World War II

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:
D3 explain the significance of key developments in World War II, including
– military battles and campaigns
– total war
– technological advances
A1 analyse primary and secondary sources (historical evidence) with reference to:
– reliability
– bias and point of view
– corroborating and conflicting evidence

Planning for Assessment
• In a guided talk, help students understand
− what an historical document is
− how to assess an historical document for
things such as reliability, consistency, bias,
proximity, internal logic, use of rationale
language, etc.
− the strengths and weaknesses of an
historical document
Have students create personal charts in which
the key terms from the discussion (e.g.,
reliability) are placed on the left-hand column,
while the right-hand column remains blank.
Then hand out copies of primary source
documents relating to a World War II event such
as the “Rape of Nanking.” These documents
need not all put forward the same view of the
atrocities. Have the students read their assigned
document – individually at first, then with a
partner. In the right-hand column of their chart,
they should fill in details associating the terms to
what they have read – that is, they should make
an assessment of each document as to its worth
as a primary source of history regarding the
“Rape of Nanking.”

Assessment Strategies

Once the students have finished their chart (or
charts, if they need one per document), lead a
class discussion on what they have discovered
and have written in their charts. Assess
students’ participation in this discussion with
reference to criteria such as the following:
− understanding of the issues
− skill at providing examples from the
document which relate to the items in the
left-hand side of their chart
− ability to support a position taken
− demonstration of critical-thinking skills

DOCUMENT RESOURCES

The Hoover Institution was founded in 1919 by Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) at his alma mater, Stanford University, with the goal of attaining peace through the scholarly study of international conflict in the modern world. The archives began as a repository for World War I documents collected by representatives of the institute in Europe directly after the war. The collection grew to include interwar sources on fascist, communist, and nationalist movements and important sources related to World War II. Subsequent projects include the institute's microfilming of the Archives of the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet State in Moscow.

World War Two Resources is a collection of primary source documents and links from official sources on World War II. The site includes the British Blue Book, the French Yellow Book, treaties, declarations of war, speeches, surrender documents, congressional hearing reports, and documents from the archives of the German Foreign Office.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School aims to provide access to documents relating to law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy and government (Pre-18th century, 18th century, 19th century, 20th century). A huge range of documents are available from this site.