r-huijts/oorlogsbronnen-mcp
oorlogsbronnen-mcp is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI assistants like Claude to the Oorlogsbronnen (War Sources) API, providing access to a rich collection of historical World War II records from the Netherlands (1940–1945). It acts as a bridge, translating natural language queries from AI models into structured searches across photographs, documents, and other archival materials, returning detailed metadata and source information. Built in TypeScript, the server is designed to be self-hosted and integrates seamlessly with any MCP-compatible client, enabling users to explore wartime history conversationally. The tool leverages the Oorlogsbronnen database, a collaborative effort to digitize and preserve Dutch war heritage, offering a wide array of primary sources such as personal letters, official records, and images. It exposes multiple MCP tools that allow for searching by keywords, filtering by date ranges or locations, and retrieving specific record details, making it easier to sift through vast collections. Researchers, educators, and hobbyists can use it to uncover stories, verify facts, or simply learn about the impact of the war on the Netherlands through original materials. By wrapping the API in an MCP server, it reduces the complexity of direct API integration, abstracting authentication and query formatting behind a simple, AI-friendly interface. Setup is lightweight, requiring only Node.js and an API key, and the server can be extended or customized to fit specific research workflows. Its modular architecture and open-source nature encourage community contributions, and the included examples and test scripts demonstrate typical usage patterns for searching and data retrieval.
- Category
- Developer Tools
- Pricing
- Open Source
Problem solved
Historians, genealogists, educators, and researchers often struggle to access and query fragmented WWII archival data from the Netherlands. This tool provides a standardized and AI-friendly interface to the Oorlogsbronnen (War Sources) database, enabling natural language access to a wealth of historical photographs, documents, and records from 1940-1945.
Use cases
- Searching for photographs of specific Dutch cities during the Nazi occupation
- Retrieving personal documents like letters and diaries from the war period
- Cross-referencing historical events with primary source records
- Genealogical research on relatives affected by WWII in the Netherlands
- Educational assignments prompting students to explore original historical sources
- Building datasets for digital humanities projects on wartime history
Audience
- Developers
- Researchers
- Hobbyists
- Content Creators
Pros
- Opens up a specialized historical dataset to AI-assisted exploration
- Implements the MCP standard, making it easy to integrate with multiple AI platforms
- Open-source and community-maintained
- Provides a clean API for programmatic access to war archives
- Supports rich metadata and cross-referencing of records
Cons
- Limited to the Oorlogsbronnen dataset; coverage may not be exhaustive
- Requires basic server setup and configuration
- Only covers WWII-era Netherlands, not a global archive
Official website: https://github.com/r-huijts/oorlogsbronnen-mcp
Canonical LambdaBase page: https://www.lambdabase.com/tools/r-huijts-oorlogsbronnen-mcp