During the Second World War, countless individuals kept diaries that chronicled their daily lives and emotions. These personal narratives give us a human perspective on a global conflict often told through official documents and military reports.
At Irving Collection, we believe diaries are among the most personal artifacts. They capture the thoughts and feelings of soldiers on the front lines, civilians enduring bombings, and families separated by war. By digitizing these fragile notebooks and preserving them for future generations, the archive ensures that no story is forgotten.
Unlike official reports, diaries reveal the mundane details of life in wartime: meals rationed, friendships forged, and moments of joy and hardship. A soldier’s account of a long march through the winter or a nurse’s recollection of tending to wounded comrades can bring history to life in ways that statistics cannot.
The diaries housed in the Irving Collection are scanned in high resolution and enhanced with the same artificial intelligence tools used in our microfilm preservation projects. This process allows researchers to read faded handwriting and interpret smudged entries without handling the delicate originals. For more on how we digitize fragile media, see our recent post on microfilm preservation.
We invite you to explore our diaries archive and discover the voices of the past. Each entry is a reminder that history is made by individuals, and preserving their stories helps us understand the broader events of World War II.
