The Rebbe's guidance on recording, researching and publishing Jewish and Chassidic history accurately (IK = Igros Kodesh letter number):
Getting the facts right. Books on Chassidic history and the lives of the Rebbeim must get dates, names, lineage and events right. When authors sent him their works, the Rebbe thanked and encouraged them, then sent detailed corrections from manuscripts, family tradition and earlier sources, asking that they be fixed in future editions: biographies of the Alter Rebbe and Mitteler Rebbe (IK 213, 348), the history of the Alter Rebbe's family (IK 311), books on the Baal Shem Tov and Reb Pinchas of Koretz (IK 622, 2315), Shluchei Eretz Yisrael (IK 3237), the first Chabad aliyah, which came in the Mitteler Rebbe's time (IK 6034), a map and illustrations (IK 9011), and the Shaarei Chabad bibliography (IK 7966). The Alter Rebbe was born in 5505 (IK 6777, 10248). On conflicting reports of the Baal Shem Tov's revelation, see IK 5670; on the story of the Rebbe Maharash's glasses, IK 7883. Be careful not to exaggerate when praising Torah leaders or comparing them to earlier generations (IK 4921). Accurate history and biography are especially important in times of confusion and misinformation (IK 6732).
Recording memories before they are lost. The Rebbe repeatedly asked chassidim to write down what they remembered: memoirs of a father (IK 684), Sukkos 5700 spent with the Frierdiker Rebbe in the cellar (IK 791), Lubavitch in the days of the Rebbe Maharash and Rebbe Rashab (IK 3840), memories of Dobra (IK 6403), diaries and notes about the Frierdiker Rebbe (IK 7776), and his instructions and sayings (IK 9256). He encouraged recording chassidic stories and family traditions in detail (IK 2901, 3715), welcomed the continuation of Zichronos (IK 1447), and on an incident at the gathering of 5670, see IK 374.
Holocaust and persecution. Jewish persecutions, and the Holocaust above all, must be documented accurately and comprehensively by G-d-fearing writers; begin writing without waiting for perfect conditions (IK 7491, 7653, 7654). On generalizations about Russian Jewry, see IK 6428; on books about Vitebsk and Moscow, IK 2640, 10146; on the Mensheviks and the Bolshevik revolution, IK 1987.
Letters and documents. Having personally seen hundreds of the Geniza Chersonit letters, the Rebbe had no doubt of their authenticity, and answered the objections raised against them (IK 2497, 2648). He welcomed historic letters of the Tzemach Tzedek and the Frierdiker Rebbe (IK 9062, 3583), notes about the Alter Rebbe (IK 9067), and the inheritance of handwritten letters from a student of the Rebbe Rashab (IK 8683); on editing the Tzemach Tzedek's texts, see IK 10278; on the origins of a maamar, IK 6409.
Family lineage. On the Schneersohn family and its branches — Moshe Menuhin (IK 588), Reb Mendel Schneersohn, brother of the Rebbe Rashab (IK 3178), Reb Shmaryahu Noach of Bobruisk (IK 6630), Reb Baruch Schneur (IK 10248), and an inquiry about Liuba Schneerson (IK 10914). A distinguished lineage is a call to live up to it (IK 7056, 7413); the main way to rectify an ancestor's shortcomings is to work hard at spreading Chassidus (IK 6665). On the Alter Rebbe's father as a hidden tzaddik, see IK 6735.
See also: Accuracy – Chassidus manuscripts: collecting and authenticating; Accuracy – Torah texts and editions; Accuracy – Chassidic stories and teachings.