Often, the best work arises from close engagement with a primary source. As you read, you'll think of questions or begin to shape an argument. The hard part is to find a primary source that addresses the broad general area of interest. Here are some strategies for finding primary sources:
France During World War II: Documents from the Howard Rice Collection
Microfilm 04816
reels
Printed guide: none
Microfilm of a collection of French resistance periodicals and pamphlets held here in Special Collections. Covers 1940-1944.
La France pendant la guerre 1939-1945: Résistance et journaux de Vichy (Voices from Wartime France 1939-1945: Clandestine Resistance and Vichy Newspapers) Archives Unbound
"Providing perspectives from both the Vichy government and the resistance movement, this unique collection constitutes the sum of the French press that actually reached Britain during the Occupation of 1940-44. It is the record of what was known by the British about the hearts and minds of the French people at the most dramatic period of their shared history." From the British Library.
Patriotes aux Armes! (Patriots to Arms!): The Underground Resistance in France, Belgium, Holland, and Italy, 1939-1945 Archives Unbound "This collection consists of newspapers and periodicals; broadsides; leaflets; and books and pamphlets and other documents produced by or relating to the underground resistance in France, Belgium, Holland, and Italy."
Note: If you are new to research using French government documents, you may find it helpful to consult Gloria Westfall, French official publications. Trustee Reading Room Reference (DR): Z2169 .W47 1980
For an introduction to what is available in digital form, see https://boiteaoutils.info/2013/01/acceder-aux-numerisations-du-journal/ (in French). See also French Revolution Digital Archive, which includes a digital edition of the Archives Parliamentaires for 1787-1794.
Journal officiel de la République française
Annales de l'Assemblée nationale
Firestone DC340 .F737
Covers 1871-1876.
[Laws and decrees]
[Debates and questions]
[Parliamentary working documents]
Journal officiel de la République française. Avis et rapports du Conseil économique et social
1948-1993: Oversize KJV17 .F73636q, Oversize KJV17 .F73635q, and Microfiche 1501
[Administrative documents]
Microfiche 1500
Documents diplomatiques français
This complex series documents French foreign policy in the 19th and 20th centuries.
American newspaper coverage of occupied France: Finding US Newspapers at Princeton
British newspaper coverage of occupied France: Finding World Newspapers at Princeton: Britain
French newspapers (in French): http://gallica.bnf.fr/html/und/presse-et-revues/les-principaux-quotidiens and Finding World Newspapers at Princeton: France
