duke University’s Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, this archive features magazine advertisements from the early to mid 20th century. It is divided thematically and also can be searched via an internal search engine. The WWII Era propaganda adds for War Bonds, rationing, and other social programs to support the war are particularly interesting and potentially usable in the classroom. Other ads for beauty and cosmetic products may not be as useful in the classroom, but amusing nonetheless. The simple organization of the archive and search engine should facilitate easy access and research. These ads could be effectively incorporated into a wide range of lessons dealing with the early 20th century and World Wars. (BR)

After the Day of Infamy:
‘Man-on-the-Street’ Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afcphhtml/afcphhome.html
“After the Day of Infamy: "Man-on-the-Street" Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor presents approximately twelve hours of opinions recorded in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor from over two hundred individuals in cities and towns across the United States…”
The After the Day of Infamy website offers an interesting glimpse into the post-attack on Pearl Harbor world. What makes this site so interesting is that it offers approximately twelve hours of opinions from everyday Americans across the nation, collected in a time span of a few weeks following the attack. The audio clips that one can find on this website present a candid picture of the political and social ramifications of the impending war, as well as many other issues such as civil rights, and public welfare. Searchable by subjects, audio titles, and geographic locations (among others), this site is a good source of primary documents concerning WWII and its aftermath.

September 21, 1939: A Day In Radio
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s2/Radio/day/radio.html
September 21, 1939: A Day In Radio is a website that offers the visitor access to one full day of radio programming from 1939. From sign-on in the early morning to the last show of the evening this site gives a small peek into the times and lives of Americans over 60 years ago. Among the daily programming one can find news, music (orchestra and big band primarily), and radio shows. This site allows students a small glimpse into the past by providing them with an audio primary source that is interesting and engaging.

The United States and World Wars I and II
http://www.worldwar1.com
“You are at the "Trenches" Home Page. These pages contain information on the people, places, and events that comprised one of the worst calamities of modern history. Entire kingdoms were to vanish in the clash. The map makers of the world would be busy indeed!”
Dedicated to the battles, technology, and landscape of World War I, this website offers its readers a reservoir of images. Diverse photographs portray the grim realities of life on the battlefield. These images have good resolution, but they are relatively small. The webmaster also posts a wide variety of maps on World War 1—Trenches on the Web. Viewers accessing the maps may chose from detailed maps of cities and battlefields with color coded trench lines, or regionally maps of the different theatres of operation. The site also offers primary documents and historical text. Unfortunately, the text does not include references.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
http://www.ushmm.org
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website offers the visitor a narrative history of the atrocities committed by the Nazi party during World War II. The site (and also the museum exhibit) is recommended for visitors 11 years of age and older as the content can tend to be rather graphic, so discretion should be employed when sending students to this site. In the Online Exhibits section of this website one can find sections providing information pertaining to the Introduction to the Holocaust, Personal Histories, Immediate American Responses, and Recurring Symbol (swastika). While the information on this site primarily comes in textual format, there are some accompanying photographs and images (posters, banners, newspaper images, etc.). If one is not finding specific information that they are looking for concerning the topic of the Holocaust on this site, there is a section of related links and articles one can access for further research.

World War II Timeline
http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/start.html
Don’t be deceived by the title; this website is much more than a simple timeline. The timeline it does present is a valuable resource but more significant are the host of other sources included in and with the timeline. The timeline itself can be searched chronologically or by topic and there are occasionally essays mixed in with the timeline. There are four other major resources on this website. The map section includes a large collection of maps and there are additional geographic diagrams and photographs in the picture section. The documents part includes military records, accounts of battles and other primary resources. The last section is the bibliography that gives an extensive list of useful books on World War II. One last feature that makes the entire website more valuable is that sources are provided for all of the primary documents, maps and images. Together, the factors make this an excellent website for casual browsing, general information or primary document research.