engine of souls | forum 2

mre · Senior Member

Assignment #11: World War II Performance Test

jessicalol · Veteran Member

mre wrote:

PART I - Proving History Section

Background: Your task is to provide evidence for five facts concerning World War II. Because we used the example of dates yesterday, please think of individuals, events or issues but not dates. Think about what is published on web sites and textbooks. How do we know that information is true? How can you prove it? Thats the task.

Assignment: This is a test of your ability to access and analyze information. Use the internets sources to prove any five facts from the war and explain your reasoning behind choosing them. How can you know they are true? What is the source? Why is that source credible? How many perspectives did you consider?

Evaluation: Heres where things get difficult. Your job is to impress me. Imagine that I am your boss (yeah right!). I am doing a performance review of my staff and cuts have to be made. Will you keep your job or get cut? I will look for your answers to meet the questions above. Good luck!

PART II Critical Thinking

Background: In the beginning of the unit on World War II, you were asked to create good questions. This is what true learning is about its about asking the right questions, not finding the right answers. World War II opens the gate on many issues. Heres your chance to show what kind of thinker you are.

Assignment: You are going to be given a list of topics related to World War II. Imagine that you are interviewing individuals who were involved (in some capacity) with the events listed. Choose five of the topics and ask four quality questions for each. You do not need to answer the questions, but you do need to make them the best questions possible. Heres the list:

·          Japanese Internment
·          Nuremburg Trials
·          Atomic Bombing
·          NAZI Holocaust
·          American Segregation
·          Women in the Factories
·          Battlefield Choices
·          Leadership in War
·          Censorship/Propaganda
·          Wars Consequences

You are asking the questions. Make sure they are good ones. What makes a good question? A good question is short, clear and unambiguous. It could be a question about choices, values, characteristics, or more. Its a question that forces the person asked to think deeply about issues, events and individuals. It may not have a clear answer. There may be many different perspectives to the answer.

Evaluation: Your job is to get me to think deeply about your question. All you have to do is get me to say, Hmm Now, in order to do that you have to research the topics and make sure your questions are appropriate. Imagine that I am a college professor and you are submitting your draft outline for a thesis project before you get your Masters degree. You need my approval before you can move on. If I do not approve your questions, you have to work another semester preparing them again. You dont want to do that. You cant afford to do that. Give me your best.

PART III Problem Solving

Background: What good is it if you learn material but cant apply it? Have you ever heard the question, When am I ever going to be able to use this (history)? Heres where that pays off. You are going to be given problems to solve. They are all about World War II. All you have to do is demonstrate a way out of the problem and explain your decision. In writing your answer, include evidence of the historical scenario of the time. Include names, dates, places, events, issues, etc.. Piece of cake, right? Choose any two and write a 500 word paragraph for each.

Assignment: This choice is all about choice. Here are some of your options:
1)       You are President Truman. It is August 5^th, 1945. You have to decide whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Make a choice and support your decision..
2)       You are an Army captain leading a squad into a NAZI controlled town. You saw evidence of a massacre of Jewish prisoners just before you arrived. You capture the NAZI officers and their troops and they surrendered. What orders do you give concerning the German soldiers?
3)       You are Winston Churchill and your people have just broken the German code encrypting their messages. You discover that the Germans are about to bomb one of your biggest cities. If you evacuate, the Germans will switch to a different code. If you dont, hundreds of thousands of your own people could die. What do you do?
4)       You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?
5)       You are a female factory worker who has been promoted to the position of foreman in your company. The war is about to end. You love your work and the pay you receive as well as your ability to help your country in a time of need. As a woman, this is something youve never had before: respect and opportunity. Now youve been told that you have to give up your job so that a man (returning soldier) can have it. Do you voluntarily quit or not?

Evaluation: The bottom line that will be used to judge your work will be 1) did you explain a historical context, 2) did you support your decision with evidence and/or reasoning, 3) did you convince the reader (me) in the rightness of your choice. If you meet all three conditions, you have completed the assignment correctly. Good luck.

-- Edited by mre on Friday 17th of April 2009 02:33:19 PM

not finished:)

Jessica Hernandez

World history II

Performance Test:

5. You are a female factory worker who has been promoted to the position of foreman in your company. The war is about to end. You love your work and the pay you receive as well as your ability to help your country in a time of need. As a woman, this is something youve never had before: respect and opportunity. Now youve been told that you have to give up your job so that a man (returning soldier) can have it. Do you voluntarily quit or not?

If I were a female factory worker and I had just been promoted the position of forman in the company meaning that I have earned the respect an oppurtunity not many can reach also being contempt with the salery and the position and they wanted me to give up my job for a returned soldier I would give up my job I mean it depends because if I only had the job temerarily then id I would have to understand the jobs deal I mean its temerpary but if my job was a permant and there werent any conditions under which I was required to leave it was a just the company obligating me to do so to give a man a job because I really dont care if hes a soldier or not then I would fight beyond measures to keep my job and Id do because in every job there the only way known to get a promotion is by hardwork and dedication then I wouldnt just let that all go and let someone else take the job only because there a man or a soldier. Id fend for my rights and delgate with whom ever it takes to keep my position I wouldnt give it up no sirry! During the war world II the husbands went to war and the wives took on their husbands responsibilities and or duties. Many women one being Kate Mullaney she went on to become assistant secretary of the National Labor Union, they faced a treats to lose their jobs and so the national labor union took a stand for their rights in 1866. Id do all that not because of the placement in a job but because of my rights as a person not gender wise everyone should respect the effort that someone puts into their jobs and their work and for a person who is completely happy with their job its more than a job its their career and nobody has the right to take that away from anyone else especially just because its an order placed from one day to another.

4. You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

Navajos were a tribe of prejudce men in the northeast of Arizona and they were about a clan of 50 these people believed in governing themselves. So If I were a navajo and I had been dragred into the us army me also knowing all the racism exsisting in the Us and I was asked to fight the NAZIs in germany I wouldnt join the army because id have belief that only I have the power to choose wat I want to do and being in the army for a cause that I truly would know about due to that fact that I too am

-- Edited by jessicalol on Friday 17th of April 2009 04:31:36 PM

Moussa · Veteran Member

This test is finished!

Par I: Proving historical events

1. Japanese Internment camps:

To prove that the Japanese camps did exist and were started by the President of the U.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt I found a copy of the Executive Order 9066 in a PBS documentary titled "Ancestors in America" word for word. (http://www.cetel.org/1942_9066.html) I also found an interview with a woman Mary Tsukamoto, a Japanese American that was improsined in during World War II. She spoke of it in this interview (http://www.bestnetsacramento.org/video/internment/clip3.wmv, http://www.egusd.net/tor/archive_mary.html)

2. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor:

To prove this, I first had to prove the attack happened. I found an archive of pictures from the Pearl Harbor attacks. (http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexpearl.htm) Also, I can prove that the JAPANESE attacked Pearl Harbor since there are pictures of Japanese wreckage such as plane wings, and submarines. I can also prove Japan was the one to attack by referencing a passage of a book written by Japanese Commander Mitsuo Fuchida who led the first wave of attacks at Pearl Harbor (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl2.htm) In the passage he says "As the bombers completed their runs they headed north to return to the carriers. Pearl Harbor and the air bases had been pretty well wrecked by the fierce strafings and bombings." Thereby proving not only that the attacks occured, but also that the Japanese were the ones to execute it.

3. Japanese Surrender

To prove the Japanese had officially surrendered to the Allied Powers i found pictures of the official Instrument of Surrendered, in English, and signed by both the Japanese Emperor, Governemnt and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrument_of_surrender_01.jpg

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrument_of_surrender_02.jpg

I was also able to find a card 'Certifying the the presence of: Lieut. Robert L. Balfour USNR at the formal surrender of Japanese Forces to the Allied Powers.

(http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/i00000/i00856k.jpg)

4. U.S. Declaration of War against the 'Axis':

I first was able to find a copy of the President's speech right after the attacks on Pearl Harbor (Here) Finding the speech wasn't very hard, but what made this copy much more reliable was because it had a photo of the president's speech itself, with corrections and edits in pencil to improve it. It isn't the whole speech, just the first draft, but is none the less the first part of his final speech. The President asked Congress to declare war against the Empire of Japan.

I was also able to find a PDF file by the Texas Education Agency which helps students get information (here). The file included the President's request of delcare war on Germany and Italy. Right under that was a copy of the Congressional Resolution officially declaring war on the Two nations. (here) Thereby proving that the U.S. officially declared war on the "Axis Powers".

5. WWII London Bombings:

To prove that The London Bombings or Blitz actually occured, I referenced a book writeen by Stewart Ross titled "The Blitz" (here) . It concentrates on the London attacks. On page four, you'll find a personal account of the London Bombings by Doreen Wilkinson. Also, throughout the book there are countless photos of German planes, destruction caused by the bombings.

To further prove the bombings happened, there are pictures of air raid bunkers in London. The pictures of air raid bunkers, First hand accounts of survivors, and photos of the attacks themselves fully proves the Blitz actually occured.

Part II: Questions:

Atomic Bombing

1. Do you agree/disagree that in order to end wars and death we should use a bomb that kills millions?

2. Who has the right to decide when why and where an atomic bomb should be used?

3. Are democratic countries more justified in using atomic weapons than undeomcratic ones?

4. How large must a war be to use an atomic bomb to end it and who should be the one to do so?

Japanese Internment

1. Do we tend to discriminate against those that don't follow the standard 'American look'? (Historically i.e. African Americans, Japanese, Arabs..etc)

2. Is it right to target a certain people for Internment, but use the same actions as justification to destroy other nations? (i.e Germany)

3. If Nazi targets were thrown into camps and killed, how close do you think the U.S. was to doing the same to the Japanese in our own camps?

4. As a Supreme Court Justice in Korematsu v. United States, how do you justify the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066?

Nuremburg Trials

1. When is one 'race' superior to another?

2. What did you (the accused at the Trials) do to a 'pure Aryan' who converted to Judaism? Did his Jewish roots automatically override his "Aryan" roots?

3. Does a 'superior race' have the right to eliminate all else, or the responsibility to protect?

4. Do you (the accused) believe that had the Jews been in your place, they would have done the same to you?

Censorship/Propaganda

1. Was U.S. Propoganda against Japan more justified than Japanese propoganda to continue war?

2. If using propoganda would lead to peace, would you advocate for it's use? or would you keep an unbiased approach to the news?

3. In what cases should Censorship be justified? or is it never justified?

4. Throughout history, government and groups have used censorship and propoganda to reach their goals. Which ones do you think were used for 'the greater good' and which weren't right.

Women in Factories

1. Would you have worked in a factory had your husband never went to war?

2. Weren't you afraid of what people would think of a women working in a factory instead of a home?

3. How do you see women's roles in society post World War II?

4. Did you ever have to deal with sexism in the workplace once you started working?

4) You are an African American sergeant and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

Today I received my draft card. In a few months time, Im expected to report for military training, and eventual warfare. The war has only started one year ago, and already they have instituted the draft. The year is 1940, and I am an African American living in the United States about to be drafted by the U.S. Army. We are told that we go to fight the Nazis in Germany because of what they have done and what they may plan to do with the rest of the World. I dont know much about their intentions, but Im told they plan terrible things, and leading the world in hate toward others. They use these arguments to win people over so all go and fight, but these arguments dont win me over. I am black, living in America. Im the embodiment of hatred from a people. While my black friends choose to join the Army to serve their country, I will not. They send us to fight tyranny and hate, while I sit here fighting it in my own country. Im not a smart man, since the only school I went to was so underfunded we couldnt learn anything. I may not be very smart, but Im not stupid.

