Wwii

[An Enemy Spy]

First off I would like to say that this thread is in no way meant to spark a political argument over nationalities.

Recently I watched a documentary in which japanese teenagers were asked to say what terrible thing had occured on Aug. 6 1945. They didn't have a clue.

The thing I was wondering was, how is WWII taught about, and not taught about, outside the US, especially in Germany and Japan.

And please, no flame wars.

[Maximum Zersk]

I'm just guessing they didn't know. How many teenagers did they ask exactly?

[Inhuman Bot]

First off I would like to say that this thread is in no way meant to spark a political argument over nationalities.

Recently I watched a documentary in which japanese teenagers were asked to say what terrible thing had occured on Aug. 6 1945. They didn't have a clue.

The thing I was wondering was, how is WWII taught about, and not taught about, outside the US, especially in Germany and Japan.

And please, no flame wars.

In Canada, at least, my older brother (No bad student by any length) didn't know about Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Neither did most people I asked.

So yeah, not very much taught about it.

[An Enemy Spy]

In Canada, at least, my older brother (No bad student by any length) didn't know about Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Neither did most people I asked.

So yeah, not very much taught about it.

Wierd, In America it's pretty much common knowledge.

[Krade]

Honestly? I would chalk this up to something most of them would rather forget. Which would explain it not being common knowledge to teenagers there when here we learn about it in... high school? Middle school, maybe. I wasn't really in school between 4th and 7th grade and I don't remember when I learned it so I can't really say exactly when it came up in school.

[RS14]

Wierd, In America it's pretty much common knowledge.

The knowledge of you and your friends is not necessarily representative of your nation.

Though I'm pretty sure all my friends are familiar with the bombings.



Do note that the teenagers in question may be familiar with the bombing without knowing the date. I would be hard-pressed to give the date off the top of my head; generally I just remember early august of 1945, and I think I'm quite well informed on the bombings (having written a substantial paper on them for one class, and on the US firebombing campaign for another).



I'm curious: how many people are familiar with the firebombing of Japanese cities from March to August of 1945?

[Vaynor]

Funny, you'd think it'd be something Japan would want to remember and something America would want to stop teaching. :smallconfused:

[Brother Oni]

The thing I was wondering was, how is WWII taught about, and not taught about, outside the US, especially in Germany and Japan.

In Japan, it depends on the school.

In most normal high schools, history is taught solely by dates and events. There's no discussion about the actual events or the causes that lead up to these events.
One government endorsed textbook on modern history omits WWII altogether (it's apparently not used much).
The reasons for teaching like this is political in nature and hence can't be discussed on this board.

International schools teach history much more like western schools.

The other reason is complete apathy towards learning and modern history, which is common to teenagers, regardless of nationality.

That said, a fairly large number of Japanese teenagers, either due to lack of interest or the fact that they weren't taught it, have no idea why other countries carry a grudge against the Japanese, or even get angry that they're being blamed for events that are almost out of living memory.

[skywalker]

Honestly? I would chalk this up to something most of them would rather forget. Which would explain it not being common knowledge to teenagers there when here we learn about it in... high school? Middle school, maybe. I wasn't really in school between 4th and 7th grade and I don't remember when I learned it so I can't really say exactly when it came up in school.

I'd like to preface by saying that I'm not, by any stretch, normal. But I cannot for the life of me remember a time when I didn't know that the a-bomb was dropped on Japan in early August.


Do note that the teenagers in question may be familiar with the bombing without knowing the date. I would be hard-pressed to give the date off the top of my head; generally I just remember early august of 1945, and I think I'm quite well informed on the bombings (having written a substantial paper on them for one class, and on the US firebombing campaign for another).

Yeah, now that I think about it, if you go back to the same time period, how many American teens can tell you what terrible thing happened December 7th, 1941? Supposedly a day that would live in infamy.

But I'm sure you saw "Japan" and "August 1945" and "terrible thing" and knew what they were going for. The OP's point is that even with all that prompting, they couldn't get there.


I'm curious: how many people are familiar with the firebombing of Japanese cities from March to August of 1945?

Me. More deadly than the A-Bomb, but not nearly as terrifying.


