World War II Films at the National Archives in College Park, MD
The Moving Image and Sound Branch of the National Archives 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’s 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’s Online Catalog, these film and audio series and donated collections are among the most significant:
Frequently Used Series
Audio
Army Motion Picture Film Productions, ca. 1939 - ca. 1945 (Local Identifier: 80-MA)
British Canadian Navy Motion Picture Film Productions, 1939 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 80-MB)
Commercial Motion Picture Film Productions, 1945 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 80-MC)
U.S. Marine Corps Motion Picture Film Productions, ca. 1939 - ca. 1945 (Local Identifier: 80-MH)
Government Motion Picture Film Productions, ca. 1939 - ca. 1945 (Local Identifier: 80-MG)
Navy Motion Picture Film Productions, ca. 1939 - ca. 1947 (Local Identifier: 80-MN)
Moving Images Relating to Military Activities (Local Identifier: 111-ADC)
Armed Forces Screen Reports (Local Identifier: 111-AFSR)
Army - Navy Screen Magazine, 1943 - 1958 (Local Identifier:111-ANSM)
Motion Picture Films from the "Alien Roundup" Program Series (Local Identifier : 111 BW)
Moving Images Relating to Civilian Affairs (Local Identifier: 111-CAD)
Motion Picture Films from the "Combat Bulletin" Program Series (Local Identifier 111-CB)
Engineering Board Film Digests ( Local Identifier: 111 EB)
Educational Films (Local Identifier: 111-EF)
Film Bulletins, ca. 1939 - ca. 1945 (Local Identifier:111-FB)
Moving Images of Historical Reports (Local Identifier: 111-HR)
Post-World War II Historical Reports (Local Identifier 111-HRA)
Motion Picture Films from the "Historical Reports" Program Series (Local Identifier: 111-HRB)
Historical Film Reports Relating to World War II (Local Identifier 111-HRC)
Historical Film Reports (Local Identifier: 111 HRE)
Moving Images Relating to World War II (Local Identifier : 111-L)
Documentary Films (Local Identifier: 111-M)
Miscellaneous German Films (Local Identifier: 111-M527)
Miscellaneous Training Films (Local Identifier: 111-M528)
Miscellaneous Films Including Canadian Army Training Films and Films Relating to Russia, Italy, and Japan (Local Identifier: 111-M529)
Moving Images Relating to Military Activities (Local Identifier: 111-MPE)
Orientation Films (Local Identifier: 111-OF)
Moving Images Relating to American Security (Local Identifier: 111-OSD)
Professional Medical Films (Local Identifier: 111-PMF)
Special Bulletins (Local Identifier: 111-SB)
Special Film Reports (Local Identifier 111-SFR)
Motion Picture Films Relating to the Relocation of Japanese Aliens (Local Identifier: 111-T21)
Training Films (Local Identifier: 111-TF)
Motion Picture Films From "The Big Picture" Television Program Series (Local Identifier: 111-TV)
War Films (Local Identifier: 111-WF)
Film
Propaganda, Information, and Documentary Motion Pictures (Local Identifier: 208-GENERAL)
Motion Picture Films From "Indian News" Newsreels, 1945 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 208-INN)
Motion Picture Films from "Movietone News" Newsreels, 1942 - 1942 (Local Identifier: 208-MN)
Motion Picture Films from "News of the Day" Newsreels, 1942 - 1942 (Local Identifier: 208-ND)
Motion Picture Films from "Russian News" Newsreels, 1942 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 208-RN)
Motion Picture Films from "War Pictorial News" Newsreels, 1943 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 208-WP)
Motion Picture Films from “United News” Newsreels (Local Identifier: 208-UN)
Audio
Sound Recordings Relating to World War II (Local Identifier: 208-GENERALa)
Film
Motion Picture Films, ca. 1942 - ca. 1945 (Local Identifier 226-GENERAL)
Training Film Relating to Japan, 1940 - 1945( Local Identifier: 226-A)
Training Films, 1941 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 226-D)
Training and Informational Film Relating to U.S.S. Kearny, 1942 - 1942 (Local Identifier: 226-G)
Training and Informational Films Relating to World War II, 1940 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 226-H)
Training and Informational Film Relating to Mexico, 1943 - 1943 (Local Identifier: 226-J)
Training and Informational Films, 1942 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 226-K)
Film Clips, 1940 - 1945 (Local Identifier: 226-U)
Film
Motion Picture Films of Vichy French News Newsreels, 1944 - 1944 (Local Identifier: 242-FN)
Motion Picture Films of German News Newsreels and Newsreel Excerpts, (Local Identifier: 242-GN)
Motion Picture Films of German-Portuguese News Newsreels, 1940 - 1941(Local Identifier: 242-GPN)
Motion Picture Films of Italian News, 1940 - 1943 (Local Identifier: 242-ITN)
Motion Picture Films from G-2 Army Military Intelligence Division (Local Identifier: 242-MID)
U.F.A. Newsreels, 1939 - 1940 (Local Identifier:242-MID-G)
National Broadcasting Company/Soviet Television Newsreels, 1945 - 1947 (Local Identifier: 242-NPC)
