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Those left behind

Supporting families of the fallen (1897-1922)

by Doctor Anna Batzeli post-doctoral researcher.

Anna Batzeli PhD at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), currently she is working as a postdoctoral researcher on different case-studies in the modern history of Greece and the Balkans. Anna has published two books and several papers. Her publications can be found at: https://auth.academia.edu/AnnaBatzeli

The Committee of Military Archives thanks our friend Anna Batzeli for her commitment and her participation to this project again. Her dedication represents a magnificent and concrete way to support the CAM. Thanks a lot!

Introduction


Between 1897 and 1922, Greece experienced a period of almost uninterrupted military engagement, participating in five major conflicts that included the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, World War I, and the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922.

These wars were driven largely by the Great Idea (Megali Idea), a national movement aiming to expand Greece’s territory to include all areas with significant Greek populations. While Greece achieved significant territorial expansion through these wars, the human cost was enormous, with more than 53,000 military personnel killed and untold numbers of civilian deaths. Parallel to these developments, the island of Crete, which was not formally part of Greece until 1913, waged its own struggles for union with the Greek state and experienced repeated uprisings and loss of life.

The purpose of the project was to explore the various forms of support offered to the families of those who died in these wars.

It focused on both state-led and non-state initiatives, covering efforts made not only in the Greek mainland but also in the semi-autonomous Cretan State between 1898 and 1913.

The research draws upon extensive archival sources, including collections from the Hellenic Army Archives, the General State Archives, the Hellenic Parliament, and newspaper records from major Greek libraries.


Through this wide-ranging historical investigation, the study sheds light on how Greek society addressed the needs of bereaved families during a time of almost constant warfare. The results of this study have been submitted to a peer-reviewed academic journal and are currently under review. The purpose of this blog is to present the institutions that hold archives and primary sources, which were consulted during the research.


Figure 1: Announcement regarding the erection of a votive columns commemorating students who had fallen in World War I (source: Νέα Εφημερίς (New Newspaper), January 17, 1919).
Historical Archives Service Directorate

The Historical Archives Service Directorate is a core institution under the Army History Directorate, which operates within the Hellenic Army General Staff.

As one of the most important historical archives in Greece, the Historical Archives Service Directorate safeguards and manages the archival memory of the Hellenic Army and the modern Greek state through a vast collection of official documents, photographs, maps, and personal records.

The archive houses extensive material from all major military and political conflicts involving Greece from the late 19th century to the present.

These include the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Macedonian Struggle (1904-1908), the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), World War I, the Asia Minor Campaign (1919-1922), World War II, the Greek Civil War (1945-1949), and the Greek Expeditionary Corps in Korea (1950-1955).

It also includes documentation on Greece’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Additionally, the archive contains records of more than 40 personal files of key political and military figures and materials related to the organization and evolution of the Hellenic Army after 1950.

By the end of 2019, the Historical Archives Service had collected approximately 2.5 million documents, including military orders, battle reports, correspondence, maps, diagrams, and photographs. Of these, 1.5 million documents have been digitized and integrated into a searchable internal database.


The institution also maintains a specialized library with about 8,000 Greek and 3,000 foreign-language publications, 3,000 military regulations, and extensive press archives (1954-1992) and encyclical orders (from 1922 onward). The library is actively growing, serving both internal military researchers and visiting scholars.


Figure 2: List of Applications of War Orphans and Widows requesting assistance. Source: Επίσημος Εφημερίς της Κρητικής Πολιτείας (Official Newspaper of the Cretan State), August 11, 1900.
The General State Archives

The General State Archives serves as Greece’s central archival institution. Founded in 1914, its core mission has been to collect, preserve, classify, digitize, and make accessible the official archives and private documents that chronicle Greece’s governmental, social, economic, and cultural history.

As of today, the General State Archives holds archival material from dozens of government bodies and private agencies. Its holdings include administrative records, manuscripts, correspondence, judicial files, electoral rolls, censuses, military lists, business directories, and refugee registries, among many others.


Figure 3: Mary Hunter, an English Philhellene who worked tirelessly to ensure the needs of the families of the fallen were met.
Source: Λεύκωμα του Μικρασιατικού Μετώπου της Φιλέλληνος Αγγλίδος κ. Μαίρης Χούντερ (1922) (Album of the Asia Minor Front by the Philhellene Englishwoman Mrs. Mary Hunter (1922), page 3.
The Historical Archive of Crete

The Historical Archive of Crete, based in Chania, was founded in 1920.

Today, it houses approximately 700,000 historical documents and records dating from 1821 to the present.

The Archive contains more than 170 archival collections, including revolutionary archives and official correspondence from major Cretan uprisings, private archival collections featuring correspondence of revolutionary leaders, generals, local militia commanders, and other prominent figures in Cretan history and the Archive of Cretan Fighters.

The Historical Archive of Crete also contains the complete archive of the Cretan State (1898–1913), as well as, records related to World War II and Crete’s role in the conflict.


Figure 4: Clipping from an article detailing the work of the “Association of Widows and Orphans of the Officers,” which publicly protested the unequal pension benefits granted to different categories of war victims. Widows and orphans of those who died in the Balkan Wars and subsequent conflicts received higher pensions than those whose relatives had fallen in ea8rlier wars. The reason for this disparity remains unclear, but it reportedly affected around 1,500 families.
Source: Ριζοσπάστης (Rizospastis Newspaper), January 16, 1922.
Hellenic Parliament

The Library of the Hellenic Parliament’s Digital Collections include nearly 800,000 pages of parliamentary records, a staggering 14 million pages of newspapers and magazines, and 479 handwritten manuscripts, alongside 3,467 maps and over 3,900 digital map images.

In addition, the repository provides access to legislative texts (including statutes, constitutions, sitting minutes), historical periodicals, and archival materials, organized into the following major categories: Parliamentary Collection, General Collections, Special Collections, Archives, and a Bibliographic Index.

The Newspaper Archive of the Vikelaia Library

The Vikelaia Municipal Library’s Digital Library of Historical Documents offers free online access to a rich collection of newspapers, periodicals, and archival material spanning from the Ottoman era to the present day.

Among its key resources is the Newspaper Archive, where users can browse historic titles covering the period from Ottoman rule onward. The archive is fully searchable by date, issue number, or keyword.

The Newspaper Archive of the National Library of Greece

The Newspaper Archive of the National Library of Greece offers free access to a curated set of historic Greek newspapers, primarily from the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

The collection features seven major titles, each fully digitized and searchable by date, title, and keyword. These include: Akropolis (1883-1884), Eleftheria (1944-1967), Empros (1896-1969), Makedonia (1911-1981), Rizospastis (1917–1983), Skrip (1893–1963) and Tachydromos (1958–1977)

The digital Library Anemi

Anemi is a digital platform founded in 2006 by the University of Crete Library. Anemi provides free online access to a rich array of digitized material related to Modern Greek Studies, including rare historical texts as well as modern publications. Among Anemi’s collections are over 8,000 bibliographic records of Greek publications from the late medieval period onward, many linked directly to digitized editions.

 Closing remarks

The sources consulted in this research highlight the intersection of military and social history through a case study that examines the support provided to the families of fallen soldiers. The project focused on both state-led and non-state initiatives, from 1897 to 1922 when Greece was essentially at war. This prolonged period of conflict affected the entire population, with many losing loved ones. The exhaustion of Greek society underscored the necessity for support initiatives for the families of the fallen. The research drew on both military and non-military archives, which provided critical insights into the social impact of the wars. These resources shed light on the personal stories of the families and the challenges they faced during the post-war period. The documents also emphasized the intersection of military, political, and diplomatic history, showing how supporting fallen soldiers’ families was integral to maintaining morale, both on the front lines and within society. State-led initiatives underscored the government’s role as a welfare provider, reflecting both gratitude to soldiers and an effort to sustain national morale, which was vital for the realization of the “Great Idea” vision. These policies depended on societal participation and consent. In addition to state efforts, private initiatives by individuals, social organizations, and economic entities were essential. These actions demonstrated the societal recognition of soldiers’ sacrifices and the importance of supporting their families.

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The Portuguese Military Historical Archives

by Dr. António Pais, of the Portuguese Military Historical Archive

The Committee of Military Archives thanks our colleague Dr. António Pais for his contribution to this project. It is a pleasure thank him for his great support during the visit the CAM had in Lisbon in 2024

Introduction

The Military Historical Archive (AHM) is one of the main Portuguese archives, whose documentation dates back to the period of Portugal’s restoration (1640).

The richness of its collection is of unique importance for
the elaboration of the History of Portugal and I do not exaggerate, for today’s importance, to define us as a national
identity. The AHM serves the Portuguese Army as a definitive Archive, keeping its precious documentary collection that this institution has created and elaborated over the centuries.

There is no history of the Portuguese empire without the memory preserved in the documentation that the AHM keeps and cares for. The typology of documentation is very rich, it goes beyond handwritten documentation in the form of correspondence, decrees or manuals, it encompasses iconographic documentation, in which I highlight the enormous collection of cartography made in the nineteenth century of the overseas territories.

The Army Historical Office reading room

The Portuguese participation in the Great War (1917-1918) is another of the main documentation collections of this Archive, which is complemented by the Arnaldo Gracez Photographic Fund with more than 1400 photographs. Official photographer of the Portuguese army who accompanied the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps and who opened with a new photographic recording technology,
a new way of preserving memory.

These photographs, as we have already mentioned, are included in the Special Funds, whose photographic or iconographic character requires specific conditions for their preservation, namely cold temperatures, below 12º degrees and humidity conditions below 10% that the AHM has.

The testimony of the relevance of the AHM in the Portuguese historiographical research circuit, but also internationally, is demonstrated by the high number of researchers who investigate here, about 600 researchers annually visit the Reading Room, with foreigners making up almost 10% of the total number of researchers.

The most investigated topics are undoubtedly genealogical research through the consultation of individual files of deceased officers, but also through the military records that are in the «Master Books», created by decree of law in 1763 and extinguished in 1908, in which, in addition to personal data, they have the record of the main physical characteristics such as the height or hair color of the soldiers. They are one of the main sociological and demographic sources of the history of Portuguese society.

Another relevant and recent documentation is the History of Units mobilized to the overseas.

The nature of this documentation is more sensitive, insofar as it can be considered to be a semi-active documentation, relevant to many ex-soldiers still alive and used for the purposes of legal proceedings for claims for compensation to the Portuguese State.

The personal data in this documentation remains protected by law. These histories of units are the last documentary
testimony that the Archive keeps, referring to the last years of the Portuguese empire, which report the events of the Overseas War and of enormous historiographical relevance not only for Portugal, but also for the new countries that were constituted at the end of the Portuguese empire, Angola, Mozambique and Guinea.

an overview of the armchairs with folders containing historical documents
Functions and funds of the AHM

The AHM has the function of being the definitive archive of the Portuguese Army, that is, it keeps the documentation that has lost its administrative character, acquiring informative and historical value, which makes it of permanent conservation, it is the so-called inactive phase of
documentation.

In this context, it should be understood as the archival entity with the competence to safeguard, process and preserve all documents of historical value related to the Army, according to article 1 of the 7th Ordinance 272/2000.

At this moment, any researcher anywhere in the world can access the valuable collection that AHM makes available to the public, through three platforms:

  1. ARCHEEVO is an application that provides the public online with access to AHM funds and documentary series, with their respective description and identification, through a unique reference code. The online availability allows researchers to consult the Archive’s funds in advance, in order to identify the existence of the desired documentation, after which they can go to the AHM to request their consultation. Also through the application,
    AHM already provides online documentation, through its digitalization, allowing researchers to consult documentation without the necessary travel. The ARCHEEVO is accessible to all online users.
  1. GERMIL (accessible to all online users) is an application that makes available to the public online, the Master Books and the Salary Books, which were created by Law of July 7, 1763, at the time of Count Lippe’s reforms. These books underwent several changes over time, including those in format and number of sheets and were in force until 1908, the year in which they were extinguished because the registration sheets for officers and enlisted men were created. The Masters or Matriculation books have the records of the Portuguese male population, from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, distributed in 3,822 books and inscribed on 420,000 sheets. The information contained in these master books is very rich, especially in the field of History, Sociology, Anthropology and Genealogy.
  1. The Virtual Memorial is an application that provides the public online with access to the inventory of all Portuguese combatants who died in the Great War, a task that has not been completed. One hundred years after the beginning of the Great War, the Memorial paid tribute to all the Portuguese who fought on the battlefields of Africa and Europe, in defense of their Homeland and in favor of Freedom. In addition to defending the national territory, including the Atlantic islands, Portuguese soldiers were present on the Angolan front in 1914-1915; in Mozambique, between 1914 and 1918; and in France, in 1917 and 1918. Portugal mobilized more than 100,000 men, of which more than 18,000 for Angola, about 30,000 for Mozambique, and more than 56,000 for France. In total, Portugal lost 7,760 men, to which are added more than 16,000 wounded and more than 13,000 prisoners and missing.

The AHM documentation is divided into 5 large funds which are: (1) Divisions, (2) Organic Fund, (3) Special Fund, (4) General Fund, (5) Private Funds.

