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Teacher Information
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| How
to Teach World War II |
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| The
following guidelines will help teachers
and students focus on the most important
themes of D-Day and World War II: |
1.
Don't glorify war
Throughout history there have been cultures
and regimes in which warfare was a central
tenet of society. In these cultures it is
considered normal and proper to expect war,
prepare for war, and be in a state of war.
In the United States, because of our geography,
origins and evolution, and democratic constitutional
system, it has always been considered abnormal
to be in a state of war. While we have risen
to the occasion during wartime, we are always
eager to return to a time of peace.
When we study war, however, we often get swept
up in the excitement of the conflict, concentrating
solely on the violence, technology, heroics,
and drama of the battlefield. When we do this,
we misdirect our attention from the more important
issues of war: its causes and effects and
the lessons to be learned by its participants
and by future generations. War, while sometimes
necessary and often thrilling, is always ugly.
It should not be glorified or mythologized.
We do our students and ourselves a disservice
if we romanticize war or promote the idea
that warfare and violence is a proper end
in itself.
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2.
Properly set the stage
Only by examining the fascist totalitarian
ideas and values espoused by the Nazis do
students comprehend the dangers the world
faced during World War II and, hence, understand
the importance of D-Day. Wherever Hitler and
his Nazis conquered, they brought with them
intolerance, terror, murder, and genocide.
For Hitler, the peoples and lands of Europe
existed only to serve an ever-expanding Germany.
His program, clearly spelled out in earlier
writings, called for the exterminating or
enslaving of unwanted populations--Jews, Gypsies,
Communists, Slavs, homosexuals, the mentally
and physically disabled, and anyone who disagreed
with the Nazis. The successful opening of
the second front in France by the Allies was
fundamental to the Nazi defeat in WW II.
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3.
Stress the singularity of D-Day
Operation Overlord was not just another great
battle, but the true turning point of WWII
in Europe. While the US and Great Britain
had earlier engaged the Axis powers on the
periphery of the continent (North Africa,
Sicily, Italy), it was the invasion at Normandy
that brought on the beginning of the end for
Hitler and his Nazis.
The Normandy D-Day was the largest amphibious
assault in history. One hundred and seventy
five thousand men, an armada of 5,333 ships
and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles, and 11,000
planes crossed 100 miles of the English Channel
in a single day to face Hitler's armies along
the Atlantic Wall. The technologies of modern-day
warfare mean that there will never again be
a single operation of its size and complexity.
Had the invasion failed (Eisenhower was prepared
to read a statement over the radio taking
full responsibility if Allied troops were
repulsed from the beaches), Hitler would have
been able to reassign troops from his now-secure
Western Front to strengthen his Eastern Front
against the Soviet Union. A second attempted
Allied invasion into France would have taken
at least a year to plan, supply, and assemble.
Meanwhile Hitler would have further strengthened
his Atlantic Wall, his newly developed V-1
flying bombs would have continued to rain
down on England from launching pads across
the Channel, and the Nazis' Final Solution
against European Jews might well have succeeded
completely.
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4.
Emphasize the values that won the day
We honor those who served and those who contributed
to our victory in World War II best by celebrating
the values that saw us through the conflict.
From these values we can learn about the best
of humanity and strive to better ourselves,
our communities, and the world. The National World War II Museum's mission names four of these
values: teamwork, optimism, courage, and sacrifice.
The Allied victory over the Axis powers in
World War II represented an unprecedented
level of international cooperation and teamwork.
National and personal rivalries and disagreements
had to be put aside for the greater good of
all. Studying that teamwork teaches students
important lessons in working together to overcome
difficulties, solve problem, and reach personal
and community victories.
In the darkest hours of the twentieth century,
when Nazi Germany had taken over most of Europe,
the Allies kept their spirits high and their
sights on total victory. Faced with the horrors
of totalitarianism and war, the Allies never
gave up their struggle to liberate Europe.
By appreciating that optimism, students learn
to face the challenges of their communities
with their own youthful optimism.
Courage is commonplace in war. Courage by
soldiers on the battlefield, by leaders and
officers making decisions, by people producing
on the home front, even by children who often
endure tremendous personal losses of their
own. Students studying these examples of courage
are impelled to examine their own opportunities
to exhibit courage in their lives.
A sacrifice is an act of unselfishness. The
numbers of dead and wounded attest to the
ultimate sacrifices made by thousands in the
name of freedom and democracy. Sacrifices
come in all shapes and sizes. Students benefit
from recognizing that often times we gain
more-personally and as a community-by giving
something up for a cause in which we believe.
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5.
Personalize the history
Students will make a personal connection and
gain a better understanding of D-Day history
when they explore the personal side of the
story. Statistics, dates, and orders of battle
show the overwhelming size and complexities
of the Normandy invasion. But students can
learn more about the realities of D-Day through
personal histories, letters, memoirs, and
diaries of soldiers and loved ones on the
home front.
There are as many D-Day experiences as there
were participants. Each individual's story
is a personal encapsulation of the operation's
overall history. These more intimate sources
offer students an opportunity to read the
voices of D-Day as told, not by official military
historians, but by the ordinary men and women
who were there. These types of sources help
students attain a deeper understanding of
all kinds of history.
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6.
Make it relevant
Students become interested in history when
they can recognize relevance to their own
lives and times. It might seem impossible
to find relevance between the trauma of D-Day
and the everyday lives of students. That is
why The National World War II Museum stresses the
common values that made D-Day a success. The
concepts of teamwork, optimism, courage, and
sacrifice named in the Museum's mission can
be cultivated and expressed by any student
in countless situations.
Other concepts integral to the D-Day story--the
centrality of decision-making, problem solving,
honor, loyalty, camaraderie--need constantly
be explored and cultivated in students' lives.
Many participants on D-Day were not much older
than high school students. Students, therefore,
should be encouraged to identify with the
feelings, actions and reactions of D-Day's
soldiers and civilians. The Museum's mission
is only satisfied when students realize that
every generation--even their own--can rise
the occasion and attain victory in whatever
battles they encounter.
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