Why has the First World War been remembered in different ways since 1918?

Transcription

1 PAGE 1 ENQUIRY 8 Why has the First World War been remembered in different ways since 1918? Key stage 3 ENQUIRY OVERVIEW This enquiry is designed to give students some examples of how and why the First World War has been remembered in different ways and in different times and contexts since The initial stage compares a local war memorial with the Cenotaph in London, considering factors that would be useful for comparing similar memorials on a battlefields visit. The enquiry goes on to focus on five different interpretations (including works of art, memorials and a feature film) which were deliberately created after the War s end to provoke particular emotional responses in their original audiences. All five sources could be investigated in turn, or fewer could be selected for teaching but deliberately chosen to illustrate contrasting interpretations of the First World War. The memorials in particular could be compared with those of other types and commemorating other nationalities on the Western Front during a battlefields visit. In the final activity students consider how such interpretations might be presented today and why these past interpretations of the War might generate different feelings in modern audiences to those intended by their creators. There are opportunities through this topic to make links to English (e.g. developing speaking and listening skills, writing imaginatively, creatively and thoughtfully, producing texts that interest and engage the reader), citizenship (e.g. looking at the actions individuals, groups and organisations can take to influence and provoke popular opinion) and geography (e.g. interactions between people and their environments, the location of places and environments).

2 PAGE 2 STAGE 1 How does remembrance make us feel today? The focus here is on how remembrance makes us feel today. This initial lesson is designed to introduce students to familiar local and national memorials to help them consider the variety of possible responses to the memorials and the First World War, both when they were built and in the present. The activities could also be used with monuments whilst on a visit to the Western Front. Display an image of a local memorial commemorating the First World War (this could be obtained from Resource 1A). Give out a copy of the image for pairs/small groups of students to annotate for the following features: the inscription the number and layout of any names the design and shape of the memorial the materials and its present condition its setting. Ask pairs/groups to discuss how the architect probably intended people to feel when looking at the memorial. Take suggestions in whole class discussion and list these feelings under a heading List 1 Feelings the architect wanted people to experience looking at the memorial. For example: pride, grief etc. Ask students to justify their choice of feelings with reference to particular features of the memorial s design. Ask pairs/groups to discuss how the memorial might have actually made people feel just after the First World War. Take suggestions in whole class discussion under a heading List 2 Feelings people might have actually experienced looking at the memorial. For example: pride, grief, anger etc. Discuss any similarities and differences between the two lists of feelings e.g. if a person felt anger when looking at the memorial would this have pleased the architect? Would feelings have varied depending on who the people were? Ask pairs/groups to discuss what the memorial makes people feel today. Take suggestions in whole class discussion and list these under a heading List 3 Feelings towards the memorial today. Ask students to justify their reasons for selecting particular feelings e.g. indifference because it s always been there people don`t even notice it.

3 PAGE 3 STAGE 1 How does remembrance make us feel today? (continued) Lead a whole class discussion about similarities and differences between the three lists of feelings and take suggestions of possible reasons for them e.g. the feelings of people today may be different because they haven t actually lost anyone they know or loved in the First World War. Without revealing where or what the structure is beforehand display film footage of the Cenotaph in Whitehall on an ordinary day (Resource 1B). Lead a discussion about which of the three lists of feelings discussed in relation to the local War Memorial the students experienced most on watching the footage (it will probably be List 3). During discussion introduce detail about the history of the Cenotaph in Whitehall and its design from Resource 1C. Next show Resource 1D, a clip of the section of the annual remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph just before and after the two minutes silence (but with the sound turned down). Lead a whole class discussion about whether seeing the same structure on a special occasion made students feel differently. If so, how and why, and which of the three lists of feelings compiled previously best expressed their own feelings. Lastly repeat the same clip with the sound turned up (the musical notes of the Last Post breaking into the end of the silence may change feelings again). Lead a whole class discussion about how the soundtrack and film footage together might have changed people s feelings. If so, why and how, and which of the three lists best expressed them. Give out a set of cards from Resource 1E which describes the First World War differently. Ensure that all students understand the meaning of each statement. Within a set time limit ask students to select the statement that best describes what the modern Cenotaph remembrance ceremony seems to be trying to say about war in general (and by implication the First World War as the ceremony was devised just after it). Ask pairs or small groups to organise the cards in descending order, placing the card that best summarises the intended message of the ceremony at the top through to the card that seems completely at odds with it at the bottom. Hold a final class discussion and take a vote on which description of the War best suits the intentions of the ceremony.

4 PAGE 4 STAGE 1 How does remembrance make us feel today? (continued) List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 1 Resource 1A: an online gazette of war memorials within the United Kingdom can be found at: Resource 1B: footage of the Cenotaph in Whitehall on an ordinary day: Resource 1C: footage of the two minutes silence and playing of the Last Post at the Cenotaph November 2012: Resource 1D: history of the Cenotaph: Resource 1E: statements describing the First World War. STAGE 2 What did Francis Derwent Wood want people in 1919 to feel about the First World War? This first interpretation of the First World War is a controversial Canadian sculpture designed to stoke hatred of Germany and is based on a well-known atrocity story spread by Allied propaganda. The activity helps to introduce some of the variety of possible attitudes towards the War at its close, attitudes which sometimes gained popularity in later decades. Play students a short extract of film footage (Resource 2A) showing close-up images of the sculpture Canada s Golgotha by Francis Derwent Wood which depicts German soldiers crucifying a dead Canadian soldier on a barn door with bayonets, an incident which is alleged to have occurred during the Second Battle of Ypres in the Spring of Withhold information about the sculpture and invite suggestions from students about what the sculpture appears to be depicting and who the figures might represent. Display alongside a still image of Canada s Golgotha (Resource 2B) and Resource 2C1, a U.S. propaganda poster of 1917 depicting German soldiers crucifying an Allied soldier on a tree. Lead further discussion about what the American poster appears to depict and how this might help to explain the Canadian sculpture. Lastly display Resource 2D (an extract from the Times of May 1915 describing the original atrocity) and read it neutrally to students.

5 PAGE 5 STAGE 2 What did Francis Derwent Wood want people in 1919 to feel about the First World War? (continued) Hold another discussion taking suggestions about links between the three sources (see Resource 2E). Explain that in January 1919 (three months after the armistice was signed) the influential Canadian newspaper owner Lord Beaverbrook (also Britain`s wartime Minister of Information ) organised a free exhibition displaying designs from artists and sculptors commissioned for the Canadian War Memorials Fund at the Royal Academy in London. Explain that thousands visited the exhibition and saw Derwent Wood s sculpture Canada s Golgotha. From Resource 2F, give out different cards to pairs or small groups of students which briefly describe possible visitors to the busy exhibition during 1919 (for the purposes of differentiation the number of characters could be reduced). Within a set time limit ask each pair or small group to write down how they think each person would have reacted on seeing Canada s Golgotha for the first time surrounded by many people staring at it in the exhibition. Ask one student from each group or pair to read out their character s reaction to the sculpture. Lead a discussion after each statement has been read about how realistic students think the characters reaction might actually have been. It would be worth pointing out that Christianity was much more culturally significant in the Britain of 1919 with far more people attending churches of various kinds. This would have increased the general shock factor of the sculpture compared to the present. Resource 2G consists of statements summarising the possible reaction of each of the characters on seeing the sculpture in the exhibition. Allocate a statement for different students to read out in turn and after each reading lead a discussion about any differences to what students originally suggested particular characters might have felt. Next reveal details from Resource 2H which cast doubt on the authenticity of the original atrocity story. Lead a discussion about how each of the characters might have reacted to this news and how and why their views might have changed. As a possible extension activity, explain that the sculpture was hidden away in storage for decades and has only been recently exhibited again but that a television documentary made in 2002 claimed to have uncovered circumstantial evidence that the incident had occurred after all. Extracts from the documentary (Resource 2I) column could be played to students to illustrate this claim. Lead a final discussion about how the characters might have reacted to this final twist in the story.

