Abstract

The International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive (IBCCDA) collects materials – mainly private papers, memorabilia, and oral testimony – relating to the bombing war in Europe, 1939-1945. This remains a sensitive, even divisive, chapter in modern European history, as much among those who won the war as for those who were on the losing side. In acknowledgement of this sensitivity, the IBCCDA has adopted an inclusive approach to acquisitions, in doing so forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the Istituto Friulano per la Storia del Movimento di Liberazione (IFSML). The mission of the latter is to foster research and public engagement on the history of Resistance in the Friuli region and to preserve library and archival materials relevant to that period. The paper outlines the structure of the IBCCDA and stresses the relevance of its sources for scholarly research in contemporary history. A further section analyses a selection of oral history testimonies recorded with the help with the IFSML.