20. World War II

A film by Discovery Communications created for educators and schools. This film features four segments that discuss the causes and effects of World War II. Explores how the Nazis coordinated the Holocaust and the types of conditions that Jewish people endured inside concentration camps. Describes the underground bunker of Adolf Hitler and attempts to destroy it. Documents the successful Allied military activity at Normandy that drove the Nazis from France's coastline. Reviews how Americans were affected by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl prior to the country's involvement in the war.

19. "What did you do in the war Grandma?"

National Park Service

An oral history of the women of Rhode Island in WWII. Created by high school students, provides another chance for students to experience first-hand accounts and learn about different types of sources. Unfortunately, the interviews are not recorded-- you can read thorough transcripts instead (which some students may prefer anyways).

The website can be found here: What did you do during the war, Grandma?

18. Tora! Tora! Tora!

This film depicts the attack on Pearl Harbor and the events leading up to it from both American and Japanese perspectives. Well-liked by historians and movie-buffs alike, this film has action, aviation and history. Other WWII films and television shows have used clips from Tora! Tora! Tora!  because of it's "near documentary accuracy"

17. Flygirl

Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn't stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy's gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her.
When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women's Airforce Service Pilots--and Ida suddenly sees a way to fly as well as do something significant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won't accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of "passing," of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one's racial heritage, denying one's family, denying one's self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.

16. Elephant Run

Nick endures servitude, beatings, and more after his British father's plantation in Burma is invaded by the Japanese in 1941, and when his father and others are taken prisoner and Nick is stranded with his friend Mya, they plan a daring escape on elephants, risking their lives to save Nick's father and Mya's brother from a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

15. Yellow Star

At the start of World War II, four-and-half-year-old Syvia Perlmutter, her mother, father, and older sister, were among the first of more than 250,000 Jews to be forced into the Lodz Ghetto in Poland. On January 19, 1945, the Russians liberated the ghetto and the Perlmutter's were among the 800 left alive. This story, told in poetry, blends fact and fiction to tell how Syvia and her family struggled to survive the war and their life in the ghetto. Roy is Syvia's niece, and she tells her aunt's story wonderfully in first-person free verse. The quick pace of the poetry make this a great resource for reluctant readers as well as others. Non-fiction introductions to each chapter help to clarify any historical questions, as well as add depth to the reading experience.

14. Domenic's War

Young Domenic and his family, who live on a farm north of Monte Cassino, are helplessly caught in the war. With battle lines approaching, they struggle against all odds. Will they be caught hiding two escaped prisoners-of-war? Will the innocent people sheltering in the monastery survive? This fascinating novel is based on the true story of the fateful events at Monte Cassino during that long cold winter.

13. Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference

Clara Breed was not only the children's librarian at the San Diego Public Library in the early 1940s, she was also a friend to dozens of Japanese American children when World War II broke out in December of 1941. Oppenheim tells the story of what happened to these American citizens through letters written to Miss Breed during their internment. Photographs from the time period, archival materials, and touching quotations from the later reparation hearings bring to life this true story. This astonishing librarian brought hope to these young people and provided them with a lifeline at a time when American ideals were "compromised by fear and unfortunate racial assumptions." This is another resource that will be a great introduction to primary sources for students. The engaging story and extratextual materials will keep students interested.

12. World War II: Life on the Home Front : A Primary Source History

Details the impact of World War II on the lives of people on the home front and examines how individuals of all ages and genders contributed to the Allied war effort. Includes black-and-white photographs and a glossary. These primary sources will provide students with information about the war, the draft, activities on the home-front for Allied countries, women in the workforce, propaganda and rationing. This book provides valuable information about the war as well as can provide students with an introduction to primary sources.

11. Number the Stars

In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. Through the her eyes, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war. This classic story is essential to any unit on the second world war.

