1
10
43
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Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
<p>I just knew the army was full of lesbians, so I ran off and joined the army...I had hoped the army would provide me with a community of women, but it didn't. I felt like an outsider. I tried like crazy to be a good butch, a real dyke, but it wasn't my nature. I'd sneak and put Chanel behind my ears. I tried to do the walk, but I couldn't carry it off for long. I tried to put on men's clothes and I looked like Laurel and Hardy. My figure is just not cut out for men's clothes. I'm too round…. <br /><br />Then they decided to crack down. After the war, when we were no longer needed, they decided to get rid of the dykes. So they had court martials. Every day you came up for a court martial against one of your friends. They turned us against each other. When I was living it, I didn't have any idea why they were doing this to us. I only knew they were throwing us out of the army with dishonorable discharges. <br /><br />But I had married Paul Bond; in those days gays got ma ried to protect themselves and their families. Paul was gay and wanted to marry to make his family happy – so that they would think he was straight. I did it for a lark. It was a marriage in name only; we divorced in 1955. But if you were married, you could get out of the military. I wanted to protect the woman I was involved with, so I went to my C.O. and I said, "I want to get out because I'm married." She said, "You're what?" And I produced my wedding license and I got out. The only way I could figure out to save my lover was to get out. If I had been there, they could have gotten us both because other women would have testified against us. If someone said, "I saw them dancing, I saw them kissing," – that was enough. We would dance and kiss at that WAC's night home.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pat Bond Describes the Military Purge of LGBTQ+ Service Members
Subject
The topic of the resource
Civil Rights and Citizenship
Gender and Sexuality
Description
An account of the resource
Pat Bond was a member of the Women’s Army Corps (a WAC) during World War II. As a lesbian, she risked a “blue discharge†from the army if she was discovered. Blue discharges were highly stigmatized penalties for alleged dishonorable behavior and were given in disproportionate numbers to gays, lesbians, and African Americans. Receiving a blue discharge made it impossible for individuals to claim veterans’ benefits, and made it difficult for many to readjust to civilian life. After World War II, the U.S. military increased efforts to identify and discharge gay and lesbian service members, which Bond just managed to avoid.
This document is an excerpt of an interview Bond gave in 1986. In this interview, Bond refers to herself as a “dyke.†Originally a slur used to insult masculine-looking lesbians, the term was reclaimed by the lesbian community in the 1970s as a positive way to identify women who felt sexually attracted to other women.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Bond, Pat. “Tapioca Tapestry.†In Long Time Passing: Lives of Older Lesbians, edited by Marcy Adelman, 164-175.
Boston : Alyson 1986.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1986 (Circa)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Postwar America (1946-1975)
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
Secondary
LGBTQ+
World War II
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/fc73c18e6992fefd6c9b8cad15175479.jpeg
00f1d3d23f81e58a7047a7f2ec62f5e5
Photograph
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Photograph of Drag Performers
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Description
An account of the resource
During World War II, soldiers put on theater performances that consisted of all-male casts. During these performances, select soldiers dressed in drag to impersonate women. These performances helped to boost morale across the army, providing entertainment in an atmosphere of conflict and stress. For LGBTQ+ servicemen and servicewomen, the impact may have been more complicated. The strict culture of the military made it difficult for LGBTQ+ people to identify themselves, however the shows provided a form of self-expression and a way to form community. At the same time, some military officials disapproved of the shows and soldiers who participated risked being identified as LGBTQ+, a label that could lead to their discharge.This photograph was taken at a popular GI show, This is the Army.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Army Drag Show. circa 1940. Photograph. Image courtesy of Friends of the National WWII Memorial.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940 (Circa)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
Primary
LGBTQ+
World War II
-
Article/Essay
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p><span><strong>The Fellowship of Reconciliation </strong><br /><br /></span><span> The Fellowship of Reconciliation is a group of people, numbering many thousands and located in many countries of the earth, who are united in their opposition to the use of violence to settle disputes between individuals and nations. While they do not subscribe to any specific pledge, in general — <br /><br />they refuse to participate in any war or to sanction military preparations; they work to abolish war and to foster good will among nations, races, and classes; <br /><br />they strive to build a social order which will suffer no individual or group to be exploited for the profit or pleasure of another, and which will assure to all the means for realizing the best possibilities of life; <br /><br />they advocate such ways of dealing with offenders against society as shall transform the wrong-doer rather than inflict retributive punishment; they endeavor to show reverence tor personality—in the home, in the education of children, in association with those of other classes, nationalities, and races; <br /><br /></span><span>they seek to avoid bitterness and contention, and to maintain the spirit of self-giving love while engaged in the struggle to achieve these purposes. </span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Bayard Rustin Describes the Fellowship of Reconciliation
Subject
The topic of the resource
Civil Rights and Citizenship
Gender and Sexuality
Social Movements
Description
An account of the resource
