Historical Materials

The Historical Materials section is subdivided chronologically, by war. The World War II material is the largest section, containing materials on war crimes trials. The material on the Nuremberg Trials contains all four major publications from the Trials: the official proceedings of the trial of the major war criminals (The Blue Series), documentary evidence and guide materials from that trial (The Red Series), the official condensed record of the subsequent trials (The Green Series), and a final report on all the war crimes trials held in Nuremberg, Germany, from 1945 to 1949. This section also contains reports from the Malmedy Massacre, General Tomoyuki Yamashita’s trial, and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Information on the MyLai Incident can be found under the Vietnam War section.

  • 1800s Material in this section includes the Reno Court of Inquiry from the Battle of Little Big Horn River and the Trial of Henry Wirz from the Civil War.
  • World War II The United States entered World War II in December 1941 and became fully engaged in the war, both in the European and Mediterranean Theater as well as the Pacific Theater. This collection focuses on military legal documents and trials in the aftermath of the war, including the Nuremberg Trials, the World War II Board of Review Decisions, the Malmedy Massacre Report, and the trial…
  • Korean War This section includes the Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Korean War Atrocities of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations and the summarizing report.
  • Vietnam War This section focuses on the MyLai Incident, including the Peers Inquiry (later known as the MyLai Massacre) with all four volumes and several hearings and committee reports.
  • Military Law Historical Monographs, Studies, Texts, and Treatises Various scholarly texts from 1920-1978 on military law.
  • U.S. Army Regulations, Manuals, Circulars, and Pamphlets Assorted procedures, standards of conduct, codes, and operational manuals provided for the U.S. Army.