The Attic Box of World War II
Click here to see pictures of our Attic Boxes.
During and following the period of World War II, many artifacts were kept by soldiers and their loved ones. These souvenirs and sentimental reminders were kept to reflect upon lost family members or just to remember a horrific event which occurred in our past, hopefully never to be repeated. Many of these articles were tucked away in boxes and trunks and then buried in attics, basements, and garages for years.
The items contained in this attic box are called primary sources because they are from people who were actually involved in World War II. Primary sources may be original letters, photos, diaries, army records, gravestones, court records of the time, church records of the time, newspapers of the time, or interviews with the people in World War II. Primary sources are closer to the facts. That is why historians like to find treasures of primary sources to figure out what happened in the past.
Secondary sources are usually second hand stories. In other words, they are told by people who were not involved in the actual time period. Secondary sources are magazine articles about the event, encyclopedias, textbooks written later, legends or stories about the event, or a history teacher's interpretation of the event.
So now that you understand the difference between primary and secondary sources, let's open the attic box and take a look at some very interesting primary sources to help you piece together the history of World War II.
Take a look at the collection of USA posters. Who was the United States going to fight? Why was the U.S. mad at the Japanese?
What is the date on the newspaper? Who attacked Pearl Harbor? How many people were killed in the Pearl Harbor attack? What did the United States do as a result of the attack? Who was the President at this time?
Read all about it! The US Declares War!
III. The Japanese-Americans
In 1941 there were over 110,000 Japanese-Americans who were removed from their homes in the USA and placed in internment camps because the people of the United States were afraid of them. They thought they were spies for the Japanese government, who had recently bombed Pearl Harbor. Half of the American born Japanese people, who were sent to the internment camps, were children. Families were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs. In some cases, the families were separated and forced to live separately for four years in the camps. Some Japanese Americans died in the camps due to inadequate medical care. Some Japanese Americans were killed by military guards posted in the camps because they allegedly resisted orders. This was a very sad time in U.S. history because these people were American citizens.
The Fukuyama Family Photo Album at the Gila River Relocation Camp
What do you think life was like for the children in the Japanese American children in the relocation camps?
A letter from a girl in a Relocation Camp
What was Thanksgiving like in the Relocation Camp? What was being built at the camp that Louise did not like?
IV. Who was Hitler and what did he have to do with World War II?
Hitler is elected Chancellor of Germany
Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party. When was he elected chancellor of Germany? The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. "Holocaust" is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire." The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior," were "life unworthy of life." During the era of the Holocaust, the Nazis also targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority".
Germany was part of the Axis Powers in World War Two. The Allies were a group of nations that fought against the Axis Powers in WW II. The United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the Free French were some of the nations that united to fight the Axis Powers.
V. Children of the Holocaust
Meet other children from the Holocaust
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The Attic Shoebox Project
Now that you have had an opportunity to look through the attic box of letters, posters, newspapers, and photos of World War Two, it is your turn to create an attic box.
It is these types of items that you will create and include in your own Attic Box from the World War Two era.
Materials: a shoe box, materials to decorate the box, replicated items that would have had sentimental value to someone from this era.
Requirements: You must have at LEAST five items but no more than ten items, please. You can not have more than three written items.( such as letters, newspapers article) All items must fit in your box. You can make WWII metals, photographs, postcards, posters, fashion of the era, campaign buttons, toys, recipes)
Caution: Be sure that all items are appropriate for a school presentation. Remember your effort, quality, and relevance of the items to the World War II era will be used in determining your grade.
