The constitutional mission of the Society for Military History is “to stimulate and advance the study of military history, especially that of the United States, and to diffuse knowledge thereof by publications, displays, and otherwise.” In response to recent wholesale deletions or removals of historical publications, websites, lesson plans, and even the removal of books and archives, the Society’s Council has voted to act to preserve deleted materials and report on other administrative actions at state or federal levels that interfere with the mission of our Society.
We believe that historical work requires the preservation of and access to records and publications. And there is no denying in this moment that books, articles, whole journal issues, lesson plans, exhibits, art installations, archives, and possibly more, are being removed from public access through a combination of automated screening for key words and through employees being diverted from their usual work into screening publications and materials. It is true that after public outrage some few websites have been restored, but this has been thus far spotty at best.
The involvement of historians within the government in the process of removal means that many members of our Society have specific knowledge of what materials are being or have been removed. We encourage you to contribute to the archive.
The Society will archive materials and publications removed from federal and state entities since January 2025 that are materially relevant to the conduct of military history, including all arenas of research, publication, dissemination, and teaching. Persons with access to deleted materials are encouraged to send unaltered copies (or at least links to currently active web archived copies such as the Wayback Machine, etc.) to SocMilHist@proton.me. The SMH will both publicly list those materials and make copies available.
Alternatively, files may be directly (and anonymously) uploaded simply by dragging your file into the upload space and clicking the Upload button on this page. You may enter your name, your email, and something about the file you are uploading, but you do not have to. Finally, answer the simple math problem to prove you are a human!
Members with knowledge of other actions, to include archive deletions, exhibit alterations, publication removal, or the removal of books from libraries (with relevance to military history) are encouraged to report them (anonymously if need be) to SMH leadership using this linked form.
The SMH will try to verify all submitted information, and will indicate as such on the list. If materials are restored to public view or access we ask the members to let us know via the same form, and we will update the list accordingly, although we will continue to list the item as having been deleted at least for the time being.
All submissions should be solely related to the practice of military history. Submitters are asked to provide sources for their information. We will NOT accept or archive any materials not already in the public domain.
Among other things, it is important to note that in many cases, items removed are publications of our members. They are lines on C.V.s. Their disappearance threatens our members’ efforts at promotion, advancement, placement, or tenure.This archive will help fill that gap. I believe it is also worth pointing out that two separate votes were held on this motion, one for the draft text, made by the previous board, and one for the post-conference slightly revised text.
Asia Policy Point supports the Society's efforts to preserve copies of things now missing and their continued effort to follow and record any destruction of the historical record. We encourage our followers to submit to the Society military history records that have found to have been deleted or altered by the Trump Administration.
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