They send us to fight abroad, to fight othersI cant do that because Im too busy fighting here. I cant go to Europe and fight because Im in a war in the U.S. that has lasted hundreds of years since my ancestors were enslaved by whites and brought in from Africa for profit. My war is personal. I cant serve in an army, and defend a country that does not defend me. That does not defend my rights. I cant fight for a country than places so many roadblocks in from of me, simply to vote. I am humiliated at polling booths, my children at schools, and the community by police. I cant go, because if I go, it will distract me from my war at home. For my black friends who join the military in order to help blacks in this country gain some respect, I tell you that we will never have respect even if we die in war. Did blacks get respect after the Civil War when they served in the Union? No. I refuse to fight in a military as segregated as the military of the Civil War. I refuse to fight in a only black regiment, just like the only black regiments of the Union. The only time I can fight for this country with pride is when I dont have to deal with hate here. Once hate is dealt with in my house and my community, I will gladly lend a hand, gun, and bullet for the cause elsewhere. Until then, I burn my card, and if I must go to Canada, then so be it. Maybe my family and I will find more privileges there.

2) You are an Army captain leading a squad into a NAZI controlled town. You saw evidence of a massacre of Jewish prisoners just before you arrived. You capture the NAZI officers and their troops and they surrendered. What orders do you give concerning the German soldiers?

The fighting for this small town has been much harder than most military generals thought it would be. However, in the end, I led my squad along with many others to take control of this small and unknown town. Upon reaching the town a horrible stench filled the air. Dozens of bodies from this small town were found around the town as we encircled it. We had no time to waste looking at the bodies because we were too busy defending ourselves from fire from German soldiers. Another half hour passed and the Germans have given up. We start securing the area and notice that many of the bodies have stars on their clothing. A Jewish friend tells us its the Star of David. We dont know what happened or if this has happened elsewhere, but we know that many of those killed were Jewish. This was a Jewish town, and all its inhabitants were shot and their bodies left to rot. There were early rumors of brutality against Jews but nothing like this. We never expected this. Most were simply shot in their houses, probably out of haste during our assault, but some bodies were found naked and tortured. We found open ditches with bodies that were never covered up with soil. It is then that I get word that all the German soldiers left in the town had given up their weapons and surrendered. The commander and around 15 soldiers were on their knees at gun point speaking in German. Our translator told us they were saying We surrender and was hoping to be taken prisoners of war. My men asked for my order. I ordered them to shoot the men through their right temples for instant death. I had to make that decision, because we were going to move on to another town. The assault to Berlin was several days behind, and all troops had to move fast. We had no time to keep prisoners who could escape, and I didnt want to deal with the hassle of sending them of to some prison. If they escaped they could return to the Wehrmacht and give them vital information. If they escaped they could return in the German army and kill more Jews. I ordered to have them killed instantly because as I believe no man woman or child deserves what the Jews in this small town had to deal with. We could have easily stripped them and tortured them, but in the end they would die, and no point would be proven. We had to kill them immediately, secure the area and move on. If anyone in the Germany was responsible it would be Hitler and the high commanders. Im given orders all the time, though I may not like them, I must do them regardless of opinion. For all we know, they could have been in that same position. Follow orders or be killed. I cant say that I wouldnt have done the same to stay alive. Instant death is what they deserve for what they did; slow death is left for those who gave the orders. These soldiers are less to blame than the Higher Officers. My decision was based on the fact that we have no time for prisoners, we have to move forward unhindered, and these soldiers may have committed the crime, but we cant be the ones to blame them for following orders.

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 03:49:45 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 05:58:44 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 06:00:56 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 07:12:25 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 07:12:44 PM

jessicalol · Veteran Member

jessicalol wrote:

mre wrote:

PART I - Proving History Section
Background: Your task is to provide evidence for five facts concerning World War II.Because we used the example of dates yesterday, please think of individuals, events or issues but not dates.Think about what is published on web sites and textbooks.How do we know that information is true?How can you prove it?Thats the task.
Assignment: This is a test of your ability to access and analyze information.Use the internets sources to prove any five facts from the war and explain your reasoning behind choosing them.How can you know they are true?What is the source?Why is that source credible?How many perspectives did you consider?
Evaluation: Heres where things get difficult.Your job is to impress me.Imagine that I am your boss (yeah right!).I am doing a performance review of my staff and cuts have to be made.Will you keep your job or get cut?I will look for your answers to meet the questions above.Good luck!
PART II Critical Thinking
Background: In the beginning of the unit on World War II, you were asked to create good questions.This is what true learning is about its about asking the right questions, not finding the right answers.World War II opens the gate on many issues.Heres your chance to show what kind of thinker you are.
Assignment: You are going to be given a list of topics related to World War II.Imagine that you are interviewing individuals who were involved (in some capacity) with the events listed.Choose five of the topics and ask four quality questions for each.You do not need to answer the questions, but you do need to make them the best questions possible.Heres the list:
·Japanese Internment
·Nuremburg Trials
·Atomic Bombing
·NAZI Holocaust
·American Segregation
·Women in the Factories
·Battlefield Choices
·Leadership in War
·Censorship/Propaganda
·Wars Consequences
You are asking the questions.Make sure they are good ones.What makes a good question?A good question is short, clear and unambiguous.It could be a question about choices, values, characteristics, or more.Its a question that forces the person asked to think deeply about issues, events and individuals.It may not have a clear answer.There may be many different perspectives to the answer.
Evaluation: Your job is to get me to think deeply about your question.All you have to do is get me to say, HmmNow, in order to do that you have to research the topics and make sure your questions are appropriate.Imagine that I am a college professor and you are submitting your draft outline for a thesis project before you get your Masters degree.You need my approval before you can move on.If I do not approve your questions, you have to work another semester preparing them again.You dont want to do that.You cant afford to do that.Give me your best.
PART III Problem Solving
Background: What good is it if you learn material but cant apply it?Have you ever heard the question, When am I ever going to be able to use this (history)?Heres where that pays off.You are going to be given problems to solve.They are all about World War II.All you have to do is demonstrate a way out of the problem and explain your decision.In writing your answer, include evidence of the historical scenario of the time.Include names, dates, places, events, issues, etc..Piece of cake, right?Choose any two and write a 500 word paragraph for each.
Assignment: This choice is all about choice. Here are some of your options:
1)You are President Truman.It is August 5^th, 1945.You have to decide whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.Make a choice and support your decision..
2)You are an Army captain leading a squad into a NAZI controlled town.You saw evidence of a massacre of Jewish prisoners just before you arrived.You capture the NAZI officers and their troops and they surrendered.What orders do you give concerning the German soldiers?
3)You are Winston Churchill and your people have just broken the German code encrypting their messages.You discover that the Germans are about to bomb one of your biggest cities.If you evacuate, the Germans will switch to a different code.If you dont, hundreds of thousands of your own people could die.What do you do?
4)You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army.You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany.What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism?Do you join the military or not?
5)You are a female factory worker who has been promoted to the position of foreman in your company.The war is about to end.You love your work and the pay you receive as well as your ability to help your country in a time of need.As a woman, this is something youve never had before: respect and opportunity.Now youve been told that you have to give up your job so that a man (returning soldier) can have it.Do you voluntarily quit or not?
Evaluation:The bottom line that will be used to judge your work will be 1) did you explain a historical context, 2) did you support your decision with evidence and/or reasoning, 3) did you convince the reader (me) in the rightness of your choice.If you meet all three conditions, you have completed the assignment correctly.Good luck.

-- Edited by mre on Friday 17th of April 2009 02:33:19 PM
FINISHED ONE IGNORE THE OTHER ONE

Jessica Hernandez
World history II
Performance Test:

5. You are a female factory worker who has been promoted to the position of foreman in your company. The war is about to end. You love your work and the pay you receive as well as your ability to help your country in a time of need. As a woman, this is something youve never had before: respect and opportunity. Now youve been told that you have to give up your job so that a man (returning soldier) can have it. Do you voluntarily quit or not?

If I were a female factory worker and I had just been promoted the position of forman in the company meaning that I have earned the respect an oppurtunity not many can reach also being contempt with the salery and the position and they wanted me to give up my job for a returned soldier I would give up my job I mean it depends because if I only had the job temerarily then id I would have to understand the jobs deal I mean its temerpary but if my job was a permant and there werent any conditions under which I was required to leave it was a just the company obligating me to do so to give a man a job because I really dont care if hes a soldier or not then I would fight beyond measures to keep my job and Id do because in every job there the only way known to get a promotion is by hardwork and dedication then I wouldnt just let that all go and let someone else take the job only because there a man or a soldier. Id fend for my rights and delgate with whom ever it takes to keep my position I wouldnt give it up no sirry! During the war world II the husbands went to war and the wives took on their husbands responsibilities and or duties. Many women one being Kate Mullaney she went on to become assistant secretary of the National Labor Union, they faced a treats to lose their jobs and so the national labor union took a stand for their rights in 1866. Id do all that not because of the placement in a job but because of my rights as a person not gender wise everyone should respect the effort that someone puts into their jobs and their work and for a person who is completely happy with their job its more than a job its their career and nobody has the right to take that away from anyone else especially just because its an order placed from one day to another.

4. You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

Navajos were a tribe of prejudce men in the northeast of Arizona and they were about a clan of 50 these people believed in governing themselves. So If I were a navajo and I had been dragred into the us army me also knowing all the racism exsisting in the Us and I was asked to fight the NAZIs in germany I wouldnt join the army because id have belief that only I have the power to choose wat I want to do and being in the army for a cause that I truly would know about due to that fact that everyone faces racism in one way or another as people in general im not going to say that we havent in one way or another either been discriminated or done it to another person. i wouldnt be able to be a part of that war i couldnt it would be soo hypocrite of my behave and i dont belive anyways that war is a way to end racism thats something way beyond a physical fight its something that is within the person to change and by creating or fghting a war to me is not the way to end that if anything i belive people should become closer to try and put and end to that as one.In the world war 2 the navajos were like code talkers that use native american codes and transmitted these codes throught transmitters. Since ther language took many years to break down the marines tried to draft them but even with that i wouldnt be able to be a part of that war.

