The Private War Journal of Generaloberst Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff of the Supreme Command of the German Army, 1939- 1942 is a microfilmed copy of the desk journal of Generaloberst Franz Halder. In 1938, Generaloberst [Col Gen] Franz Halder took office as Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), openly declaring himself opposed to the Nazi leadership of the German Armed Forces. By 1939, however, Hitler had begun to direct much of the operational decision making of the OKH. Although Halder would continue to voice opposition to the more impractical military directives, he nonetheless complied with the strategic demands proposed by Hitler and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces. From 1938-1942, Halder's duties were confined to operational decision making and desk planning, analysing reports sent to him by his subordinates and conferring with officers of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), the Supreme Command of the German Army, over administrative, operational, and logistical matters. Halder's short-hand notes and daily entries in his Kriegstagebücher summarised each day's work and acted as an aide mémoire to events, 1938-1942. The journal reflects the detail, routine, and bureaucracy encountered by Halder and his staff, as well as the decision making process between Halder, the General Staff, and Adolf Hitler. Kept by Halder personally, the journal should not be confused with the official War Diaries kept by the Supreme Command of the German Army. Intended to serve as a notebook, the diary does not furnish a complete record of all activities, 1939-1942; rather it reflects the German High Command decision making structure as well as the character of many German senior officers, including FM (Karl Rudolf) Gerd von Runstedt, FM Erich von Manstein, and Col Gen Heinz Guderian. After the war, the journal was introduced by the Prosecution as a documentary exhibit in the record of the case entitled the United States of America vs Wilhelm von Leeb et al, brought before Military Tribunal V (FM Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Commander Army Group North, was tried for minor war crimes in 1948). The journal was subsequently translated and reduced to typewritten form from the original notes under the guidance of Phillip Willner, Chief of the Reporting Branch (German) of the Office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, Office of the Military Government for Germany. It was then reviewed with Halder for continuity and published soon thereafter.

Papers relating to his military service, 1944-1945, principally comprising war diary including maps and photographs, Sep 1944-Jul 1945; copy of report on the liberation of Belsen written for the Director of Military Government by Lt Col R I G Taylor, Officer Commanding, 63 Anti Tank Regt, [1945]; orders relating to the occupation and administration of Belsen, from Brig General Staff of 8 Corps, British Liberation Army, April 1945; report on Belsen by Capt Barker, Royal Army Medical Corps, 63 Anti Tank Regt, Jun 1945; letter to British officers from a group of Czech women prisoners describing their treatment in Belsen, 1945; Barnett's notes for a talk on Belsen, ND; photographs showing inmates and conditions in Belsen, 1945; newspaper cuttings relating to Victory in Europe Day, the liberation of Belsen and the Belsen trial, May-Oct 1945; 'Report by the Supreme Commander to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the operations in Europe of the Allied Expeditionary Force, June 1944-May 1945', issued by HMSO, 1946.

Papers of Capt John Archer, 1889-1938, including: diaries, 1889-1896, 1901, 1908-1910, 1919, 1921-1922, 1925 and 1938; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues detailing his military experiences, 1893-1913; papers relating to Archer's career, including notebook containing details of service record, examinations passed, certificates gained and financial accounts, 1889-1894; list of warrant and non-commissioned officers at School of Musketry, Hythe, Oct 1895; printed map of Mashonaland, 1896; issues of The Rhodesia Herald, 1896, concerning the Mashonaland Uprising; general instructions for non-commissioned officers, 1897; timetable for movement of Archer's unit from Omdurman, 1898; poem 'The Night Attack on Surprise Hill', by Pte J Gibbons, 1899; sketch map of Lydenburg and the surrounding countryside, South Africa, by R Verney, 2 Lieutenant, Rifle Brigade, [1899]; lithograph map of Cairo, War Office, 1901; special orders announcing proclamation of peace, June 1902; Intelligence summaries, Jan and April 1902; order of service for Military Thanksgiving Service for the Restoration of Peace, Pretoria, Jun 8 1902; order of service for Coronation Day, 26 Jun 1902; parade service for visit of the Amir of Afghanistan to Agra, Jan 1907, with map showing locations of troop billets and plan of organisation of troop review; papers relating to Archer's time as POW, Germany and Holland, 1914-1918, and press cuttings, correspondence and reports relating to Archer's job as Superintendent of Prisons, Nyasaland, 1920-1936.

Rifle and athletic meeting programmes, with press cuttings recording Archer's successes, 1898-1914. Photograph album showing manoeuvres, Malta, 1897; Crete, 1898; punitive raids on Transvaal farms, including taking Boer women into concentration camps, 1901; Middleburg and Groot Oliphant Camps, 1901-1902; views of Egypt including parades, inspections, sports and camps, 1902-1905; photographs of groups of POWs, Merseburg Camp and examples of paper money used in the Merseburg Camp, 1914-1919. Also copy of A Fine Chest of Medals: The Life of Jack Archer, Colin Baker (Mpemba Books: Cardiff, 2003).