The First World War Portal consists of three modules each representing different presentations of the First World War, using a vast array of primary source materials drawn from several archives and collections around the world. "Personal Experiences" provides documents on subjects such as daily life and routines in the army and auxiliary services; trench warfare and conditions in the trenches; battles and warfare; and more. The material in this module includes diaries and journals; letters; trench literature and soldiers' journals; photographs, and 360° views of personal items and objects, to name a few. Such key features as interactive maps, a digitized artifacts collection, and a virtual trench experience enable a deeper exploration in numerous facets of this historic event in the early twentieth century. A second module, "Propaganda and Recruitment" offers a wide variety of primary sources on recruitment, training, morale, public opinion, censorship and the development of different forms of propaganda during the First World War. The material has been collated from the Hoover Institution Library and Archives at Stanford University, the Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte and the Hauptstaatsarchiv in Stuttgart, Cambridge University Library, among several others. Documents include minute books of recruiting committees; German and Russian propaganda postcards; "Le Bonnet rouge," 1916, newspaper articles suppressed by the French government; various other newspapers, cartoons, and photographs; papers on the activities of the German Peace Society; cabaret, concert, and theater programs kept by the German Army; and additional materials. Case studies examine subjects such as aerial propaganda, anti-war protests, the training of recruits, the campaign for American entry, conscription and military service tribunals, Wellington House and the formation of the Ministry of Information. "Visual Perspectives and Narratives" comprises the third module, and features a rich variety of primary source material from the holdings of Imperial War Museums. Through both visual and documentary resources, this collection showcases the international dimensions of the conflict, the British home front and the role of women in the war. The collection includes photographs (documenting the war from multiple international perspectives, including foreign official photographs and private collections); artwork (oil paintings, watercolors, pastels and pencil sketches from a large array of artists, including artists’ commissioning documents); film clips; museum objects; posters; etc. The diverse material allows for an exploration of the following themes: industry and economy, workers and strikes, role of women, education, children, food and rationing, transport, disease, religion and spiritualism, celebration, and more.
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