-- Edited by jessicalol on Friday 17th of April 2009 04:31:36 PM

-- Edited by jessicalol on Sunday 19th of April 2009 10:31:54 PM

Ethan M · Member

Part 1:

German surrender to the Allies:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/ger01.asp

The dropping of the A-Bomb:

The reason Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mp05.asp
The official documents of the drop: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mp07.asp
Casulties: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mp10.asp
Picture of the explosion: http://static.open.salon.com/files/hiroshima1222245155.jpg

Invasion of Poland:

Declaration from Hitler: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/gp1.asp

Declaration of war:

German declaration of war on the United States: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/gerdec41.asp

Japans surrender:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/j1.asp
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/j2.asp
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/j3.asp
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/j6.asp

Ethan M · Member

Part 2:

Wars Consequences:
An American Soldier

} Has fighting in the war benifitted you in your everyday life in any way?
} Does any particular image stick in your mind out of everything you've seen?
} Has fighting in the war changed your perspective on life at all?
} If you could go back in time and somehow prevent yourself from being drafted/volenteering, would you?

Leadership in war:
American Squad leader

} How did you deal with the stress that came along with making desisions that people's lifes depended on?
} Have you ever put yourself to blame for something thats gone wrong?
} Whats the toughest desicion you had to make?
} Do you feel that the war has improved youre leadership abilities off of the battlefield?

Atomic Bombing:
Scientist who helped build/design the bomb

} Did you think bombing Japan would actually make them surrender, or were you expecting massive retaliation?
} Did you feel bombing them was wrong considering all the civilians that would be killed, or did you feel it was
nessisery?
} Did you ever feel that bombing Japan would endanger American civilains?
} How do you think the outcome of the war would have changed if we attacked japan until there was a victor
instead of bombing them?

Nazi Holocaust:
A Jewish German citizen who joined the Nazi's to hide the fact that he was Jewish

} What were you thinking when your own country started creating laws to punish you?
} Did you have any hint of Hitlers intentions before he was elected Germanys leader?
} Did you ever feel like you were a traitor to your own people?
} If you had the oppertunity to release prisoners of a concetration camp, but in doing so you would be imprisoned
and face unimaginable torture until you died, would you do it?

Japanese Internment:
A Japanese U.S. citizen who joins the Army to prove his loyalty to the U.S.

} Did you see this as a country doing a reasonable thing, but going about it unfairly (given little or no time to pack extra clothing, etc), or was it all unjust?
} How would you have felt if you were made to fight against Japan? Would you be able to do it?
} What were you thinking when you learned that atomic bombs were dropped on Japan?
} Do you think the 442nd's accomplishments helped see that maybe the U.S. was being too harsh?

Brittney(: · Member

Brittney Pedrosa

NAZI Holocaust

In the Nazi holocaust was Hitler just wanting to exterminate the Jews because of discrimination or was there a possible threat that Hitler was hiding?

Since Hitler was part Jewish is it possible that he had resentment to this part of his ancestry? Could there been a possible event in his life regarding his ancestry to make him feel more hatred to the Jewish people?

Is it possible that in the concentration camp the German soldiers shot some of the prisoners so they wouldnt have to go threw the excruciating pain of the medical experiments and gas chambers or were they just following orders?

Was the passion for hating Jews already existent to the extent of during the holocaust or did Hitler actually develop a more hatred society?

Women in the Factories

As a women actually getting the taste of equality you deserved it what changed the way women look at themselves as not just an item to men but an actual person who coul d make a difference?

In the work place, how would the men in the army react , who were men feel that women were doing the same type jobs they were doing, when they found that their wives were doing a mans job?

If there was actually no world war, how much longer would it take for women to be able to work in the workplace?

Was the war a gateway for the workplace to become segregated, a way for congress to slowly ease women into having equal rights?

Atomic Bombing

Did the president make the decision to bomb Japan or was he just agreeing on the idea that had already been made?

Did Truman authorize the use of atomic bombs for diplomatic-political reasons to intimidate the Soviets or was=2 0his goal to scare Japan and make them surrender so the war would be over?

Was the killing of thousands of people with the atomic bombs justified morally and politically or was it just an easy way out?

Do you think the Japanese were ready to surrender before the bombs were going to be deployed or do you think Emperor Hirohito was just trying to prolong the length of the war to weaken America?

Leadership in War

Was the leadership in the war determined by who would be able to do whatever it takes to get a job done or was it the most morale man who had the most experience?

Was Truman acting on an impulse to stop the war in the easiest way no matter what the factors or did he make his decision on how many innocent people would he save?

Did Adolph Hitler use the idea of the Germans being the superior race to raise the morale of his citizens to create a race who believes they are powerful?

Did Hideki Tojo believe that Pearl Harbor would make the Americans weaker rather then making them want to fight back? What was his true reason for the attack?

War Consequences

Did Japan span out the war so long so at the end of the war he was planning for America to be weak?

Did the war increase Western decolonization in the Third World?

Had America and its Allies really win the war?

Did it end the United Kingdoms government?

FACT 1: The atomic bomb was used on Kyushu and later Honshu. According to this document Official Bombing Order, July 25, 1945

Source: U.S. National Archives, Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Manhattan Engineer District, TS Manhattan Project File '42 to '46, Folder 5B "(Directives, Memos, Etc. to and from C/S, S/W, etc.)."

The written order for the use of the atomic bomb against Japanese cities was drafted by General Groves. President Truman and Secretary of War Stimson approved the order at Potsdam.

The order made no mention of targetting military objectives or sparing civilians. The cities themselves were the targets. The order was also open-ended. "Additional bombs" could be dropped "as soon as made ready by the project staff."

                         TOP SECRET

                  DECLASSIFIED

         E.O. 11652, Secs 3(E) and 5(D) or (E)

         NND 730039

         By ERC NARS, Date 6-4-74

                                        25 July 1945

TO:   General Carl Spaatz

      Commanding General

      United States Army Strategic Air Forces

     1. The 509 Composite Group, 20th Air Force will

deliver its first special bomb as soon as weather will

permit visual bombing after about 3 August 1945 on one of the

targets:  Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata and Nagasaki. To

carry military and civilian scientific personnel from the

War Department to observe and record the effects of the

explosion of the bomb, additional aircraft will accompany

the airplane carrying the bomb.  The observing planes will

stay several miles distant from the point of impact of the

bomb.

     2. Additional bombs will be delivered on the above

targets as soon as made ready by the project staff. Further

instructions will be issued concerning targets other than

those listed above.

     3. Discussion of any and all information concerning

the use of the weapon against Japan is reserved to the

Secretary of War and the President of the United States.

No communiques on the subject or releases of information

will be issued by Commanders in the field without specific

prior authority.  Any news stories will be sent to the War

Department for specific clearance.

4. The foregoing directive is issued to you by direc-

tion and with the approval of the Secretary of War and of

the Chief of Staff, USA.  It is desired that you personally

deliver one copy of this directive to General MacArthur and

one copy to Admiral Nimitz for their information.

                       (Sgd) THOS. T. HANDY

                           THOS. T. HANDY

                           General, G.S.C.

                           Acting Chief of Staff

Harry S. Truman, Diary, July 25, 1945

President Truman told his diary on July 25, 1945, that he had ordered the bomb used.

Emphasis has been added to highlight Truman's apparent belief that he had ordered the bomb dropped on a "purely military" target, so that "military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children."

We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.

Anyway we "think" we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling - to put it mildly. Thirteen pounds of the explosive caused the complete disintegration of a steel tower 60 feet high, created a crater 6 feet deep and 1,200 feet in diameter, knocked over a steel tower 1/2 mile away and knocked men down 10,000 yards away. The explosion was visible for more than 200 miles and audible for 40 miles and more.

This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new.

He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I'm sure they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful...

Truman quoted in Robert H. Ferrell, Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman (New York: Harper and Row, 1980) pp. 55-56. Truman's writings are in the public domain.

FACT 2: The Nazis had concentration camps which held prisons in which they either used for murdering or using the prisoners for physical labor.

Picture one- Prisoners at forced labor. Photo taken during an SS inspection. Dachau concentration camp, Germany, June 28, 1938.

An interview from Leo Schneideran who describes his arrival at one of the concentration camps is stated here.

It was late at night that we arrived at Auschwitz. When we came in,
the minute the gates opened up, we heard screams, barking of dogs,
blows from...from those Kapos, those officials working for them,
over the head. And then we got out of the train. And everything
went so fast: left, right, right, left. Men separated from women.
Children torn from the arms of mothers. The elderly chased like
cattle. The sick, the disabled were handled like packs of garbage.
They were thrown in a side together with broken suitcases, with
boxes. My mother ran over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders,
and she told me "Leibele, I'm not going to see you no more. Take
care of your brother."

Fact 3- The Munich Pact was created (1938) with England and France agreeing to allow Hitler to keep the Sudtenland as long as no further expansion occurred.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/munich1.asp

Fact- 4- England and France declared war on Germany (September 30, 1939)

Fact 5- Japan entered an alliance with Germany and Italy (1939)

according to the documents in this website

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/pre-war/361125a.html#1

-- Edited by Brittney(: on Monday 20th of April 2009 01:01:06 AM

-- Edited by Brittney(: on Monday 20th of April 2009 02:53:47 AM

Ethan M · Member

Part 3:

1} I, President Harry Truman, hereby authorize the dropping of two atomic bombs over Japan. We are not able to fight both the German Wehrmacht and
the Japanese Imperialists at the same time, and by destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we will remove Japan as a threat. If we were to
attack Japan directly, we would suffer a very large amount of casualties, but Atomic bombs will both win the battle and put none of our soldiers at risk.
While I do not like the thought of killing thousands of innocent Japanese civilians, it is better than thousands of U.S. troops.

3} We have finished deciphering the latest German military brodcast, and learned the Germans plan on bombing London. We have no choice but to evacuate
the city immidiantly to avoid hundreds of thousands of casualties. Unfortuantly, the Germans will no doubt now know that we know there code, and they will have to
create a new one. Not knowing the Germans moves from now until we decifer the new code will most likely create an increase of casualties on our side, but
we will not allow our civilians to be subject of heavy bombing without any warning.

nadia33 · Member

Nadia Mimoso

4-17-09

U.S history II

World War II Performance test

Proving History Section

The National Service (Armed Forces) Act (1939) it required that all men between the ages of 18 and 41 were able to go into the armed forces. It was the begging of the draft before the war. They had to be ready to go if they wanted to or not.

I found a Grade card that was issused to Robert Lewis in June 1944.

http://www.tpyf-wales.com/index.php?lang=en&subj=5685&id=591&size=1&t=2

The Japanese attack pearl harbor

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/k13000/k13513.jpg

On this website there is a newpaper article on pearl harbor when it happened.

http://www.thepearlharborarchive.com/Home.aspx

3. The battle of Stalingrad

German invasion plans of the Soviet Union, and artifacts from the battle.

http://www.museumofworldwarii.com/Images2005/13bRussiaF.gif

This is a movie about the battle they made

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Enemy_at_the_gates_ver2.jpg

4. Turkey declared war on Germany

A newspaper article

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/judea_declares_war_on_germany.jpg

5. Britain and France are at war with Germany

A newspaper article

http://www.diggerhistory.info/images/asstd3/ww2-newspaper.jpg

You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

I am a Japanese internment prisoner and I have just been drafted into the U.S army. I know that after what happened at Pearl Harbor there is racism against the Japanese because they now think that every Japanese person is out to get the Americans but that is not true. I grew up as an American in America even though I am Japanese. I dont think people should be hypercritical. The question is do I join the military or not and the answer is yes. Even though there is racism doesnt mean I cant fight for my country. This is my homeland and I want to fight to make things right. If I go to the army it proves to people that I am loyal to my country and I am not an enemy. If I do not fight for my country it makes me look like I dont care for my country. Racism has been going on in America for a long time. It has been going on for the African Americans and the other minorities but that has not stopped them. I cannot change what the Japanese did on December 7, 1941. One thing I can change is what is going on in Germany by helping my country fight. I know that things are going to take time to change and peoples thought are very different now. This war might be long we dont know. There will always be racism in America and everywhere you go. The racism was there from the beginning but now after what happened at Pearl Harbor people can be more open about it. This country also gave me the many right I have today and I wouldnt have those same rights of I lived anywhere else. Fighting in the war is something I could do to payback my country for giving so much to me.

