College of DuPage Library

20th Century World History

Welcome to the Twentieth Century World History Research Guide

Click on a tab below to find books, articles, primary sources and websites for use in the study of Twentieth Century World History.

If you need additional help, please contact the History Librarian or stop by the Reference Desk. You can also get help from our online reference service: Ask A Librarian

 

  1. Books
  2. Databases
  3. Primary Sources / Websites

Finding Books

Use the COD Library's book catalog to find books & videos. Use the search fields to combine multiple search terms and limit your results by material type (book, video), date, or language.

Some suggested searches include searching by continent. Of course you can substitute any of the individual countries. There are other subheadings that may be of interest too. If you are not finding what you are looking for, contact the History Librarian or stop by the Reference Desk.

Recommended search terms:

  • [Country or continent] AND history
  • [Country or continent] AND “social life and customs”
  • [Country or continent] AND civilization
  • [Country or continent] AND “intellectual life”
  • [Country or continent] AND “politics and government”
  • "[Country] relations [Country]"

You can also search by topic. For example:

  • "Cold War"
  • Holocaust
  • "World Politics"
  • "World War I"

You'll need a current library card to check out books.

I-Share

I-Share allows you to borrow books from over 80 Illinois academic libraries. You must have a current COD library card, and create an account to request books from an I-Share library.

E-book Collections

Most books in these collections can also be located and accessed by searching in the Library's book catalog.

  • ebrary

    • Collection contains many History-related books. Many e-books can be viewed from your computer or downloaded to your e-book reader. You need to create an account to download e-books to your device.

  • EBSCO e-book collection

    • Collection includes some books on History. NOTE: Books can be viewed by single page on a computer, or, can be downloaded to an e-book reader. You'll be prompted to create an EBSCO account. The loan period for e-books is four hours. Books can be renewed after the initial loan period expires.

  • Humanities (ACLS) E-book Collection

    • This resource includes over 1500 full-text, cross-searchable books in the humanities selected by scholars for their continuing importance for research and teaching. Pages from this collection can be printed and emailed.

Reference Works

Reference works, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are useful for learning about background information on topics in History.

Please note that print reference books may be used while in the library only. Online reference books may be accessed from any on or off-campus computer. You'll need a library card to access online books and articles from off-campus.
Click on the links below to access the online book/website or record/description of the print book.

Encyclopedias
Biographies
Chronologies

Databases

The Library subscribes to many databases that provide access to thousands of popular and credible, scholarly journals. Many databases provide access to full-text articles, while some provide information about the article only (citation). Request (for free!) through Interlibrary Loan copies of articles to which the Library doesn't have full-text access.

What are databases?

Databases are organized collections of information that you can search on a variety of fields, like title and author's name. iTunes is a database and so is Amazon. Even your contacts list in your phone is a type of mini database. The Library has databases of articles from newspapers, magazines and journals. We also have databases of streaming videos, music and e-books. The difference between our databases and iTunes or Amazon is that our stuff is free for you to use. You can browse the library's databases here: http://www.codlrc.org/databases

 

Databases - Best Bets

  • Academic Search Complete

    • Multidisciplinary database covering a wide range of academic areas.

  • Academic OneFile

    • Multidisciplinary database covering a wide range of academic areas.

  • Artstor
    The Artstor Digital Library provides over 1.6 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research.

  • History Study Center
    Primary and secondary history collections providing access to rare British, American and world history sources, full text articles and reference materials. Includes multimedia sources.

  • JSTOR

    • Excellent source for credible scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. Articles in database were published between the early 1700s and between 1-5 years ago.

Newspaper Databases

Individual Journal Title List

Click here to view a list of History-related journals

Primary Sources

There are several areas where you can find primary source documents. Click on a link below to view lists of resources in each of these areas.


Reference Collection


General Collection
  • Historic Documents
    General E839.5 .H57

  • The Library of Original Sources
    General AC 1 .T4 1971

  • The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Speeches
    General D411 .P46 1994

  • The World's Best Essays
    General PN 6141 .B8 1971

  • The World's Best Orations
    General PN 6121 .B85 1970


    To locate sources in the General Collection:
    • Do an author search
      Anything written by a participant would be a primary source. For example, for a primary source about the outbreak of World War I, look up "Churchill, Winston" as an author and find his The World Crisis.

    • Do a title search
      Some primary sources have no known authors. For example, a known primary source on the fall of Berlin to the Russian army is A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City, the translated diary of an anonymous woman. Doing a title search shows the Library owns a copy.

    • Do a subject search
      Primary sources often contain one of these subheadings: sources, personal narratives, diaries, or correspondence. For example, look up "rwandan genocide" and scan the results for those subheadings.


