Education Resource: Unique Perspectives on World War II

Unique Perspectives on World War II

Suggested Age Group: Middle School to High School

Thematic Summary

These clips explore the Second World War with rare clips that look closely at the Japanese Internment in the United States as well as an all Jewish Brigade fighting in Italy. Provides good complementary material to a unit about WWII. Students will be asked to look more closely at issues that generally do not make it into standard curricula surrounding WWII.

Student Activities

1. Opener: Discuss occasions when groups have been discriminated against for specific reasons, what events led to this, and why these groups were targeted. Either particular times in history (e.g., Salem witch trials) or personal experiences work, depending on unit objectives and classroom community.

2. Opener: hero or menace? Have a list of controversial figures (Jesse James, Che Guevara, Huey P. Newton, etc) on the board. Have a class discussion about the nature of biases and perception in history as well as life.

3. Language Arts: have students choose news articles with different slants on the same topic or current event. Discuss audience, motive, language, and rhetoric.

4. In groups, have students create a timeline of the events leading up to, during, and after WWII. Connections could be made between WWI and the Arab-Israeli War.

Discussion Questions

Give two contrasting examples of how imagery is used to represent Japan and America during this time period and for what purposes.

From "Know Your Enemy", list three examples the movie uses to present America as a heroic force in the war. Discuss opinions.

Were you surprised to see "Know Your Enemy - Japan" and why or why not? Can you think of anything from current times that is similar?

In what way did the Jewish Brigade have the most impact?

Having seen the related clips, how does looking at WWII from these perspectives change your overall understanding of that time period?

Recommended Clips

Know Your Enemy - Japan

Suggested Clip Times: 0:56:44 – 1:01:07

Theme: World War II Propaganda

Description: A WWII U.S. War Department orientation film using propaganda techniques to inform American citizens about the Japanese.

Japanese-American Internment

Suggested Clip Times: 00:01:32 - 00:05:00

Theme: U.S. Domestic Concerns during WWII

Description: A look back at the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

In Our Own Hands: The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II

Suggested Clip Times: 0:00:00 - 1:25:00

Theme: Jewish Soldiers in WWII

Description: Rich resource of WWII footage and interviews that capture a unique point of view of the war. Some graphic images of concentration camp victims

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