  1. The Divisions fund consists of four major sub-funds. The 1st division is dedicated to Portugal’s military campaigns on the European continent. It is divided into 40 sections, in which I highlight section 35, consisting of the CEP fund with more than 2000 boxes and where you can find all the
    documentation regarding the Portuguese participation in France during the GreatWar. The 2nd division concerns the documentation of the Portuguese overseas, divided into 10 sections, each dedicated to an overseas province, with the exception of the 10th which has documentation from several provinces. Here the most relevant documentation that can be found refers to the pacification campaigns in Angola or Mozambique, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as the
    documentation referring to the Overseas War in the 60s, particularly the «Histories of Units» and the «reports of operations».
    The 3rd division consists of 50 sections, and is organized numerically by themes. I highlight the 47th section, the Mapoteca where you can find several military cartography from the nineteenth century concerning the territories of the Portuguese empire. The 4th division is the fund of the Military Archive of Lisbon, referring to the period in which the Count of Lippe was Marshal-
    General of the Portuguese Army, returned to the Military Historical Archive in 1948 by the Brazilian government, as the fund went to Brazil with D. João IV.
  2. The Organic Funds are made up of several sub-funds composed of the collections of units, establishments and bodies of the army that were incorporated into the AHM. This is where the funds of the various courts created at the time of the Estado Novo are located, in which I highlight the Special Political Court, which is made up of cases referring to crimes of a political nature.
  3. The General Funds are made up of Old Books that have different provenances and constitute one of the most complex collections of archival treatment, with the oldest documents dating back to the seventeenth century.
  4. The Special Funds are made up of 5 sub-funds that have the particularity of 3 being non-handwritten documentation. Iconography is a collection composed of engravings, watercolours, illustrated postcards, drawings, posters, illustrations, etc, of various origins and classified
    thematically, with special focus on documents relating to the History of Portugal, the former colonies and the identified Units, Establishments and Organs of the Army. The Fototeca is a sub-fund and consists of photographs that, like the Iconography, was organized by themes related to the History of Portugal, the former colonies and the Units, Establishments and Bodies of the Army identified. The Army Audiovisual Center (CAVE) gives its name to the 3rd Special subfund, and concerns photographs donated to the AHM of the same CAVE establishment, mostly referring to the army’s public activities, such as the days of the units. Finally, the last two Special sub-funds are the Library and the Manuals and Regulations, composed as the name implies by Books and Manuals of the Portuguese Army.
  5. The Private Funds are archival collections produced by individuals or families within the scope of their public or private activities. At the moment, the AHM keeps about 50 private funds, in which I highlight the FP15 – Jorge Alberto Guerreiro Vicente Fund (Heraldry), concerning the
    symbology of the coats of arms of the various regiments of Portugal.

My main function at AHM as a member of the Research and Disclosure Section (SILD), is to serve the public in the Archive’s Reading Room. Open every working day from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm, it receives all types of research related to military history, social history and the history of Portugal and Europe. The ability to know the Archive’s funds and the in-depth knowledge of the history of the Portuguese empire and European history, help my job as an intermediary between researchers and the sources they wish to find. I also ensure compliance with the rules of the Reading Room, particularly with regard to prevention from the point of view of the safety of documentary heritage and the rules of self-reproduction. The response by letter, to requests for investigation by email or letter, which the researchers request and which it is up to SILD to answer, is also one of my main competences.

Most of the requests concern the existence of individual files or military records concerning former military personnel. Sending the reproductions of documents is one of the most important services that the Archive provides to the public, and it requires the preparation of budgets to be approved and the subsequent reproduction of the documents. It is the expedient that requires the largest number of letters beetween the archive and the researchers.

A constant concern in the preparation of the letters, in addition to responding to requests from the researchers, is to make known the online applications of the Archive so that the investigator can be autonomous in his research. The mastery of Archeevo’s applications is a fundamental characteristic for customer service.

The Archeevo BackOffice program allows you to edit or create new funds in the online catalog. Its use is necessary when spelling or reference errors are found by the researchers who consult the documentation.

The descriptive insertion of fund catalogues, which are described on paper or in Microsoft Access, but which are not available online from the Archeevo application, is a continuous work by all AHM technicians in order to contribute to public access to the documentation available in the Archive. It’s a job that I do recurrently.

My small contribution in the Reading Room so that every valuable documentation of the AHM is investigated, analyzed and assimilated in order to be reflected in the history of a country that we called Portugal and that the Portuguese recognize each other is an honor and pride for me.

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The CAM in Dakar

Some lines over the meeting of the Committee of Military Archives

On August 31st 2025, the Committee of Military Archives meet all the delegates and the interested audience in Dakar, in Azalai Hotel, in line with the activities of the International Commission of Military History (ICMH-CIHM), during the fiftieth congress of the ICMH held in Dakar by the Senegalese Commission of Military History.

the agenda of the CAM was structured in the following points:

  1. Introduction,
  2. the Annual Report of CAM Activities by CAM President and Secretary-General (blog, online guide, et cetera),
  3. Presentation: Declassification of Resistance Archives in Belgium,
  4. then the Member Contributions,
  5. Open discussion: What if declassified archives become sensitive again?
  6. the 2025/2026 perspective (By the CAM steering committee),
  7. open floor for the elections in our Committee,
  8. Closing remarks.

One of the main goals reached during the last working year (2023/2024) was the visit the Army Military Archives in Lisbon (Portugal) during the XLIX Congress of Military History.

All the committee is really thankful to our colleague from Portugal, Colonel Carlos Alberto Borges da Fonseca, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Commission of Military History, for his greatful support.

During the meeting the president provided some facts and figures focused on the last working year underlining the importance of the support coming from the National Commissions.

Our secretary-general, Kathleen Van Acker, proposed her reflections on Declassification of Resistance Archives in Belgium. A very interesting discussions continued to focus the attention on the topic.

We had a great opportunity to receive a very concise presentation on the main activities of the Netherlands Institute of Military History, thanks to Anselm van der Peet. Anselm helped all the persons in the CAM to understand the effort of the Institute to suppor the research in the filed of military history and to preserve documents, files and other special funds (photographs for instance).

a moment of the presentation by Anselm van der Peet

The open discussion on the topic What if declassified archives become sensitive again? became a moment of intense exchange of experiences helping each other to develop the real sense of classification, declassification and personal data protection.

Then, the steering committee proposed the perspective for the following year 2025/2026, with the vision of the close future activities and engagements.

Finally, the meeting touched the theme of the elections in our Committee, with a new mandate to Kathleen Van Acker and Flavio Carbone to conmtinue the efforts in order to achieve the goals fixed since the beginning of the previous 5-year-period of mandate

With the closing remarks, the meeting ended full of hopes and the idea to push all the components and other partners to enlarge the ground for a common understanding of the military archives activities.

The attendees of the meeting of the Committee of Military Archives at the end of the activities

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Resistance WWII in Belgium: Ongoing declassification

BY KATHLEEN VAN ACKER, ARCHIVIST WITH THE SECTION CLASSIFIED ARCHIVES (BELGIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE).

The Committee of Military Archives thanks Kathleen Van Acker, our Secretary General, for her great commitment and active participation to this blog

Introduction

In Belgium we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the liberation in 2024. We saw numerous initiatives emerging on the history of the Resistance, both in the academic world and the “civil” research field.

