Research and digitization inquiries can be submitted to Manuscripts Archivist, Greta Suiter, via the Mahn Center Research Request Form.

The size and scope of the digital collection is demand-driven, meaning that when the Libraries receives a request to digitize specific questionnaires, they will be added to the publicly accessible digital collection. Citation of CollectionĬornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries. Their stories, writings, and images convey the physical and emotional effects of war, and describe graphic scenes of battle in which many lives were lost. The Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers contains first-hand accounts of those who witnessed and experienced violent, traumatic events.

Learn more about the physical collection by visiting the finding aid. Reproduced content is not available in the digital collection, which features primary source material curated and requested from the larger, physical collection. In addition to original material, there are many copies of archival documents, articles, and secondary sources Ryan used for research. The collection also contains 166 audio recordings of interviews. The files contain 2,551 questionnaires, 955 interviews, and numerous letters, diaries, accounts, and observations. Within the physical collection, there are personal files for 3,072 individuals-both military and civilian participants in the battles-representing various nationalities. These submissions were filed in coded, cross-referenced folders, one for each respondent, and organized by nationality and military formation.

Additional material such as photos of respondents, correspondence, and diary entries were also collected. Upon returning the completed questionnaires, some were invited to participate in interviews conducted by Ryan and his research team. Respondents were solicited through ads placed in Reader’s Digest during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Last Battle (Battle of Berlin, Germany, April 15-May 10, 1945)Įach of these three series contain questionnaires completed by veterans that Ryan used to research his books.

A Bridge Too Far (Operation MARKET-GARDEN, Holland, September 17-26, 1944).

The Longest Day (Operation OVERLORD, also known as D-Day, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944).

The digital collection of the Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers consists of material related to World War II and the European Theater of Operations, in the form of Ryan’s research and files associated with his three major battle books: Browse AND SEARCH the collection About the Collection

A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan