Peace, War, Memorials, Reconciliation, Memories, Remembering, Forgetting, Pilgrimage, Monument, Victim, Scars

WAR WITHOUT END describes the various responses that people had to the Great War and the various ways people coped with the war and its aftermath. It also examines the effects of the war in terms of its human costs. Two common themes weave through the video: The cease-fire and peace treaty did not really end the war, and survivors and historians of this war continue to try understand all the killing, violence, destruction and horror. In spite of the intervening years and in-depth research that has been done on the Great War, the issues of the war's meaning and justification have yet to be resolved. Given that much of the current geopolitical situation can be traced to the Great War, either directly or indirectly, we must reflect on the lessons and experiences of that war, lest it continue to claim victims.

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to do the following:

1. State at least five reasons that the Great War was fought, and identify the individuals and groups that proposed or accepted each of these reasons.

2. Describe the efforts of President Woodrow Wilson to persuade the U.S. Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.

3. Explain why President Woodrow Wilson wanted the U.S. to support and join the League of Nations.

4. Explain why some historians claim that President Wilson was himself a "victim of the Great War."

5. Describe some of the memories that the men who fought in the front lines of this war might have had about their experiences, about those who fought alongside them, and about those who were far removed from the battlefield.

6. Describe at least five ways that people sought to remember the Great War and those who were casualties of the war.

7. Explain why people and nations built monuments and memorials to those who died in battle during this war.

8. Explain why people visited the grave sites and cemeteries after the war.

9. Explain why so many men who experienced firsthand the violence and horrors of the battlefield refused to talk about their experiences after the war.

10. Identify the "men with broken faces," and explain why they were often referred to as "gargoyles."

11. Describe the actions that were taken to help those who were "visual reminders" of the Great War adjust to and cope with life after the war.

12. Explain why many Germans adopted anti-Semitic attitudes after the war.

13. Explain why many people turned to spiritualism during and after the war, and explain what they hoped to accomplish by communicating with the dead of this war.

14. Explain some of the meanings that have been ascribed to the killing, horror and destruction of the Great War.

15. Define the expression "stabbed in the back," and explain why many Germans believed that the German nation and its armed forces had been stabbed in the back during the last days of the war.

16. Identify at least two important reasons historians have claimed that the last few days of the Great War were the first days of Adolf Hitler's crusade to gain control of Germany.

17. Explain the phrase "carried the war to the grave," and describe how and why many people did carry their Great War experiences to the grave.

18. Describe the characteristics of the art that followed the war, and explain how these characteristics either reflected the artist's war experiences or were reactions against the war.

19. Express their own attitudes and feelings about the Great War, especially in the context of the experiences of the men on the battlefield and of the civilian populations who had become targets of military actions.

20. Explain how the poetry and writings of such people as Siegfried Sassoon reflected the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of many of the men who fought on the front lines of the Great War.

21. Explain why people today know and care so little about the Great War and its impact on postwar life.

A war rarely ends with the official cease-fire and peace treaty. While these events may end the actual fighting, the feelings, thoughts and attitudes of participants in the war generally remain. Participation in a war alters a person's perspective and involves experiences and feelings that cannot easily be forgotten with a truce. The experiences and losses that soldiers experienced on the battlefields of the Great War were unlike those encountered in previous wars. Furthermore, the involvement of nonmilitary personnel--both in supporting their country's war efforts and as targets and victims of enemy offensives--meant that countless millions of civilians also had strong memories, feelings and attitudes from the war.

After the Great War was over, millions of people--military and civilian--in every combatant nation had to cope with the war experience and its aftermath. Some people tried not to remember the war, while others built monuments, cemeteries and other memorials to those who had died or participated in the war effort. Not all the physical reminders of the Great War were of marble, granite and wood. There were also physical deformities caused by the weapons of the battlefields. Among the worst cases were the "men with broken faces," so disfigured that they were called "gargoyles." In some nations, spiritualism became a popular way to complete the ritual of final separation, a function that funerals serve in peacetime. People remembered the war in different ways, and they remembered different things as well. While some remembered their loved ones, others--such as Adolf Hitler--remembered that the German nation had been betrayed. Hitler and other Germans could not rest until the betrayers were punished. In one sense, the Great War would not end until this punishment had been delivered. Some people want to remind the world what the Great War was like, lest the horror be forgotten. Long after the war, people continued seeking acceptable reasons or justifications for the war and its devastation. Millions of people went to the grave burdened by the unanswered question, "What did it all mean?"

1. Write the Concepts and Themes words on the board or overhead. Ask students to define each. Unless students consider these concepts immediately before, during and immediately following this video, they will miss many details. Also, the Concepts and Themes will help them see the video segments as related, complementing one another to describe the moods, events and contexts of the period.

2. Using an overhead or handout, ask students to consider the Key Generalizations and Ideas for this module. Ask them to paraphrase the ones that you want to emphasize. Ask them to watch the video with these points in mind, looking for relevant information.

3. Distribute Student Handout 8-A, Questions. You may want them to pay particular attention to specific questions, stopping the video after a segment to give them time to make notes.

4. Distribute Student Handout 8-B, Context and Overview of the Great War. Ask them to read this summary and answer the questions before watching the video. You might supplement this reading with textbooks, other readings or a lecture.