The section Classified Archives of the Belgian Ministry of Defense, keeps the records of the military campaign during World War II, but has also the records of different Resistance organizations. The Classified Archives are an intermediary archive centre, which means that the archives are being transferred to the National Archives, once they lose their administrative use and juridic value.
However, a large amount of these records are still classified, but an extra effort has been made to speed up the process.

In 2024 CegeSoma (the Study- and Documentation Centre for war and contemporary society) launched the National Database on the Resistance in Belgium. This platform allows research into the Resistance in Belgium. For the moment it contains information on more than 42 000 individuals who were part of the Belgian Intelligence and Action Services. New information and data concerning the Resistance members will be added regularly.

It is obvious that a lot of this information can be found in the records of the Classified Archives. At the moment the following series and/or documents have been declassified in order to help CegeSoma in this project:

Belgian Intelligence and Action Agents

During WW II ten thousands of Belgian were active in the Resistance. A special group were the Intelligence and Action Agents (IAA), active in 129 differents service (intelligence, sabotage, escape and evasion, courier services, ….). This “shadow army” made sure that the State Security and government in exile in London, got the necessary information and intelligence.
At the end of the War the State Security granted the status of “Intelligence and Action Agent” to those who applied for it and whose activities had been exceptional.
The personal files of these agents were declassified and transferred to Cegesoma by State Security, but the section Classified Archives still has the index cards. Furthermore, the personal files still contained classified documents of the Belgian Defense. All these documents are now declassified and open for historical research.

Files Armed Resistant

In 1945, a status of armed resistance was established to pay tribute to those who had taken up arms against the occupier. To obtain this status, one had to have been part of a recognised resistance group, or be able to prove that one had individually performed acts of resistance. This status offered many advantages for both civilians and soldiers and gave the right to certain pensions and allowances. After the war, some 140,000 people were entitled to it.

From 1946 onwards, the files that had been created in the context of obtaining the status of armed resistance were managed by the services of the Ministry of Defence. Some of the documents were classified, but have been declassified and open for historical research. These files were all transferred to the National Archives

The Secret Army

The Secret Army (Armée Secrète or Geheim Leger) was a resistance network during World War II.
Founded in August 1940 as the Belgian Legion, the Secret Army incorporated many former officers from the Belgian Army.
With more than 54 000 members it was one of the largest resistance groups active in Belgium.
The records of the Secret Army are still kept in the archives of the Classified Archives. The records contain personal files of the members but also the administrative and executive documents about the organization of this network.
All files have been declassified and will be transferred to the National Archives in the near future.

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Reference books published under the auspices of the Romanian Military Archives

by Col. Marius Corneliu CROITORU, PhD Iulian Stelian BOȚOGHINĂ, PhD Cosmina Adela LĂZĂRESCU.

The Committee of Military Archives thanks our colleague and friend, the Romanian delegate within the CAM, Colonel Marius Corneliu CROITORU, and his colleagues and collaborators PhD Iulian Stelian BOȚOGHINĂ, PhD Cosmina Adela LĂZĂRESCU for their commitment to the Committee. Thank you for your contribution.

One of the most important tasks of the Romanian National Military Archives is the scientific valorization of the archival documentary heritage that has been kept by the Ministry of National Defense for over a century, bringing to the public some lesser-known histories by researching the documents and publishing some works that we want to be read by as many people as possible, especially young people.

            In recent years, the Military Archives of Romania, through the efforts of several passionate collectives, have published two reference works, one that represents part of the history of the archives, but also the Royal House of Romania in the Non-Official Chronicles of the Official Monitor, a project started in 2010.

The monograph of the Central Archive Deposit

The origins of the archival organization in the Romanian Principalities are identified with the beginnings of the modernization process of Romanian society, when the “State Archives” institution was established in Bucharest (1 May 1831), the capital of Wallachia, and in Iași (1 January 1832), the capital of Moldova.

            The organization of the army in the Romanian Principalities materialized, among other things, with the concentration and systematization of the archives constituted by the military units, a fact for which the documents from the early period of the Romanian army are kept, managed and valued by the State Archives in the archival funds of the Army Headquarters (1830- 1898), Land Militia of Wallachia (1830-1846), Department Military (1832-1859), Border Control Chancelleries (1850-1886).

            The evolution of the archives established by the Romanian army was determined by the development of national military structures and the expansion of the role of the army as a defining institution of independence and national integrity after the Union of 1859, the War of Independence of 1877-1878, the First World War and the Second World War.

            The natural consequence of this process was the increase in the amount of documents created by the Romanian army, a situation that determined the need to organize an own structure with the mission of preserving, managing and valorizing military documents. Therefore, the archives institution as a specialized structure and with specific attributions in the Romanian army was established in 1867 at the Great General Staff, with different forms of organization and names over time.

            After the First World War, the new socio-political context in Greater Romania required the organization of specific military units for military archives. Thus, on July 26, 1920, the Archive Deposit of the Great General Staff was established and on January 16, 1923, the General Archive Deposit of the Ministry of War was established in Fort Mogoșoaia, military structures with the mission of preserving, managing and valorizing military archives, which over time had different names. In this context, we note that the General Archive Depository of the Ministry of War represents the structure that would become the Central Archive Depository, whose history is the subject of this monograph.

            This project is the result of the need to know the origins and historical evolution of the Central Archive Depository “General Grigore Constandache” (hereinafter referred to as Dp.C.A.), the first-order institution for the preservation, management and exploitation of military archives in Romania.

            The monographic project was based on the bibliography previously published by archivists and military historians from the Romanian National Military Archives (hereafter referred to as A.M.N.R.) and Dp.C.A, especially in the Magazine Document. Buletinul Arhivelor Militare (Document. Bulletin of the Military Archives), the periodical in which this project debuted with the publication of the first article in 2020 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its existence.

            With patience and passion, the authors have managed to reconstruct, through a laborious puzzle, the history of the Dp.C.A., a process structured in three volumes, the first of which was published in 2023, the second in 2024, followed by 2025 be edited the last volume.             In the first volume, the evolution of the military archives from the beginning until 1947 is narrated, being structured in two parts. The first part includes the history of the Archives of the Historical Service and the Archives of the Ministry of War, which the authors presented in an alternative narrative formula, since the two institutions, although they were not established at the same time, had a similar evolution.

Since they were established immediately after the end of the war, their missions were to study recent, operative, confidential, therefore sensitive documents. Therefore, keeping, handling and studying these documents, involved the assumption of special responsibilities, in the absence of specific legislation, as well as keeping, preserving, managing current documents created by all military structures.

            In the second part of the first monographic volume, the authors reconstructed the evolution of the regional archive deposits, established after 1933 and which operated until mid-1947, which were seven in number, one at the level of each of the seven territorial commanderies, military structures subordinate to the corresponding army corps, such as the 1st Territorial Command – Craiova, the 2nd Territorial Command – Bucharest, the 3rd Territorial Command – Galați, 4th Territorial Command – Iași, 5th Territorial Command – Buzău, 6th Territorial Command – Cluj, 7th Territorial Command – Timișoara.