Bayard Rustin was a gay civil rights activist who was particularly passionate about racial equality. He helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which Martin Luther King Jr. was a president, and which influenced the civil rights movement. As a Quaker, he was also committed to pacifism. In 1944, he was arrested and sent to prison for refusing to join the U.S. army, violating the Selective Service Act. At the time, Rustin worked for The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), an interracial civil rights organization. In this article, Rustin critiqued the role that violence played in society and discussed how pacifism and racial justice intersect. Rustin was fired from his position with FOR in 1953, shortly after he was forced to come out publicly for the first time. Because of homophobia and the stigma that he faced as a gay man, Rustin did not become politcally involved in gay rights struggles until late in his life. However, his status as a gay man and a passionate pacifist makes his voice very relevant to understanding the relationship between LGBTQ+ people and the military.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Rustin, Bayard. Interracial Primer. Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1941. Courtesy of Yale Law School. https://dev.documents.law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/yale_rustin_interracial_primer.pdf
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1941
Relation
A related resource
2762
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Postwar America (1946-1975)
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
Primary
Civil Rights
LGBTQ+
World War II
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/b9560ded32725f73c603fb5c068b36f0.jpeg
9958bb4707f0d21a6199d60ed5c92dee
Photograph
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mugshot of Bayard Rustin
Subject
The topic of the resource
Civil Rights and Citizenship
Gender and Sexuality
Social Movements
Description
An account of the resource
Bayard Rustin was a gay civil rights activist who was particularly passionate about racial equality. He helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which Martin Luther King Jr. was a president and which influenced the Civil Rights Movement. As a Quaker, he was also committed to pacifism. In 1944, he was arrested and sent to prison for refusing to join the U.S. army, violating the Selective Service Act. This mugshot was taken at the time of his arrest. He remained in prison for two years.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
“Rustin, Bayard†(NAID 18558235) National Archives Record Group 129: Records of the Bureau of Prisons, 1870 - 2009. Series:
Notorious Offenders Files, 1919 - 1975. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/18558235
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Postwar America (1946-1975)
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
Primary
Relation
A related resource
2772
Civil Rights
LGBTQ+
World War II
-
Newspaper/Magazine
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p><span><strong> Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty: Bronx Army vet undergoes first widely known gender reassignment procedure</strong><br /><br /></span><span> Subject of the rare sex-conversion is the former George W. Jorgensen Jr., son of a Bronx carpenter, whose name and all past Army records have been official changed to Christine Jorgensen. The new woman has made a successful career for herself as a color photographer in Denmark and hopes some day to go to Hollywood, either as a photographer or an actress. <br /><br /></span><span>It was through a rare and complicated treatment that George became Christine. The conversion - rare when a woman becomes a man, much rarer when a man changes in woman-involved five major operations, a minor operation and almost 2,000 injections which worked both physiological and glandular revolutions in George-Christine's body…</span><span> <br /><br />Dr. Eugenie Andersen, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, was fully aware of what was going on and at the successful conclusion of the operations, arranged that Christine's records be changed by the Army and the Veterans Administration-and also by the Bureau of immigration so that the man who went abroad three years ago could be readmitted as a woman. <br /><br />Since the treatments, Christine has been working happily and successfully as a woman color photographer. </span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
"Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty"
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Social Movements
Description
An account of the resource
Christine Jorgensen, born George W. Jorgensen Jr., was an army clerical worker during World War II. After the war, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in Denmark. Jorgensen became well-known for this experience, and numerous media outlets published stories about her transition. This article, published in the New York Daily News, emphasized her military background with the title, “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty.†After returning to the United States, Jorgensen made a living as a celebrity, actress, and entertainer. She stated publicly that she was very happy with her decision to undergo the surgery, and was an advocate for transgender rights throughout her life.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Ben White, “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty: Bronx Army vet undergoes first widely known gender reassignment procedure in 1952,†Daily News, December 1952.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1952
Relation
A related resource
2722
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
Primary
LGBTQ+
World War II
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/fef06e992bcadd327a8e9fcda2af5b17.jpg
6b11ee6babb194a804ad3a9ed2fd1d88
Photograph
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Portrait of Christine Jorgensen
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Social Movements
Description
An account of the resource
Christine Jorgensen, born George W. Jorgensen Jr., was an army clerical worker during World War II. After the war, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in Denmark. Jorgensen became well-known after numerous media outlets published stories about her transition. After returning to the United States, she made a living as a celebrity, actress, and entertainer. This headshot of Jorgensen was taken in 1954, two years after she began her medical transition. She stated publicly that she was very happy with her decision to undergo the surgeries, and was an advocate for transgender rights throughout her life.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Christine Jorgensen. 1954. Photograph. Photo by Maurice Seymour.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1954
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Postwar America (1946-1975)
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
Primary
Relation
A related resource
2732
LGBTQ+
World War II
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/5df69dff3335dc2f569c460504c92478.pdf
a61cc7f5e27e7c083745dc340d4b0f91
Worksheet
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>This worksheet aligns to Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<p>• RHSS.6-8.7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
By the Numbers: White and African-American Women Workers
Description
An account of the resource
This worksheet helps students analyze statistics about the labor force participation of white and African-American women in the decades before, during, and after WWII.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