    Library Databases
    • Academic Search Complete To locate primary sources scroll down to "Publication Type" and select Primary Source Document.
    • Discovering Collection : Includes overview essays, critical analysis, biographies, timelines and multimedia elements. In general these are not considered to be scholarly sources, except for the primary source material.
    • History Study Center : Primary and secondary history collections providing access to British, American and world history sources, full text articles, maps, and reference materials among other types of resources.


    Websites
    Who can publish on the Internet? Anyone.

    You may find a website by doing a web search or through a recommendation of another student. Before you use a website for your assignment, you should evaluate the webpage for credibility, reliability, authority and purpose. Check out the CRAP Test for more information on evaluating websites.

    The following websites have been evaluated for their credibility.


    Broad Topic
    • Internet Modern History Sourcebook
      This online gateway provides links to Web sites, electronic texts, and multimedia covering pop culture, science, religion, and politics worldwide.

    • Paper of Record
      Online access to archive of international newspapers. Free registration is required.

    • World Digital Library
      Jointly developed by UNESCO and the Library of Congress,this site has books, photos, maps and other items from around the world.

    • World History Matters
      This site offers a comprehensive list of history Web sites, many of which offer primary and multimedia sources.


    Cold War
    • American Experience: Race for the Super Bomb
      This page provides supporting materials for the PBS film “Race for the Super Bomb.” It host primary and secondary sources documents, including interviews transcripts, biographies, and maps, pertaining to the nuclear arms race during the Cold War (1945-1960).

    • The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II A Collection of Primary Sources
      Primary source documents relating to use of the Atomic Bomb, including top secret memos between scientist, military personnel and politicians. personal diaries telegrams and other documents.

    • Cold War International History Project
      This site compiles archival government documents from around the world on Cold War history, inter-Korean relations, modern Korean history, and nuclear history.

    • The National Archives Learning Curve: Cold War (
      This site is divided into six sections on the start of the cold war, the wartime Alliance, causes of the Cold War, how the Cold War “worked,” the nuclear game, and Vietnam as a possible turning point. Each section includes a timeline, glossary, student worksheets, and explanatory notes.

    • PBS: Red Files
      This page provides supporting materials for a PBS film series which covered Soviet efforts in the space race, Soviet participation in the 1952 Olympics, KGB activities during the Cold War, and Soviet propaganda during the Cold War. The site provides relevant biographies, interview transcripts, maps, archival images, timelines, and further recommended readings.


    Genocide
    • Armenian National Institute
      This site hosts a collection of reports, photo collection, documentaries, and other archival materials pertaining to the Armenian Genocide.

    • Cambodian Genocide Program
      A collection of documents, maps, images, biographies, books, and research papers on the Cambodian Genocide.

    • Erasing History: Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo
      An online archive of United States government documents, release prior to 2001, on the genocide in Kosovo.

    • Ghosts of Rwanda
      This PBS site provides a timeline of events, interviews, analyses, and videos on the Rwandan genocide.

    • Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda
      This electronic book provides comprehensive information on the events of the Rwandan Genocide, including historical events that led to the conflict, propaganda during the war, individual massacres, and international response.

    • Rohde to Srebrenica
      This site chronicles the work of US reporter David Rohde to uncover proof of the mass killings in Bosnia.

    • Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave
      The companion site to the PBS video "Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave" offers a timeline of events, narratives, and eyewitness accounts of the Bosnian genocide.

    • Yale East Timor Project
      This site provides reports, images, and journal articles pertaining to the genocide and Indonesian occupation in East Timor.


    The Holocaust


    World War I


    World War II
    • Decoding Nazi Secrets
      The companion Web site to “Decoding Nazi Secrets,” a PBS special program, offers interactive pages on ciphers and codebreaking.

    • German Documents
      This site offers a collection of primary source documents, including transcripts of speeches, writings by various German political and military figures, and propaganda materials, from the Kaiserreich (1871-1918) and National Socialist Era (1933-1945).

    • German Propaganda Archive
      This site compiles Nazi and East German propaganda materials, including speeches, posters, essays, and cartoons.

    • The History Place: The Rise of Adolf Hitler
      The site hosts a variety of biographical entries, including his early life, the formation of the Nazi Party, and Hitler’s defeat.

    • Italian Life Under Fascism
      This site presents selected Fascist documents from the special collections of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The documents illustrate various aspects of Italian life during the Fascist era, including education, youth organizations, opposition to Fascism, women, and culture.

    • World War II Resources


    Other
    • League of Nations Photo Archive
      This site offers a collection of photographs from the original archives and historical collections of the League of Nations. Also included is a digitized version of The League of Nations: A Pictorial Survey, which outlines the various sections, members, and activities of the League of Nations.

    • Making the History of 1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern
      Europe
      This site presents primary source documents from and interviews with scholars of East European studies on the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

    • The Marxists Internet Archive
      This site offers an encyclopedia of Marxism, information on and works of Marxist writers, and a large variety of eBooks, audiobooks, and other documents on Marxism.
      This exhibit, coordinated by the Library of Congress in collaboration with the Russian Archival

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