            The beginnings of the activities of the seven warehouses were difficult, when each individual warehouse had to solve a whole series of organizational, financial, bureaucratic, administrative-household issues, etc., starting with the identification and proper arrangement of storage spaces for the archive, which, in turn, had to be properly sorted and inventoried.

            The territorial losses in the summer of 1940 and the beginning of the second world conflagration had dire consequences on the organization and activity of the regional archive repositories, some of which, located inside or in the vicinity of the ceded territories, were evacuated (relocated).

            One of the consequences of Romania’s entry into the Second World War on June 22, 1941, was the increase in the amount of military documents, which determined new regulations regarding their systematization and archiving.

            The intensification of the bombings determined the evacuation and dispersion of the regional archives in the first months of 1944. in the rural areas, located far from the urban centres and other areas of economic, strategic and military importance.            

After August 23, 1944, under the conditions of the Soviet occupation, the regional archives, still dispersed, faced a varied range of problems, generated by the reorganization of the Romanian army (dissolution of military units, imposed by the Soviet side), the crisis of available housing spaces (aggravated by the housing requirements of the Soviet troops), the large number of requests for the release of evidentiary documents, all of them grafted on the inherent consequences of direct and massive engage ment in war (human and material losses, shortages and deprivations, etc.).

In 1946, the recentralization and relocation operations of the previously dispersed deposits began, under the conditions that Northern Transylvania, kidnapped by the Vienna DiKtat of August 29/30, 1940, returned definitively within the borders of the Romanian state, which did not happen but with Bessarabia and northern Bucovina.

            On June 28, 1947, the seven territorial commands were abolished, four military regions were organized according to the Soviet model, namely Region I (Timișoara), Region II (Bucharest), Region II (Floresti-Cluj), Region IV (Bârlad ).

In the second volume, the authors set March 1961 as the chronological end point, when the unification operations of the Romanian military archival heritage within the Central Depository, whose headquarters had been established in the Râmnicu Sărat Garrison, were completed.

Therefore, the 14 years constitute the period when the Romanian military archives were broken from tradition and organized according to the Soviet model.

            The general coordinates regarding the overall evolution of Romania, respectively of the Romanian military system, throughout this period, are presented in detail in the first chapter of the second volume.

            In the second chapter, actions and attempts to reorganize, monitor and regulate archival activities in the Romanian army were followed.

            In chapters IV-VII the evolution of the regional archive deposits throughout the same period is presented, having as a documentary basis, first of all, the archival funds created by each of these structures, so that in chapter VIII, the authors present the process of unification of archives in the Râmnicu Sărat Garrison.

The paper was presented to the ICMH President at the 49th Congress

Worthy of emphasis is the fact that the authors dedicate this remarkable monograph to the “General Grigore Constandache” Central Archive Depository, a vast portfolio of unpublished information, of which only the first two volumes total 1,264 pages (672 pages in the first volume and 592 pages in the second) to the former military archivists, being a pious tribute, as a sign of gratitude and gratitude for the effort and dedication in preserving the military archival treasure of the Romanian people.

The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette”, volumes 1-8

The project The Romanian Monarchy in the Unofficial Chronicles of the Official Gazette started in 2010, somehow representing an atypical endeavor for military archivists by editing documents reproduced in an official publication, apparently without a direct connection with the specifics of their profession. In fact, the Official Gazette of Romania proved to be an information source with a vast and valuable potential (for military history also), covering all aspects of state’s and head of state activities, even the less official ones, during the period when monarchy was Romania’s form of government.

The Official Gazette of Romania n.79 from 1870

Since the project involved the appraisal of about half a million pages, it a team was set up in 2010 including archivists from the Central Archive Repository of Pitesti: Lenuța Nicolescu (1973-2009), Cornel ȚucăPhd. (1979-2009), Vasilica Manea(1973-2009), Daniela Manaloiu(2004-present), and Cosmina-Adela Lăzărescu (1998-present), coordinated by Commander Marian Moșneagu Phd., head of the Army Historical Service (2007-2016), and Lieutenant Colonel Petrișor Florea Phd., commander of the Pitesti Central Archive Repository (2007-2022).

The project was reopened in 2022, the editorial team also being made up of archivists from the Pitesti Central Archive Repository: Cosmina-Adela Lăzărescu (1998-present), Iulia-Adriana Brașov (1992-present) and Oana-Mihaela Burghelea (1997-present) and coordinated by Lieutenant General Corneliu Postu, Director of the Defense General Staff (2017-2024), Commander Iosif Bencze, Deputy Director of the Defense General Staff (2020-2024), and Colonel Engineer Marius Olteanu, commander of the Pitesti Central Archive Repository (2022-present).

Although initially the editors proposed to select documents that reflected the monarchy-army relationship only, later it was considered appropriate to publish all the documents related to the monarchy. At that time, the Official Gazette was the official objective source of information for the general public not only about the involvement of the head of state in the domestic and foreign policy, but also the personal or diplomatic relationships with the other heads of state or members of the European Monarchies.

The first two volumes refer to the the reign of King Ferdinand I (1914-1927). Born on August 24, 1865, Ferdinand Victor Albert Meinrad von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was the nephew of King Carol I. As his uncle, the sovereign of Romania, had no direct heirs, in 1889 he was designated Crown Prince following his father and older brother renunciation to the right of succession to the crown of Romania. In 1892 he married Princess Maria Alexandra Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, with whom he had six children.

King Ferdinand I, Queen Maria and the children

On October 14, 1914 he became King of Romania under the name of Ferdinand I. His reign, although not as long as that of King Carol I, was marked by a series of special events. He ruled Romania during the First World War, at the end of which a sovereign national state was created following the union of Transylvania, Bukovina, Maramureș, Crișana, Banat and Bessarabia with Romania. His coronation on October 15, 1922 in Alba Iulia, sanctioned this act, and he remained known in history as the founder of Greater Romania. Also, during his reign, rural reform and universal suffrage were granted. He died on July 20, 1927 in Sinaia, being buried at Curtea de Argeș Monastery.

The following volumes include the events of the reign of King Carol I (1866-1914). Prince Karl Eitel Friederich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, born on April 20, 1839, became king of Romania after the forced abdication of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, as a result of a coup d’état. In 1869 he married Princess Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise of Wied. Together they had a daughter, Maria Princess of Hohenzollern, who died at the age of four in 1874. His long reign – 48 years, coincided with a period of profound transformations, from institutional to the economical, political, social and cultural development of the Romanian state. During his reign, one of the most modern European Constitutions was adopted, full independence from the Ottoman Empire was grained and Romania became a monarchy with the line of succession laid out. Also during the reign of Carol I, Romania was involved in the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. He died on October 10, 1914, at the age of 75, and was buried at Curtea de Argeș Monastery.

