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World War I Primary Sources

National Archives of the United States

National Archives of the United States logo

National Archives of the United States--World War I Collection

To honor the Centennial of World War I, the U.S. National Archives created this landing page as an informative, intuitive space that allows students and researchers to enter the organization's digitized collections of records related to The Great War. In these collections, you'll find images, letters, printed propaganda, military records, moving images, and a number of text-based records.

National Archives of the United Kingdom

National Archives of the United Kingdom logo

National Archives of the United Kingdom--World War I records

To mark the 100th anniversary of World War I, the National Archives of the United Kingdom created a mini-site that will quickly link you to primary, secondary, and popular sources related to The Great War. View the headings to choose the area that will best servce your needs. Be sure you do not miss the resource entitled "Browse our online collections." This is your entry point into hundreds of digitized records. (Note: a very small number of records are hidden by a paywall; however, the vast majority are free to you to view and even download online.)

National Archives of Australia

National Archives of Australia

National Archives of Australia--World War I

The National Archives of Australia presents an exhaustive collection of digitized records related to Australian involvement in World War I. Upon entering the mini-site, you can click through sixteen pages of topic and records tiles to view and study records and resources. You'll find original song lyrics, diaries, military records, postcards and letters, art and propaganda images, cartoons, photographs, sound clips, and more. You can also use the search bar on the left side of the page to quickly access records on topics of your choice. Don't miss the topic "World War I: Repatiration of veterans!

Archives of New Zealand

National Archives of New Zealand

Archives of New Zealand--World War One 1914-1918

The Archives of New Zealand presents a large digitzed collection of primary resources. Once you enter the World War One collections page, you may navigate the collections through the purple drop-down bars. While there are fewer digitized items in New Zealand's collection, you will still find a nice array of primary resources, from maps to diaries to official records to images. A limited number of records are considered restricted due to privacy or sensitivity concerns. 

(Note: Once you enter collections, you often see a tabbed-style page layout. To enter the records, by sure you click the "Records" tab!)

Library and Archives of Canada

Library and Archives of Canada logo

Library and Archives Canada--First World War

The Library and Archives Canada website allows you to search and narrow primary resources dedicated to World War I using keywords in their collection search. It appears that the organization is in the process of adding information and updating the website, and while the site loads slowly and seems to be the most difficult to navigate, there are some wonderful records to be found. Once you enter the catalog, try searching "world war I," then narrow according to your needs. If you are seeking art, photographs, maps, posters, stamps, or other image-based records, be sure to click on the "Images" tab. There are nearly 10,000 digitized items in the collection.

(Note: Many of the textual records must be ordered. You can view the finding aid on the website. Ordering materials will carry a fee and may be restricted.)