5. Distribute Student Handout 8-C, Map of Europe in 1918. Ask students to complete the map, comparing it with Student Handout 1-C, Map of Europe in 1914. Ask the students to use these maps as the basis for a list of important changes in Europe. Ask them to imagine how their reactions to the new boundaries might depend on their nationality. Ask them to list the groups of people who would have been most pleased with the new boundaries and those who would have been most dissatisfied with the new boundaries. NOTE: Following the map on 8-C is a second map, 8-C2 which includes a key of the names of the nations.

6. Distribute Student Handout 8-D, Results of the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles. Ask students to add to the list by researching other sources. Ask them to identify those results that were desired by one or more of the combatant nations when the war began in 1914. Ask them to identify the results that were unintended.

7. Ask the students to consider the title of the module, WAR WITHOUT END, and ask them to watch for the personalities, events, attitudes and emotions that reflected efforts to remember those who fought and died in the Great War, to understand and remember why they died and to bring a lasting peace to the world.

8. Ask students to reflect on one quote from Student Handout 8-E, Noteworthy Quotes. Ask them to interpret the quotation in the context of the person speaking and the situation in which the statement was made. You might want to ask them to interpret these both before they watch the video and afterward, and then to compare the differences in their interpretations. Students might also offer their personal reactions to particular quotes.

1. Ask students to research the literature and art of the postwar period, looking for work that attempted to depict scenes of the war or to represent the horrors of the battlefields. Ask the students to study the life of the writer or artist and to identify the ideas and emotions that he or she was trying to reveal in the creative work. Ask students to write a paper on their reactions to the literature or art they studied and how well these people communicated their intended messages.

2. Ask students to research the efforts of President Woodrow Wilson to gain the support of the American people and the U.S. Senate for the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. Ask them to explain why it was so important to Wilson that the U.S. support and join the League of Nations. Ask them to explain why people were against the League.

3. Ask students to research current American opinion about the United Nations and U.S. involvement in this organization. Ask them to compare current opinions about the United Nations with opinions about the League of Nations in 1919-20. Ask them to evaluate the validity of each position, both for and against involvement in these organizations. Ask them to consider the possible ramifications for world diplomacy and military actions if a permanent organization such as the United Nations did not exist.

4. Ask students to research spiritualism and to determine why people might want the dead to visit the living. Ask them to find evidence that supports claims that the dead do communicate with the living and that spiritualists help in this process. Have them research the availability of spiritualists in their own communities and how these individuals make themselves known to others in the community.

5. Ask students to explore the history of and rationale for creating national cemeteries on or near the battlefields of Europe after this war. Ask them to research these cemeteries, identifying the number of grave markers in each and the reasons particular cemeteries are located where they are. Ask students to express their reactions to such cemeteries and to evaluate whether such cemeteries help people to remember or honor the dead.

6. Ask students to explore the cemeteries in their community to determine if and how they can recognize military men and women who died in battle in a particular war. Ask them to make a list of the wars that the men and women buried in each cemetery had died in, totaling the number who had been killed in each war. Ask them to determine the ages of the men and women who were killed during each war. Ask them to react to their findings and what this reveals about the loss of over nine million soldiers in the Great War.

7. Ask students to investigate any memorials and monuments in their community and to find out why each was built. Ask them to survey people in the community to determine the extent to which they know that a particular memorial or monument exists, the reasons it was erected, and their reactions to the memorial. Ask them to consider the following question: If a particular memorial or monument is not effective in helping people remember the person, action or event it was intended to help them remember, then why should it be maintained?

8. Ask students to interview people who fought in one of America's military conflicts, asking each individual to describe specific events, actions and scenes during actual battles or while under attack. The students may also ask these veterans to describe their emotions during battle, their feelings about what happened to others in their unit, and what they tried to do after they returned home--both to remember and forget their war experiences. After these interviews, ask students whether these men and women found it easier to forget or to remember their war experiences. Ask them why these men and women wanted to remember or forget their experiences.

In addition to the questions on the student handouts and in the section on Student Learning Expectations, the following questions may be asked:

1. What steps did President Woodrow Wilson take to persuade the U.S. Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations? Give at least three actions.

2. Why did people and nations build monuments and memorials to those who died in battle during the Great War? Give at least three reasons.

3. Why did many men who experienced firsthand the violence and horrors of the battlefield refuse to talk about their experiences? Give at least three reasons.

4. What steps were taken to help those who were "visual reminders" of the Great War adjust to and cope with life after the war?

5. Why did many Germans adopt anti-Semitic attitudes after the war?

6. Why did many people turn to spiritualism during and after the war? What did they hope to accomplish by communicating with the dead of this war?

7. Define the expression "stabbed in the back." Why did many Germans believe that the German nation and its armed forces had been stabbed in the back during the last days of the war?

8. Why do historians claim that the last few days of the Great War were the first days of Adolf Hitler's crusade to gain control of Germany?

9. What characteristics of the art that followed the war either reflected the artist's war experiences or were reactions against the war?

8- A. Questions. This resource provides a set of questions to focus students' attention on the important content in each segment of the video.

8- B. Context and Overview of the Great War. This resource provides background details of the period just after the war to help the students understand the dominant conditions and moods of the time, as people sought to bring closure to and understand the meaning of the war. It includes questions to be answered before seeing the video, questions that you may ask them to reconsider after the viewing.

8- C. Map of Europe in 1918. This resource provides a map of the poli- tical boundaries of Europe after the Treaty of Versailles. A set of questions is included.

8- D. Results of the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles. This resource provides a beginning list of results or effects of the Great War. A set of questions is included.

8- E. Noteworthy Quotes. This resource provides a number of quotes from individuals whose words express the thoughts and feelings of the period just after the war.