You are President Truman. It is August 5^th, 1945. You have to decide whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Make a choice and support your decision.

As president of the United States I have a lot of decisions that affect many people. Sometimes they are easy decisions and sometimes they are life changing ones. Japan was the first to attack us and we have to retaliate in some way. They cannot think they can come over here and bomb us and get away with it. The atomic bomb is a very powerful thing which could kill many. Japan has to know that we are not kidding and are very serious. I dont think we should drop the atomic bomb yet where there are civilians. I think we should drop it in a place where it would scare them but not affect many. We could use this as a scare. If they do not surrender to us then I think we should start dropping more and eventually we are going to have to drop them on their towns and civilians will be killed. They bombed us without warning and I dont think that was a very fear move. I think if we bomb them we should warn them and tell them we are not going to stop until we get what we want. I think this is the best approach.

nickf13 · Member

Nick Fuller
4/17/09
U.S. History II

PART III :
1) You are President Truman. It is August 5th, 1945. You have to decide whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Make a choice and support your decision.

I am President Harry Truman. It is currently August 5th, 1945. On this day I will have to decide on what will become one of the most important decisions of my presidency. Japan has attacked the United States Naval base on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Even though Hawaii is not yet a state in the United States of America it is still consider an act of war against our country.
Usually when one country commits an act of war on another, there are consequences that the attacking country must face. However, in this situation, I can only think of one possible consequence for the country of Japan. Due to the seriousness of their attack on us on December 7th, 1941, and based on recent events of the war, I believe it would be necessary to implement the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. This may seem a little too harsh, but I think this will be the only way to make them surrender. Our intelligence shows us that no other country in the world has nuclear bombs besides us. Therefore, Japan would have no way of a mass retaliation against us. I will admit that in the future these countries may develop their own nuclear missiles and other weapons of mass destruction, but we will make it clear that if they use them, they will one receive from us too. I also believe that by doing this, we will sort of make an example of them, and this will show any and all the countries of the world that we will take all threats and attacks seriously.

3) You are Winston Churchill and your people have just broken the German code encrypting their messages. You discover that the Germans are about to bomb one of your biggest cities. If you evacuate, the Germans will switch to a different code. If you dont, hundreds of thousands of your own people could die. What do you do?

I am Winston Churchill. My men have just broken the secret German code in which their militarys messages are encrypted. If I am not mistaken, the Germans are plotting to bomb one of my biggest cities. It may seem like an easy decision to just evacuate the city, but this would create a serious problem. Evacuating the city would let the Germans know that we broke their code. This would prevent us from learning any further information from their secret code.
However, I feel it is my job to have the entire city evacuated in order to save an enormous amount of lives. It will be a great disadvantage not knowing the Germans new code, but we will have to worry about that later. We apparently had no problem deciphering this code, which leads me to believe that whatever their new code is, we have the ability to break that too.

nickf13 · Member

Nick Fuller
4/18/09
U.S. History II

PART II :
Atomic Bombing
NAZI Holocaust
Women in Factories
Wars Consequences

Atomic Bombing:
The number of lives lost is devastating. Do you think the United States needed to go as far as nuclear warfare?
If Japan possessed nuclear technology at the time, how might have this war been different?
If Germany possessed nuclear technology at the time, how might have this war been different?
If the United States did not hold nuclear technology, do you think we wouldve still bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or would it have been a better choice to invade then?

NAZI Holocaust:
If Hitler had succeeded in wiping out many different types of people, and basically taking over the world, where would the world be today?
If Hitler had succeeded in wiping out many different types of people, would he just have moved on to different races and wiped them out little by little?
Do you think that there was enough NAZI soldiers that thought what they were doing was wrong to overthrow Hitler if they tried hard enough?

Women in Factories:
Were you afraid that when the men returned home, they might take your job?
What did you do after the war was over?
Besides working in a factory, how did your life change when your husband went to war?
Did your husband come back home a changed man? How so?

Wars Consequences:
How did your perception on life change after you returned home from the war?
How are previous friendships different from ones you made with the people you fought with everyday and trusted with your life?
Do you think the outcome of the war justifies the number of lives lost on both sides of the war?

TAYLORgarron · Member

Part I: PROVING HISTORY

Fact #1

World War II started when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.

Although Germany and Poland are only two nations, and the context of a World War usually involves several, this day shocked and appalled other countries so, that it initiated the involvement of both France and Britain only two days later. In this way, one can infer that this event truly did mark the beginning of the Second World War.

(http://www.ushmm.org, http://www.worldwar-2.net)

The picture below actually shows the fact that the war was established on this date. The date on the newspaper is September 1st, 1939, the headline being Europe At War

Fact #2

On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S.A with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The picture below shows the front page of the Honolulu Star newspaper the day after the U.S. was bombed at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

Fact #3
French who had relationships with Germans during WWII were subject to punishment, under the law.
Women who had physical relationships with Germans during this hostile time often faced humiliating repercussions, like the one shown in this picture.

Fact #4
To aid in their final solution to rid their nation of undesirables, Germany, Poland, and Austria put labor or death camps into use (such as the ones at Auschwitz and Dachau).
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pSx3L_4cEf0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pSx3L_4cEf0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Fact #5
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the United States started to send all Japanese living in the country to relocation camps; often in remote places in the desert.

-- Edited by TAYLORgarron on Wednesday 22nd of April 2009 01:52:36 PM

shannon43 · Member

World War II Performance Test

Part 1

1. An important part of World War II was other countries were fighting against each other and the US strongly wanted isolationism. I looked at website with interesting political cartoons. It is Dr.Seuss's political cartoons. It showed how the US was in isolationalism then they gradually went to helping Britain and having them as allies. I picked a picture to show that I thought showed why the US didn't want to be involved at first with the war.

2. Hitler had further influenced Nazism and was using this group to torture people who were not German especially the Jewish people. He used Nazi officers to control the camps that kept the Jews. Also he made sure that there were Nazi rules to follow even in the German schools. He even made a group for boys called Hitler's Youth. Their anthem is shown here. Hitler Youth Anthem :33 The Fahnenlied (Banner Song) written by Hitler Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach, is sung here by Berlin Hitler Youth members, ending with the final refrain...Unsere Fahne flattert uns voran(Our banner flutters before us)Unsere Fahne ist die neue Zeit(Our banner represents the new era)Und die Fahne führt uns in die Ewigkeit!(And our banner leads us to eternity!)Ja, die Fahne ist mehr als der Tod(Yes, our banner means more to us than death)

3. Also the horrible event of the Holocaust caused by Hitler and continued by the Nazis. I found an interesting website with personal facts of people. www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/index.php?ModuleId=10005143

4. The US started to help countries like Japan because they were being attacked by other countries. They had internment camps where they kept the Japanese civilians. I found an interesting website that talks about and shows how Japanese Americans were treated after Pearl Harbor and the conditions of internment camps. www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/camp.html

5. Also during this war the US were really involved with things like war production, which was helping make supplies and weapons in factories for the troops fighting in the war. I found a website that showed what people at home where doing when the war was going on. http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture21.html

Part 2

Interviewing a Nazi Holocaust (who was a Jewish prisoner that has been liberated and wants to be interviewed years later in his home)

1. What was it like to be kept a prisoner and see others dying in front of you?

2. Did you ever want to try to run away or make plans with the other prisoners to escape?

3. Do you think that if the Jews had the chance to seek revenge on the Germans and build up their own support do you think that most of them would do what the Germans did to you?

4. Do you feel that your faith in whatever you had believed in before was changed when you witnessed people being brutally murdered?

Interviewing a Women factory worker ( her husband is at war and she is now soley supporting her family)

1. Did you feel that your husband would approve of what you are doing to help him and your children?

2. When you first started doing this were you afraid of how other women would react or did you think that men would try and make fun of what you were doing?

3. Do you feel a sense of enpowerment doing a man's job and breaking the staus quo of what women are susposed to do?

4. Or do you think that people will not care because people are doing everything they can to help the war effort?

Japanese Internment (interviewing the President and Japanese Americans in the internment camps) 1st two questions are for the president and last two are for Japanese American civilians

1. Did you feel that allowing these camps to happen were justified?

2. At the time why did you feel that it was okay for Japanese Americans who were in the US have to be confined in these camps?

3. When you had to be relocated to these camps were you at all a little confused and angered?

4. It must have been horrible to have been persecuted and blamed after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor happen and everyone of your race being accused?

Atomic Bombing

1. Do you think that the US using an atomic bomb on Japan in the war was too extreme?

2. Would there have been other ways that we could of ended this war?

3. Do you think that Japan would have used an atomic bomb against us before we did it to them or even other countries for that matter?

4. When the US saw Pearl Harbor being attacked with our Americans being on it, do you think that this was the reason or cause of the atomic bomb to be further developed because the US thought that the Japanese would just go further in hurting the US?

Nuremberg Trials (interviewing a Holocaust survivor and what he thought of these trials)

1. Did you feel that having these trials was a feeling of satisfaction for you?

2. The US took part in these trials. Did you feel that finally these persecutors were getting what they deserved?

3. Even though many Nazi soliders were punished , should Hitler should have been the main person to blame?

4. If you were personally watching these trials going on and were asked to participate what would you say to the Nazis being accused?

Part III - Two Problem Solving Essays

5. You are a female factory worker who has been promoted to the position of foreman in your company. The war is about to end and now you have been told that you have to give up your job so that a returning solider can have it. Do you voluntarily quit or not?

I myself would not quit if faced with this situation. When the war was going on women had to find a way in which they could help to raise their children and families. Before the war women were just known to take care of their family and children, basically just cook and clean. They were not allowed to do men's jobs like being plumbers, construction workers, and physical factory workers. I think that women were only allowed to work in places like sewing shops and as clerks. If I was a woman in this time period and the war had ended , yes I probably would be happy that it was over and our brothers and fathers would come home, but what if I had learned to love the job that my husband used to do or to help the war effort. I would feel discrimated and it wouldn't make sense to me. I would probably want to join protests against this and also bring this up in court. Some of the questions I would want answered would be , how come me and my husband can not work together doing the same job? I would feel like I was being taken for granted. Also I would feel like I would really have no purpose in life and that I couldn't explore the things that I wanted to do. I read about a icon called Rosie the Riveter. There was a famous poster made about her and I think that this helped women to realize that they were more then just robots and that they also had to follow what they were told to do by men. So I would defintely not quit the job that I had come to love. I think that men thought because women are more expressive of their emotions and know when to be gentle, men thought women couldn't handle jobs like making weapons and other products , even though they did in fact did do it when the men were away at war. This situation would make me want to come together with other females facing the same thing and make it known to people that could help us like officals and the government.

