HIST 235: World War II - Family/Community History Project (Ward 2025)

Topical guides to MNHS collections.

Minnesota Reflections now brings you nearly 55,500 images and documents shared by more than 200 cultural heritage organizations across the state. This site offers a variety of resources on Minnesota's history for researchers, educators, students and the public.

Provides "the stories behind the names, thousands of miniature histories that capture the lost lore of familiar places...Minnesota Place Names is both a book, published in a revised and expanded third edition, and this searchable, expanded web site, which includes the text of the book and a wealth of further links to information about Minnesota places."

Digitized newspapers from around Minnesota. Dates ranges covered are 1856-1977. Includes papers from: Bemidji, Duluth, Grand Marais, Mankato, Minneapolis, New Ulm, Princeton, Red Lake, Red Wing, St. Cloud, St. Paul, Virginia, Warren, White Earth, Willmar, and Worthington. Includes newspapers digitized as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program.

Collections Online explores the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society and provides access to numerous materials including photographs, artifacts, historical records, maps and atlases, oral histories, art, paintings, sound recordings and much more.

Oral histories from veterans and civilians on the home front. Some interviews are available online.

Includes some resources we cannot access, but has an excellent listing of freely accessible primary document collections related to World War II.

Military records from the National Archives.

Links to digital and physical records. Includes information on family history research.

Digitized collections from the Library of Congress.

Digitized newspapers from around the United States published between 1836-1922.

Aimed at teachers, this site is a combination of primary and secondary sources around a variety of US history eras.

Explore digital collections from around the United States. Includes material from the Minnesota Digital Library.

Most of the Presidential Libraries have some digitized content available.

Minnesota Reflections now brings you nearly 53,000 images and documents shared by more than 108 cultural heritage organizations across the state. This site offers a variety of resources on Minnesota's history for researchers, educators, students and the public.

The electronic reading room of the FBI, these files were made available as a result of FOIA requests.

Comprises "digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints."

ndependent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.

From the Minnesota Historical Society, use Minnesota People Records Search to exclusively research birth, death, and state census records, as well as Veterans Graves Registration and World War I Gold Star Rolls.

Provided by the National Archive. Link goes to "Getting started with the 1940 Census' page.

Provided by the National Archives.

You need to create a free account to search. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation.

Limited information is available without a paid membership. Local public libraries may have access. Minnesota State University, Mankato does not.