Motion Picture Films of UFA Newsreels (German), 1939 - 1940 (Local Identifier: 242-UFA)
Moving Image of "La Conquista di Nanchino", 1937 - 1940 (Local Identifier: 242-MID-I)
Audio
Film
"Welt im Film" Newsreels, ca. 1953 - ca. 1953 (Local Identifier: 306-WIF)
Audio
Audio Recordings Relating to D-Day (Local Identifier: 306-D-DAYa)
Production Library Audio Recordings Relating to World War II (Local Identifier: 306-Ea)
Audio Recordings Relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Local Identifier: 306-FDRa)
Audio Recordings of the "Forum" Radio Program (Local Identifier: 306-FORUMa)
Audio Recordings (Local Identifier: 306 GENERALa)
Miscellaneous Audio Recordings (Local Identifier: 306-MISCa)
Sound Recordings of Ambassador Carl T. Rowan (Local Identifier: 306-ROWANa)
Audio Recordings of Historic Speeches (Local Identifier: 306-SPEECHESa
Audio Recordings of the “Victory In Europe” Radio Program (Local Identifier: 306-VEa)
Audio Recordings of the “Victory In Japan” Radio Program (Local Identifier: 306-VJa)
Audio Recordings of the "United Nations Charter" Radio Program (Local Identifier: 306-UNCa)
Army Air Force Combat Film Subjects (Local Identifier: 342-AAFCFS)
Moving Images of Soldiers' Activities During World War II (Local Identifier: 342-AFHSO)
Motion Picture FIlms From the “Air Force News Review” Program Series, (Local Identifier: 342-AFNR)
"Combat Bulletin" Films (Local Identifier:342-CB)
Moving Images Relating to Aerospace Medical Research (Local Identifier: 342-SAM)
Moving Images Relating to Survival Training (Local Identifier: 342-SERE)
Special Film Projects Relating to Military Activities (Local Identifier: 342-SFP)
Training Films (Local Identifier: 342-TF)
Moving Images Relating to Military Aviation Activities (Local Identifier 342-USAF)
Moving Images Relating to Aviation Activities (Local Identifier: 342-WF)
Film
March of Time Collection, Series: "March of Time" Motion Picture Newsreel Releases (Local Identifier: MT-MT) Note: Donor and copyright restrictions. Items from this series may not be reproduced without written permission.
March of Time Collection, Series: Outtakes from 'March Of Time' Newsreels (Local Identifier: MT-MTT)
Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection, Series: Motion Picture Newsreel Film(Local Identifier: PARA-PN) Note: Donor and copyright restrictions. Items from this series may not be reproduced without written permission.
MCA/Universal Pictures Collection, Series: Motion Picture Releases of the Universal Newsreel Library (Local Identifier: UN-UN) Note: In 1978, a fire destroyed nitrate motion picture film of some newsreels (or issues) including most of volumes 14 through 17, which include the years 1941-1944. Universal disposed of many separate music and narrative soundtracks before donating the collection to the National Archives.
MCA/Universal Pictures Collection 1929 - 1967, Series: Outtakes from Motion Picture Newsreels of the Universal Newsreel Library (Local Identifier: UN-OT) Note: In 1978, a fire destroyed nitrate motion picture film most of which were outtakes from the 1930s and 1940s.
MCA/Universal Pictures Collection, Series: Universal Newsreels’ Subject Card Catalog Note: The subject and personality cards in this series describe both the edited newsreel releases and the outtakes described above.
Audio
American Broadcasting Company Collection, Series: Audio Recordings of ABC Radio News Programs Including News Commentaries, Special Events, Public Affairs, Actuality News, and Some Sports and Entertainment, (Local Identifier: ABC-ABCa) Note: Donor and copyright restrictions. Items from this series may not be reproduced without written permission.
David Goldin Collection, Series: Audio Recordings of Radio Broadcasts of Speeches, Interviews, Combat Reports, Special Events, Public Affairs, and Entertainment for U.S. Troops (Local Identifier: G-Ga) Note: Some of the commercial broadcasts in this collection may be subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without written permission from the rights holder.
University of Washington Collection, Series: Audio Recordings Forming the Milo Ryan Phonoarchive of Radio Newscasts Relating to World War II and Special Coverage of Other Historical Events (Local Identifier: MR-MRa) Note: Donor and copyright restrictions. Items from this series may not be reproduced without written permission.
National Broadcasting Company, Inc., Collection, Series: Sound Recordings of Broadcasts (Local Identifier: NBC-NBCa) Note: Donor and copyright restrictions. Items from this series may not be reproduced without written permission.
WTOP Radio Broadcast Collection, Series: News, Political Coverage, and Entertainment Radio Broadcasts (Local Identifier: WTOP-WTOPa) Note: Some of the commercial broadcasts in this collection may be subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without written permission from the rights holder.