1. You are President Truman. You have to decide whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Make a choice and support your decision.

I have thought long and hard about this. If we don't act know Japanese influence on the US will continue to grow and not for good reasons. We have seen from events like Pearl Harbor in which, Japanese planes flew over this US naval base and bombed it. Also we know that the Japanese had signed a treaty with other powerful countries such as Germany and Italy. Although Italy and Germany have problems right know with Nazism in Germany and nationalism in Italy it would be a tough war against these three countries and the US. This is why the US had taken a postion of isolationism so that we wouldn't be involved in this war. When Japanese bombed us we indeed did become involved. Since then the Japanese control had continued. They had even decided to go against their allies. The Allies are the US and British forces. When we overtook Iwo Jima and Okinawa we knew that the Japanese would want to fight us back. I think that in order to protect the US I have to use a weapon that will show the Japanese that we are not going to take them anymore. We have a greater advantage of developing of weapons over them. I will give them a chance to surrender and hopefully they will take it but otherwise I have no choice but to bomb them. I choose this because I see no other way to protect our country.

mpounds · Member

(not finished)
PART II:

Japanese Internment-
1. Is forcing entire families to move to Internment camps humane and ethical?
2. Would the reasons for moving the families still hold merit if more and more people realized that they were very similar to Nazi concentration camps?
3. How could we be sure that the Japanese Americans wouldnt react with violence and resent when they were released from the camps?
4. Does this make the Americans hypocrites for having camps similar to concentration camps during a time when they were fighting against the people who created them?

Holocaust-
1. How would the people who did not hate Jews but were forced to join the Nazis feel about killing millions of Jewish people?
2. Should the Nazis who were more humane in the treatment of Jews in the camps be punished as severely as the crueler Nazis?
3. What would the world be like if no action had been taken against Hitler and the Nazis?
4. Did the children who were brainwashed at very young ages to be Nazis still hold the beliefs taught to them after the war ended?

Atomic Bombing-
1. Would the US still get the same results they wanted if only one bomb was dropped on Japan instead of two?
2. Why bomb Japan if the US wanted to intimidate Stalin? Why not just bomb Russia?
3. Are the lasting after-effects of dropping an atomic bomb worse than the casualties Japan and the US would have had to deal with if we chose to invade Japan instead?
4. Why didnt the Japanese surrender after the first bombing if they knew that continuing to fight back would be useless?

Women in the Factories-
1. Did the children who had mothers who worked in the factories grow up with different values than those who had stay-at-home mothers?
2. Did working in the factories make women stronger and more independent?
3. Did their husbands feel threatened by the fact that their wives were able to work and take care of themselves without the help of a male figure?
4. How did the women deal with the dilemma of making weapons that will take peoples lives since women are naturally maternal?

PART III:

http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_US_drop_the_atomic_bombs_on_Japan

1. After much consideration, I have made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima . My main reason for doing this is to help put an end to the war. We need to end this war as quickly as possible because too many lives are being lost. If we bomb Hiroshima , Japan will be more likely to surrender. However, if we dont drop the bomb on Hiroshima , then we will end up having to invade Japan which will lead to more and more casualties on both sides. The Japanese do not want us invading their country and they will fight with whatever they can get their hands on to keep us off their territory. They are not going to surrender if we give them another option along side surrendering. They are trying with all their might to outlast us in the war in hopes that we will end up surrendering instead. If we dont bomb Hiroshima , we face the possibility of losing a great deal more people than we would by bombing a city. Sure, the effects of bombing are quite bad but they are better than the alternative. Why shouldnt we bomb a country that had bombed us before? By using nuclear bombs in war, we can show the Soviet Union and Japan that we are not a weak nation. We can prove to Stalin that we are prepared to fight back with massive retaliation and do whatever it takes to keep our country and the people who fight for it safe. Furthermore, we will save resources and we wont have to pay for all the tanks and weapons and ammo that could be spared by sacrificing one bomb.

3. I would choose to evacuate the city. However, I would try to do it discretely in hopes that the Germans wouldnt notice that the city had been evacuated. We could use the blackout method where no lights in the whole city would be allowed to be on so they wouldnt be able to determine if there was anybody in the city was there. Also, I would advise all other large cities to evacuate in case the Germans go after another city in place of the already targeted one. If we diffuse the thickly settled populations, then fewer lives will be lost if we are bombed than if we kept everyone in the same place. Being able to decipher the code used by the Germans is useless unless we use that knowledge to help us out during the war. We cracked the first code, so why wouldnt we be able to crack another one if they switch it. If we dont evacuate the city, then what position does that put us in? Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens will be killed. We need to use this message that we cracked to the best of our advantage and hope for the best.

-- Edited by mpounds on Sunday 26th of April 2009 11:43:29 PM

-- Edited by mpounds on Monday 27th of April 2009 12:54:38 AM

-- Edited by mpounds on Monday 27th of April 2009 01:21:35 AM

-- Edited by mpounds on Monday 27th of April 2009 03:21:32 AM

Kristen! · Member

(not finished)

PART II Critical Thinking
Nuremburg Trials
1. Why werent the Nazi Officials who ran the camps that were used for labor didnt have any consequences? officials, and business executives who used concentration camp inmates as forced laborers, received short prison sentences or no penalty at all.- http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/wcrime.htm

2. Why didnt the US and the other countries who were allied in force more punishments to the Nazi?

3. Do you think that Hitler killed himself , because he knew if he was caught and held in trail that he would be automatically prosecuted for the killing of innocent Jews?

4.How did the Nazis chose the Jews to kill off first?

Atomic Bombing
1. Why didnt Truman decided to attack on bigger civilian areas or military bases?

2.Why was the bomb in Hiroshima more affective than the bomb over in Nagasaki when the bomb they dropped in Nagasaki was a lot more powerful?

3.When we decided to bomb Japan , did we think about the POWs that would be there?

4.What was the hole idea of the US bombing Japan , was it because of Pearl Harbor?

NAZI Holocaust
1.Why did Hilter decided to chose Jews, if his ancestors were Jewish? Did something maybe in his childhood affect him?

2.Didnt the Nazi think there would be consequences if they lost the war and got caught?

3.If you were a German Jew and fought in WWI how would you feel about finding out about these laws?

4. Your a Nazi soilder being ordered to kill a Jewish mother and her children how do you react to these orders knowing you have to kill innocent childern?

Women in the Factories
1. Why was it nessacary for the government to make women work, to support the soliders in the war and for households , if they were just gonna make them leave there job after the war?

2. If your a single mother working in a factory and your boss comes up to you and tells you , that you have to give your job to the returning soliders. what do you do ?

3. As a worker did you ever feel that you had to prove that you belonged working in the factory , for when the men were returing from war?

4. Do you think it was fair that the women's job got taken by the men who came back ?

TAYLORgarron · Member

Part I

Fact #1

World War II started when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.

Although Germany and Poland are only two nations, and the context of a World War usually involves several, this day shocked and appalled other countries so, that it initiated the involvement of both France and Britain only two days later. In this way, one can infer that this event truly did mark the beginning of the Second World War.

(http://www.ushmm.org, http://www.worldwar-2.net)

The picture below actually shows the fact that the war was established on this date. The date on the newspaper is September 1st, 1939, the headline being Europe At War

Fact #2

On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S.A with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The picture below shows the front page of the Honolulu Star newspaper the day after the U.S. was bombed at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

Fact #3
French who had relationships with Germans during WWII were subject to punishment, under the law.
Women who had physical relationships with Germans during this hostile time often faced humiliating repercussions, like the one shown in this picture.

Fact #4
To aid in their final solution to rid their nation of undesirables, Germany, Poland, and Austria put labor or death camps into use (such as the ones at Auschwitz and Dachau).

Fact #5
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the United States started to send all Japanese living in the country to relocation camps; often in remote places in the desert.
Kjhkhj

Part II

Topic #1
Atomic Bombing
1. At what point is using atomic weapons necessary and/or acceptable? Is it ever acceptable?
2. When utilizing atomic bombs, does the end justify the means? Is the potential surrender or end to a war really making legitimate the destruction of thousands of innocent lives?
3. Can we ever consider a country that weve used atomic weapons against our allies or friends, even if theyve called themselves so?
4. Does the use of atomic bombs really solve anything? Are the problems it creates truly worth a greater military power or scare factor?
Topic #2
NAZI Holocaust
1. Do you think that Germany (even those Germans not alive during WWII) will ever overcome the guilt faced due to the Holocaust? If so, when do you think this will happen?
2. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Santayana
Can society ever truly rid itself of or find solutions for such devastation (like the Holocaust) by studying the past?
3. What do you think the main lesson is to be learned from the Holocaust?
4. Do you think that had the U.S. intervened earlier that this tragedy couldve been prevented or at least diminished in scale?

Topic #3
Japanese Internment
1. Do you think that quarantining an entire race of people is ever justifiable?
2. Do you think that the uneasiness and unfair treatment shown toward those of Middle Eastern descent today is on its way to being congruent to the Japanese Internment situation?
3. Is this method of controlling terrorism effective, or just cruel and unusual?
4. Do you think this method actually stopped any further attacks that couldve been made by Japanese-American citizens?

Topic #4
American Segregation
1. Is there ever a circumstance when segregation is okay?
2. There are certain high schools in the U.S. that have segregated senior proms. Do you think this has continued due to tradition, or might racism today have something to do with it?
3. How can one explain the contradiction in the fact that minorities in the U.S. that faced racism everyday were fighting in a war against racism in another country?
4. Does segregation still go on today? If so, to what point could one say it does?

Topic #5
Censorship/Propaganda
1. Do you think the censorship of soldiers letters home was for the best for their families?
2. Do you think the censorship of the news shown to American citizens helped or hurt us?
3. Much propaganda was targeted toward children (i.e., encouraging them to collect scrap metal, glamorizing ration cards, etc.). Do you think this was necessary for the success of this war? Was it unfair to take advantage of the gullibility and impressionability of children for the benefit of the nation?
4. Is the censorship present today equal to the censorship present during WWII? If not, to what point could one say it goes to?

