Register of the World War II pictorial collection

Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2008
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
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Title: World War II pictorial collection
Date (inclusive): 1937-1945
Collection Number: XX222
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 181 envelopes, 5 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize boxes, 3 album boxes, 2 slide boxes, 1 oversize folder (24 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Photographs and postcards depicting a variety of scenes and personalities from World War II. Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Materials acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], World War II pictorial collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Alternate Forms Available

Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 

Scope and Content of Collection

Photographs and postcards depicting a variety of scenes and personalities from World War II.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Slides (Photography)
World War, 1939-1945 -- Pictorial works

envelope A

Photographs and postcards depicting various scenes from World War II

envelope B

20 unidentified photographs of American soldiers in World War II, apparently taken in the Philippines

envelope C-D

Photographs of German armed forces in Germany, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Russia and North Africa, and of the German home front 1939-1943

envelope E-L

German army photographs depicting activities of the German army in North Africa 1942-1943

Scope and Contents note

Copies from originals held by Michael Tichy.
envelope N-AQ

Photographs depicting activities of American, British, German and Italian armed forces in Europe and North Africa

envelope AR

Photographs taken by the U.S. Navy depicting ships and activities of the U.S. Navy, mostly in the Pacific Theater

envelope AS

Photographs of British naval operations and of an inspection of naval forces by King George VI

envelope AT

Photographs of Prime Minister Winston Churchill with high U.S. and British naval officers and other officials 1942 July

envelope AU-AW

Photographs of U.S. armed forces in Great Britain

envelope AX

Photographs of U.S. armed forces in the Pacific

envelope AY

Photographs of the U.S. Navy Public Relations Officers' Conference, Washington, D.C. 1943 April 26-28

envelope AZ

Photographs of U.S. and British armed forces

envelope BA

Aerial photographs of military facilities at Londonerry, Northern Ireland

envelope BB

34 post cards of German SS troops on the Russian front

envelope BC-BD

125 prints of German seamen, submarines and other ships, and of naval engagements

Scope and Contents note

Captions in German.
envelope BE

43 prints of German troops in France, Norway and elsewhere on the Western Front

Scope and Contents note

Captions in German.
envelope BF

6 prints of German troops in North Africa

Scope and Contents note

Captions in German.
envelope BG

9 prints of German troops in the Balkans

Scope and Contents note

Captions in German.
envelope BH

6 prints of Benito Mussolini and of German troops who rescued him from captivity 1943

Scope and Contents note

Captions in German and French.
envelope BI

21 prints of war damage, political activity and social conditions in Vichy France and in German-occupied France

Scope and Contents note

Captions in French.
envelope BJ-BK

93 prints of street scenes, buildings and war damage in Berlin

envelope BL

12 prints of U.S. Army Air Corps airplanes

envelope BM

12 prints of U.S. Navy airplanes

envelope BN-BO

123 prints of German troops in Paris 1940 Summer

envelope BP

22 prints of Vichy youth organizations and miscellaneous scenes from Vichy France and German-occupied France

envelope BQ

49 prints of the bodies of victims of German concentration camps at Buchenwald and elsewhere

Scope and Contents note

Captions in French.
envelope BR

32 prints of American troops entering Liege, Belgium

envelope BS

39 prints of war damage in Liege and other Belgian cities

envelope BT

10 prints of President Harry S. Truman in Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium, en route to the Potsdam conference 1945 July

envelope BU

22 prints of the entry of Allied troops into Antwerp, Belgium 1944 September

envelope BV

4 post cards of the entry of Allied troops into Tournai, Belgium 1944 September

envelope BW

16 prints of Tournai, Belgium, including scenes of war damage 1940 May

envelope BX

12 prints of war damage caused by V-1 and V-2 rockets in Antwerp, Belgium; map showing location of rocket attacks in Antwerp

envelope BY

29 prints of U.S. armored amphibious personnel carriers in action, mainly in the Pacific Theater

