The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is a national museum based in London, whose archival records cover Holocaust testimony, military history documentation and accounts.

Archive Description

Imperial War Museum’s document collection holds over 20,000 individual collections of private papers, comprising unpublished diaries, letters and memoirs written primarily by British and Commonwealth servicemen and women since 1914 and by civilians mainly during the two world wars. It also looks after a large collection of foreign documents, including the official British records of the major war crimes trials conducted at Nuremberg and Tokyo, together with related documents from the Second World War which mainly concern the German and Japanese war efforts.

Archival material in the collection with particular reference to Jewish history includes oral history interviews and written testimony from Holocaust survivors and those involved with the Kindertransport scheme, as well as much important supporting documentation on these subjects.

Access Information

The archives are open to members of the general public by appointment. Access requires the museum to be notified at least five full working days in advance. Access times are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday (closed Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays).

More information about access to the archives is available on the Museum’s website, as well as contact information.

Online Accessibility

The Museum’s catalogue is available online, and includes substantial digital collections, including its digitised sound archive – available online.

Street Address

Imperial War Museum,
Lambeth Road,
London,
SE1 6HZ