Funny, you'd think it'd be something Japan would want to remember and something America would want to stop teaching. :smallconfused:

This is a veiled value judgment on the event itself, but I will say that the US typically prides itself on pointing out both its high and low points when it comes to history. At least in my education it did.

And when you think about what Brother Oni said up there, it makes sense: Even tho it was a terrible (and some would say immoral) thing, it was the end result of a war of aggression stemming from a lot of attitudes that the Japanese would rather forget they ever perpetrated. Similar to how contentious the same time period is in Germany.

Also as Brother Oni said, Japanese youth culture doesn't seem too concerned with the past. Mainly with the future.

[Vaynor]

This is a veiled value judgment on the event itself, but I will say that the US typically prides itself on pointing out both its high and low points when it comes to history. At least in my education it did.

Oh, I understand that. I just thought it odd, I thought that if one country were to stop teaching it it would have been America, being the aggressors.

[Thursday]

Well it isn't one of the countries you're asking about but I am where I am.. A common complaint about history teaching in the UK is that it is too much about WW2, which is all some kids seem to do.

(We didn't even do (either of) the act(s) of union, which created the UK back when I was at school, which seems pretty bad to me. or much on the empire, either rise or fall, though we are a bit embarassed about that these days.) This rubbishness is a pet hate of mine so I could rant for hours, but I won't. I promise.

It seemed pretty balanced though, bringing in a bit of the imperial decline and withdrawal after the war, Importance of US money, etc..
The A bombs are very widely known, as is the firebombing, especially of Dresden, which got it far worse than London.
EDIT: Probably not the dates though.

[Syka]

I'll admit to at first being like "Wait...what?" I know about Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all and figured it had to do with WWII, but I am totally clueless on the date (until now, of course). I didn't even know it was in August.

I'm not ignorant by any means, but given the amount of information I've had to store since learning about the bombings (lets go with 17 being the last time I learned about it. It's been about 6 years since then, I've gotten my Bachelors in something totally unrelated and am currently in another totally unrelated program, and have done no research on my own for fun about any related subjects), it doesn't surprise me I'd be totally lost on the date.

I could rattle on about CAPM or International Trade legislation and how many members of WTO there are (153+30 observing nations), or exactly what Socrates was tried on and his defense, but ask me what dates the Civil War is between? Pfft.

This doesn't necessarily speak to education systems as much as what ones brain deems as necessary information. They likely are totally aware of the bombings and just didn't remember the date.

[An Enemy Spy]

maybe I should be more clear. It wasn't the fact that that they didn't remember the exact date that was significant. It was that they were completely unaware of any horrible thing happening in that time period.

[Erloas]

I wouldn't have known the date, but given the year WWII would have come to mind and depending on the context of the question I could have came up with it.

The thing is about the specific date is that for the most part dates are meaningless in terms of history. Important for current events of course, but the whole point of history is that it is far enough in the past that the results are generally more important then any specific part of it.

How terrible it was is also a bit subjective. The entire point of dropping it was that it was supposed to be less terrible then the alternative of prolonged war, and it probably was.

[Syka]

I understand, but I also meant I had no idea it was tied to the bombings. I figured it was connected with WWII, but the bombings just didn't come to mind.

I'd imagine if I was asked cold turkey on the street "What terrible thing happened on August 6, 1945" I'd be hard pressed to come up with the right answer.

Tonight we were watching Cash Cab and the Video Bonus was about a shark that swims up the Mississippi and is known for being stout and pugnacious. I knew within the first part of the question it was a Bull Shark. The answer was obvious to me, since Bull Sharks are one of very few species of sharks that are able to survive in freshwater.

Meanwhile, these guys said Hammerhead (seriously...and they even had a picture to go off of...) and eventually went with Great White. It was soooo obvious to me, but even my mom was stumped because something specific like that isn't generally known. They obviously knew it was a large type of shark. But specifics like sharks not being able to handle fresh water elude most people.

Just like specific dates with no more context than "something terrible happened".

[Thursday]

I do think the Year, 1945, would be a clue to a lot of people, though the day/month is unlikely to be known.
Possibly more than any other year, in fact, in the west..

(Or 1066, but only over here.)

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff of Moddingham: <snip> Fuse cut. This is definitely not the forum to discuss whether America was the aggressor in WWII or whether dropping the bomb was a good idea. There are so many political judgments inherently involved it's not even funny.