This week marks the 80th anniversary of VE day, when the Second World War came to an end in Europe. After six years of fighting the war destroyed cities, cost the lives of millions and displaced entire communities. The conflict reshaped the global order and led to the installation of the United Nations which promised peace and greater collaboration across countries. When Germany surrendered on the 8th May 1945, street parties erupted across cities in Europe and crowds formed on Trafalgar Square in London. 

As the nation reflects on the noble sacrifices made by servicemen and women across the world it feels like a good time to investigate the accounts of ordinary people in Europe during those tumultuous years. 

The Second World War and other conflicts are well documented in history books in our collection, but personal stories often get lost in the wider narrative of history. 

 

Total War : A People’s History of the Second World War, by Kate Clements, Paul Cornish, and Vikki Hawkins. London: Thames & Hudson, 2021, shelfmark YC.2022.b.1868

This comprehensive history provides an overview of each stage of the conflict from the invasion of Poland to the campaigns in Africa during the later stages of the war. This volume examines the key events from 1939-1945 and it highlights how citizens from other nations fought and died for Britain abroad.  

George Roberts, originally from Trinidad served in the Middlesex regiment during the First World War. He became an auxiliary firefighter on the home front in the Second World War and saved lives in Southwark during the Blitz.  

At twenty-one Joan Hughes became one of the first women to be accepted into the Air Transport Auxiliary. She also worked as a flying instructor near Maidenhead. Her responsibilities included flying military aircraft from factories to front-line bases. 

 

The Summer of ’45 : Stories and Voices from VE Day to VJ Day, by Kevin Tefler. London: Aurum Press, 2015, shelfmark YK.2016.a.4073 

This vibrant account of VE Day describes the key events of the war and includes stories from the people who survived aerial bombardment. Dr J.J. Beeston received the George Medal for saving a woman during a bombing raid. He recounts jubilant scenes outside Buckingham Palace on VE day. Along the route he saw houses decorated with Union Jacks and bunting, sellers of VE merchandise lined the streets. 

Later in the year Truman, Stalin and Churchill assembled in Potsdam to discuss the future of Europe. David Dimblebly provides an account of the conference proceedings although it did not attract widespread interest for people in Britain and America at the time as much of the detail seemed technical and geographically obscure. 

British servicemen and women, despite the initial celebrations, describe a ‘dullness’ to life in the UK after the war. Although they were grateful that the fighting was over, they describe a lack of excitement in damaged cities that were underinvested and lacked basic provisions. More rationing was introduced in May and this meant that there was less meat available in 1945 than there was in 1944. 

 

VE Day : The People’s Story, by Russell Miller with Renata Miller. Second edition, Cheltenham: The History Press, 2020, shelfmark YKL.2021.a.8038 

This book describes the days leading up to VE day from the death of Hitler on the 1st of May to the aftermath of VE celebrations nine days later. In Leeds Phyllis Bailey, the wife of an RAF fighter anticipates the end of the war. When the news finally arrived she had mixed emotions as she also found out that her husband would soon be posted to the Far East. 

After the German troops surrendered across Europe Dora Zimmel, a farm worker in Bobsien recounts the arrival of the Russian army. German workers were forced to labour in the potato fields but Dora was treated kindly as she had a small child. 

 

Gender and the Second World War : Lessons of War, edited by C.M. Peniston-Bird and Emma Vickers. London: Palgrave, 2017, shelfmark YC.2018.a.6808 

This series of essays explores gendered experiences from both Allied and Axis perspectives.  It draws upon a variety of source materials from personal testimony to court cases and visual sources. It investigates women service pilots in the USA, female impersonation in the British Armed Forces and the politics of male homosexuality in France. Gender identities were thrown into stark relief by the war and this study reveals how male and female roles became negotiable and flexible during the conflict. 

 

Mixing It : Diversity in World War Two Britain, by Wendy Webster. First Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, shelfmark YC.2018.a.15955 

Between 1939 and 1945, the population of Britain became more diverse than it had ever been before. People arrived from all over the world as troops, war workers, refugees and exiles. This book includes diaries, letters and interviews which tell the stories of those who fought for Britain.  

‘Johnny’ Pohe, the first Maori pilot to serve in the RAF was captured, held prisoner and subsequently escaped from a German prisoner of war camp. This book also tells the story of Jewish refugees from Germany who joined the British army. Although the influx of different nationalities was treated with scepticism, their input to the war effort was significant. Translators, scriptwriters and speakers contributed to wartime propaganda and to the global reach of the BBC. 

 

British Literature and Culture in Second World Wartime : For the Duration, by Beryl Pong. First Edition. Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2020, shelfmark YC.2021.a.4259 

This book of theoretical essays investigate the nature of war and its impact on chronophobia: a fear of the past and future. The authors scrutinise cultural artefacts from life writing to short stories, novels, films and paintings and reveal how the destructive nature of warfare upends a sense of place and history. This volume offers a psychological perspective on the impact of war and provides a contrast to traditional readings of historical facts. 

