The Liberation Collection Visiting Scholar Programme

Generously supported by the Penchant Foundation

Cambridge University Library is delighted to announce the launch of the Liberation Collection Visiting Scholar Programme. Generously supported by the Penchant Foundation, this new initiative will enable a Visiting Scholar to spend between two and four months undertaking research focused on the Chadwyck-Healey Liberation Collection held at Cambridge University Library

This programme is a collaboration between the University Library Research Institute and Clare Hall, a graduate college located at the heart of the University of Cambridge, renowned for its informal approach to college life and its international diversity.

The Liberation Collection

Donated to Cambridge University Library by Sir Charles Chadwyck-Healey, the Liberation Collection comprises over 3200 books and pamphlets in French on the subjects of the Second World War, the Occupation and the Liberation, published between August 1944 and December 1946. Encompassing a wide range of material, including novels, poetry, illustrated books, photographic albums, literature for children, testimonies from the camps, military works and political publications, it provides a deep insight into how the French used the medium of the book to express their experience of the Second World War.  

The collection has already been the subject of considerable research enquiry, including the former Liberation Lecture series (2017-2022), an exhibition at Cambridge University Library, and an ongoing Collaborative Doctoral Award. The Visiting Scholar Programme is a unique opportunity to build on this research. Possible themes include (but are not limited to): Résistance movements, war propaganda, “littérature engagée”, trauma and memory, diplomatic and military history, collaborationist or clandestine publishing, network studies and book history. 

Image of hand flicking through pages of a city bulletin of Toulouse with black and white photographs of the liberation of the city

Application Process  

Applications are welcome from postgraduate students, early career (including postdoctoral) researchers and experienced researchers. Applications must be made in English, with the exception of letters of support and references, which can be in English or French. 

Applications from postgraduate students and early career researchers should comprise a CV, research proposal and itemised budget, combined into a single PDF and submitted via email to researchdevelopment@lib.cam.ac.uk. A letter of support (from an individual who is familiar with your academic profile) should also be submitted as part of your application or emailed directly to researchdevelopment@lib.cam.ac.uk, by the author by the application deadline.  

Applications from experienced researchers should comprise a CV, publications list, personal statement, research proposal, itemised budget and details of three referees, combined into a single PDF and submitted via email to researchdevelopment@lib.cam.ac.uk. The references themselves can also be submitted as part of your application or emailed directly to researchdevelopment@lib.cam.ac.uk by the referees by the application deadline. Please find a downloadable template for academic references here.

Full details of the application documentation can be found in the call guidelines.

The call for 2024 applications has now closed.

Liberation Collection Visiting Scholar 2024

Dr Marie Puren

'From one propaganda to another? The new editorial and literary landscape in post-war France (1944-1946)'

Further Information  

If you have any questions about this programme, please contact the University Library Research Institute at researchdevelopment@lib.cam.ac.uk.  

Collection items featured:
Headline image: the cover of a special issue of the city bulletin of Toulouse published after the liberation of the city in August 1944: Bulletin municipal. Numéro spécial consacré à la Libération. Ville de Toulouse, Octobre 1944. Liberation.a.235
Photographic publication from 1944 documenting and narrating the Allied and French advance, the liberation of occupied French territories and cities, and their progression towards Berlin as “Steps towards Victory”: Étapes vers la victoire: Normandie, Bretagne, Paris, Metz, Belfort, Strasbourg, Berlin, 1944. Liberation.a.76
Juvenile publication which focuses on three “Glorious pages” of French imperial military history: Pages de Gloire: Sidi-Brahim, Camerone, Bir-Hakem / Pierre Nord ; images de Guy Sabran. Paris: Éditions G.P., 1945. Liberation.a.113