HISTORY 375: The Cold War—From World War II to the End of the Soviet Empire (Fall 2023) : Declassified Government Documents
Databases for Declassified Documents
- Chile: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1930-1963Archive of U.S. State Department documents and files related to diplomatic, political and economic issues in Chile, from 1930-1963.The records in this document archive range from the era of the Great Depression to the height of the Cold War. The period of Radical Party dominance (1932-1952) saw the emergence of a strong middle-class party and its role as the key force in coalition governments. Documents include: negotiations with British nitrate interests (March 1934); U.S. state department concern of a possible “crisis in Chilean copper production” (October 1940); troops on alert following the refusal of telephone and electric company employees to obey orders to end a strike (January 1950); a student strike at the University of Concepción demanding adequate financing for the university (April 1950); and a U.S. embassy report noting “Chilean Roman Catholic Church Initiates Own Agrarian Reform Program” and “Moscow Conference Attracts Chileans” (July 1962). The materials were sourced from the U.S. National Archive.
- CIA FOIA Reading RoomThe Central Intelligence Agency's virtual reading room of a materials declassified due to "Freedom of Information Act" requests.
- The Cold War: Global Perspectives on East-West Tensions, 1945-1991A collection of international primary source documents on the Cold War.Translated reports, publications, news broadcasts covering facets of the Cold War, focusing on news outlets in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, North Korea, Vietnam and more.
- Cold War IntelligenceA collection of 2,360 formerly classified U.S. government documents (most of them classified Top Secret or higher) provides readers for the first time with the declassified documentary record about the successes and failures of the U.S. intelligence community in its efforts to spy on the Soviet Union during the Cold War. [To access this database, use Firefox, not Chrome]
- Country Intelligence Reports / State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research Reports: USSR (1941-1961)This collection consists of research and intelligence reports prepared during 1941-1961 on the USSR and consists of reports, studies, and surveys on various topics of interest to the U.S. Department of State. The reports vary from short memorandums to detailed, documented studies.
- Digital National Security ArchiveThe DNSA includes over 100,000 declassified primary documents relating to U.S. foreign policy. It is separated into 42 collections compiled and organized by top scholars and experts and exhaustively covers critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century. Glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs are included. (Updated annually)
- Foreign Office Files for China 1919-1980This database includes sources from the National Archives of the UK from the Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. The six parts of this collection make available all British Foreign Office files dealing with greater China.
- George H. W. Bush and Foreign Affairs: The Moscow Summit and the Dissolution of the USSRThis collection provides an in-depth analysis of the events leading up to the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. and its implications for U.S.-Soviet relations.The collection consists of three FOIA files from the Bush Library. The first file contains material related to the Moscow summit and the coup in August 1991 against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. This file contains cables sent to the White House situation room concerning day-by-day developments, and conversations between President Bush and other foreign leaders. The second file, which concerns the dissolution of the Soviet Union, highlights the Bush administration's response to the dissolution and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Documents here concern economic and humanitarian support, diplomatic recognition of the republics, aiding the transition to democratic governments and market economies, and defense issues, particularly the fate and control over the former Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal. The last FOIA file contains materials on the meeting between President Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta (December 2-3, 1989) and the subsequent meetings between President Bush and NATO leaders in Brussels (December 3- 4, 1989).
- Nicaragua: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1960-1963Archive of U.S. State Department documents and files related to diplomatic, political and economic issues in Nicaragua, from 1960-1963.The documents in this archive trace developments primarily during the administration of President John F. Kennedy related to Nicaragua. Reports on commerce include memoranda on sugar production estimates that may enter the United States. Memoranda on social welfare include: a survey of government-sponsored social welfare organizations as well as details on the National Social Assistance Lottery and the National Committee for the Anti-Tuberculosis Campaign.
- U.S. Declassified Documents OnlineThe U.S. Declassified Documents includes documents made available through the Freedom of Information Act from the period immediately after World War II through the 1970's and beyond. Nearly every major foreign and domestic event of these years is covered: the Cold War, Vietnam, foreign policy shifts, the civil rights movements, and more. Documents are available as keyed searchable texts and as digital facsimiles. (Not updated)
- U.S. Intelligence on Asia, 1945-1991A collection of declassified U.S. government documents of the U.S. intelligence community's activities in East Asia and Southeast Asia during the Cold War (1945-1991). [To access this database, use Firefox, not Chrome]Particular emphasis is given to the People’s Republic of China, North Korea and North Vietnam. Includes additional coverage on Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.
- U.S. Intelligence on the Middle East, 1945-2009Declassified U.S. government documents concerning the U.S. intelligence community’s spying and analytic efforts in the Middle East, the Near East, and North Africa. [To access this database, use Firefox, not Chrome]