envelope BZ

20 prints of posters and street scenes in German-occupied France

envelope mCA

12 drawings of Allied troops in Belgium 1944-1945

envelope CB

15 prints of unidentified ships, zeppelins, and barrage balloons

envelope CC

Graves of American soldiers in Great Britain (3 pages from photograph album); 72 prints of miscellaneous scenes and groups of people (possibly in Great Britain)

envelope CD

2 prints of Admiral Harold Stark with others; 1 print of Admiral Stark, Winston Churchill, and others; 2 prints of Winston Churchill, Admiral Stark, Harry Hopkins and others

envelope CE

15 prints of unidentified people and scenes

envelope CF

28 prints of Japan and Pacific Islands

envelope CG

13 prints of Japan and Pacific Islands; 12 prints of World War II aircraft; 1 print of Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita; 1 print of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Douglas MacArthur; 1 print of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright and Lt. Gen. A.E. Percival; 10 miscellaneous prints

envelope CH

13 prints of Japan; 4 postcards of Japan; 1 print of Kunming, China; 1 print of Hawaii

envelope CI

34 prints of scenes in Europe

envelope CJ

34 prints of scenes in Europe

envelope CK

18 prints of scenes in Europe; 6 prints of U.S. Army, University Study Center, Florence, Italy; 1 print of Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson (July 4, 1944); 1 print of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1944); 1 print of Pierre Laval, Benito Mussolini, and others (1944)

envelope CL

1 print of Gen. Geo. C. Marshall, Gen. Henry H. Arnold, Adm. Ernest J. King; 1 print of Harry S. Truman's headquarters, Potsdam, Germany (1945); 3 prints of Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Harry S. Truman in Potsdam (1945); 3 prints of Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, Clement Attlee and staff in Potsdam (1945); 1 print of Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, James F. Byrnes, Vyacheslav Molotov, Adm. William Dr. Leahy in Potsdam (1945); 1 print of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and President Innonu of Turkey in Cairo, Egypt (1943); 1 print of W.L. Mackenzie King, Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice, wife of the Earl of Athlone; Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in Quebec, Canada (1943); 1 unidentified print 1943-1945

envelope CM

115 prints designated "Specimen of British War Literature," 1 print of Charles de Gaulle and others, 1 print of Winston Churchill and others

envelope CN

72 prints designated "Specimen of British War Literature;" 1 print of Omar Bradley, George Patton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower; 1 print of Dwight D. Eisenhower and others; 1 print of Nicholas Horthy, Prince Regent of Hungary with U.S. Maj. Gen. John E. Dahl; 1 print of Gen. George C. Marshall; 4 miscellaneous prints of war in the European Theatre

envelope mCO

2 prints of German soldiers

envelope CP

75 prints of German and Japanese troops 1944

Scope and Contents note

Captions in French.
envelope CQ

8 prints of forced labor in Norway, Poland, and elsewhere in German-occupied Europe

envelope CR

15 prints of starvation, food lines, and German regulations relating to food in Belgium, Norway, Poland, and Greece

envelope CS

73 prints of resistance activities in German-occupied Norway, Belgium, France, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Greece, including scenes of guerilla activity, sabotage, underground presses, and passive resistance

envelope CT

8 prints of German executions and concentration camps in Norway, Belgium, France, Poland, and Yugoslavia

envelope CU

11 prints of persecution of Jews in Poland

envelope CV

12 prints of the German invasions of Poland and Norway, and of German proclamations

envelope CW

9 prints of miscellaneous scenes of the German occupation of Belgium and Poland

envelope mCX

8 prints of resistance activity in German-occupied Norway, Poland, and Yugoslavia, including scenes of guerilla activity and passive resistance

envelope mCY

13 prints and 3 cartoons of conditions in German-occupied Norway, France, and Yugoslavia, including scenes of German executions, forced labor, and looting