10. Weedflower

 The story of a young Japanese-American girl, Sumiko, who is sent to the Colorado River Relocation Camp in Arizona. The camp has been carved out of an existing Mohave Indian reservation, which Sumiko learns when she befriends a Native American boy. While she struggles with feeling unwanted both by her country and the residents of the reservation, she finds hope in her relationships, especially with her elderly neighbor who she gardens with. This story provides a look at the sad history of Japanese internment camps, as well as the the home-front perspective from Native Americans.

9. The Holocaust Explained - Homework & Online Education Tool for Students

This interactive website produced by the London Jewish Cultural Centre is chock full of information about the Holocaust for students. It was designed with students learning and assignments in mind and has information about the development of Hitler's anti-semitic ideology from the beginning through the end of the Final Solution. There is a lot of different information from Survivors including pictures and audio.

Visit the site: The Holocaust Explained

8. The Midnight Zoo

Set during World War II, this is a story of three siblings surviving the conflict. After their relatives are arrested, 12-year-old Andrej and nine-year-old Tomas flee with their infant sister and make their way to a bombed-out town with an intact zoo. Once inside, the animals begin speaking and sharing their experiences; the boys meets a mischievous monkey, a lioness that has lost its family, and a seal taken from its mother as a pup. The children and animals spend the night sharing their stories, offering a unique take on war and the oftentimes needless struggles humans endure. As an astute bear observes, “You are a mysterious animal, you know. A bear does what a bear must do to keep itself alive. But a man does many things that he has no need to do.” This story will appeal to students who are interested in magical realism (although they might not know what it's called) and provide a good way for teachers to introduce that subject as well as allegory and other literary devices, while also learning about the war. 

7. The Battle of Iwo Jima: Guerilla Warfare in the Pacific

Author Larry Hama offers an accessible introduction to the ups and downs of the battle for Iwo Jima in this graphic novel, part of the "Graphic Battles of the World War II" series. Beginning with background information that details the war -- events leading up to it, the Japanese war machine and the importance of the island itself -- Hama presents information with an objective lens, portraying the Japanese as not just the enemy but as real people. Williams exposes the horrors of the war on both sides in camouflage colors. Included are a glossary, short bibliography and an appendix containing contact information for two relevant museums. The graphic novel format will draw in reluctant readers as well as students who devour books by the dozen. Additionally, the graphic nature allows students to truly visualize events of the war.

6.The Other Victims: First-person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis

A series of personal narratives from some of the non-Jews, including gypsies, political and religious activists, the physically challenged, and other "undesirables," who were pursued but escaped the fate of the five million Gentiles murdered by the Nazis. This provides students with another perspective of people persecuted during the Holocaust which may not be well-known to them yet, as they may only be familiar with the history of Holocaust from the Jewish perspective.

5.Behind Enemy Lines: A Young Pilot's Story

A young pilot and his crew are forced to bail out of their B-17 airplane over Holland during World War II. They must travel through war-torn Europe, encountering members of the Dutch underground, Nazi SS troups, a terrifying air raid, and a German prisoner of war camp.

4. WW2 Tweets from 1940

This twitter feed updates 140 character dispatches of events that occurred in the war more than half a century ago. The first tweet, exactly 71 years after the Nazis began to invade Poland reads, "SS troops dressed as Poles are attacking radio transmitter in Gleiwitz, to provide pretext for Germany to attack Poland." Tweets that follow are taken from well-recognized sources as well as rare primary sources including family diaries.

Follow here: WW2 Tweets from 1940

3. Code Talker: A novel about World War II

Six-year-old Ned Begay leaves his Navajo home for boarding school where he learns the English language and American ways. At 16, he enlists in the Marines during World War II and is trained as a code taker, using his native language to radio battlefield information and commands in a code that was kept secret until 1969. Ned tells of his experiences in Hawaii, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The book, addressed to Ned's grandchildren, ends with an author's note about the code talkers as well as lengthy acknowledgments and a bibliography.