6 PAGE 6 STAGE 2 What did Francis Derwent Wood want people in 1919 to feel about the First World War? (continued) List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 2 Resource 2A: extract from the 2002 television documentary The Crucified Soldier showing Canada s Golgotha (from 9 minutes 30 seconds to 10 minutes 44 seconds): Resource 2B: still image of Canada`s Golgotha. Resource 2B2: notes on Resource B. Resource 2C1: US propaganda poster Resource 2C2: notes on Resource C. Resource 2D: extract from The Times May Resource 2E: background detail about resources B, C and D. Resource 2F: character descriptions. Resource 2G: character statements. Resource 2H: detail about the Canadian government enquiry in to the atrocity story. Resource 2I: 2002 Television documentary The Crucified Soldier: STAGE 3 What did the builders of the Trench of the Bayonets monument want people to feel about the First World War? This second interpretation of the First World War is a French memorial designed to stir French patriotic admiration for the costly sacrifice of French soldiers who stayed at their post, heedless of danger (however, like the Canadian sculpture, the story it is based on is open to question). This activity could be used on, during or after a battlefields trip to compare monuments from other nationalities on the Western Front and remind students that for other European countries iconic battles such as Verdun are remembered for similar reasons that the Battle of the Somme is remembered in the UK. Without revealing anything about its location and history, play the video extract from Resource 3A which shows images of the Trench of the Bayonets monument near Verdun. Within a set time limit ask pairs to list any feelings they have experienced watching the video. Take suggestions from individuals in whole class discussion and write these up as a list to refer to later in the lesson.

7 PAGE 7 STAGE 3 What did the builders of the Trench of the Bayonets monument want people to feel about the First World War? (continued) Explain that the monument is from a Western Front battlefield called Verdun in France. From Resources 3B to 3D play video footage of images of a recent Armistice Day ceremonies at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on 11 November. Lead a whole class discussion taking suggestions about what the ceremonies are intended to make people feel and discuss any similarities and differences with the British ceremonies at the Cenotaph in London on the same day (featured in Stage 1). Display Resource 3F which illustrates the position of Verdun on the Western Front in Give out Resource 3G (which briefly describes the Verdun campaign and its significance). Within a set time limit ask pairs to read it and underline any reasons they can think of as to why the French choose to commemorate Verdun. Lead a whole class discussion taking suggestions from individuals. If there is time play the video clips from Resources 3H and 3I which contain footage of the battlefield in recent times. Hold further discussion as to whether students think further reasons could be added to from these news reports as to why the French choose to commemorate Verdun. Display Resource 3J which shows a contemporary photograph of French infantry dressed in their distinctive blue uniforms during the First World War. Read out the narrative from Resource 3K (or explain its main points) which is the official version of what happened at the Trench of the Bayonets during Play the footage from Resource 3A of the monument again and lead a discussion: Have their feelings about the monument changed since they first saw the film? - If so, why have feelings changed? What feelings did the architect of the monument intend French people to feel? Lastly read out the final bullet points from Resource 3K and lead a final discussion about whether their feelings about the monument have changed again and which of the four views of the First World War the Trench of the Bayonets monument seems to support (see Resource 1E Stage 1).