envelope mCZ

2 mounted prints of German troops arresting civilians in German-occupied Europe

envelope mDA

1 mounted print of a child in German-occupied Europe

envelope mDB

5 prints, 5 charts and 1 cartoon from German-occupied Europe, depicting atrocities, food shortages, forced labor, and sabotage

envelope DC

21 prints of refugees and resistance activities in German-occupied Europe and of an exhibit in the U.S. on resistance movements attended by Eleanor Roosevelt

envelope mDD

14 prints of a wartime exhibit in the U.S. on resistance movements in Europe

envelope DE

121 prints of refugees, executions, and resistance activities in Poland

envelope DF

83 prints of refugees, atrocities, and resistance activities in Greece and of Greek sailors in exile

envelope DG

5 drawings by children in France supporting French resistance activities

envelope DH

31 prints of French refugees, of resistance activities in Corsica and elsewhere in France, and of the scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon

envelope DI

11 prints of executions and resistance activities in Czechoslovakia

envelope DJ

18 prints of resistance activities in Belgium and of martyred Belgian resistance members

envelope DK

13 drawings of resistance activities in the Netherlands

envelope DL

11 prints of war shortages and resistance activities in Norway

envelope mDM

5 prints of resistance activities in Norway

envelope DN

11 prints of executions and resistance activities in Yugoslavia

envelope mDO

23 prints of executions and resistance activities in Yugoslavia

envelope DP

73 French post cards, depicting Free French, British, and other Allied military, naval, and aerial forces

envelope DQ

40 German post cards, depicting Waffen-SS troops on the Eastern Front

envelope DR

77 U.S. Army Signal Corps prints depicting scenes at the Nuremberg trials, disposal of German poison gas weapons by American occupation forces, and American troops in Europe at the end of the war 1945-1947

envelope DS

27 color slides of Axis and Allied propaganda posters

envelope DT

64 prints depicting Belgian underground resistance fighters in German-occupied Belgium during World War II, and of Allied troops entering Brussels in September 1944

envelope DU

28 prints depicting Polish émigré politicians, statesmen, military personnel, establishments and buildings 1941-1945

envelope DV-DZ

130 prints depicting scenes in Warsaw and other parts of Poland during World War II

envelope EA-EB

138 photographs depicting various French Resistance units while under formation, during period of instruction, and in action

Scope and Contents note

Some were taken after the liberation of France; they refer to German atrocities committed against members of the Resistance as well as against the civilian population, celebration of the liberation, and General De Gaulle's visit to former resistance centers.
album fEC

521 prints in 2 albums detailing the service of an unidentified Luftwaffe bomber officer, including the Polish campaign, the Channel Coast, and the Russian Campaign 1939-1943

Scope and Contents note

Includes close-ups of aircraft; general views of Luftwaffe airfields and quarters; war damage in Poland, France, and Russia; and various personal family shots.
envelope ED

131 prints depicting social conditions and activities of German Nazi party officials during World War II, with emphasis on Gauleiter Fritz Waechtler of Bavaria

envelope EE-EJ

265 prints depicting war damage in Berlin at the end of World War II

envelope EK

Photographs (1 booklet and loose prints) of the city of Braunschweig in central West Germany before and after destruction during World War II

Scope and Contents note

Includes a map.
album fEL

1 album of prints depicting the funeral of R. Heydrich (1904-1942), Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia

envelope EM

56 prints depicting conditions at the Breendonck concentration camp in Antwerp, Belgium, during World War II

envelope EN

7 prints depicting conditions at the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany circa 1945-1946

envelope EO

90 prints taken by a Hungarian soldier in a Hungarian unit of the German Army during the German invasion of Russia 1942

envelope EP

4 prints depicting General Tomobum (Tomoyuki) Yamashita upon his arrival in Manila for his trial as a war criminal 1945 October

envelope EQ

53 prints depicting the Philippines during and following the Allied invasion, including 3 prints of general MacArthur and 1 print of the surrender proceedings on Luzon 1944-1945

envelope ER

12 prints depicting war damage to various buildings in Manila, Philippines 1944

envelope ES

117 prints depicting areas and events before, during and following the battle of Okinawa 1944-1945

