Research Guides: U.S. History: Primary Source Collections Online: Cold War

Cold War - Primary Sources Online

Cold War History: Collections from the Wilson Center Digital Archive
Origins of the Cold War: Open Access Primary Sources by Amy Dye-Reeves, College & Research Libraries News. This column links out to dozens of important source collections related to various aspects of the Cold War.
CIA Historical Collections Declassified Agency documents on various topics in international intelligence, foreign policy, Cold War, etc. (Central Intelligence Agency)
Cold War Origins "This collection of primary source documents discusses international relations during World War II and the years shortly after. It begins with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed in 1939 and ends with documents from the 1950’s. The collection contains a wide variety of documents including agreements, memorandums, meeting minutes, cables, letters, diary entries, and military reports from WWII. The documents mainly come from Russian and Bulgarian archives." (Wilson Center Digital Archives)
Cuban Missile Crisis: NSA Documents
NOTE: You must choose a YEAR to see documents one year at a time.
Declassified documents (primarily 1960-1963) related to the Cuban Missile Crisis. (National Security Agency, NSA)
Documentation on Early Cold War U.S. Propaganda Activities in the Middle East "The documents collected here describe an earlier program to expand and revitalize American propaganda directed at the Middle East, and the methods that were utilized, including graphic displays, manipulation of the news, books, movies, cartoons, activities directed at schools and universities, and exchange programs. U.S. propaganda efforts were assisted by collaborating governments, the news media, academics, publishers, and private associations." (George Washington Univ.)
Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy: The Cold War Primary documents related to the Cold War, spanning pre-1945 to 1991. (Mt. Holyoke College)
End of the Cold War "This is a collection of primary source documents covering the collapse of the Soviet Union during the late 1980s. The collection contains documents from archives in most of the former Soviet bloc countries. They discuss the changes occurring in Eastern Europe and the Tiananmen Square events in China." (Wilson Center Digital Archives)
Historical Collection on Ronald Reagan, Intelligence, and the End of the Cold War
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"In the 1980s, the Cold War was going strong and was made worse by events such as the death of three Soviet leaders in a span of three years, the Soviet shootdown of a Korean airliner, and the USSR's support for Communist governments and movements in Afghanistan and Central America. This collection of declassified documents and other material highlights what the CIA provided President Reagan and other top members of his national security team on key issues affecting US-Soviet relations. The collection--made up of intelligence assessments, National Intelligence Estimates, high-level memos, and DCI talking points--consists of over 200 documents, some 60 of which are either being made available to the public for the first time or are being re-released with new material. To help put this material in perspective, we are also including non-CIA documents from the archives of the Reagan Library to fill out the collection on the policy end." (Central Intelligence Agency, CIA)
Ideological Foundations of the Cold War (1945-1952) "This collection focuses on the ideals that formed the basis of American policy toward the Soviet Union during the early years of the Cold War. Supporting materials include photographs, oral history transcripts, biographies and a chronology of events." (Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum)
Making the History of 1989 Translated primary documents and secondary sources (including video interviews with scholars of Eastern European Studies and case studies of specific events) explore the 1980s eventsthat culminated in the end of communist rule in Eastern Europe in 1989. Represents a variety of perspectives relevant to the final collapse of communist control. (George Mason Univ.)
Origins of the Cold War Historical documents from the Truman administration, including the Containment and Marshall Plan. (Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum)
Prague Spring Archive "An online portal for the Prague Spring archival materials within Texas ScholarWorks and the LBJ Presidential Library." (Univ. of Texas at Austin)
Wilson Center Digital Archive: International History Declassified "Contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe" in "the history of international relations and diplomacy," focusing on "the interrelated histories of the Cold War, Korea, and Nuclear Proliferation." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)

Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Weapons, & Atomic Bombs

Atomic Bomb Decision: Documents on the Decision to use Atomic Bombs on the the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Compiled documents from National Archives and other sources. (Gene Dannen, independent researcher)
Atomic Energy & Nuclear History Learning Curriculum Digital exhibit with selected archive materials on The Manhattan Project, Civil Defense, Nuclear Engineering, and other topics. (Oregon State Univ.)
Atomic Heritage Foundation: Key Documents Documents the Manhattan Project and the Atomic Age. Several links on this page point to the Directory of Documents, Directory of Photographs, etc.
Dear Professor Einstein: Letters to the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists "Albert Einstein formed the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists [c.1946], hoping that by lending his fame and visibility to a fundraising effort, he could have a significant influence on public support for ending war. He called on Leo Szilard and eight other atomic scientists to join the effort, including Linus Pauling and Harold Urey." (Oregon State Univ.) The link above goes to a thematic grouping of letters. The site also provides an alphabetical index of letters and advanced tools to search and browse the collection.
Hiroshima: Rare Film Footage After the Atomic Bombs
(CNN)
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (1946-1977): Source Materials Full text of over 144,000 pages of source materials from the hearings of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, which existed from 1946 to 1977 to "make continuing studies of the activities of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and of problems relating to the development, use, and control of atomic energy." (Stanford Univ.)
The Nixon Administration and the Indian Nuclear Program, 1972-1974 Offers a look at the reaction of President Richard Nixon's administration to the testing of nuclear weapons by India. There are 21 documents on this website, including a secret memo entitled "A Concerted Effort by India to Conceal Preparations May Well Succeed" and several key State Department cables. (National Security Archive)
Nuclear Debate Pamphlets "Pamphlets from both pro- and anti-nuclear organizations published during the 1980 period of rising tensions and the decline of déténte." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)
Nuclear History Documents in the National Security Archive's Electronic Briefing Books Click "Nuclear History" to expand the options, then click on individual topics to see documents. (George Washington Univ.)
Nuclear Proliferation International History Project "Explores the international history of nuclear weapons and their proliferation using archival documents and oral history interviews from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Israel, India, South Africa, Sweden and more." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)
The Nuclear Vault: Resources from the Nuclear Documentation Project De-classified documents, photos, info, related reading lists, and links related to nuclear weapons, nuclear weapon policies, nuclear crises, and nuclear proliferation (in the U.S. and around the world) from the 1940s through the present. (George Washington Univ.)
Selected Writings of Albert Wohlstetter, 1951-1970 Albert Wohlstetter became one of the world’s leading nuclear and national security strategists. His studies led to concepts for deterring nuclear war, and reduced the probability of accidental war. (RAND)
Truman Library & Museum: Online Documents
Wilson Center Digital Archive: International History Declassified "Contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe" in "the history of international relations and diplomacy," focusing on "the interrelated histories of the Cold War, Korea, and Nuclear Proliferation." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)