Download Civilians at War Video Key

Name: _____________________________________
The Century “Civilians at War”
Directions: Take bulleted notes on the video and, when the video is finished, please
write a one-paragraph letter to an absent student about the video.
Video Notes
* London (9/1940): Adolf Hitler was determined to crush the last stronghold in Europe
against Nazi Germany through a strategy of bombing England’s cities and people night
after night for 76 consecutive nights (strategy came to be known as the “Blitz”). This
would hopefully bring England to “its knees.”
* Throughout England, 43,000 people died, but the British never gave in.
* In WWII, 50 million people would die, nearly half of them civilians because they “were the
target.” Distinction between soldiers and civilians would collapse; anybody who
contributed to the enemy’s war-making capacity would be vulnerable and entire
populations would deliberately be targeted because of their race and their religion. This
was total war made more lethal by the advance of technological power and pursued by
forces on both sides!
* Spanish town (4/27/1937): German bombers and fighters sent by Adolf Hitler to help the
fascists in the Spanish Civil War slaughtered 1,600 innocent civilians, which was viewed
by many as an immoral act of a rearmed Germany eager to test its new power. This was
the start of Nazi Germany’s new campaign.
* Poland (9/1/1939): In 25 days, German armies overran Poland. In 9 months, they
controlled virtually all of Western Europe. Objective was to acquire more living
space vast enough for a new German Empire – The 3rd Reich. Hitler’s goal was to enslave
the Slavic people of Eastern Europe, whom he regarded as racially inferior. People
included the nobility, priests, teachers, and Polish Jews. Polish Jews were banned from
their homes and crammed into sealed ghettos, the largest one was in Warsaw, to starve to
death or die from disease.
* Soviet Union (June 1941): Germans attacked Soviet Union – a war for territory, to destroy
communism, and (racial crusade) to destroy the largest demographic concentration of
Jews in the world. In 2 months, German forces penetrated 500 miles and were ordered to
wipe the old capital city of Leningrad and its people off the face of the Earth. Half of
Leningrad’s population died, but the city never surrendered. The Russians held out for 3
winters. German forces continued though to wipe out Soviet Jews.
* Final Solution (January 1942) – Purpose of this plan was to eliminate all European Jews
(about 11 million). Jews were rounded up and sent to camps or were executed. Some tried
to fight back, but in the end lost the fight. Ghetto in Warsaw was burned and survivors
were killed on the spot or sent to concentration camps.
* Nazi Germany’s killing machine was a highly organized and efficient system. Jewish birth
records were collected, post offices delivered deportation notices, Jewish property was
confiscated, and Jewish businesses were taken over. The 6th largest of 30 death camps
were in (Auschwitz) Poland along rail lines for easy access. Jews were deported there to
be killed (women, children, and the weak were the first to be killed). The rest were
deloused, disinfected, and branded with serial numbers. The able-bodied were used as
slave labor by the German SS and were monitored for malnutrition. Other prisoners were
subjected to medical experiments (sterilization, castration, and freezing). All inmates were
examined regularly by SS doctors to decide when they were no longer useful. If so, they
were placed in windowless gas chambers and subjected to Zyklon B insecticide gas that
caused death within 15 minutes. After the poisonous gases were pumped out, the other
prisoners were left to untangle the corpses. Up to 6,000 people could be killed in a single
day. The bodies were then fed into huge ovens after the gold was extracted from their
teeth and hair was cut off to be used as mattress stuffing. Their ashes were used as
fertilizer.
* The Final Solution destroyed 2/3 of Europe’s Jews – 6 million men, women, and
children
* In Asia the second world war began in 1937 when Japan launched an attack on China. Like
Germany, Japan was driven by the need for living space and by a racial ideology that had
the Japanese believing they were superior to their neighbors. More than 10 million lives
were lost.
* Japan (1942): Every boy was prepared to be a soldier. Japanese Emperor was viewed as a
Deity who would rule the world.
* For Japan, China was the first step towards a Japanese Empire in Asia. In December 1937,
Japanese soldiers captured the provisional capital of China and went on a savage and
barbaric rampage against the defeated Chinese troops and civilians. Nearly 200,000
civilians were killed and an estimated 20,000 women were raped.
* From China, Japanese warriors went on to conquer most of Southeast Asia.
* In October 1944, the first Kamikaze unit was formed (suicide missions – sacrifice for the
emperor). Young Japanese pilots would fly one-way missions to death.
* By April 1945, the war had finally arrived on Japan’s doorstep - Okinawa. 1900 kamikaze
missions were unleashed.
* Having dealt a death blow to Nazi, Germany, the U.S. now prepared its final assault on
Japan with aerial bombings of factories and military installations. In March 1945, Tokyo,
the capital and most heavily defended city of Japan, became a bombing target. In 1 night,
80,000 civilians were killed. 65 more Japanese cities would also be bombed in this fashion.
Japan was being pulverized.
* August 6, 1945, atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. 3 days later on August 9th,
another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Nearly 200,000 Japanese were killed.
* On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally. WWII was finally officially over.
* At Nuremburg, war crimes trials now made it clear to the world what Hitler had tried to
accomplish. For the first time ever, national leaders were held responsible for their
aggressions; the murder and enslavement of civilians was recognized as crimes against
humanity. In September 1946, 12 high-ranking Nazi officials were sentenced to death by
hanging.
* A similar proceeding in Tokyo tried 28 of Japan’s highest-ranking leaders. 7 of those on
trial were sentenced to death by hanging. More than 5,700 Japanese officers and soldiers
stood trial throughout Asia – more than 900 of them were executed.
* An estimated 1 million German and Japanese civilians died in Allied bombings. Their
deaths had become acceptable to those whose duty it was to end the war.
Dear absent student,
I hope you feel better. You missed a movie in class called “Civilians at War.” The
movie was about:
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Sincerely,
____________________