Wed 11/2 Oral Histories of World War II

Preparation:

• Before class, you should read the passages above and briefly respond in writing to the following questions. Even though you will be working as a team, you should complete this activity on your own. (6 points).
  • “Serving the Nation in Battle”
    • How would you sum up each of the servicemen’s stories? Respond to this question by creating a title for each story.
    • Identify at least one example in the servicemen’s accounts that reflect the education described by Saburō Ienaga in chapter 1 (“Misconceptions about China and Korea”) of The Pacific War, 3-12.
    • Compare the descriptions of the samurai discussed in “Transformation of the Samurai Class” to that of the samurai and/or the kamikaze pilots as found in the servicemen’s accounts. How are they similar? How are they different?
    • After reading the soldiers’ accounts and the introductory essay, how might you explain the 1937 Nanjing massacre?
  • “At the Home Front”
    • How would you sum up each of the civilians’ stories? Respond to this question by creating a title for each story.
    • Identify at least one example in the civilians’ accounts that reflect the education described by Saburō Ienaga in chapter 1 (“Misconceptions about China and Korea”) of The Pacific War, 3-12.
    • What were some of the most significant ways in which civilians contributed to the Japanese war effort?

Team readings review:

• Team discussion. Share your responses with your classmates on each team. As you listen to others in your group, you may revise your responses.
• Create a bio. Depending on your set of readings, take the role of a civilian or an ex-serviceman recalling the war many decades later. To help you create your role, write your response to the following:
  • Whether you are male or female.
  • Your age during the war.
  • Where you lived or fought during the war.
  • Whether your parents were alive during the war.
  • Whether you had brothers and sisters, and if so, how many of each.
  • Your general attitude toward the war.

Pair discussion:

• Introductions. Next, you will sit in pairs: one ex-serviceman and one civilian will face one another and introduce yourselves according to your responses to the questions above.
• Prompts. Next, you will hear a series of prompts to begin a conversation. Together with your partner, engage in a conversation around each prompt from the perspective (and voice) of your character. Compare and contrast the experiences of your character (drawn from evidence of oral histories that you read for homework) with those of your discussion partner. Each discussion will last about 5 minutes.
  • List of prompts:
    • Prompt A: Everyone was expected to give heart and soul to the war effort. Our goal was total victory!
    • Prompt B: Opposing views were unacceptable. Few dared express them.
    • Prompt C: We sacrificed ourselves for Japan.
    • Prompt D: The war brought untold suffering to countless people.

Writing assignment:

Now that you know something about the experience of both servicemen and civilians, write a long letter from the perspective of your character immediately after the war to a(n imagined) friend abroad who might be unfamiliar with the experiences of the Japanese people during the war. Use prompts A-D as guides in writing your letter. You may want to reference the other set of oral histories (servicemen or civilians) and re-read your own assigned set before composing your letter. End your letter with some closing thoughts on the war. This letter will be graded out of 20 points.