Three Questions is an initiative to share the value that our faculty, students, and external patrons derive from using the Portal to Texas History at UNT Libraries.
1. How important is hosting your organization’s historic materials on UNT’s Portal to Texas History for your patrons or visitors?
The Portal has been absolutely critical to my research, learning, and teaching. I have been able to use sources from the Portal in a book chapter I have under review with an edited collection about the US Military and the Holocaust, which is slated to be the first book to exclusively focus on the US Military and the Holocaust. I love how the Portal can foreground sources from the Nimitz Museum while also highlighting local newspapers like Texas Jewish Post. I found it equally impressive the dedication to tags that make the resources extremely easy to find. The OCR text recognition is top tier making finding seemingly niche events easy. I have been able to use primary sources from the Portal to help teach my students about World War II as well. Since the Portal has been so helpful, I try to connect all the researchers I know with it!
2. Can you tell us a story or two about how patrons or visitors have used your online collections that are hosted in the Portal?
The Portal has allowed me to make more connections in my research. It particularly allows me to see how local communities were understanding the Holocaust in addition to providing voices of people who were a part of it. It is uniquely helpful how the Portal uses both museums and smaller archives. I’m grateful that UNT has taken the time to create this source.
3. What do you want others to know about your experience partnering with UNT’s Portal to Texas History?
I would like others to know that I’m passionate about prisoners of war (POWs) in World War II. This interest stems from my great uncles, Warren and George Gribbons, who were POWs during WWII. George unfortunately did not survive but Warren did after a year and a half internment and became a dedicated educator until his death. Their stories and all the people whose papers I encounter in the archives inspire me to be a dedicated historian. I do not take it lightly what they endured nor anyone else in history, and I look forward to bringing historical findings to the broader conversation. I also have an interest in Russian and Russian history, and I have enjoyed learning the Russian language this past year.
Holly Harris is a History PhD Student and University PhD Fellow at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on allied prisoners of war on the Eastern front during World War II. She has held fellowships with the United States Air Force Academy, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the University of Illinois Russian and Eastern European Center. Her relative Warren Gribbons was an American prisoner of war for a year and a half, which initially sparked her interest in the topic. She is interested in how this event connects to geopolitics, military welfare, and strategy. To carry out this work, Holly visits archives with primary source material like diaries, letters and reports.
