Online Resources on 9-11
September 11, 2001 will always be marked in history as the day that changed the world. On that fateful day, the City of New York – and the rest of the world – has witnessed two planes crash into each of the Twin Towers, causing the burning and the collapse of the iconic edifices that has long been part of New York City’s skyline, not to mention the deaths of around 2,000 people that were caused by the said collapse.
It is not only the deaths and the collapse of the World Trade Center that we saw on September 11, 2001. We saw a city become engulfed with fear of terrorism and cope with courage and bravery in the face of that fear. We saw the axis of world politics teeter. We saw the United States invade Afghanistan. We saw the end of the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. We saw the world change because of 9-11.
Many, many websites on the Internet are dedicated towards preserving the memory of September 11, as well as the lessons we can learn from them. Here are just some of these online resources detailing what had happened on that fateful day and documenting what had occurred as a result of that day.
Government Websites
Among the best online resources on 9-11 that you can find when using a search engine like Google are a number of websites maintained by the United States federal government and the government of the City of New York itself. The one website that the United States federal government has dedicated to this cataclysm is the homepage of the National Commission on Terrorist Acts on the United States, also known as the 9-11 Commission. This website contains documentation on the hearings and other activities done by the 9-11 Commission as part of their investigation on the events surrounding 9-11 and their final report submitted to President George W. Bush. The website, however, is now frozen and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration.
The official website of the government of the City of New York also has its own set of articles documenting the event and honoring the victims of the September 11 attacks. In addition, New York City’s website also has articles trying to address the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, particularly on the health of the citizenry who breathed in the dust and the smoke of the attacks.
The official website of the government of the State of New York has a beautiful tribute to the New York City Fire Department for the heroic work they have done at Ground Zero. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has also a webpage dedicated to the promotion of the 9/11 Memorial Field.
Educational Institutions
There are also educational institutions that have set up a webpage dedicated to recording the events of September 11. Among these institutions is the Smithsonian Institute. The webpage is entitled “September 11: Bearing Witness to History”, and tells about the Institute’s collection and exhibit of items relating to the September 11 attacks. The website also has a section on the stories of how September 11 has affected the lives of individual people. These stories were collected from contributions to the website.
Media Coverage
Different media companies also have their own coverage of 9-11. Among these is Time magazine. For its commemoration of the first year following September 11, Time magazine released an issue containing poignant photo essays and artwork describing the events of that fateful day, as well as its aftermath. A must-read is the series of interviews on eleven people whose lives have been changed as a result of September 11.
The Washington Post and Interactive Publishing have their own archive of news stories, in text, audio and video, documenting the events of September 11 and the days that followed, as does CNN. CNN also has a memorial page for the victims of 9-11.
The local media of New York City are not far behind in covering the event that occurred and destroyed their own front yard. NY1 has put up a special section on September 11 in its homepage. In New York Magazine, two articles on 9-11 should not be missed: Item 245: Breaking News and September 11 by the Numbers.
Other Archives
Aside from the abovementioned websites, there are other places on the Internet that are full of information about September 11 and its aftermath. A collection of news articles about that day can be found in September 11 News. A website dedicated to the victims of the tragedy is September 11 Victims. Lastly, an archive of images, audio files and stories can be found in The September 11 Digital Archive.