8 PAGE 8 STAGE 3 What did the builders of the Trench of the Bayonets monument want people to feel about the First World War? (continued) List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 3 Resource 3A: video of the trench of the bayonets monument near Verdun : Resource 3B: the French president lays a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior under a huge tricolour at the Arc de Triomphe (originally built to celebrate Napoleonic victories): Resource 3C: the French national anthem (the Marseillaise- originally composed at the French Revolution to rally people to the cause of the Republic ) is played at the Arc de Triomphe: Resource 3D: after the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe showing wreaths in close-up: Resource 3F: map of the Western Front. Resource 3G: account of the Battle of Verdun. Resource 3H: 2006 BBC news footage of the Verdun battlefield: Resource 3I: 2003 BBC footage of an artist visiting Verdun to record newly discovered tunnels from the battlefield: Resource 3J: Contemporary photograph of First World War French infantry: Resource 3K: account of the official story of the Trench of the Bayonets monument along with further explanation.

9 PAGE 9 STAGE 4 How did Otto Dix make people feel angry about the First World War? This third interpretation of the First World War deliberately contrasts with the first two and illustrates how antiwar sentiment was common in defeated Germany through the art of Otto Dix and growing through Europe in the inter-war period. Display Resource 4A (an image of a Flanders field poppy) and Resource 4B (a blue cornflower) alongside each other. Invite suggestions as to how these two flowers might be linked. Display Resource 4C (a British commemorative poppy made from paper and plastic) and Resource 4D (a French commemorative cornflower). Explain that both the poppy and the cornflower continued to grow in the devastated landscape of the trenches and that artificial poppies and cornflowers were made by injured veterans in Britain and France respectively for sale to remember the war dead. Invite suggestions as to why there is no equivalent of such a flower in use in Germany (to which the answer is that Germany was a defeated country and the war was remembered differently there). Display Resource 4E and Resource F alongside each other which show respectively a map of the German Empire up to 1918 and German borders imposed by the Treaty of Versailles in Briefly explain the circumstances of German defeat including the belief that the German army was never defeated but stabbed in the back (for more detail see the links under Resource 4G). Display the four descriptions of the First World War from Resource 1E (Stage 1) and lead a discussion about which description of the First World War people would be more likely to agree with in a defeated country like Germany. Divide the class in to small groups. Give out copies of the set of images to each group from Resource 4I with a copy of Resource 4H which contains group instructions. After a set time, gather the class around the work of each group in turn so that they can explain their conclusions to the rest of the class (the paintings could also be displayed on a screen to enhance the discussion). Encourage watching students to ask questions about the conclusions of the particular group has reached based on the evidence available to them. As a conclusion explain that soon after the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Dix was prevented from completing any further pictures about the First World War and that some of his existing paintings were displayed in a special exhibition in 1937 called Degenerate Art. It was designed to show how modern art before the Nazis came to power had corrupted the German nation, encouraged Germans to think negatively of a war which Germany had never really lost, and poorly of soldiers who had fought and died bravely between 1914 and 1918.

10 PAGE 10 STAGE 4 How did Otto Dix make people feel angry about the First World War? (continued) List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 4 Resource 4A: an image of a Flanders field poppy. Resource 4B: an image of a blue cornflower. Resource 4C: an image of an artificial Royal British Legion poppy. Resource 4D: an image of an artificial commemorative French cornflower. Resource 4E: German Empire Resource 4F: German borders Resource 4G: the main provisions of the Treaty of Versailles and detail of the right wing myth that the German Army was stabbed in the back : Resource 4H: group instructions for analysis of paintings in image folder Resource 4I. Resource 4I: image Folder. War Cripples (45 % fit for service) by Otto Dix, a 1920 painting depicting crippled German veterans (this is a colour version of the original which was destroyed by the Nazis). Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas by Otto Dix, 1924 etching. Flanders by Otto Dix, 1934 painting. The War (Der Krieg), a tryptich painted between 1929 and 1932.