2. The Boy Who Dared

Relying on interviews with survivors and published documents, author Bartoletti imagines the true story of 17-year-old Helmuth Hübener, who was imprisoned in October 1942 for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Helmuth recalls, through flashbacks, his Mormon childhood and growing mistrust of Hitler's regime. Secretly listening to BBC radio broadcasts, Helmuth attempts to reveal the truth about Hitler but consequently suffers beatings, torture and imprisonment. A detailed chronology, a bibliography and numerous black-and-white photographs are included.

1. All Story Themes: Experiencing War: Veterans History Project

This website provides an access point to various stories of American WWII veterans and their experiences during the war. Curated by the Library of Congress, this provides an interesting look into real people's lives and stories that include pictures and interviews. This website gives students a chance to look at a veteran (or veteran's family member) while listening to their voice. These primary accounts provide a rich supplement to textbooks or other informational readings as well as inform students' narrative readings (they can better visualize settings and characters for instance).

Visit this site here: All Story Themes: Experiencing War

Introduction to Bibliography and Topic

This annotated bibliography has been created for a middle school class studying the second world war. The books and other media were created to supplement the students understanding of history, and have been selecting from a range of different topics surround the war, including books about the United States home-front, the war in Europe, the Holocaust, and the war in Japan. The works cited will be included below, and then each following post will be an annotation for each item. This is part of a lesson in the library which includes discussion and journaling. Students will have to journal from the point of view of a character from one of the books (or a person they create themselves) to show their knowledge of the unit.

Works Cited

"All Story Themes: Experiencing War: Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)." All Story Themes: Experiencing War: Veterans History Project (Library of Congress). Library of Congress, 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/themes.html>.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. The Boy Who Dared. New York: Hyperion for Children, 2007. Print. Annotation and image adapted from worldcat.org
Bruchac, Joseph, and Derrick Henry. Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two. Prince Fredereick, MD: Recorded, 2005. Audiobook. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Collinson, Alwyn, (@RealTimeWWII). Web log post. WW2 Tweets from 1940. Twitter, Inc., 31 Aug. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <https://twitter.com/RealTimeWWII>. Image adapted from twitter.com/realtimewwii

DeMallie, H. R. Behind Enemy Lines: A Young Pilot's Story. New York: Sterling Pub., 2007. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Friedman, Ina R. The Other Victims: First-person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Hama, Larry. The Battle of Iwo Jima: Guerilla Warfare in the Pacific. New York: Rosen Pub., 2007. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com
Hartnett, Sonya, and Andrea Offermann. The Midnight Zoo. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2011. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

"The Holocaust Explained - Homework & Online Education Tool for Students." The Holocaust Explained - Homework & Online Education Tool for Students. Trustees of the London Jewish Cultural Centre, 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/>.

Kadohata, Cynthia. Weedflower. New York: Atheneum  for Young Readers, 2006. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Macdonald, Fiona. World War II: Life on the Home Front : A Primary Source History. Pleasantville, NY: Gareth Stevens Pub., 2009. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Oppenheim, Joanne. Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Parkinson, Curtis. Domenic's War: A Story of the Battle of Monte Cassino. Toronto: Tundra, 2006. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Roy, Jennifer Rozines. Yellow Star. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2006. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Smith, Roland. Elephant Run. New York: Hyperion for Children, 2007. Print. Annotation adapted from mackin.com, image adapted from worldcat.org
Smith, Sherri L. Flygirl. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008. Print. Annotation and image adapted from mackin.com

Tora! Tora! Tora! Dir. Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, and Toshia Masuda. Perf. Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi. Twentieth Century Fox, 1970. DVD. Annotation and image adapted from worldcat.org

Wood, Linda, and Judi Scott. "What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?" What Did You Do in the War, Grandma? The Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities, 1997. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/tocCS.html>. 

World War II. Discovery Communications, Inc., 2004. DVD. Annotation and image adapted from worldcat.org