What are “The Forgotten Files?”
Dive into history’s curiosities—uncensored, unapologetic, and free.
The Forgotten Files serves history as it was, not how we wish it had been. If something here rubs you the wrong way, imagine what it did to people back then.
I don’t sanitize history here. If something offends you, feel free to direct your complaint to the original author.
About the curator - Peter Pappas
I’m a University of Portland-based educator, writer and instructional designer.
I’ve been teaching history for years. When I’m not biking around Portland, I explore archives for lost artifacts that got left out of your textbooks. Just shining a light on the past, flaws and all.
I’m also an online mentor for the Library of Congress' Teaching with Primary Sources Program.
And I post at Copy / Paste and lurk on Substack Notes, BlueSky, Threads and Mastodon.
Find my university courses here: Social Studies Methods | Ed Tech
Historical Thinking Prompts
Use these prompts with the images to get your students to “think like a historian.”