 

Love in Time of War : Letter Writing in the Second World War, by Deborah Montgomerie. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2005. shelfmark YC.2006.a.17860 

Letters were a vital link between soldiers posted abroad and their sweethearts, wives and children. These letters from New Zealand conscripts have become poignant artefacts, a painful reminder of a life deferred or of friends and acquaintances who did not survive. They have also become important symbols of remembrance and hope. 

 

Migration, Memory, and Diversity: Germany from 1945 to the Present, edited by Cornelia Wilhelm. New York: Berghahn Books, 2017. Shelfmark YC.2017.a.3713 

This volume addresses the problem of archiving the cultural memory of ethnic groups. It emphasises the importance of school textbooks in promoting social cohesion and shows us how institutional archives can provide important insights into diverse communities. 

 

History books available to order from our collection

Researchers can investigate experiences of wartime using our vast collection of history books, social studies and personal papers. We have historical sources, stories and official papers published during the twentieth century. Some of our digital collections are currently inaccessible but printed books and journals can be found on our catalogue and ordered to our reading rooms. 

Figure 1 – Author: W. & R. Jacob & Co., Title: [Jacob & Co's Biscuits], year: [1924].

 

We are thrilled to confirm that the Trade Literature Cataloguing project, funded by the Unlocking Hidden Collections Programme, has been extended for another year.

This project has the purpose of cataloguing the British Library’s trade literature from 1850 to 1940. The greater part of this material is from the former Patent Office Library, but some also from the British Museum. The collection includes product catalogues, promotional material and other trade literature from companies mainly from the UK, US, France and Germany. 

This is a large-scale project and since the project began in March 2024, more than 1,500 unbound product catalogues have been catalogued. Our goal is to be able to catalogue a further 1,700 items by the end of March 2026 and start making the collection easily accessible to our users.

This process has been an opportunity for us to assess more closely the size and character of the collection, while making it more visible to researchers. Our approach in the first year of the project has been to understand the challenges and constraints of dealing with a collection of this size while cataloguing the material. We have been able to discover what is inside each envelope, understand the types of publications available, and measure the time spent in cataloguing and conducting research to support this process.

The first month of the project was dedicated to cataloguing training and preliminary work - developing workflows (access to the collection, assessing preservation needs, liaising with colleagues to carry out stamping work). It was also used to get familiar with the collection and understand what metadata needed to be collected. The aim was to focus on metadata creation that would enable discovery of the collection by a wider range of users who may or may not be intentionally searching for trade literature. 

We are working with colleagues from other areas who have supported us in understanding the logistics of the retrieval, shelfmarking and labelling processes to make sure that the system will run smoothly. Approximately 26% of the items also require some sort of conservation treatment.

Most importantly, we have captured some significant data that is starting to help us understand the scope, provenance and condition of the trade literature collection.

Table 1: Data extracted between 15 May 2024 to 19 March 2025

The graph above illustrates an increased number of catalogues published after the 1890s, around the time when postal system and reductions in postage rates made it easier and more affordable for companies to distribute catalogues.

Table 2: Data extracted between 15 May 2024 to March 2025

Table 2 shows that the great majority of the catalogues were published in the UK, USA and Germany. That also give us an indication that most companies in the collection are British and American, followed by German and French companies.

Around 78% of the companies didn’t have a record on the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO), which means that we could not find any information about them at all! That has been the most challenging side of the project, but the most rewarding as well, as this indicates how rare the material is in our collection. Creating name authorities for these companies will not only help us create our own records but also help other trade literature repositories to identify items in their own collections.

Product catalogues played a key role in shaping consumer behaviour. Through enticing descriptions, vivid illustrations, and carefully curated product selections, retailers could influence the desires and preferences of their target audience. Now, they can be used by researchers for studying the history of science, engineering, medicine and many other disciplines. A great majority of those catalogues cover industries like chemicals, metallurgy, motor vehicles, heating and water supply. However, we have uncovered rare and beautiful catalogues on food, arts, household goods, furnishings and musical instruments much valuable for social historians. Many of these catalogues could also be approached from an artistic point of view, due to their beautiful illustrations.

 

Figure 1 – Author: Robert Jenkins and Co., Title: Boilers for domestic hot water supply, year: [1906]

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2 – Author: John Jaques & Sons Limited, Title: Winter games, year: [1933]

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3 – Author: Rolls-Royce, Title: Phantom III, year: [1936].

 

The visibility of these items will allow researchers to use the trade literature collection to determine the history of companies or individual industries, describe styles from furniture to machinery, analyse marketing and management techniques, and examine illustrations of every product imaginable.