Part III

You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

As a 35 year-old African-American sergeant, my draft into The US Army is incredibly bittersweet. The issue of racism is one that hits close to home. On one hand, going into combat in Germany is serving my country, and protecting the freedom of both the people of the US, and the innocent people being destroyed by NAZI Germany racism. Fighting, and ideally defeating, the racism of the Nazis occupying could liberate millions of oppressed men, women, and children. I, too, know pain that prejudice causes. I myself have had family members, some as young as 15, humiliated, beaten, and even killed by the likes of racist extremists in the US. I know that my assistance in combat will aid in the downfall of NAZI Germany, and bring us one step closer to eliminating the sting of discrimination from the innocent lives in Europe. For this reason, I would proudly do my duty fighting overseas. However, the fact still presents itself that whilst I would be fighting to free the oppressed in Europe, myself and minorities like I are being discriminated against on our own soil. This contradiction in government policy is enough to make me want to decline to serve for the US. Why should I risk my life by fighting for a country that doesnt even provide me with basic human rights? The question of should I be fighting to provide freedom to those who face racism in Germany, when I face racism everyday in the country I am fighting for? also presents itself. Do the rights of other oppressed minorities truly take precedent over mine? Some may say that before one can fight for other, one must fight for themselves. However, I fully intend to aid the US in its fight to end racism in NAZI Germany, for the explicit purpose that although I may lose my life, I can only hope that I would be remembered as a martyr for my cause. Hopefully, this would influence citizens on this side of the pond to fight for right on our own soil.

mre · Senior Member

jessicalol wrote:

not finished:)

Jessica Hernandez
World history II

Performance Test:

5. You are a female factory worker who has been promoted to the position of foreman in your company. The war is about to end. You love your work and the pay you receive as well as your ability to help your country in a time of need. As a woman, this is something youve never had before: respect and opportunity. Now youve been told that you have to give up your job so that a man (returning soldier) can have it. Do you voluntarily quit or not?
If I were a female factory worker and I had just been promoted the position of forman in the company meaning that I have earned the respect an oppurtunity not many can reach also being contempt with the salery and the position and they wanted me to give up my job for a returned soldier I would give up my job I mean it depends because if I only had the job temerarily then id I would have to understand the jobs deal I mean its temerpary but if my job was a permant and there werent any conditions under which I was required to leave it was a just the company obligating me to do so to give a man a job because I really dont care if hes a soldier or not then I would fight beyond measures to keep my job and Id do because in every job there the only way known to get a promotion is by hardwork and dedication then I wouldnt just let that all go and let someone else take the job only because there a man or a soldier. Id fend for my rights and delgate with whom ever it takes to keep my position I wouldnt give it up no sirry! During the war world II the husbands went to war and the wives took on their husbands responsibilities and or duties. Many women one being Kate Mullaney she went on to become assistant secretary of the National Labor Union, they faced a treats to lose their jobs and so the national labor union took a stand for their rights in 1866. Id do all that not because of the placement in a job but because of my rights as a person not gender wise everyone should respect the effort that someone puts into their jobs and their work and for a person who is completely happy with their job its more than a job its their career and nobody has the right to take that away from anyone else especially just because its an order placed from one day to another.

4. You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

Navajos were a tribe of prejudce men in the northeast of Arizona and they were about a clan of 50 these people believed in governing themselves. So If I were a navajo and I had been dragred into the us army me also knowing all the racism exsisting in the Us and I was asked to fight the NAZIs in germany I wouldnt join the army because id have belief that only I have the power to choose wat I want to do and being in the army for a cause that I truly would know about due to that fact that I too am

-- Edited by jessicalol on Friday 17th of April 2009 04:31:36 PM

Jessica, the first essay is 350 words and the second one is a lot shorter. Is there more?

mre · Senior Member

Moussa wrote:

This test is finished!

Par I: Proving historical events

1. Japanese Internment camps:

To prove that the Japanese camps did exist and were started by the President of the U.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt I found a copy of the Executive Order 9066 in a PBS documentary titled "Ancestors in America" word for word. (http://www.cetel.org/1942_9066.html) I also found an interview with a woman Mary Tsukamoto, a Japanese American that was improsined in during World War II. She spoke of it in this interview (http://www.bestnetsacramento.org/video/internment/clip3.wmv, http://www.egusd.net/tor/archive_mary.html)

2. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor:

To prove this, I first had to prove the attack happened. I found an archive of pictures from the Pearl Harbor attacks. (http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexpearl.htm) Also, I can prove that the JAPANESE attacked Pearl Harbor since there are pictures of Japanese wreckage such as plane wings, and submarines. I can also prove Japan was the one to attack by referencing a passage of a book written by Japanese Commander Mitsuo Fuchida who led the first wave of attacks at Pearl Harbor (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl2.htm) In the passage he says "As the bombers completed their runs they headed north to return to the carriers. Pearl Harbor and the air bases had been pretty well wrecked by the fierce strafings and bombings." Thereby proving not only that the attacks occured, but also that the Japanese were the ones to execute it.

3. Japanese Surrender

To prove the Japanese had officially surrendered to the Allied Powers i found pictures of the official Instrument of Surrendered, in English, and signed by both the Japanese Emperor, Governemnt and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrument_of_surrender_01.jpg

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrument_of_surrender_02.jpg

I was also able to find a card 'Certifying the the presence of: Lieut. Robert L. Balfour USNR at the formal surrender of Japanese Forces to the Allied Powers.

(http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/i00000/i00856k.jpg)

4. U.S. Declaration of War against the 'Axis':

I first was able to find a copy of the President's speech right after the attacks on Pearl Harbor (Here) Finding the speech wasn't very hard, but what made this copy much more reliable was because it had a photo of the president's speech itself, with corrections and edits in pencil to improve it. It isn't the whole speech, just the first draft, but is none the less the first part of his final speech. The President asked Congress to declare war against the Empire of Japan.

I was also able to find a PDF file by the Texas Education Agency which helps students get information (here). The file included the President's request of delcare war on Germany and Italy. Right under that was a copy of the Congressional Resolution officially declaring war on the Two nations. (here) Thereby proving that the U.S. officially declared war on the "Axis Powers".

5. WWII London Bombings:

To prove that The London Bombings or Blitz actually occured, I referenced a book writeen by Stewart Ross titled "The Blitz" (here) . It concentrates on the London attacks. On page four, you'll find a personal account of the London Bombings by Doreen Wilkinson. Also, throughout the book there are countless photos of German planes, destruction caused by the bombings.

To further prove the bombings happened, there are pictures of air raid bunkers in London. The pictures of air raid bunkers, First hand accounts of survivors, and photos of the attacks themselves fully proves the Blitz actually occured.

Part II: Questions:

Atomic Bombing

1. Do you agree/disagree that in order to end wars and death we should use a bomb that kills millions?

2. Who has the right to decide when why and where an atomic bomb should be used?

3. Are democratic countries more justified in using atomic weapons than undeomcratic ones?

4. How large must a war be to use an atomic bomb to end it and who should be the one to do so?

Japanese Internment

1. Do we tend to discriminate against those that don't follow the standard 'American look'? (Historically i.e. African Americans, Japanese, Arabs..etc)

2. Is it right to target a certain people for Internment, but use the same actions as justification to destroy other nations? (i.e Germany)

3. If Nazi targets were thrown into camps and killed, how close do you think the U.S. was to doing the same to the Japanese in our own camps?

4. As a Supreme Court Justice in Korematsu v. United States, how do you justify the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066?

Nuremburg Trials

1. When is one 'race' superior to another?

2. What did you (the accused at the Trials) do to a 'pure Aryan' who converted to Judaism? Did his Jewish roots automatically override his "Aryan" roots?

3. Does a 'superior race' have the right to eliminate all else, or the responsibility to protect?

4. Do you (the accused) believe that had the Jews been in your place, they would have done the same to you?

Censorship/Propaganda

1. Was U.S. Propoganda against Japan more justified than Japanese propoganda to continue war?

2. If using propoganda would lead to peace, would you advocate for it's use? or would you keep an unbiased approach to the news?

3. In what cases should Censorship be justified? or is it never justified?

4. Throughout history, government and groups have used censorship and propoganda to reach their goals. Which ones do you think were used for 'the greater good' and which weren't right.

Women in Factories

1. Would you have worked in a factory had your husband never went to war?

2. Weren't you afraid of what people would think of a women working in a factory instead of a home?

3. How do you see women's roles in society post World War II?

4. Did you ever have to deal with sexism in the workplace once you started working?

4)       You are an African American sergeant and you have been drafted into the US Army.  You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany.  What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism?  Do you join the military or not?

Today I received my draft card. In a few months time, Im expected to report for military training, and eventual warfare. The war has only started one year ago, and already they have instituted the draft. The year is 1940, and I am an African American living in the United States about to be drafted by the U.S. Army. We are told that we go to fight the Nazis in Germany because of what they have done and what they may plan to do with the rest of the World. I dont know much about their intentions, but Im told they plan terrible things, and leading the world in hate toward others. They use these arguments to win people over so all go and fight, but these arguments dont win me over. I am black, living in America. Im the embodiment of hatred from a people. While my black friends choose to join the Army to serve their country, I will not. They send us to fight tyranny and hate, while I sit here fighting it in my own country. Im not a smart man, since the only school I went to was so underfunded we couldnt learn anything. I may not be very smart, but Im not stupid.
They send us to fight abroad, to fight othersI cant do that because Im too busy fighting here. I cant go to Europe and fight because Im in a war in the U.S. that has lasted hundreds of years since my ancestors were enslaved by whites and brought in from Africa for profit. My war is personal. I cant serve in an army, and defend a country that does not defend me. That does not defend my rights. I cant fight for a country than places so many roadblocks in from of me, simply to vote. I am humiliated at polling booths, my children at schools, and the community by police. I cant go, because if I go, it will distract me from my war at home. For my black friends who join the military in order to help blacks in this country gain some respect, I tell you that we will never have respect even if we die in war. Did blacks get respect after the Civil War when they served in the Union? No. I refuse to fight in a military as segregated as the military of the Civil War. I refuse to fight in a only black regiment, just like the only black regiments of the Union. The only time I can fight for this country with pride is when I dont have to deal with hate here. Once hate is dealt with in my house and my community, I will gladly lend a hand, gun, and bullet for the cause elsewhere. Until then, I burn my card, and if I must go to Canada, then so be it. Maybe my family and I will find more privileges there.

2)       You are an Army captain leading a squad into a NAZI controlled town.  You saw evidence of a massacre of Jewish prisoners just before you arrived.  You capture the NAZI officers and their troops and they surrendered.  What orders do you give concerning the German soldiers?

            The fighting for this small town has been much harder than most military generals thought it would be. However, in the end, I led my squad along with many others to take control of this small and unknown town. Upon reaching the town a horrible stench filled the air. Dozens of bodies from this small town were found around the town as we encircled it. We had no time to waste looking at the bodies because we were too busy defending ourselves from fire from German soldiers. Another half hour passed and the Germans have given up. We start securing the area and notice that many of the bodies have stars on their clothing. A Jewish friend tells us its the Star of David. We dont know what happened or if this has happened elsewhere, but we know that many of those killed were Jewish. This was a Jewish town, and all its inhabitants were shot and their bodies left to rot. There were early rumors of brutality against Jews but nothing like this. We never expected this. Most were simply shot in their houses, probably out of haste during our assault, but some bodies were found naked and tortured. We found open ditches with bodies that were never covered up with soil. It is then that I get word that all the German soldiers left in the town had given up their weapons and surrendered. The commander and around 15 soldiers were on their knees at gun point speaking in German. Our translator told us they were saying We surrender and was hoping to be taken prisoners of war. My men asked for my order. I ordered them to shoot the men through their right temples for instant death. I had to make that decision, because we were going to move on to another town. The assault to Berlin was several days behind, and all troops had to move fast. We had no time to keep prisoners who could escape, and I didnt want to deal with the hassle of sending them of to some prison. If they escaped they could return to the Wehrmacht and give them vital information. If they escaped they could return in the German army and kill more Jews. I ordered to have them killed instantly because as I believe no man woman or child deserves what the Jews in this small town had to deal with. We could have easily stripped them and tortured them, but in the end they would die, and no point would be proven. We had to kill them immediately, secure the area and move on. If anyone in the Germany was responsible it would be Hitler and the high commanders. Im given orders all the time, though I may not like them, I must do them regardless of opinion. For all we know, they could have been in that same position. Follow orders or be killed. I cant say that I wouldnt have done the same to stay alive. Instant death is what they deserve for what they did; slow death is left for those who gave the orders. These soldiers are less to blame than the Higher Officers. My decision was based on the fact that we have no time for prisoners, we have to move forward unhindered, and these soldiers may have committed the crime, but we cant be the ones to blame them for following orders.

