Stories Within the Story

The Experience of War

Activity 1

Explain to students that history is an interpretation of the past “constructed” (built) and communicated through meaningful stories, or narratives. Contemporary narratives for VE Day 75: Normandy to the Netherlands are explored through the modules of this project. The meaning of these narratives is informed by evidence and connected to themes.

Historians interpret evidence of how civilians and military personnel respond to the adversities of regional and global conflict. This activity focuses on recognizing how the stories of Canadian servicemen and women in the Northwest Europe Campaign connect to greater human experiences during war:

• survival
• resistance
• defiance
• resilience
• bravery
• the strength of the human spirit.

Ask students in pairs or small groups to select one of the story maps on the Project 44: Road to Liberation map featuring the journey of 3 Canadians and read through the interactive story. When they are done, ask them to discuss the story and identify where and how they see the identified experiences reflected by the individual in the story. Ask them to identify which 2 experiences that they feel are most evident.

Post the experiences on paper around the room and ask each member of the group to stand under the one of the top 2 that they identified. Ask 3 students representing each individual to provide a brief overview of the story. Ask one student under each experience to describe how it is depicted in the story map. Encourage students under the same theme poster to contribute to the description.

Direct students back to their desks and read through the 2 story maps they did not review.

Question for Discussion:

Where do we see these experiences in recent and ongoing global and regional conflicts? What are the consequences for societies whose populations have experienced war?

Teachers Note: Students may identify examples such as Afghanistan, Syria or Somalia. Possible consequences include radicalization of youth, mass migration and regime change.

Actions, Significance & Contributions

Students examine how the public recognizes the contributions of Canadian servicemen and women by connecting the individual actions of selected individuals to the broader operations that lead to victory in Europe.

Different types of actions have been recognized as contributions after the war. At the time, individuals would have regarded their actions as responses to orders, given on missions, that described the objectives of an operation. Unit operations were coordinated into larger operations that collectively were known as campaigns.

Activity 2

Comparing Significance

It is helpful to compare the significance of the actions of Canadians featured in the story maps in order for students to recognize different types of contributions.

The modules provide important contextual information to help students understand the time period. Allow them time to read the modules that relate to the Canadian in their focus story map:

Charles Byce: Canadian Army

Mona Parsons: Occupation and Resistance

Philip Pochailo: Royal Canadian Air Force

Note to Teachers: The remaining modules provide greater context for the Northwest Europe campaign and should be included if time permits. They are: The Race to Antwerp, The Battle of the Scheldt, The Battle of the Rhineland, The Liberation of the Netherlands, and Aftermath and Remembrance.

Ask students to re-read their story map from Part 1 and focus on their subject’s actions, reactions and consequences related to their “object” (task ordered), mission (including objectives) and operation (coordinated actions taken by units).

Worksheet 2: Comparing Significance provides a means for students to identify main actions from their story map, then analyze their significance based on 3 criteria: importance at the time, consequences and subsequent profile. In the final step, they rank and explain the significance of their subject’s actions.

Consolidation:

Hand-out the Reflection Sheet:

Reflection: Recognizing Actions as Contributions

Step into the role of an historian and describe how the top ranked action for your focus individual in Worksheet 2 can be recognized as a contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Small Groups Share:

Re-form the students into groups of 3 so that each member represents a different story map, then and ask them to share their responses to the reflection question.

Class Discussion:

Conclude the lesson with a class-based discussion of the reflection questions to provide the opportunity for students to further share their learning, understanding and ideas. Pose the question of how civilian Mona Parson’s contributions differed from those of servicemen Byce and Pochailo based on the criteria in Worksheet 3.

Extension Activity:

Conduct a class discussion on the following topic:

Can one person make a contribution to “Liberation,” or does it require civic or military action for success?

In Worksheet 1 students will explore counterfactual questions and be asked to imagine, based on evidence, a world with an alternative ending to the Second World War. Students will assess the plausibility of events based on social, political, and economic viewpoints, and review sources to answer the question “what if?”

Download Worksheet 1: Counterfactuals: “What if?”

Worksheet 2 gives students the opportunity to select an individual from the Story Maps and compare the significance of their actions. Students will be asked to think critically about the impacts of the individuals actions towards achieving a mission, an objective, or an operation. Topics of remembrance and historical understanding are also addressed as students delve deeper into events in order to comprehend the broader historical context.

Step into the role of an historian and describe how the top ranked action for your focus individual in Worksheet 3 can be recognized as a contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany.