World War II Films at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 in College Park, MD
The Moving Image and Sound Branch of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 and Records Administration (NARA) holds an extensive collection of domestic and foreign films, audio and video recordings related to World War II and the immediate pre- and post-War years. These items were acquired by NARA from federal military and civilian agencies, or were donated to NARA by private individuals or organizations.
Film and Video
Film and video content includes events, people and activities in the European, Mediterranean, African, and Pacific Theaters of Operations, as well as the home front and the civilian war effort in the United States. Coverage includes edited films and unedited documentation of combat operations, military and civilian training and motivational films, staff information films and briefing reports, special film projects, feature length films and documentaries, government-produced and commercial newsreels, and films acquired by the government through foreign sources. The majority of film of period film footage originated on 35mm black and white film, however there are sizable holdings of color 16mm film in Record Group/series 127 R and 18 SFP (see links below)
Audio
Audio recordings includes informational and documentary recordings produced by civilian and military agencies, as well as military tribunals, and were originally recorded on transcription discs, wire recordings and magnetic tape. Coverage includes domestic war-effort radio programs, speeches, press conferences, interviews and actuality recordings made by military correspondents during combat, recordings acquired from foreign sources, as well as network news broadcasts from NBC Radio and CBS Radio. While the majority of recordings are in English, holdings also include recordings made in German, Italian, and Japanese.
Finding Aids
Finding aids, such as original shots lists, content summaries, film catalogs, scripts and other materials can be accessed at the Motion Picture Research Room in College Park, Maryland. As these materials are digitized, they are added to NARA鈥檚 Online Catalog. Finding aids are generally associated with a particular film or audio series.
Film and Audio Series of World War II Content
While item-level descriptions for all World War II-era films are not yet listed in NARA鈥檚 Online Catalog, these film and audio series and donated collections are among the most significant:
Frequently Used Series