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 03:49:45 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 05:58:44 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 06:00:56 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 07:12:25 PM

-- Edited by Moussa on Sunday 19th of April 2009 07:12:44 PM

Moussa,
You're crazy sometimes. You get an A, even though you didn't have to do all three parts of the test, just 2. Well done with all of the sections.

mre · Senior Member

Ethan M wrote:

Part 2:

Wars Consequences:
An American Soldier

} Has fighting in the war benifitted you in your everyday life in any way?
} Does any particular image stick in your mind out of everything you've seen?
} Has fighting in the war changed your perspective on life at all?
} If you could go back in time and somehow prevent yourself from being drafted/volenteering, would you?

Leadership in war:
American Squad leader

} How did you deal with the stress that came along with making desisions that people's lifes depended on?
} Have you ever put yourself to blame for something thats gone wrong?
} Whats the toughest desicion you had to make?
} Do you feel that the war has improved youre leadership abilities off of the battlefield?

Atomic Bombing:
Scientist who helped build/design the bomb

} Did you think bombing Japan would actually make them surrender, or were you expecting massive retaliation?
} Did you feel bombing them was wrong considering all the civilians that would be killed, or did you feel it was
nessisery?
} Did you ever feel that bombing Japan would endanger American civilains?
} How do you think the outcome of the war would have changed if we attacked japan until there was a victor
instead of bombing them?

Nazi Holocaust:
A Jewish German citizen who joined the Nazi's to hide the fact that he was Jewish

} What were you thinking when your own country started creating laws to punish you?
} Did you have any hint of Hitlers intentions before he was elected Germanys leader?
} Did you ever feel like you were a traitor to your own people?
} If you had the oppertunity to release prisoners of a concetration camp, but in doing so you would be imprisoned
and face unimaginable torture until you died, would you do it?

Japanese Internment:
A Japanese U.S. citizen who joins the Army to prove his loyalty to the U.S.

} Did you see this as a country doing a reasonable thing, but going about it unfairly (given little or no time to pack extra clothing, etc), or was it all unjust?
} How would you have felt if you were made to fight against Japan? Would you be able to do it?
} What were you thinking when you learned that atomic bombs were dropped on Japan?
} Do you think the 442nd's accomplishments helped see that maybe the U.S. was being too harsh?

Ethan,
Thanks. I think you really understood the assignment. The facts you were trying to prove could have been explained more in historic context instead of just listing them, but the rest was fine.

mre · Senior Member

Brittney,
I am not replying to your post because it was so long, but thanks for being the first student to post a YouTube video. Well done overall.

mre · Senior Member

Ethan M wrote:

Part 3:

1} I, President Harry Truman, hereby authorize the dropping of two atomic bombs over Japan. We are not able to fight both the German Wehrmacht and
the Japanese Imperialists at the same time, and by destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we will remove Japan as a threat. If we were to
attack Japan directly, we would suffer a very large amount of casualties, but Atomic bombs will both win the battle and put none of our soldiers at risk.
While I do not like the thought of killing thousands of innocent Japanese civilians, it is better than thousands of U.S. troops.

3} We have finished deciphering the latest German military brodcast, and learned the Germans plan on bombing London. We have no choice but to evacuate
the city immidiantly to avoid hundreds of thousands of casualties. Unfortuantly, the Germans will no doubt now know that we know there code, and they will have to
create a new one. Not knowing the Germans moves from now until we decifer the new code will most likely create an increase of casualties on our side, but
we will not allow our civilians to be subject of heavy bombing without any warning.

Ethan,
Thanks but maybe you should recheck the directions on part 3.

mre · Senior Member

nadia33 wrote:

Nadia Mimoso
4-17-09
U.S history II

World War II Performance test

Proving History Section

The National Service (Armed Forces) Act (1939) it required that all men between the ages of 18 and 41 were able to go into the armed forces. It was the begging of the draft before the war. They had to be ready to go if they wanted to or not.

I found a Grade card that was issused to Robert Lewis in June 1944.
http://www.tpyf-wales.com/index.php?lang=en&subj=5685&id=591&size=1&t=2

The Japanese attack pearl harbor
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/k13000/k13513.jpg

On this website there is a newpaper article on pearl harbor when it happened.
http://www.thepearlharborarchive.com/Home.aspx

3. The battle of Stalingrad

German invasion plans of the Soviet Union, and artifacts from the battle.
http://www.museumofworldwarii.com/Images2005/13bRussiaF.gif

This is a movie about the battle they made
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Enemy_at_the_gates_ver2.jpg

4. Turkey declared war on Germany

A newspaper article
http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/judea_declares_war_on_germany.jpg

5. Britain and France are at war with Germany
A newspaper article
http://www.diggerhistory.info/images/asstd3/ww2-newspaper.jpg

You are a (Navajo wind-talker, an African American sergeant, or a Japanese internment prisoner) and you have been drafted into the US Army. You know that there is racism in the US, and you have been asked to fight the racism of NAZI Germany. What do you do concerning your beliefs about racism? Do you join the military or not?

I am a Japanese internment prisoner and I have just been drafted into the U.S army. I know that after what happened at Pearl Harbor there is racism against the Japanese because they now think that every Japanese person is out to get the Americans but that is not true. I grew up as an American in America even though I am Japanese. I dont think people should be hypercritical. The question is do I join the military or not and the answer is yes. Even though there is racism doesnt mean I cant fight for my country. This is my homeland and I want to fight to make things right. If I go to the army it proves to people that I am loyal to my country and I am not an enemy. If I do not fight for my country it makes me look like I dont care for my country. Racism has been going on in America for a long time. It has been going on for the African Americans and the other minorities but that has not stopped them. I cannot change what the Japanese did on December 7, 1941. One thing I can change is what is going on in Germany by helping my country fight. I know that things are going to take time to change and peoples thought are very different now. This war might be long we dont know. There will always be racism in America and everywhere you go. The racism was there from the beginning but now after what happened at Pearl Harbor people can be more open about it. This country also gave me the many right I have today and I wouldnt have those same rights of I lived anywhere else. Fighting in the war is something I could do to payback my country for giving so much to me.

You are President Truman. It is August 5^th, 1945. You have to decide whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Make a choice and support your decision.

As president of the United States I have a lot of decisions that affect many people. Sometimes they are easy decisions and sometimes they are life changing ones. Japan was the first to attack us and we have to retaliate in some way. They cannot think they can come over here and bomb us and get away with it. The atomic bomb is a very powerful thing which could kill many. Japan has to know that we are not kidding and are very serious. I dont think we should drop the atomic bomb yet where there are civilians. I think we should drop it in a place where it would scare them but not affect many. We could use this as a scare. If they do not surrender to us then I think we should start dropping more and eventually we are going to have to drop them on their towns and civilians will be killed. They bombed us without warning and I dont think that was a very fear move. I think if we bomb them we should warn them and tell them we are not going to stop until we get what we want. I think this is the best approach.

Nadia,
These aren't 500 words, but I understand your justifications, even though they are one-dimensional. Good work.

mre · Senior Member

nickf13 wrote:

Nick Fuller
4/18/09
U.S. History II

PART II :
Atomic Bombing
NAZI Holocaust
Women in Factories
Wars Consequences

Atomic Bombing:
The number of lives lost is devastating. Do you think the United States needed to go as far as nuclear warfare?
If Japan possessed nuclear technology at the time, how might have this war been different?
If Germany possessed nuclear technology at the time, how might have this war been different?
If the United States did not hold nuclear technology, do you think we wouldve still bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or would it have been a better choice to invade then?

NAZI Holocaust:
If Hitler had succeeded in wiping out many different types of people, and basically taking over the world, where would the world be today?
If Hitler had succeeded in wiping out many different types of people, would he just have moved on to different races and wiped them out little by little?
Do you think that there was enough NAZI soldiers that thought what they were doing was wrong to overthrow Hitler if they tried hard enough?

Women in Factories:
Were you afraid that when the men returned home, they might take your job?
What did you do after the war was over?
Besides working in a factory, how did your life change when your husband went to war?
Did your husband come back home a changed man? How so?

Wars Consequences:
How did your perception on life change after you returned home from the war?
How are previous friendships different from ones you made with the people you fought with everyday and trusted with your life?
Do you think the outcome of the war justifies the number of lives lost on both sides of the war?

Nick,
As with some others, you didn't go to the full 500 words by far. Your questions are also a little simple and direct, but not too deep. Still, thanks for getting it done.

mre · Senior Member

TAYLORgarron wrote:

Part I: PROVING HISTORY

Fact #1

World War II started when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.

Although Germany and Poland are only two nations, and the context of a World War usually involves several, this day shocked and appalled other countries so, that it initiated the involvement of both France and Britain only two days later. In this way, one can infer that this event truly did mark the beginning of the Second World War.

(http://www.ushmm.org, http://www.worldwar-2.net)

The picture below actually shows the fact that the war was established on this date. The date on the newspaper is September 1st, 1939, the headline being Europe At War

Fact #2

On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S.A with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The picture below shows the front page of the Honolulu Star newspaper the day after the U.S. was bombed at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

Fact #3
French who had relationships with Germans during WWII were subject to punishment, under the law.
Women who had physical relationships with Germans during this hostile time often faced humiliating repercussions, like the one shown in this picture.

Fact #4
To aid in their final solution to rid their nation of undesirables, Germany, Poland, and Austria put labor or death camps into use (such as the ones at Auschwitz and Dachau).
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pSx3L_4cEf0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pSx3L_4cEf0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Fact #5
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the United States started to send all Japanese living in the country to relocation camps; often in remote places in the desert.

-- Edited by TAYLORgarron on Wednesday 22nd of April 2009 01:52:36 PM

Taylor, what is the proof of fact #5?

mre · Senior Member

Shannon,
Well done and yes, like Moussa, you did more than you were required to. Thanks!

mre · Senior Member

mpounds wrote:

(not finished)
PART II:

Japanese Internment-
1. Is forcing entire families to move to Internment camps humane and ethical?
2. Would the reasons for moving the families still hold merit if more and more people realized that they were very similar to Nazi concentration camps?
3. How could we be sure that the Japanese Americans wouldnt react with violence and resent when they were released from the camps?
4. Does this make the Americans hypocrites for having camps similar to concentration camps during a time when they were fighting against the people who created them?