11 PAGE 11 STAGE 5 What did the creators of the film Oh What a lovely War! want people to feel about the First World War? This fourth interpretation focuses on a famous musical of the 1960s linking original satirical versions of British wartime songs to a radical left wing narrative of the First World War influenced by the political attitudes of the decade in which the film was created. Display the image of a male lion from Resource 5A. Invite suggestions as to what qualities students associate with male lions and write these up as a list. Display the image of a donkey from Resource 5B. Invite suggestions as to what qualities people associate with donkeys. Write these up as a list. Then put up the phrase Lions led by donkeys and invite suggestions as to what this implies. Explain that in the 1960 s Alan Clark used this phrase to describe how British generals lead their armies during the First World War. Explain that the class will view several clips from a film musical about the First World War called Oh What a Lovely War! which was made by Richard Attenborough in Play the film clip from Resource 5C and ask pairs to discuss what impression of the First World War the scene and its music appear to be giving. Display the definition of an historical interpretation given in Resource 5D within the classroom or a larger space and mark out a large triangle on the floor with the label Fact on the bottom left hand corner, Fiction at the top corner and Imagination/Point of view on the bottom right hand corner. With a partner ask students to decide whereabouts on the triangle they would plot this particular scene from the film. Ask them to stand within the triangle on the spot which they think represents the place of the scene within it. Lead discussion asking students to justify their different positions within the triangle by reference to evidence from within the scene. Explain background information about the scene from Resource 5E. Ask students to reposition themselves within the triangle if they wish to and then lead discussion about why they may have changed their position. Repeat the above process for at least two other film clips listed from the resources, especially the closing sequence of the film. Lastly display the claim from the film credits contained in Resource 5I. Lead a discussion about whether this claim about the film needs adding to or correcting. Display the four descriptions of the First World War from Resource 1E of Stage 1. Lead discussion about which description might fit the view of the First World War in Oh What a Lovely War! and invite suggestions as to whether it might need to be added to.

12 PAGE 12 STAGE 5 What did the creators of the film Oh What a lovely War! want people to feel about the First World War? (continued) List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 5 Resource 5A: image of a male lion. Resource 5B: image of a donkey. Resource 5C: bombed last night 1.16 minutes clip from Oh What a Lovely War! Resource 5D: definition of an Historical interpretation. Resource 5E: background on Oh What Lovely War! Resource 5F: church parade 1.33 minutes from Oh What a Lovely War! Resource 5G: playing leap frog from Oh What a Lovely War! Resource 5H: closing sequence from Oh What a Lovely War! Resource 5I: claims made in the opening credits of Oh What a Lovely War! STAGE 6 What did the creators of the Shot at Dawn monument want people to feel about the First World War? This recent interpretation commemorates 306 British soldiers shot for cowardice and desertion during the First World War and shows that is now acceptable, in Britain at least, to equate such victims of the war with those who died fighting in it. This activity could be used to contrast with the focus of monuments on the Western Front itself during a field trip. Display the image from Resource 6A (a contemporary photograph of Private Herbert Burden, an underage British soldier who was shot for desertion in July 1915 at the age of 17.) Distribute copies of Resource 6B which summarises his background details and treatment. Ask pairs of students to read Resource 6B. Ask them to underline any details that stand out from the text and mark them with an emotion it might make them feel e.g. anger, shock, surprise etc. Lead a whole class discussion inviting comments from students including exploration of why they might have experienced those emotions on reading the story.

