Friday, April 11, 2014

WW2 Assignment

Please choose to watch at least five the following videos.  You must watch the first and last episodes, but you can choose from the rest.  Once you finish each video, respond to the following questions for each, and submit your responses all together on the blog.  I will give extra credit or each additional video watched and written about, beyond the minimum five required.

Question 1: Summarize the episode in one paragraph.
Question 2: Describe the two stories or events from the film that you found most memorable and emotionally engaging.

WW2 in HD - Ep. 1 Darkness Falls
WWII in HD examines the initial phases of the war preceding American entry into the conflict. The United States sends troops to Guadalcanal and North Africa.

WW2 in HD - Ep. 2 Hard Way Back
WWII in HD follows United States soldiers as they begin their fight against the Axis in the Battles of Guadalcanal, North Africa, and Attu.

WW 2 in HD - Ep 3 Bloody Resolve
WWII in HD looks at the battles in of Tarawa, New Britian, and the Invasion of Siciliy.

WW2 in HD - Ep. 4 Battle Stations
WWII in HD looks at the war leading up to D-Day offering first hand accounts of the Battle of Kwajalein and the bombing raids over Germany.

WW 2 in HD - Ep. 5 Day of Days
WWII in HD looks at first hand accounts of the Battle of Saipan and the Normandy Invasion.

WW 2 in HD - Ep. 6 Point of No Return
WWII in HD examines for hand accounts of the Battle of Peleliu and the invasion of Germany.

WW 2 in HD - Ep 7 Striking Distance
WII in HD looks at first hand accounts of the Battle of Leyte, the Tuskgee Airmen, the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the rescue of the "Lost Battalion".

WW 2 in HD - Ep 8 Glory and Guts
WII in HD looks at first hand accounts of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the invasion of Germany, and the war in the skies over Europe

WW2 in HD - Ep. 9 Edge of the Abyss
WWII in HD looks at first hand accounts of the Ardennes Offense and the invasion of Okinawa.

WW 2 in HD - Ep. 10 End Game
WWII in HD looks at the end of the war from the fall of German to the bombing of Hiroshima.

6 comments:

  1. The first episode shed some new light on the war that I never thought about. The first major thing was that Hitler was planning on taking over South America and reorganizing the whole continent. I thought he was only wanting to take over Europe. I was very surprised at how welcoming and proud the Germans were to have Hitler as a leader. They were even having a parade and passing out thousands of flags! Finally, before America became involved in the war, I was shocked out how naive Americans were to the war and its effects.

    The second episode showcased how the men felt on the island of Gualcanal and how women were eager to get involved with the war. Over 30,000 women volunteered to be nurses in the war! That shows how patriotic everyone was and how everyone wanted to be a part of the winning team. I felt bad for the men on the island because they had to wait five months for fresh recruits and supplies. Also, they had to suffer many surprise attacks from the Japanese.

    The third episode talked about the struggles on the island of Tarawa. It showed the massive amounts of casualties, blood, and goor that the battle over the island caused. Towns were destroyed and families were misplaced. It was hard for anyone to feel happy during this time of the war. How can seeing bodies floating in the ocean make you see happiness anymore?

    The fourth episode focused a lot on the attacks on Britain. Also, one of the documentarists wanted to realize his documentary about the war. Hollywood said it didn’t meet the requirements, but the approval from the president, he was able to show what soldiers wanted anyone to see that they were facing everyday. They even included a segment on the bombs that the military used to fight the war from the skies. This was quite interesting because the pilots dropping the bombs were doing their jobs, but hated that their job was to ultimately end thousands of lives.

    The final episode was dedicated to the victory of the war and also the tolls of the Holocaust. So many people were killed at the hand of Hitler, a man who took his own life with a simple bullet. On May 8, it was announced that the war was at an end. Celebrations all over the world took place and many people were happy to have the war “behind them”. Sadly, fighting on Okinawa still took place up to a month after Germany’s surrender.

    1. The first moment was from episode 1 (I think) when thirty or so Yugoslavian civilians were hung. This was done just to show the people that the Germans weren't playing around. This was a little hard to stomach because innocent people were killed just to prove a point. The worst part? Towns sat there and watched as their people were either hung or shot.

    2. The second moment that was emotionally engaging was the day that the war was finally over (after the bombings in Japan). Seeing the smiles on the faces of Americans and other nationalities brings you to almost tears because six LONG years were finally over. For the survivors, they were able to return home, be with their families, and tell their stories of survival. Emotions of relief from conclusion, anger from the results, but ultimately the happiness of a brighter future all cause the viewers to experience with the eye witnesses.