Scope and Contents note

Includes two maps depicting Japanese mine fields, roadblocks, and other military installations in December 1944 and March 1945.
envelope ET

4 prints depicting the surrender ceremony on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay 1945 September 2

envelope Eu

5 prints depicting activities in the China-Burma-India Theater 1944-1945

envelope EW

16 prints depicting V-E Day in Paris 1945 May 8

envelope EX

41 prints depicting various aspects of the surrender of the German Navy under the supervision of the Allied Control Commission, in Flensburg 1945

envelope EY

52 prints depicting war damage in Coblenz, Frankfurt-am-Main, Goettingen, Hamburg, Hanover, Hochst, Kiel, Mainz, Neumuenster, Wesel, and Wiesbaden 1945

envelope EZ-FB

211 prints depicting war damage in Berlin 1945

envelope mFC

2 autographed prints of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz at the signing of the Japanese surrender on board the U.S.S. Missouri and one photostatic copy of the signature sheet of the surrender document autographed by Admiral Nimitz 1945 September 2

envelope FD

5 prints depicting war damage in Nuremberg, Germany

envelope FE

24 prints depicting the visit of Eleanor Roosevelt to Great Britain 1942 November

envelope FF

5 prints with negatives showing various aspects of German fortifications on Normandy Beach

envelope FG

4 prints pertaining to the destruction of Caen, Normandy

envelope FH

1 print depicting U.S.S. Grayback coming into Midway for repairs

envelope FI

7 prints of the German surrender documents (Flensburg, Reims, and Berlin) 1945

envelope FJ

10 prints depicting the public hanging and burial of Benito Mussolini 1945

envelope FK

24 prints depicting Poland during World War II and 4 negatives depicting Jews being rounded up in the Warsaw Ghetto

envelope FL

6 prints depicting Yugoslavia during World War II

album fFM

One album of prints, signed by Zhukov, depicting an exhibition in Leningrad for a dedication to Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II

envelope mFN

17 prints depicting various aerial battles over Europe during World War II

envelope FO

64 prints depicting Iron Cross recipients, and German air, ground and naval activities, including Bulgaria, Greece, France, and the Soviet Union

Scope and Contents note

Also includes Jakob Stalin.
envelope FP

24 prints depicting German-Italian relations; the Romanian State visit to Berlin in 1940; and German, Italian, French, and English leaders including Hitler, Goering, Seyss-Inquart, Mussolini, Italian Foreign Minister Count Galenzzo Ciano, Philippe Pétain, and Winston Churchill

Scope and Contents note

Also included are 3 prints of the German Western front (Siegfried Line).
envelope FQ

9 prints depicting the German domestic front and German war production including physical fitness for prospective troops

envelope FR

7 prints depicting a variety of scenes including the British Free Masonry in Berlin, the flight of Soviet citizens, the destruction of Soviet cities, the training or Allied troops, and the Japanese occupation of Shanghai

envelope FS

5 prints depicting England in German character, illustrated in cartoon style; 1 print of the Italian Air Force

envelope FT

42 prints depicting mainly scenes of the Sino-Japanese War and of daily life in Japan, especially war preparations by the Japanese Army and population at large 1937-1938

Scope and Contents note

Issued for the most part by the Japan Press Illustration Service.
envelope FU

3 prints depicting ceremonies of surrender of the German Army at Reims and Cordon in France and in Berlin; 1 print depicting Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery; 1 print depicting Lt. Gen. Sir Edmond Schreiber; 1 print depicting Gen. Charles de Gaulle; 1 print depicting Gen. George C. Marshall talking to American soldiers in Germany, accompanied by Major General Raymond O. Barton and Major General Leonard T. Gerow; and 1 print depicting American soldiers inspecting a German tank destroyed by the advancing Third U.S. Army in Eastern France 1944-1945