2
Relation
A related resource
1238, 1369
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2013
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Work
Common Core Reading
Rosie the Riveter
World War II
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/50a10e11df597b5b884bae4748ed95cf.pdf
84a04d59b2087b501c4d982b7dbbdbfc
Worksheet
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>This worksheet aligns to Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<p>• RHSS.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.</p>
<p>• RHSS.6-8.5. Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Analysis Worksheet: “I’m Proud...My Husband Wants Me to Do My Partâ€
Description
An account of the resource
This worksheet helps students analyze a poster created by the U.S. government during World War II that encourages women to take factory jobs.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
2
Relation
A related resource
1217
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2013
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Work
Common Core Reading
Rosie the Riveter
World War II
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/c3c79329e8079fe2d5dfd89d9fe11a9d.notebook
a7444d50422c1f9f605efafa827da395
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/bb3247ee35e34ef192fb31f55ce8f8fb.ppt
68267ee84533e438bcce1366c92af6cb
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<p>Students will be able to describe key ideas about the civil rights movement of the 1940s:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>The fight for civil rights happened all over the United States.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Ordinary people played an important role in the civil rights movement.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The need for labor led to conflict between black and white workers over jobs, housing, and transportation.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>City, state, and federal governments began to pass laws banning discrimination.</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Students will be able to match specific information in a secondary source with broader categories and concepts. Â </p>
<p>Students will be able to write explanatory text that summarizes a series of historical events. </p>
Materials
1841, 1840, 1842, 2034
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Preparation:</strong> To prepare materials for this activity, teachers should print out and cut apart a set of cards for each student or group of students in the class. The teacher may want to print the cards on cardstock and/or laminate materials for durability. There are 14 event cards and corresponding "who", "what", and "where" mini-cards. The teacher may wish to reduce the number of event cards depending on ability of students or time allotted. Â </p>
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> Ask students to think about basic rights--what should a person in the United States be able to do? List the rights on the board: i.e., get hired for any job they are qualified for; live any place they can afford; vote if they meet age and citizenship requirements; eat in any restaurant they choose; sit anywhere they want at the movies; etc. After brainstorming some of these concepts, tell students that they will be looking at how African-American activists in the 1940s worked to gain those rights. </p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Review the "what" mini-cards representing fair housing; voting; fair employment; and segregation in public places so that students understand what each symbol represents. Then show the map and review the four shaded regions that are represented on the "where" mini-cards: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. </p>
<p>Have a student select one event card from the deck and read it aloud. Ask the group for answers to the "who", "what", and "where" categories. Demonstrate that they will need to fill in the "who" on the blank line provided. </p>
<p>Divide students into small groups of 3-6 students. Hand out complete decks of event cards and sets of mini-cards to each group. Ask the students to work together in their groups to add the who, what, and where mini-cards to each event card. Allow time for students to work. </p>
<ul><li>
<p>The teacher can differentiate the activity by giving some students fewer cards. </p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 3:</strong> After students have completed their decks of cards, ask for volunteers to summarize the event and who/what/where details for each card. As they do, mark each location on the map (in Smartboard, if using) and note recurring themes in the events such as:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>The significance of World War II for creating conditions for conflict between black and white workers but also opportunities for black workers to make demands for equal treatment.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The gradual nature of the demands</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The mixture of local direct action campaigns and federal court cases</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The involvement of young people</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>When activism failed or succeeded</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The geographic diversity of the movement and how demands were similar or different in different parts of the country</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Pass out the graphic organizer and review the four historical understandings on it. Ask students to review their cards and find examples of events that match each of the four historical understandings, making notes of those events in the space provided. Some events may match more than one historical understanding. </p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> (Optional) Post or pass out one of the following writing prompts (also included in list of materials):Â </p>
<p>LETTER</p>
<p>It is a few years after World War II. You are an African American living in the United States. Your older brother joined the army back in 1942 and is now stationed overseas in Europe, where there is no legal racial segregation. On days off, black and white soldiers can eat together at restaurants, go to any movie theater or club, and sit anywhere on the local trains and busses. Your brother will be returning home soon and wants to know whether or not conditions have improved for African Americans. Specifically, he wants to know:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>Where are civil rights activists having success in fighting segregation?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Who is supporting their efforts and who is opposing them?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What effect has World War II had on race relations between whites and blacks in the United States?</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Write a letter to your brother in which you answer his questions and describe your own role in the civil rights activism of the 1940s. Â </p>