King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth

Although the volumes were published at some time apart the first two in 2010 and, the following starting with 2022, they were numbered consecutively to preserve the unity of the project, being differentiated by title and period: The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1914-1927 -Ferdinand I, volumes 1-2, The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1866-1877 -Carol I, volumes 3-4, The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1878-1885 -Carol I, volumes 5-6, The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1886-1894 -Carol I, volumes 7-8. During this year, volumes 9-10 of the Romanian Monarchy will be edited in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” – Carol I, 1895-1902.

Volumes 1-8 of the Romania Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette”

1.Volumes 1-2 (617 p.+622 p.) of the Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1914-1927 -Ferdinand I contain 267 documents, in which events related to the oficial and personal life of the royal family, inspections of military units, visits to various civil and religious institutions, participation in military and religious ceremonies are included.

For example, we reproduce some of the summaries of some documents regarding:

– Royal family’s participation at the service officiated by the most senior Archibishop in memory of King Carol I and the taking of the oath of allegiance in front of the Parliament.

– Birthday anniversary of Crown Prince Carol.

– Taking the oath of allegiance by the first contingent of Transylvanian and Bukovina soldiers in the presence of the royal family.

– King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria’s presence at the baptism of the Serbian Crown Prince.

2.The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1866-1877 – Carol I, volumes 3-4 (730 p.+800 p.) include 957 documents, some having succinct texts, others an extensive content, which provide particularly valuable and unpublished information on the history of Romania in the mentioned period. The study of these documents allows and highlights at the same time:

– Carol I’s personality and his progress and a head of state.

– Relationships with the representatives of Romanian democratic state institutions, which were based on the Constitution adopted in 1866.

– The attitude of parliamentarians, ministers, representatives of the clergy and the army in relations with the sovereign.

– The King’s marriage, but also the dramatic loss of his only child.

– Inauguration of vital institutions for the young modern Romanian state.

3. The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1878-1885 – Carol I, volumes 5-6 (842 p.+848 p.) contain a number of 770 documents, covering the events of the next eight years of the reign of King Carol I. Of these, significant are those regarding:

– Army’s Resizing after participating in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, known in Romanian history as the War of Independence.

– Incorporating Dobrogea into the Romanian state.

– Increasing Romania’s relevance internationally through oficial visits made and received.

– Romania becoming a Kingdom.

4.The Romanian Monarchy in the “unofficial” chronicles of the “Official Gazette” 1886-1894 – Carol I, volumes 7-8 (966 p.+982 p.) contain 618 documents. The accounts of this period reflect the full political maturity of King Carol I, who reached the middle of his reign. The chronicles covers a vast and diverse activity, similar to the previous period, but noticeably denser, which highlights:

– Establishment and opening of cultural, medical and military institutions.

– Attendance at Various civil, military and religious ceremonies, dinners and balls.

– Official and unofficial visits and meetings, both in the country and abroad.

– Participation in end-of-school year exams, the opening of exhibitions and plays, and numerous charitable activities.

The texts are rendered chronologically, in the order of their publication, the editors opting to render the text in the phonetic, lexical and grammatical language of the period, slightly different from the literary Romanian language used today.

Summary conclusions:

The information related to the monarchy published in the Official Gazette of Romania, in the so-called unofficial part, can be compared with what was published in the press at that time. The comparative analysis of the information from the two sources, the Official Gazette and the press at that the time, allows any researcher to identify the aspects that can be considered objective, subjective or altered. What is certain is one aspect that cannot be overlooked: the transparency of Romanian Royal Monarchy ruling.

Categories
Air Force Archives CAM meeting military archives

The Portuguese Air Force Military Archives

THE AIR FORCE HISTORICAL ARCHIVE (AHFA) FROM ITS CREATION TO THE PRESENT…!

By António Francisco Caixeiro, Portuguese Air Force Colonel, Chief/Director of the Portuguese Air Force Historical Archives

The Committee of Military Archives thanks our friend António Caixeiro for his support and his participation to this project.

The ‘Air Force Historical Archive’ (AHFA) celebrates its 42nd anniversary as a Historical Archive on 3 November 2024.

The insignia of the Portuguese Air Force Historical Archive (AHFA)

In fact, going back a little to the past, the Revolutionary Council decreed through Decree-Law (DL) No. 868/76, of 28 DEC 1976, the creation of the Air Museum (MUSAR), under the terms of paragraph a) of article 148 of the Constitution, the following:
Article 1
1- The MUSAR, created by DL No. 48 248, of 21 FEB 1968, is an organization of the Air Force General Staff (EMFA) and is installed in the area assigned to the Air Force General Material Depot (DGMFA), in Alverca, where it has been located since 1969.
Article 2
2- The Museum must also contain the ‘Historical Archive of Military Aviation’ (AHAM), with all the documents that can be obtained and will operate in its own library to be duly organized.

An overview of the corridor of the AHFA. Two showcases containing some memorabilia

From the ‘General Organization of the Air Force’, in its article 21, the cultural bodies (ONC), to which the AHFA belongs (the ONC are dependent on the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CEMFA), through the Historical-Cultural Directorate of the Air Force (DHCFA, created on 6 June 2023 – with the mission: to support the institutional representation and strategic communication of the FA, to disseminate and guarantee the preservation of its memory and aeronautical historical-cultural heritage that constitutes the collection of the ONC under its dependence, as well as to contribute to national scientific and cultural development, in the field of air and aeronautical sciences.

Previously it was called the ‘Historical-Cultural Commission of the Air Force’ (CHCFA)), also having: MUSAR, the magazine Mais Alto (MALTO)), are intended to ensure the general support activities of the FA in the cultural field, namely to collect, preserve, study and provide consultation or exhibit historical-cultural heritage. aeronautical.

Another overview of a corridor of AHFA with some panels focused on the Portuguese Air Force history

In truth, the AHFA’s mission, in accordance with applicable legislation, is to:

  • collect,
  • organize,
  • describe,
  • preserve and
  • disseminate

documents that are of historical and cultural interest to aeronautics.

Therefore, the AHFA is responsible for:

  • Receiving all documentation produced by the FA with recognized historical value;
  • Receiving collections and documentary remains of historical and cultural interest, relating to individuals linked to the FA;
  • Processing documents (through description, cataloging and computer registration) of all documentary collections with historical value in its custody;
  • Proposing the signing of cooperation protocols or agreements with National and International Archives, with particular emphasis on military counterparts;
  • Produce Documentary Description Instruments, such as catalogues, guides, itineraries, inventories and propose their dissemination in Exhibitions, Lectures, Dissertations, Conferences, in the MALTO magazine and at Book Launches;
  • Produce and cooperate in research and investigation work with historical and cultural interest in aeronautics (historical events and initiatives, bibliographies, articles, books, Bachelor’s, MBA and Doctoral Theses);
  • Keep the heritage safe and preserved, protecting the archival collection from potential attackers.
Another overview of a corridor of the AHFA

The AHFA currently cooperates in the discovery, research, analysis and rediscovery of Memorable Moments and Scenes in the History of National and International Aviation and Aeronautics, as well as in the recent History of Portugal, in which ‘Memories are Always Constructed’.