envelope FV

23 prints depicting Allied prisoners of war in Germany and Italian prisoners of war in Egypt engaged in various sports and board games facilitated by the War Prisoners' Aid Committee of the YMCA, and employees of the Committee packing items at the Geneva Office in Switzerland

envelope FW

20 prints of the ceremonial signing of the Japanese surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri 1945 September 2

envelope FX

4 prints of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini attending a military review; and 1 print of Italian Partisans in Turin 1945, undated

envelope mFY

1 mounted print depicting the raising of the Soviet flag over the Reichstag in Germany with caption in Russian 1945 May 2

envelope FZ

15 prints of scenes of naval warfare in the Atlantic Ocean and of American naval construction 1941-1942

box 1

Prints of the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II 1942, 1945

Scope and Contents note

Includes an autographed print of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and a print of an American bomber in India (1942).
box 4

Prints of the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II (cont'd.)

box 2

Photographs of Todd-California Shipbuilding Corporation 1941

Scope and Contents note

Contains photographs of the visit of Viscount Halifax and other scenes of the Todd-California Shipbuilding Corporation from preconstruction to 1941.
box 5

Photograph album from Army training base, Camp Forrest, Tennessee 1940s

Physical Description: 1.25 Linear Feet1 oversize box

Scope and Contents

The photograph album features more than 160 photographs of African American women who served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. The women were stationed at Camp Bedford Forrest in Tennessee—an army camp named after the notorious Confederate general credited with organizing the Klu Klux Klan after the Civil War ended. Throughout WWII, more than 6,500 Black women would serve in WAC. In February 1945 the Army formed the 688th Central Postal Directory Battalion which was the only all-Black Women's Army Corps unit to be stationed overseas. In the album is a photo of Charity Adams Earley, the first African American female officer in the WAAC and eventually the commander of the 688th Battalion. In March 2022, Earley and the 688th were awarded a long-overdue Congressional Gold Medal. The album was displayed for the first time ever during Hoover's inaugural Juneteenth celebration.
box 10

Invasion of Russia Photograph Album 1939-1942

Physical Description: 1.25 Linear Feet1 oversize flat box

Scope and Contents

Photograph album containing over 220 images from a German officer's service from 1939-1942. The photos, largely 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", show a variety of scenes witnessed by the soldier, a few captioned, almost all non-combat.
box 3

Invasion of France and Russian Photograph Album circa 1940s

Physical Description: 1.25 Linear Feet1 oversize flat box

Scope and Contents

German soldier's photograph album containing about 180 photographs depicting experiences in the invasions of France and Russia.
box 6, folder 1-2

Photographic postcards of the Mauthausen concentration camp

box 6, folder 3-5

Prints of Italian soldier Tenente C. Leoni of the 8th Artiglieria Someggiata

Scope and Contents

Photos of Italian soldier Tenente C. Leoni of the 8th Artiglieria Someggiata (Mountain Artillery) from his time in Montenegro, especially during the May 1942 uprising in Niksic.
box 7, folder 1-5

Prints of Italian Minister of Public Works Giuseppe Cobolli Gigli 1939 April

Scope and Contents

Photo album depicting the visit of Italian Minister of Public Works Giuseppe Cobolli Gigli to Albania soon after its conquest by Italy in April 1939.
box 7, folder 6

Photograph album of female members of the Bulgarian Brannik nationalistic youth organization

Scope and Contents

Photograph album containing 53 real photographs, many with captions, of female members of the Bulgarian Brannik nationalistic, youth organization.
box 8

Photographs by Italian officer of Greece, Yugoslavia, and Albania WWII

Scope and Contents

Photographs taken by Italian officer Mario, including photos taken in Greece, Yugoslavia, and Albania.
box 9

Photographs of US Navy FLEET WING 4 "Occupying Kiska Island" 1943

 

2019 Increment

box 1

Navy placards undated

 

Declassified U.S. government records 1942-1945

online digital

2018 release of declassified records 1942-1945