Keywords
war
interpersonal communication
documentary heritage
contemporary history
correspondencia
guerra
comunicación interpersonal
patrimonio documental
historia contemporánea
How to Cite
Abstract
This article offers an overview of some of the numerous advances that epistolary exchange has been consolidating in different modern wars that took place in Europe and America. In particular, from the Napoleonic wars, at the beginning of the 19th century, to the end of the Second World War in the middle of the 20th century. The main purposes are to demonstrate the importance of correspondence during the development of hostilities, to show its suitability as a historical source and to show the impact they currently have, due to the relevant initiatives available on the Web undertaken on both continents. In order to achieve these objectives, several hundred letters and postcards that were sent by the combatants in each of the conflicts, and now in the custody of leading European and American institutions, have been analysed. In this way, it has been possible to establish the main themes they wrote and reflected about, as well as to know their feelings about the difficult situation they were experiencing. The research realized, thanks to the comparative perspective, demonstrates the multiplicity of advantages of these sources for the study of armed confrontations, the different innovations that the mail systems incorporated in each new war and the continuity in certain key themes that are present in all the wars analysed.
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