Resource Sites for Members

[Adrian]

http://www.worldofbooks.com/humanitie...

Sometimes i find rare and cheap books here.

[Adrian]

http://stonebooks.com/
A great database for world war 2 books.You should be able to find any book about the Second World War here.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Great links Adrian thanks.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Official histories:

Canadian: http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-d...

US Army: http://www.history.army.mil/html/book...

Indian: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/In...

South African: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/So...

Australian: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Au...

New Zealand: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Ne...

United Kingdom: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK...

And Hyper war's homepage:
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/index...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

More great links Geevee, thanks for posting.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Places to shop for WW2 prints:


http://www.cranstonfinearts.com/

http://www.aviationarthangar.com/robe...

http://www.posart.com/default.asp

http://www.barryspicer.com/prints/ind...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Another very good site is http://www.vectorfineart.co.uk/

Many of the prints are signed by various aces, decorated aircrew and ground crews.

[carl]

There's just not enough wall space !

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Great site for those interested in the Guard units of the Soviet Army during WW2:

http://www.13thguardspoltavaskaya.com...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Here is another great resource site for WW2 buffs:


http://ww2db.com/index.php

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

For those thinking of taking a trip to Europe soon, a guide to some of the major WW2 attractions:


http://www.euro-t-guide.com/See_Type/...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Tami from the group has found this site for good quality cheap books covering WW2 subjects:

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

[Courtney]

Not sure if anyone posted this or not, but this site has some amazing WW2 photographs on it - it's called Ghosts of History, and the author blends modern day photographs with historic world war 2 photos using Photoshop:

http://www.ghostsofhistory.co.uk/

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Thanks for the link Courtney, much appreciated.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Thanks Courtney I'd not seen these before.

[Christie]

Courtney wrote: "Not sure if anyone posted this or not, but this site has some amazing WW2 photographs on it - it's called Ghosts of History, and the author blends modern day photographs with historic world war 2 p..."

Thanks for reminding me of this awesome site. It looks like they've added some amazing new photos.

[Christie]

A great article today from "Wired.co.UK" about the launch of a new website that maps the memories of WWII vets. The article can explain much better than I can :)

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Looks like an interesting site, thanks for the link Christie.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

A very interesting English language website on the Finnish Army in WWII that has been provided by group member Tytti:

http://www.palasuomenhistoriaa.net/en...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Thanks Geevee for placing the link in this thread for other members.

[Tytti]

The Finnish Defence Forces has just published for free practically all the 160,000 photos taken by the military photographers in 1939-45, "From the front line to the home front". Only few exceptionally "crude" pictures are not online. It took them 3.5 years to scan and digitalize photos. They are saying it's an unique collection, the only one in the world in this size.

You can look at them here www.SA-kuva.fi (it is also in English) but at the moment it is difficult to access because so many people are trying to see them. Some pics are shown in the news story http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art...

Edit: They were surprised by the popularity: over 100,000 visitors at the same time in a country of 5.4 million...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Thanks Tytti. I tried and as you say the site is down at present, but I did look at the photos in the news article too which were very good.

[carl]

Does look interesting Tytti. That's a lot of photos.

[Tytti]

Yep, hopefully they can get it running soon. Of course the interest will wane eventually, so no point of making it very large scale. But like they said, this was done in the last minute, the negatives were getting worse. There are also databases where you can search for war wictims who died between 1914-22 or in WW2. I'm trying to track down some relatives.

It's working now. Granted it's night in Finland...

[Tytti]

The photo archive seems to be working pretty well, though I recommend looking at it when Finns are sleeping. I do wonder where Henrik O. Lunde has gotten the idea that "The story of Finland fighting alongside a "Goliath" of its own has not brought pride to that nation and was a period many Finns would rather forget". I guess that's why people are storming to see the pictures and there are several books published every year and a lot of research done, too... The latest "bigger" doctoral thesis is called "The Continuation War as a Metanoic Moment. A Burkean Reading of Lutheran Hierocratic Rhetoric" and it's available online in English. I've read that Germans are interested in printing it.

