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World War II Government publications

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-268

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of government publications published during WWII by the United States Office of Civil Defense. They are broken down into the following topic categories: blackouts/air raids, civilian defense, communities/housing, construction, education, food, emergency services, medical service, industrial plants/public buildings, transportation services, veteran information and volunteer information. Additionally, there is a sheet with popular WWII song lyrics.

Dates

  • Creation: 1941-1945

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.

Historical Note

Beginning in World War I, the civil defense department was a non-military effort to prepare American civilians for possible military attack. The Office of Civilian Defense was set up May 20, 1941 to coordinate state and federal measures for protection of citizens in case of war emergency. Its aim was to educate people through booklets and Public Service announcements. It supervised functions such as blackouts, fire protection and "war service" functions such as child care, health, housing, and transportation. Initially, its aim was to educate people through booklets and Public Service announcements, but eventually this lead to the creation of the Emergency Broadcast System. Over the last twenty years, the practice of civil defense has been replaced by emergency management and homeland security.

Extent

1 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Blackouts and Air Raids

Series 2: Civilian Defense

Series 3: Civilian Protection Training

Series 4: Communities and Housing

Series 5: Construction

Series 6: Education

Series 7: Emergency Services

Series 8: Food

Series 9: Medical Service

Series 10: Industrial Plants/Public Buildings

Series 11: Transportation Services

Series 12: Sheet Music

Series 13: Veterans

Series 14: Volunteers

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of World War II Government Publications are available electronically in the Ball State University Digital Media Repository: http://libx.bsu.edu/.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed by Rachel N. Miller, 02/2008 Finding aid revision, completed by Rachel N. Miller, 12/2009 EAD finding aid completed 2009/06/30 by Maren L. Read EAD finding aid revised 2012/10/30 by Bethany Fiechter EAD finding aid revised 2013/09/11 by Leslie Nellis

Title
World War II Government publications
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Stoeckel Archives of Local History Repository

Contact:
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA