Major occurrences documented by contemporary accounts.
Explore the First World War as it was experienced and reported by those who lived it, through letters, diaries, newspaper front pages, and official documents preserved in digital archives.
Drawing exclusively on 1919 newspapers, official records, and eyewitness accounts, this article reconstructs how the Treaty of Versailles was reported, received, and understood at the moment of its creation—from the opening of the Paris Peace Conference to the signing in the Hall of Mirrors and the global reaction that followed.
Drawing on contemporary speeches, newspaper reports, and official records, this article reconstructs the Pullman Strike of 1894—the walkout that began in a model company town and paralyzed the nation’s railroads, leading to federal intervention and the imprisonment of Eugene V. Debs.
Drawing on the Yoshikawa Family Collection, Yoshio Okumoto’s camera, and the JARDA archive, this article reconstructs daily life in the Japanese American internment camps from the inside, using the letters and photographs of incarcerees themselves.
Drawing on contemporary reports, eyewitness accounts, and official documents, this article reconstructs the human catastrophe of the 1947 Partition of India—the mass migration, the violence, and the enduring legacy of one of history’s largest forced movements of people.
Drawing on the firsthand reports of Enrico Fermi, Luis Alvarez, and Sir James Chadwick, this article reconstructs the Trinity test of July 16, 1945, as experienced by those who witnessed it. Their words reveal the awe, uncertainty, and gravity of the first atomic explosion.
Drawing on the memories of students, photographers, and revolutionaries who were on the streets of Budapest in October 1956, this article reconstructs the Hungarian Revolution through the voices of those who lived it — from the first student march to the Soviet counterattack and the flight of refugees.
Drawing on eyewitness accounts, streetcar survivor testimonies, and official reports, this article reconstructs how the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were experienced, reported, and understood at the moment they occurred—revealing the human face of a world-changing catastrophe.
Drawing on official U.S. documents and Kuwaiti records, this article recounts how the 1973 oil embargo transformed Kuwait from a quiet producer into a pivotal geopolitical actor, while sending gasoline lines and inflation across the world.
Drawing on official notes, government statements, and contemporary accounts, this article reconstructs the U-2 crisis of May 1960—how the world learned of the downed spy plane, the cover-up, and the diplomatic rupture that followed.
