Memoirs, diaries, correspondence, and other types of primary sources that express contemporary views are rarely published in the time of the events they concern. These views are sometimes published later and even translated into English, and can be found in the library catalogue.
Strategy: search for an event (with the exact phrase in quotations) AND a word indicating a firsthand or eyewitness account
autobiography
autoethnography
biography
correspondence
diary OR diaries
"first person"
interview
letters
memoir
narratives
"oral history"
perspective
photography
speech OR speeches
Example: "berlin wall" AND diary
This strategy also works for locating firsthand accounts by a known individual.
Example: "Ronald Reagan" AND diary
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