Categories
Digital archives military archives Online sources

The memory of the Italian fallen of all wars

The Italian Defence initiative to remember who fought under the Tricolore

By Flavio Carbone, President of the Committee of Military Archives

The Special Commissioner for the honours of war dead short history

Starting from 1919, the Italian government launched the initiative to create a unique entity with the goal to provide initially an adequate burial to the Italian and Allied fallen soldiers after the First World War.

In 1920, the so-called Central Bureau for the care and honours of the bodies of the dead moved under the War Ministry and in 1927 the government called the chief of the Bureau as Special Commissioner for the Honours of War Dead (Commissario straordinario per le onoranze ai caduti in guerra).

After some changes, in 1951 the Special Commissioner became a special office within the Defence Ministry directly under the Minister. In the same year, the Office received new tasks of:

  • censusing and giving burial to military, militarized and civilian personnel who died as a result of the two world conflicts;
  • censusing and giving burial to military and civilian personnel who died in captivity or internment after 10 June 1940;
  • censusing and giving burial to partisans and patriots who died as a result of the war of liberation after 8 September 1943;
  • censusing and giving burial to civilians who died after 8 September 1943 as hostages or in retaliation, merchant seamen who died as a result of war from 10 June 1940 to 15 April 1946.
The updates of the mission of the Special Commissioner

In mid-1980 the Special Commissioner enlarged competences to the fallen in the Italian colonies of Africa (since 1889), in the Dodecanese (between 1911 and 1913), and in the Spanish Civil War.

More recently, the Italian soldiers fallen during the Risorgimento (starting from 4 March 1848) and during peace missions are also included. The law (Military Code, legislative decree 15 March 2010, n. 66, article 267) obliged the Special Commissioner to census and give burial to the bodies of soldiers of foreign armies (whether former enemies or allies) which the country of origin has not provided, in case of a specific agreement with that country.

In 2023 the Special Commissioner changed the name of the entire structure in Bureau for the Protection of Culture and Defence Memory.

Among different tasks, there is a specific one very interesting for the readers of this blog: the databases and the so-called roll of honour (Albo d’Oro).

The database for the KIAs and MIAs in WWI

There are two different databases available for consultation on-line: the first one is related with the initial mission of the ancient Special Commissioner and it is focused on the Italian soldiers fallen during the First World War.

it is possible to go directly to the webpage to search Italian soldiers fallen and missing in action

scrolling down, it is possible to insert the family name of the KIA or MIA directly on the webpage

the researcher should insert the family name instead of the Italian word Nominativo

The request to the DB provides possible information regarding KIAs and MIAs during the First World War.

The database for the KIAs and MIAs in WWII

The researcher should do the same for the other DB focused on KIAs and MIAs during the Second World War.

the upper part of the webpage with the main information of the DB for the KIAs and MIAs during WWII

You can reach easily the webpage, through the link here.

The DB could be searched with different keys as:

  • Family name;
  • Name;
  • Place of birth;
  • Year of birth.
the lower part of the webpage

It is very interesting to underline that different templates are available; among them one is in English for foreign researchers.

Other information regarding Italian military personnel are summarized in another webpage of the Bureau for the Protection of Culture and Defence Memory. Those information are really helpful to support the research of Italian and Foreigners among different archives within and outside the Defence Ministry.

The Fallen in Peace-Keeping Operations abroad

Another useful tool available thanks to the effort of the Bureau is the complete and updated list of the military personnel who lost his life during Peace-Keeping missions and Operations abroad. The list is in alphabetical order and covers the period from the end of the Second World War to the current days.

Publications and leaflets

The Bureau is committed to divulgate the initiatives launched since the origin of the dedicated office to honour the killed and missing in action personnel.

For this specific needs, moving to another webpage is offered the download of small books published during the last 40 years of life of the Commissioner and scanned now available free of charge.

More recently, a long list of leaflets is available with few information and the position of the cemeteries and ossuaries located in Italy and abroad. Specifically, there are cemeteries in Austria, Eritrea and Poland. There are information of the Polish cemeteries in Italy as well.

The list of leaflets is completed with the important monuments both in Rome: the Altar of the Fatherland, where there is the dedication Ignoto militi, the unknown soldiers of the First World War, and the Fosse Ardeatine, where 335 Italians and Foreigners had been killed on 24 March 1944 as retaliation of an attack by Italian partisans to Nazi troops.

International agreements on war burials

The Bureau for the Protection of Culture and Defence Memory is linked with similar entities of other Countries.

The Head of the Bureau keeps international links with joint bodies also through specific bilateral international agreements. Those pacta started with the Peace Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with Austria (1920) and ended with the Kazakhstan Government (2024).

Some conclusions

The overview of the Databases of the Bureau on line reflects the archives available in different areas of the Italian Defence Ministry. It is very important to remind to the researchers the need to understand the complexity of a search to cover all the path of an officer. It is more complicated in case of a NCO or a soldier because of lack of information, especially after the fall of the Kingdom on Italy with the proclamation of the armistice with the Allied Powers on 8 September 1943. A huge amount of papers had been destroyed by the allied bombing, by the German occupation, by the needs of the civilians who found in the military papers tools to heat their houses and so on.

The information under the responsibility of the Bureau for the Protection of Culture and Defence Memory are very important to discover how disappeared in the fog-of-war a person or the circumstances of the death of a soldier. It helps to keep the memory of who fought for Italy and died.

The badge of the Bureau for the Protection of Culture and Defence Memory covering all the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri), with the star in the middle symbolizing the military status and the flame of the remembrance of the fallen soldiers
Categories
blogging military archives Online sources

Searching online for WWII archives: a first view of the Eastern Front

by Doctor Anna Batzeli post-doctoral researcher

Anna Batzeli (https://auth.academia.edu/AnnaBatzeli) is a postdoctoral researcher at Democritus University of Thrace (Greece) and a recipient of the 2024 ICMH Fellowship. She published in our blog two times.

The Committee of Military Archives thanks our friend Anna Batzeli for her commitment and her participation to this project.

In previous posts (Digging into the Archives & The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)) we briefly introduced a limited number of thematic websites containing material related to World War II (WWII), such as “The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)” and the “Historische Marinearchiv”.

In this post, we will present three additional thematic websites that researchers working on topics related to WWII may find useful: The Societies under German Occupation: A source edition, Russian Presidential Library digitized collections on WWII, and the National Archives of Norway thematic page on WWII.

