LibGuides: PCOM6000 Survey in Professional Writing: Oral History Resources

Selected Oral History Collections

Oral Histories from the First World War (Australian War Memorial)

The Australian War Memorial's Research Centre has collected a substantial number of oral histories related to the First World War, and its web site lists over 120 citation records for these. Although access to some of these are not available online, many of them are available. Individual records may feature audio files of an interview, transcripts, or both. The Memorial's blog contains a very useful article about the oral history collection and should be consulted as well.

Experiencing the War: Stories from the Veterans History Project

"The films of Ken Burns have covered the exuberance of jazz in the United States, the world of baseball, and most recently, the experiences of Americans during World War II. Working with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, film-maker Ken Burns and staff members created this companion website to the film series. The site includes letters, diaries, interviews, and memoirs." [Internet Scout Project]

http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-wwi.html

World War One Oral History Project (Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries)

"This project consist of interviews about the experience of veterans of the First World War. World War I was fought from 1914-1918 with the United States joining in 1917. The topics covered in these interviews include living in trenches, vermin, and dealing with the constant threat of poison gas attacks. They discuss their training, the experience of crossing the Atlantic by boat to get to Europe and to get back to the United States. They discuss their varied battlefield experiences in France, and discuss their life after the war." The site contains three full-length interviews, each of which includes an audio recording and a searchable transcript.

Oral Histories of the First World War: Veterans 1914-1918 (Library and Archives Canada)

This Web exhibition is based on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio broadcast In Flanders Fields, a series of one-on-one interviews with veterans of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which aired from November 11, 1964 to March 7, 1965. The website is organized into seven themes:

Veterans' Stories: The Veterans History Project Library of Congress Collection. Includes video and audio collections, documents and other materials detailing stories of U.S. military veterans.

These first-hand accounts, which can be listened to or read via the retyped transcripts, provide personal insights on the experience of war by individuals who participated.