13 PAGE 13 STAGE 6 What did the creators of the Shot at Dawn monument want people to feel about the First World War? (continued) Explain that it is 2001 and that the 87 year old daughter of Herbert Burden is still alive and wants to commission a memorial in commemoration of her father. Divide students into threes and within a set time limit ask them to sketch designs for a memorial to Herbert Burden using details from Resource 6B if they wish. In whole class discussion ask some groups of students to display, describe and justify their designs to the rest of the class, taking suggestions and comments from other students. Then display Resource 6C which shows the actual sculpture by Andrew De Comyn. Lead a discussion about how similar or different the sculpture appears to student designs and what emotions the sculptor intended people to feel looking at his work. Display the quote from De Comyn in Resource 6D, leading discussion about how successful the sculptor has been in achieving his aims. Reveal that the sculpture was commissioned as part of a wider monument to the 306 British soldiers actually shot for cowardice or desertion during the First World War. Within a set time limit ask the same groups of three as before to discuss and sketch a larger memorial in commemoration of the 306 soldiers but using De Comyn s statue of Herbert Burden as part of their design. From Resource 6E display and explain the design and layout of the Shot at Dawn monument opened in 2001 at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire by Herbert Burden s daughter. Lead a discussion about how successful the memorial as a whole appears to be. Display the four descriptions of the First World War from Resource 1E, Stage 1 and invite suggestions as to which view of the First World War as a whole the monument fits. Distribute the character cards used in Stage 1 (Resource 1E) to small groups and take suggestions from each group in turn about how their character might have responded to this modern monument (some would have been horrified that men shot for cowardice were being equated with those who actually died fighting). Lastly reveal that those shot for cowardice or desertion were only pardoned by the British government in 2006.

14 PAGE 14 STAGE 6 What did the creators of the Shot at Dawn monument want people to feel about the First World War? (continued) List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 6 Resource 6A: photograph of Private Herbert Burden. Resource 6B: background and treatment of Burden. Resource 6C: Shot at Dawn sculpture showing Herbert Burden by Andrew De Comyn. Resource 6D: comments about the Shot at Dawn sculpture by Andrew De Comyn. Resource 6E: detail about the Shot at Dawn monument. Resource 6F: BBC history summary of treatment of soldiers convicted of cowardice and desertion. STAGE 7 How should the Imperial War Museum make people feel about the First World War today? This summary activity is designed to reinforce student understanding that the feelings an artefact or memorial was designed to invoke at the time of its creation may differ from how it is viewed now. In turn this illustrates that competing interpretations of the First World War itself are influential at different times for different reasons depending among other factors such as popular attitudes within a particular period. Give out Resource A for students to read in pairs. Ask them to underline any phrases or words that stand out from the quotes. Lead a whole class discussion taking suggestions from individuals: How does Norman Walter view the First World War? How does he link the commemoration of the First World War to modern politics? Which past views from this enquiry about the First World War agree with the views of Walter and possible reasons for this? Give out Resource B and ask the students to read, discuss and underline any phrases or words that stand out from the quotes.

15 PAGE 15 STAGE 7 How should the Imperial War Museum make people feel about the First World War today? (continued) Lead a whole class discussion: How does Professor Sir Huw Strachan and Chris Skidmore respond to Norman Walter`s views? How do their views differ from those of Tristam Hunt? Which past views from this enquiry about the First World War the historians may agree or disagree with and possible reasons for this? Explain that the Imperial War Museum is organising a (fictional) touring exhibition called The First World War and Cultural Memory. This aims to educate visitors about the different ways the First World War has been commemorated since Allocate different groups of students one interpretation each commemorating the First World War featured in the enquiry (Canada s Golgotha, the Trench of the Bayonets Memorial, Otto Dix s paintings, the film Oh What a Lovely War! and the Shot at Dawn Memorial). If fewer than the five interpretations have been studied from the enquiry then students could be directed to the ones they know about. Explain that students will assume the role of advisers to the exhibition designers about how each artefact or memorial should be exhibited. Memorials can be included through life-size replica, small scale models or photographs - the film could have selected scenes played as part of the exhibition. The task is to write a letter to the designers recommending how a particular artefact should be displayed (give out or display more detailed instructions for this task in Resource 7C). Students will need access to material used in previous lessons about the interpretation they have been allocated in order to complete the task. Students could present their recommendations to the rest of the class for discussion and comparison. List of resources, worksheets, video clips and interactive activities for use with Stage 7 Resource 7A: views of an official at the German embassy in London about the First World War Centenary from August Resource 7B: views of British historians Professor Sir Huw Strachan, Chris Skidmore and Tristam Hunt. Resource 7C: outline of task.