The Societies under German Occupation: A source edition

The aim of “The Societies under German Occupation: A Source Edition” is to document the impact of German occupation on societies across Europe. In particular, it seeks to fill a research gap by recording the experiences of populations under occupation. The selected sources offer first hand insights that official documents and statistics cannot capture, such as details about daily life, living conditions, survival strategies, and more. These sources cover a wide geographic range, from Norway to Greece, and span the years 1939 to 1945. (more information about the project’s concept here)

The website provides access to more than 600 sources from all European countries that were under German occupation. These sources have been researched, transcribed, and annotated, originating from over 90 archives, museums, and institutions, including CegeSOMA (Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society, Brussels), the National Museum of Resistance (Luxembourg), and NIOD (Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies).

Additionally, the selected sources have been translated into English and are presented in three versions: an English translation, which includes comprehensive annotations; a transcript in the original language, allowing full-text access to the source in its original form; and a high-resolution scan of the original document.

Figure 1: Russia. Poster with an appeal from the Mayor of Kaluga for volunteers to help salvage grain from burnt grain elevators. 28 October 1941. Source

Finally, “The Societies under German Occupation: A Source Edition” offers the following search options in its database: advanced document search, map, timeline, and virtual workspace (Check out the following presentation of the website, which focuses on the Serbian contributors to the project).

Russian Presidential Library digitized collections on WWII

In 2020, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Victory, the Russian Presidential Library launched a thematic webpage to showcase its collections on WWII. Since then, the webpage has been constantly expanding, making more material available to historians and researchers. It provides access to thousands of digitized archival documents, film, and photo materials, covering a wide variety of topics and originating from various Russian institutions, such as the Russian State Military Archives and the Russian Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI). The collections are presented in chronological order and include brief descriptions in English (see https://www.prlib.ru/en/section/1323973 for more information).

Figure 3: In the liberated Minsk – the artillery of the Red Army passes along Sovetskaya Street.Belarusian SSR.Photographer F. Kislov.July 4, 1944. Source
The National Archives of Norway thematic page on WWII

The National Archives of Norway have created a thematic page on WWII that provides information on their extensive and diverse collections. The page is organized into four topics:

  1. Industry and Commerce
  2. Everyday Life
  3. Norwegians in Captivity
  4. Norway in Exile

The first topic describes the impact of the German occupation on the Norwegian economy. The second topic discusses the effects of the German occupation on everyday life and is divided into five sub-sections: Childhood, Blackouts, The Insecurity of Daily Life During War, Self-Sufficiency and Substitute Goods, and Food Shortages and Rationing. The third topic focuses on the approximately 40,000 people who were arrested or detained by the occupation authorities and their allies. The fourth topic, Norway in Exile, highlights efforts to liberate Norway and is divided into the following sub-sections: Refugees in Sweden, Military Forces in Sweden, Intelligence in Sweden, The Air Force, and The Navy.

Figure 4: From one of the Norwegian squadrons in Great Britain. The map is studied before a raid over France. NTB’s war archive/ Ua/35. Source

 

Categories
military archives Reading room visit to archives

Lisbon Military Archives

Sharing common experiences and problems in the field of Military Archives

by Flavio Carbone, President of the Committee of Military Archives

On Thursday 3 September 2024, the Committee of Military Archives had the privilege to visit the Portuguese Army Military Archives in Lisbon.

The Portuguese Army Historical Archives secondary entrance in campo de Santa Clara

The archives are located in the centre of the city, in a building previously dedicated to the equipment production and then re-used as the siege of the Army Historical Archives with the storage facilities organised to keep 15 km of documents.

The entrance of the Army Military Archives

Colonel Carlos Faria welcomed in the Reading room the members of the CAM who joined the archives for the visit.

Coordinates of the Portuguese Army Archives
Arquivo Histórico Militar
Largo do Outeirinho da Amendoeira
1100-386 Lisboa
Phone: 218 842 415
email: ahm@exercito.pt
On the left, the logo of the Arquivo Histórico Militar

After the welcome speech, Lieutenant Colonel Cunhia Roberto presented the Army Military Archives organisation and functions.

The second presentation was held by Dr. Isabel Beato, an archivist on duty to the Portuguese Naval Archives. She presented, among other topics, the digitalisation projects and some future initiative.

The presentation of the Portuguese Navy Archives

The third and last presentation was held by Colonel Antonio Caixeiro chief of the Air Force Military Archives who underlined the last changes occurred and the challenges the Archives face in the last period of activity.

Colonel Antonio Caixeiro during the presentation

After each presentation there was a Q&A moment in order to exchange different experiences and points of view.

The visit ended with a short tour to the storage facilities, the exposition prepared for the 50th anniversary of the Carnation revolution and a coffee concluded the very important experience held in the Portuguese military archives.

We thanks a lot all three military archives, their chiefs and all the personnel for the very interesting presentations.

We look forward to receive a short post related to the presentation for each archive.

Obrigado!

Thanks to all!
Categories
CAM meeting declassified archives

Lisbon 2024

New meeting, same challenges

On 1 September 2024, the Committee of Military Archives met in Lisbon during the XLIX Congress of Military History organised by the Portuguese Commission of Military History from 1 to 6 September 2024 with the main theme “Military interventions and political transition: From the 18th Century to the present”.

The meeting took place in Lagoas Park Hotel with the presence of ten delegates and friends of the Committee of Military Archives.

Initially, H.E. Ambassador Professor Dumitru Preda gave an introduction speech recalling his experience as founder member of the small Committee of Military Archives and the efforts the founders gave in the community to enlarge the knowledge in the field of the archives. Ambassador Preda concluded his intervention thanking the CAM for the job done and asking the Committee to continue working in the same direction for the benefit of the community.

the speech of H.E. Professor Dimitru Preda during the CAM session

After a short presentation of the persons around the table, our colleague Carlos Alberto Borges da Fonseca, the Portuguese delegate in the CAM presented briefly the activities organised by the Portuguese Commission during the week beyond our request.

Then, we moved on the presentation of the activity of the CAM during the working year 2023/2024 (blog, online guide, etc.) by the Secretary-General and the President of the Committee.

It was important to spread the results within the Committee, the delegates and the friends who attended the meeting to receive support, comments and questions regarding the activities done during the working year.

Then the secretary-general and the president presented their perspective for the following year 2024/2025. The idea is to involve directly the National Archives, according with the sources available on the internet in order to send the template for our project of the International online Guide. The idea has been presented to the Executive Board of the ICMH and the president agreed and supported our proposal.

The presentation of the logo that we will start using since the meeting is another sign to develop the community of expertise in the field of the military archives and to let other participants to the congress aware of the presence and availability of the Committee of Military Archives.

Finally, Kathleen Van Acker gave a presentation on NATO and the project (Canada in lead) to build a network and a community of experts in the declassification process.

With the closing remarks the meeting ended. See you next year!

Our delegates and members after the meeting in Lisbon, 1 September 2024