Download Quiz 11 The Pacific War, 1943-1945 Instructions: Write a 1

Quiz 11
The Pacific War, 1943-1945
Instructions: Write a 1-3 page essay addressing one of the options below. All essays should
quote material from the selected source.

Option 1: Our Enemy or My Japan (1945). Internet Archive.
Choose one of the films above. How does this film depict the Japanese, and the Japanese
attitude towards to the Pacific War? What beliefs and assumptions form the basis for
these attitudes, for both the Japanese and the Americans? In what ways do racial
stereotypes play a role in the depictions of the Japanese? Who you do you think the
audience for this film is?

Option 2: Ernie Pyle, "Aboard a Fighting Ship" (March 1945). Indiana School of
Journalism.
Ernie Pyle numbers as among one of the most iconic journalists of period. How does Pyle
describe life on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific during World War II? What was daily life
like, and what dangers had the men on his ship faced?

Option 3: Glamour Girl (1945). Internet Archive.
How does the film depict the American campaign on Iwo Jima through the perspective of
the Marine artillery team operating Glamour Girl? Who is the intended audience of this
film? What messages are imparted in this propaganda piece, and what is notably absent
from the film?

Option 4: D. M. Giangreco, "Casualty Projections for the U.S. Invasions of Japan, 19451946: Planning and Policy Implications." Journal of Military History 61 (July 1997):
521-582.
What did conditions did Allied war planners predict for the planned invasion of Japan?
What sort of defensive actions were the Japanese planning? What type of invasion force
would be necessary to successfully invade Japan? What sort of losses were envisioned for
both sides of the invasion, and how long did planners expect the war to last?

Option 5: Potsdam Declaration (July 1945). National Diet Library of Japan.
What terms do the Allies demand from the Japanese in this declaration? On what basis, if
any, might have existed for a political compromise and an end to the war? What areas are
notably absent in this declaration? What does this statement promise for Japan if it
continues to resist?

Option 6: Statement by President Harry Truman on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
(August 6, 1945). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, University of
Virginia.
Describe how Truman outlines America’s decision to use the atom bomb against
Hiroshima. What features characterized the atomic bomb program? What potential did
atomic technology potentially have? How was the use of this weapon justified? What did
Truman promise if the Japanese continue to resist?

Option 7: A Tale of Two Cities (1946). Internet Archive
Describe how the film depicts the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the use of
atomic weapons in August 1945. In what ways is the destructive power of these weapons
evident in the film? In what ways were buildings, structures, and people impacted by the
detonation of these weapons?

Option 8: Emperor Hirohito Accepting the Potsdam Declaration. August 12, 1945.
Vincent Ferraro, Mt. Holyoke College.
Describe the language and tone of Emperor Hirohito’s radio broadcast accepting the
surrender terms of the Potsdam Declaration. How does Hirohito characterize Japan’s
goals and behavior in the Pacific War? How does the language address (or fail to address)
the military situation confronting Japan in August 1945? What actions does Hirohito urge
his subjects to take in the aftermath of his speech?

Option 9: New Books in History podcast: Yuma Totani, The Tokyo War Crimes Trials:
The Pursuit of Justice in the Wake of World War II (2009).
Based on this podcast, describe the Tokyo War Crimes Trials in the aftermath of World
War II. What war crimes did these trials seek to punish, and who were prosecuted for
these crimes? What legal precedents did these trials and the Nuremburg Trials establish,
and what positive outcomes did the trials accomplish? What logistical, administrative,
and judicial problems marred the effectiveness of the trials?