Experience with EdCafe

Our EdCafe on World War II was a marvelous tool to learn more about certain subjects we did not cover in class that interest me. One particular area we have not discussed much is the part of the war between the United States and Japan. Although D-Day receives a massive amount of attention, I believe the United States's involvement with this war really had more to do with what's out east. I already knew about things such as Pearl Harbor, the atomic bombs, and the Bataan Death March, but I was really interested to learn more about the context behind these three or four years of animosity between these two powers of the world. I decided to first research what the relations between the United States and Japan were like going into the war, and learned that they did not really get along, which is really what I probably should have expected, since we went to war with each other. The US was against the idea of Japan expanding, while Japan wanted to free itself from its dependence on the US for energy. As Japan tried to form an empire, the US gradually stopped supplying Japan, and relations continue to decline. Another aspect I didn't know much about was the racism involved with the war. Over 110,000 Japanese-American citizens were put in detention camps due to suspicion. "Jap-hunting licenses" were distributed to those who could tell the difference between Japanese and other Asian citizens and bring them into the detention camps. The Japanese were commonly portrayed as animalistic beings in propaganda, showing that this was actually how the government wanted American citizens to feel, and not just racism that spawned within society. By doing the EdCafe, I was able to share this knowledge with my classmates, and learn what they knew about the subject, and what they thought about the topic, overall.

Propaganda in World War II

World War II was the deadliest war of all time. This is because so much tension had built up between the powers of the world over the last half-century or so, and was not by any means settled by World War I. With such an extreme war coming up, it became clear that massive amounts of troops were going to be needed to avoid an unaffordable loss. The idea of entering the military is not a pleasant one to many people, especially when a war as gruesome as World War I had occurred just a generation ago. Therefore, propaganda had to be used to convince masses of citizens to enlist in the military. Propaganda involves the government spreading media to alter the opinion of the country's population. This technique was most notable in Germany. As Hitler had complete control over Germany, his improvements to the country during his reign garnered great respect from the German citizens. Appearing to be a hero, Hitler could get the entire country's attention at once, and convince all able persons to go to war. He instilled a sense of patriotism in the German people, letting them feel that they could contribute to their leader's success by fighting for their country. Meanwhile, American propaganda worked a bit differently. As the United States is a democracy, there is never one man in government who receives all the power and fame that a dictator can. Instead, the character Uncle Sam was used as a spokesperson for the United States military. Also, American propaganda was not necessarily as patriotic as Germany's. It was more about making the American people fear what the world could become if the Axis came to power by winning World War II. People were encouraged to enlist in the army not to lift up their own country, but to put down others.