Fernanda Turina

Trade Literature Cataloguer

Holocaust Memorial Day is marked on 27 January each year commemorating the day that soldiers of the 60th army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945 to confront the horror and to liberate the survivors.  This Holocaust Memorial Day marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

The theme for this year's commemoration is ‘For a better future’.  It is described more fully on the UK website dedicated to Holocaust Memorial Day.  Building a better future can begin with taking time to look back and to hear the testimony and life journeys of those who survived, as well as recognising the resilience and contribution of those who were forced from their homes and had to build their lives anew.

The Library’s European collections are hosting a half-day conference with the Polish Cultural Institute in London. Under the heading ‘Fragments of the Past: Holocaust Legacies and Commemoration’, it will explore how the Holocaust has shaped memory, identity, and culture. Bringing together scholars, historians, and artists, the conference examines the Holocaust’s profound and enduring impact, as well as the varied methods used to preserve its legacy. The European studies blog features other short posts linked to the conference.

Among the many ways to learn more, the calm of the Library’s reading rooms offers a space to read and reflect on the accounts of those who survived genocide in different ways.  Personal narratives are but one way of learning about genocide, but they can be an important means of connection and understanding.  This short post picks out five books currently available to readers in the Library, published in the last three years, that present the personal experiences of individuals who survived genocide during the Nazi Holocaust, and also the more recent genocide in Bosnia, including the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995.  

 

The daughter of Auschwitz, by Tova Friedman and Malcolm Brabant. Toronto, Ontario: Hanover Square Press, 2022, shelfmark m23/.10084

Born in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, in 1938, Tova Friedman was four when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp. Her father was transported to Dachau. Supplemented by the research of former war reporter Malcolm Brabant, the book presents her recollections of the atrocities she witnessed during six months of incarceration in Birkenau.

 

Émigré voices: conversations with Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria. Edited by Bea Lewkowicz and Anthony Grenville. Leiden: Brill, 2022, shelfmark ZA.9.a.10762(21). 

Lewkowicz and Grenville present twelve oral history interviews with men and women who came to Britain as Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria in the late 1930s, including author and illustrator Judith Kerr and the actor Andrew Sachs. The narratives of the interviewees tell of their common struggles as child or young adult refugees who had to forge new lives in a foreign country and they illuminate how each interviewee dealt with the challenges of forced emigration and the Holocaust.

 

One hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the search for a lost world. By Michael Frank and Stella Levi. New York: Avid Reader Press, 2022. Shelfmark m23/.10123

The book presents a series of conversations between ninety-nine-year-old Stella Levi and the writer Michael Frank over the course of six years. Levi’s recollections bring to life the vibrant world of Jewish Rhodes, the deportation to Auschwitz that extinguished ninety percent of her community, and her resilience as a survivor.

 

Voices from Srebrenica: survivor narratives of the Bosnian Genocide. By Ann Petrila and Hasan Hasanović. Jefferson: McFarland, 2021. Shelfmark YKL.2022.b.2126

In July 1995, when the small town of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia fell to Serbian forces, 12,000 Muslim men and boys fled through the woods, seeking safety. Hunted for six days, more than 8,000 were captured, killed at execution sites and later buried in mass graves. The book presents harrowing personal narratives by survivors, revealing stories of individual trauma, loss and resilience.

 

The last refuge: a true story of war, survival and life under siege in Srebrenica, by Hasan Nuhanović, translated by Alison Sluiter and Doris Bonkers. London: Peter Owen, 2019. Shelfmark YKL.2020.a.6682

"We went to the mountains of eastern Bosnia to hide from the war. As if a forest could shield you from a war. The war flies, reaches you in a second. It runs through the walls, over the mountains and rivers. It enters your mind, and your heart and your soul and refuses to leave . . ."  The Last Refuge presents a first-hand account of the barbarism of the years leading up to the massacre in Srebrenica, survival and reflection.  Reviewing the book in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Carly Kabot writes,"Nuhanović’s life is a testament to human persistence. The Last Refuge humanizes conflict, acting as a compelling reminder that we must never forget that behind every headline, every statistic, and every photograph, there is an individual struggling to survive."

These books are among the many personal testimonies of genocide, alongside others that consider how these memories may be kept alive and put to the service of working to understanding the nature of genocide and to prevent it.  Books received by the Library in digital format remain unavailable because of the cyber attack. The books presented here were received in print and are stored at the Library's Yorkshire site, available for readers to order in advance of their visit.

The Library is working to restore access to the content previously made available on its website, including the Learning resource 'Voices of the Holocaust' based on oral history interviews.  Short segments taken from those interviews are still available via a 2017 blog post, entitled Denying Denial - Holocaust Testimonies Online.  The British Library is a partner in Holocaust Testimony UK, an initiative of the UK Government and the Association of Jewish Refugees created to advance Holocaust education by providing user-friendly access to thousands of recorded interviews with Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazism who faced discrimination, antisemitism, segregation, persecution, violence and displacement. The portal also shares interviews with rescuers and liberators.