Adam Matthew Sign Agreement to Publish Its First Digital World War II Collection

New project will focus on personal experiences in the United States via audio and visual primary sources from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans

Adam Matthew is proud to announce its most recent project collaboration - with The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The single archive project will cover personal experiences during the Second World War and also touch upon those specific to New Orleans. The new resource will reveal how the war changed American culture and society on a very personal level via HD video oral histories, 3D objects and personal collections.

As the official WWII museum of the United States and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans features an expansive collection of artefacts and first-person narratives that provide the uniquely personal experiences of the Second World War.

This exciting new collection will collate a mixture of materials including letters, diaries, scrapbooks, sketches, ephemera, photographs and a range of multimedia to bring these stories to life for academic research, online for the very first time.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Adam Matthew as we continue to make our collection of WWII personal narratives even more accessible to researchers and scholars,” said Museum executive vice president and COO, Stephen Watson.

“At the core of every Museum endeavour are the personal stories of those who experienced the WWII years first-hand. Adam Matthew is helping us ensure that these stories are not lost with the passing of WWII veterans, and helping us share this meaningful content with scholars living all over the world who will use it to build content on how the war impacted our lives today."

The focus on personal experiences will cover all aspects of life during wartime from both women and men, those in the armed forces, civilians and families. Themes will include:

• The Home Front
• Pacific Campaigns
• D-Day Landings in Europe
• American Involvement in North Africa
• Sicily and Anzio Landings
• The Italian Campaign
• The Protection of Trade Routes; and
• The Role of the Merchant Marine.

Scholars will be able to search topics such as supply and logistics, rationing, medical services, the role of women, African Americans and Asian Americans in the war effort. The project will have a particular focus on how the war changed American society and the economy, how it impacted individuals and families, demobilisation and the legacy of the war in human terms.

This new collection will complement Adam Matthew’s First World War Portal and American History, 1493-1945.