But anyway, the pictures. The ones I've looked seem to portray more everyday life, not that many battle scenes, but frankly I think those are interesting, too. It's an era when my parents and grandparents lived and so different compared to this day. Also the pictures of Germans look exotic even for me because many of those are from Lapland, reindeer and all.

You have to search in Finnish but terms like 'saksal*' gives you photos of Germans and 'lotta*' many pictures of the work women did during the war years. I haven't seen similar pictures from other countries. We didn't have women in a military uniform but lottas worked in many areas that are normally "reserved" for the army. And just think about the numbers: 3.6 million people and an army of 500,000-600,000 men and 230,000 lottas (some were elderly) that freed 25,000 men to other duties and 220,000 Germans. By comparison, the Soviet Union had about 1,500,000 men on our front.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Thanks Tytti for providing some guidance on key words. Like you I find the recording of people's lives most interesting.

[Tytti]

Actually those were the instructions but it seems it's smarter than that and can find words that declined (?) differently.

Some other words that might come in handy:
hevonen = horse (very important, 72,000 horses served in the war because we didn't have many motor vehicles)
poro = reindeer (used in Lapland)
vanki = prisoner
venäläinen, ryssä, vanja = Russian
vihollinen = enemy
korsu = dugout, some were very fine
evakko = evacuee
sotilaspoika = soldier boy
pikkulotta, lottatyttö = girl lotta
aseveli = brother-in-arms
vapaaehtoiset = volunteers, mostly Swedish
ruotsalainen = Swedish
virolainen = Estonian
Marski, marsalkka = Mannerheim

And I know I'm repeating myself but just looking at those pictures of lottas makes me appreciate their effort even more if possible. They followed the men almost to the front line and cooked food in the middle of nowhere under the sky in the forest and washed clothes even during the winter on the frozen lake. And probably the canteens they brought with them to the front were very important to the morale of the soldiers. I don't know everything that female soldiers did in other countries but those uniforms wouldn't have suited for the "real" work most lottas did.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much literature about them in English, one reason probably is that it was "forbidden" to talk about them before the fall of Soviet Union. The organization was disbanded for being fascist, which of course it wasn't, just anti-communist, but the Allies demanded all sorts of things...

[Caroline]

I don't know if this has been posted before but it's just been mentioned on one of my other GR groups.

You might be interested in following project, founded by the same people who organized the event I went to: http://www.resistance-archive.org

In the video-archive you'll find 20 witness interviews, always in the original language and with English subtitles.

Here what the organizers write:

The protagonists and eyewitnesses will disappear in the next years. Soon, there will be no other testimonies of the happenings apart from those having been collected, recorded, recounted and written down. The value of eyewitness interviews is unique. No book or film can replace the opportunity of watching eyewitnesses tell their stories of resistance and independent decision to do so.
The European Resistance Archive will enable the documentation of this precious knowledge. It offers video interviews with women and men having taken part in the antifascist resistance.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Thanks Caroline for posting this link. It is a great site and something many members will watch I am sure.

Oh and please feel free to post some info about your new book on our authors page too.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Great site Caroline, thanks for posting the link.

[Tom]

some nice maps
http://www.westpoint.edu/history/Site...

edit.
the main page for maps
http://www.westpoint.edu/history/Site...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Good link Tom, great source for maps of WW2, thanks for posting.

[Caroline]

Geevee wrote: "Thanks Caroline for posting this link. It is a great site and something many members will watch I am sure.

Oh and please feel free to post some info about your new book on our authors page too."

Many thanks Geevee - I've posted information about the book and the giveaway.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Tom wrote: "some nice maps
http://www.westpoint.edu/history/Site..."

Thanks Tom these are great.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

For those members who enjoy everything about U-boats, try this site:

http://uboat.net/index.html

[Tytti]

The Atlantic has found the Finnish photo archive. The story here: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/20...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Wondered if people has seen this site - not sure how active it is as last update is 2006 - but it lists units and officers. I've looked at the British and Australian officers pages and it is fascinating and holds some great info: http://www.unithistories.com/default.asp

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Good link Geevee.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Some great documents and book reviews on WW2 subjects at this site:

http://secondworldwaroperationsresear...