Holocaust-
1. How would the people who did not hate Jews but were forced to join the Nazis feel about killing millions of Jewish people?
2. Should the Nazis who were more humane in the treatment of Jews in the camps be punished as severely as the crueler Nazis?
3. What would the world be like if no action had been taken against Hitler and the Nazis?
4. Did the children who were brainwashed at very young ages to be Nazis still hold the beliefs taught to them after the war ended?

Atomic Bombing-
1. Would the US still get the same results they wanted if only one bomb was dropped on Japan instead of two?
2. Why bomb Japan if the US wanted to intimidate Stalin? Why not just bomb Russia?
3. Are the lasting after-effects of dropping an atomic bomb worse than the casualties Japan and the US would have had to deal with if we chose to invade Japan instead?
4. Why didnt the Japanese surrender after the first bombing if they knew that continuing to fight back would be useless?

Women in the Factories-
1. Did the children who had mothers who worked in the factories grow up with different values than those who had stay-at-home mothers?
2. Did working in the factories make women stronger and more independent?
3. Did their husbands feel threatened by the fact that their wives were able to work and take care of themselves without the help of a male figure?
4. How did the women deal with the dilemma of making weapons that will take peoples lives since women are naturally maternal?

PART III:

http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_US_drop_the_atomic_bombs_on_Japan

1. After much consideration, I have made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima . My main reason for doing this is to help put an end to the war. We need to end this war as quickly as possible because too many lives are being lost. If we bomb Hiroshima , Japan will be more likely to surrender. However, if we dont drop the bomb on Hiroshima , then we will end up having to invade Japan which will lead to more and more casualties on both sides. The Japanese do not want us invading their country and they will fight with whatever they can get their hands on to keep us off their territory. They are not going to surrender if we give them another option along side surrendering. They are trying with all their might to outlast us in the war in hopes that we will end up surrendering instead. If we dont bomb Hiroshima , we face the possibility of losing a great deal more people than we would by bombing a city. Sure, the effects of bombing are quite bad but they are better than the alternative. Why shouldnt we bomb a country that had bombed us before? By using nuclear bombs in war, we can show the Soviet Union and Japan that we are not a weak nation. We can prove to Stalin that we are prepared to fight back with massive retaliation and do whatever it takes to keep our country and the people who fight for it safe. Furthermore, we will save resources and we wont have to pay for all the tanks and weapons and ammo that could be spared by sacrificing one bomb.

3. I would choose to evacuate the city. However, I would try to do it discretely in hopes that the Germans wouldnt notice that the city had been evacuated. We could use the blackout method where no lights in the whole city would be allowed to be on so they wouldnt be able to determine if there was anybody in the city was there. Also, I would advise all other large cities to evacuate in case the Germans go after another city in place of the already targeted one. If we diffuse the thickly settled populations, then fewer lives will be lost if we are bombed than if we kept everyone in the same place. Being able to decipher the code used by the Germans is useless unless we use that knowledge to help us out during the war. We cracked the first code, so why wouldnt we be able to crack another one if they switch it. If we dont evacuate the city, then what position does that put us in? Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens will be killed. We need to use this message that we cracked to the best of our advantage and hope for the best.

-- Edited by mpounds on Sunday 26th of April 2009 11:43:29 PM

-- Edited by mpounds on Monday 27th of April 2009 12:54:38 AM

-- Edited by mpounds on Monday 27th of April 2009 01:21:35 AM

-- Edited by mpounds on Monday 27th of April 2009 03:21:32 AM

Madelyn,
You only did 4 of 5 topics and answered under 500 words for each of your part 3 responses. Still, thanks for getting it done.

mre · Senior Member

Grades Updated 5/2/09

skyhawk0722 · Member

Patrick Schepis

1) The number of casualties has to be a fact. This is because the number must be close to the number of enlisted men who didnt return to their stations. Also both sides of the war have all their men accounted for therefore if someone was missing they would know. The number of casualties must be a fact.

2) The nations who were allied together: USA, USSR, Great Britain, China versus Germany, Italy, Japan. This information must be factual based on where the battles occurred and the people whom we were communicating with. There are letters and messages sent back and forth and if you should read one it would be quite obvious who the enemy, in relation to who was writing the letter, was.

3) Atomic bombs WERE in fact dropped. If you were to go to the area where they were dropped, there would be an abundance of radiation far greater then that of the norm. Also, there are accounts, books, written about this was, the casualties, the battles, and everything all over the world stating its significance.

4) The date in which the first atomic bomb was dropped, August 6, 1945. The pilot, Paul Tibbots would be a primary source on this information, also the military keeps records of everything therefore there would be records of the orders to drop it.

5) The date in which the USA was commenced into warfare, December 7^th, 1941. This was the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many novels have been written about this unfortunate event. Fortunately, there are records kept by the government of every account. This date is also a part of the curriculum of the NBHS JROTC.

Women in the Factories:

What were the working conditions of where you worked?

Were you subjected to mistreatment while working to benefit your country?

Although the work was tedious, did you have a sense of pride knowing that you were working to defend your constitution?

Knowing that the objects you were creating were going to be used in warfare to exterminate the enemy, how well did you work on your tasks?

Atomic Bombing:

Where did the technology for building the atomic bomb come from?

How long does it take to make a radioactive sample of the element you used in the bomb?

Did any experiments backfire?

If so, were there any casualties and did you learn of the mistakes?

What are the physical mechanics behind the chemical reaction of a nuclear/atomic bomb?

NAZI Halocaust:

Why were the Jewish people singled out during this act?

Why didnt the community retaliate?

It is obviously inhumane to genocide a group of people, what did they do to deserve there treatment?

If the NAZIs goal was to exterminate, why were so many kept alive for so long in the concentration camps?

1) I know the full capability of what this bomb was designed to do. It is meant to destroy anything in its path. Our enemies are killing innocent people and claiming irrational things to justify their decisions. They are obviously sick in the head. I know that two wrongs dont make a right, but if two wrongs have the possibility of ending a war then I wouldnt hesitate to drop a bomb on a city of innocent people. Similar to how innocent people paid, I am going to make my enemys innocent people pay for the actions of their government. It is a dirty game they are playing but USA can play too. The only reason I am doing this is to end a war. Using this bomb at whim isnt justified by any reason whatsoever. Only to defend, prove a point, and end a world war must this bomb be used for and now is the perfect time. I approve the dropping of the bomb on the Japanese cities.

3) I am aware that the enemy is going to bomb one of our cities due to the fact that we figured out their code. What good would it do to know the code but now act upon it? My only concern is making sure they dont switch the code, while saving as many lives as possible. I couldnt fathom how the enemy would figure out if we evacuate a city or not but it must be done to insure their survival. We know the city, we just dont know when. The only thing I can think to do is increase the airforce in that area. Scouts in mile radii all over the place. The only way they have any possibility of bombing a city is if its near the shoreline. As commander of the Armed Forces, I will increase the nval fleet in a radius o 50 miles around that city and put ships all along the coast so as not to bring extensive attention to that one spot. The fleet will shoot on sight. If for some reason the navy doesnt see or the bomber gets past, the Air force will have to take over. I am certain our soldiers are good enough to defend a city so there is no point of evacuating. Plus, taking this route should insure they dont change their code because the defense around that city wouldnt be too much more then any defense around the shore, except for the aircraft scouts flying all over the place. They wont know until it is too late

teresa · Member

Im President Truman, today is August 5^th, 1945.
Pear Harbor has been attacked, I have to make an immediate decision. In most cases it would be best to go about this in a peacfull manner, but they have gone to far. I have no sympathy on japan. When one country is greatly attacked by another the normal action is retaliation. There is consequences to this attack, they will suffer and i will not hold back. They have gone too far and this is something that cant not be acted back on. When a country such a s the U.S. does not fight back or acr quickly it gives the other countries the power to attack more frequently, this means that we will weaken, it means that they will try to over power us. If i do not act in a strong, quick manner, our country will fall under complete attack. I have no other alternative but to attack back. I will have to use weapons of mass destruction and eventually send our men over.

Im a factory worker.
Im also a women, i have been working since all the men left to war. Its been a different experience. Its a hard job having all the responsibilities, and working long hours. I get a desent pay and I bring back money to my family. I feel proud and more of a human, being able to help out my family and provide to them. I am responsible for the chores around the house, i cook, clean, wash dishes, wash clothes, take care of my family and most importantly set an example. Now i can say i work hard and i have alot to do with the improvements in the household. I miss my father dearly. They will be comming back soon, and i am warned that i will lose my job. The men are returning and i will be replaced. I know that either way if i fight or not fight back i will lose my job and they will have mine. I see that i should fight back because either way im losing my job , but its an opportunity to show them that i have been working hard and should still be respected and appreciated for all my hard work. It might give us a voice and they will see that we have done alot since they have been at war. Its not fair that i have to quit my job and give it up. its not only a job im losing, but its respect, money to help, and power that i had while they were gone. I want them to know that we can work just as hard and did all that we could to maintain the house under control and provide for my family. I think all the working women should protest, we have to show them that we should be treated fairly and that we are sick of sexism. Hopefully they will see we deserve respect and want a voice.

...... not finished

mre · Senior Member

Grades updated 5-28-09

4shl3y · Member

Par I: Proving historical events

1. Japanese Internment camps:

To prove that the Japanese camps did exist and were started by the President of the U.S. (http://www.cetel.org/1942_9066.html)

2. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor:

To prove this, I first had to prove the attack happened. I found an archive of pictures from the Pearl Harbor attacks. (http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexpearl.htm) prove japsz attacked pearl harbor(http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl2.htm)

3. Japanese Surrender

To prove the Japanese had officially surrendered to the Allied Powers i found pictures http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrument_of_surrender_01.jpg

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrument_of_surrender_02.jpg
'Certifying the the presence of: Lieut. Robert L. Balfour USNR at the formal surrender of Japanese Forces to the Allied Powers.

(http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/i00000/i00856k.jpg)

part 2

·

· NAZI Holocaust
1 Do you believe in the nazi way?

2. If you was a German during the nazi conquest,would you enroll your child in school still?

3. Being a jew in this time, how would you flea so you wouldn't get killed?

4. How would you protect your family during this time
·

American Segregation

1. Do you believe in this separation?

2. Why do people have to discriminate?

3.Enroll blacks into the army?

4What is the point when blacks are right next to whites in the armed forces ,but don't have the right to fight?

· Women in the Factories

1. Would you take your job back ,when you returned.(assuming you are a man)

2. Being a factory owner, you have a choice to make keep a women who works for less but does a better job, or keep a man who works for more but you won;t get in trouble for having. what will it come down to?

3. Do you find this ethical or even safe for these ladies to do all this work?

4. If a big battle wasn't going on and a women qualified and applied for the job, would you give it to them?

· Battlefield Choices

1. To leave your best friend in the middle of bombing ,or save yourself?

2. Let blacks be on the front line?

3. Back out when time is best, or go for the kill?

4. Would you follow through with all orders even if it meant to go against what you believed in?