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  2. Episode 1: Darkness Falls
    Summary:
    This episode showed all of the effects of Hitler’s rules, especially all the anti Jewish Laws and how all the Jews were being fired from their jobs. It starts with Germany and its takings of all the countries. It shows us how and why America entered the war and America sending troops over to Guadalcanal and North Africa.
    Moments:
    1. The fact that all men had to join the army through the draft system made me really mad. Especially when Archie Sweeney, a simple farm boy who’s mother just died, had to leave his family and join the army.
    2. Another moment that made me a bit mad was how naïve America was to everything that was going on during the war. They were all smiles and waves, having fun swimming, while everyone else was off fighting.
    Episode 2: Hardway Back
    Summary:
    This episode is about the United States’ soldiers as they fight in the battles of Guadalcanal, North Africa, and Attu. Also the conditions the soldiers had to deal with like malnutrition, terrible clothing, and the cold.
    Moments:
    1. What made me really happy was how eager the women were to help the soldiers out and join the war. How they had to be strong while the men were dying and losing limbs. Having to deal with all the sadness.
    2. Seeing the aftermath of the Jappanese’s blasts on the Battle of Bloody Ridge. All those bodies tangled and burned and rotting made me so sad and disgusted.
    Episode 3: Bloody Resolve
    Summary:
    This one shows the battles of Tarawa, New Britain, and the invasion of Sicilly. It tells us how the men started to lose confident in fighting after seeing all of the casualties of the war.
    Moments:
    1. When the Americans made a miscalculation on where the Japps were going to be and the boats started getting stuck. I felt terrified for all the men when they had to wade miles into shore where the Japps were waiting for them and shooting at them.
    2. All the bodies floating through the water, the decaying bodies, everyone injured, bloodied, bruised, and hungry, made my heart break for those men. I couldn’t even understand how they got through that mentally.
    Episode 4: Battle Stations
    Summary:
    This episode shows us personal accounts from the battle of Kwajalein and the bombings over Germany. It told us of how the men and their jobs were and how they hated that they took so many innocent lives.
    Moments:
    1. One moment was when they were talking about the conditions the men had to fly in. The temperature dropping almost 60 degrees. Having to wear bulky uniforms that impared their senses and reflexes just so that they could keep warm.
    2. The aftermath in London was depressing. So many people died at the hands of Hitler and his men, all the destroyed buildings, bodies laying around under the ground.
    Episode 10: End Game
    Summary:
    This showed us the last moments of the war. The victories and all the deaths from Hitler’s camps, the killing of Jews, homosexuals, etc, and how Hitler took his own life when he knew he was losing.
    Moment:
    1. I was mad when Hitler killed himself when he knew that he lost.
    2. I was also happy when I saw all the happy smiles on everyone’s faces after they heard the news of the war.

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  3. With the first video I found it intresting that the German people were proud and accepting of Hitler as a leadership knowing what he wanted to do and accomplish with his rulership. But I wasnt for sure if they knew about his full dictatorship.
    I liked how women where getting more invovled in the wr, and werent just aids to the sick and wounded.

    the third episode showed he war and its begining effects and how severe it was going to be.

    Episode four was focusing on Britian and how pilots did their job, but didnt like it.

    The Fifth episode focused on the victory of america and the horible effects of th Holocaust.

    1.The first movement i feel was when they appointed Hitler as dictator and was parading him through the streets.

    2. The second movement to m has to be the Holocaust and its horrible effects

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  4. Episode One:
    The first episode showed a lot about the war that I didn't know. It showed how unprepared America was and how they didn't know what to except. The video also showed how accepting Germany was of Hitler at the beginning. It talked a lot about drafts and how small and unskilled America's army was (which I did not know) and the amount of training they endured. I was also surprised about the whole South America thing, I thought that was interesting.

    Episode Two:
    The second episode was mainly about Gualcanal. The Americans finally won a battle and everyone was celebrating over that. Women were becoming involved in the war by volunteering to be nurses, which showed them just how bad the war actually was.

    Episode Three:
    The third episode is mainly about how bloody and awful the war is. America invades Tarawa and it gets really intense. People are dying all over the place. The troops also invaded Italy, which made them surrender but Hitler didn't want to give it up.

    Episode Four:
    Episode four was about the leading up to D-Day. They started making a plan to invade Normandy which would lead to a major turning point. Th e Germans were not aware of what was going to happen.

    Last Episode:
    The last episode was about the war ending. It talks to a nurse about how bad everyone looked and what the war actually did to people. It also talks about the bombing in Japan that led to the end of the war and about Hitler's suicide. Then it shows all of the soldiers coming home and how excited everyone was for that.

    Emotional scenes:
    The first scene that was emotional for me was probably the parade with Hitler. I don't know why that got to me as much as it did, but it was definitely emotional for me. It showed how unsure everyone was and how they didn't know what was coming. They didn't know all of the bad things that would come from him.

    The second scene was in the fourth episode. They were talking about how the troops were worn out and they showed a video of them covering all of the dead soldiers. It just seemed so real when I saw that. There were dead bodies all over the place and the soldiers that were alive just had to deal with it.

    Extra Episode:
    Episode 8 was about the battle of Iwo Jima. The Americans wanted to gain more land so they could have a base near Japan. The Americans attacked the Japanese and they won. The Americans got to raise their flag. More troops arrived in Europe so they could get closer to winning the war.

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  5. ep. 1
    i learned much more about ww2 than what i already knew. i had no idea that hitler wanted to invade south america, that would not have ended well for the south americans. also the video gave me more insight to how differently the americans were living from the rest of the world at the time.

    ep. 2
    this episode was about the japanese vs america in guadalcanal. This was a very complicated war because of the location and the results were very bloody. observing how france and britain were allies against germany. observing how the us was cranking out tanks.

    ep. 3
    women serving as nurses!!! yeah w00t! observing how bloody and battered soldiers come back from the battlefield and how they do not get a proper burial. some cannot be identified when dead.
    ep.5
    the us takes forever to come join the war. the us totally brings germany to its end. hitler puts an end to himself because he refuses to give anyone else the satisfaction of killing him. france and britain are nice. italy obviously chose the wrong side.

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  6. Episode one was about how Hitler was really taking control of Germany. He wanted to invade South America, and if he was able to do say, it probably would have been very bad. This episode started showing how serious the war was, and what Hitler was capable of.

    Episode 2 was about Guadalcanal and hard the war was getting. But American won a battle!! Woot woot. And more women were starting to get involved with the war, and they showed how much they cared, and wanted to help the soldiers.

    Episode 3 : The war is getting bloodier and bloodier. Bodies were everywhere, and it really made me think about what it would have been like if I was back in the time period. I wouldn't want to have been any of the soldiers position.

    Episode 4 :

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