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Reading . He mentions this website in the end notes:

http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Great link Mike, thanks for that.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

For those members who like to browse official histories or anyone conducting WW2 research the Australian War Memorial has now made available Australia's official histories:

The official history of Australia’s involvement in the Second World War represents one of the longest and largest historical endeavours that Australia has ever seen. The enterprise began in January 1943 with the appointment of Gavin Long as General Editor. The 22 volumes, written by 14 authors, were published by the Memorial over a 25-year period between 1952 and 1977.

http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/secon...

[Cort]

Christie wrote: "I'm currently reading and the author referenced a really cool website in her footnotes that I thought I would pass along.
www.thirdreichruins.com

There..."

This was the site I was going to recommend. C

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Just finished Here are a couple of websites for research the author mentioned:


http://www.allworldwars.com/

http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/arc...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Some excellent research/resource sites Mike, thanks for posting the links.

[Rory]

In the age of Kindles and ebooks, and Wikipedia, I admit I am a bit of an Anachronism as I love paper books. While I have kindle and tons of pdfs from center for military history and elsewhere, plus audible on my commute, I still love spending an hour or two browsing bookstores.
However after hearing another of my favorite local used bookstores is closing, our local library sold off a good portion of their books to add more computers, and that B&N may or may not start closing a high number of their stores due to their bad bet on the nook TABLET, I have to call out a few stores still out there for us WWII lovers.
I am not personally connected with any of the three other than I purchased from them, and if there is another area to post this info please let me know.
1. Aberdeen books run by Tom Pettys. I started buying from Tom in late 90's and every book I bought from him, he had personally read or skimmed, and was very knowledgeable. His books are more detailed, and not cheap but very few have yet to be turned into ebooks. http://www.aberdeenbookstore.com/
2. On Military Matters, by Dennis Shorthouse. Dennis has a small shop in Hopewell NJ, and he isn't just devoted to books but also tons of history magazines, and military miniature gaming. He also travels east coast doing tradeshows. http://onmilitarymatters.com/pages/df...
3. If you happen to be by exit 8a on New Jersey Turnpike(a state that for most part is just a big mass of highways between PA, NY and the shore), take the exit and about 10 minutes away is a small scenic Norman Rockwell town called Cranbury, which is home to the Cranbury Bookworm. Earlier this year the Bookworm left the gorgeous Victorian house that had been their home for 30+ years and moved to a small store front the size of a Subway shop. But, Andrew Feldman who inherited the business and runs it now, is very devoted to keeping it going. Great used books, great prices. Look them up on Facebook. I found in his store the Time Life Third Reich series, all 19 books for under $80, a Life magazine dated December 7, 1941 with MacArthur on the cover, and many more "lost treasures". Certain type of people would consider this store paradise.

Thank you for allowing me to share. Would love to hear your own stories of favorite bookstores that you currently favor with your custom, or the dearly departed.
Thanks!

Rory

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Rory,
I'm a paper lover too. I have a Kindle and it holds lots of books but I just can't see them so I like to hold, flick through and read them all the while while they "decorate" my home office.

I like Foyles in London http://www.foyles.co.uk/Books-tab and the Waterstones chain in the UK http://www.waterstones.com/waterstone...

Too many book shops have now closed and Charing Cross Road in London is no longer what it was as many have closed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing_...

My favorite bookshop of all time was a small shop in Sussex called Tulloch Ard, which I spent hours and hours in and spent my pocket money, birthday monies and book tokens. Sadly it went many years ago.

[Rory]

Geevee,
Thanks for sharing. There were a couple of London stores I used to order from years ago but I can't remember their names. From 1996-2001 I bought a ton of books from allover, but then I had adjust budget for growing family so it has been used book stores, fleamarkets and yardsales for most part for last 10 years with the occasional visit to my favorites listed above. Now kids are older, I have some extra $ and time pick up some new books.
Thank you for sharing.
Rory

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Rory my pleasure - I buy quite a few books from www.betterworldbooks.co.uk (www.betterworldbooks.com) too.

[carl]

Geevee wrote: " I just can't see them so I like to hold, flick through and read them all the while while they "decorate" my home office...."

"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing
else that so beautifully furnishes a house."

Henry Ward Beecher