<p>PARAGRAPHS</p>
<p>Organize your cards by <span style="text-decoration:underline;">what</span> was being demanded (Jobs, Access to Public Places, Voting, Housing) What patterns do you see in this arrangement of cards by what? Write a paragraph using your own words to explain the patterns you see in the cards. You must write a topic sentence and provide at least three supporting details from the cards. </p>
<p>Organize your cards by <span style="text-decoration:underline;">where</span> the events took place. (North, South, Midwest, West). What patterns do you see in this arrangement of cards by where? Write a paragraph using your own words to explain the patterns you see in the cards. You must write a topic sentence and provide at least three supporting details from the cards. <br /><br /><strong>NOTE: </strong>These cards can be used to help open up discussions of various aspects of civil rights activism. For example, you could have students identify all of the cards that mention World War II and ask them to consider why that event might have played a role. You could also ask students to find all of the cards where the effort failed as a way of looking at why activism doesn't always succeed. Or you could prompt students to sort the cards based on where the activism was seeking change (e.g., courts, local government, federal government, local business, etc.) as a way of helping them understand the range variety of avenues that activists use to bring about social change.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
The Movement Before the Movement: Civil Rights Activism in the 1940s
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity, students read cards about various civil rights protests and events during the 1940s. For each event, students match the issue (voting rights, fair employment, fair housing, or segregation in public places) at stake, identify the key people involved and what region of the country it took place in. After students have completed all the cards, an optional writing task asks students to synthesize the historical content by writing a letter to a relative serving overseas describing the efforts of civil rights activists in the 1940s. There is some assembly of materials required for this activity. This activity has optional Smartboard elements but can be completed without a Smartboard.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Civil Rights and Citizenship
Social Movements
Group Work
Interactive Knowledge Building
Smartboard
Social Movements
World War II
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will understand how waging a "total war" altered the nature of American society.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will understand the effects of World War II at home.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
1217, 1192, 1189, 1216, 1190, 1191, 1144, 1193, 1194, 1195, 1196, 1199, 1198, 1201, 1197, 1202, 1200, 1203, 1204, 1827
Historical Context
<p>Propaganda was one of many weapons used by many countries during World War II, and the United States was no exception. From posters to films and cartoons, the federal government used propaganda not only to buoy the spirit and patriotism of the home front, but also to promote enlistment in the military and labor force. Several government agencies were responsible for producing propaganda, with the largest being the Office of War Information (OWI), created in 1942. The OWI created posters, worked with Hollywood in producing pro-war films, wrote scripts for radio shows, and took thousands of photographs that documented the war effort. Worried by the increase in government sponsored propaganda, academics and journalists established the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. The Institute identified seven basic propaganda devices: Name-Calling, Glittering Generality, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking, and Band Wagon. [For more on the IPA and the seven devices, please see http://www.propagandacritic.com/] All of these devices were used during the war. In this activity, students will analyze World War II posters, examining the different techniques and themes used by the OWI and other branches of government.</p>
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1: Poster Analysis</strong></p>
<p>Before the lesson begins, the teacher should prepare packets of posters for each nation: United States, Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and Soviet Union. </p>
<p>Divide students into small groups of 3-4 students. Assign each group one of the four nations and pass out the packets to the appropriate groups. Each student should choose one poster from the packet to analyze, using the Poster Analysis Worksheet. </p>
<p>After individually analyzing posters, the groups should reconvene. Each group member should present their poster to their group members. After presentations, group members should discuss how they feel the posters work together: Is there a common theme? Are there common images? What aspects of the posters make them propaganda?</p>
<p><strong>Step 2: Essay Writing</strong></p>
<p>After the group discussion, students should individually write an essay about the posters. The teacher may choose one assignment from the list below or allow students to choose from among the options; the teacher may also differentiate the lesson by varying which assignment is given to each student:</p>
<p>Â </p>
<ul><li>
<p>Compare and contrast two or more posters</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Visual essay: pull together different images to tell a story; text should bridge the posters together</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Responsive essay: elaborate on the emotions (anger, sadness, pride, etc.) that the poster(s) evoke</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Historial writing: Historically contextualize the poster: Is there a particular event or person the poster refers to? What makes this a World War II poster? (Requires additional research)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Point of view writing: Pretend you are a person in the poster; what story do you want to convey?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Fiction writing: Make up a narrative describing the events leading up to or following the scene depicted in the poster</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Â </p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Propaganda and World War II
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity, students compare World War II propaganda posters from the United States, Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union. Then students choose one of several creative or analytical writing assignments to demonstrate what they've learned.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Group Work
Interdisciplinary
Lessons in Looking
Making Connections
World War II