Letters from the Front

Explore the First World War website and Canadian Letters from the Front to get a feel for some of the details of the front lines in Europe.  

Create an interview between a reporter and a soldier or a fictional letter home from a Canadian Man or women on the front lines. Assume the person has served in the Battles of Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge and Passchendale.

Post your interview or letter on this site under comments (be sure to include your initials at the end so I can give you credit).  Your interview or letter should aim to inform the Canadian public at home about and include details about a minimum of 5 of the following:

·         trench warfare

·         life in the front lines

·        the roles of technology in the war

·         the quality of military leadership

·         morale of Canadian soldiers

·         the effectiveness of Canadian troops

·         hospitals and medical treatment

·         the roles of women in the war

U.N. Interventions

Ever since the Suez Crisis Canadians have taken pride in looking at themselves as the world's Peacekeepers.  Over the years this has meant that Canada has been invo9lved in some very important U.N. missions while also being part of some misguided failed interventions.  Recently this has lead Canadians to question our role in international affairs and our support for the United Nations. 

However, before we can understand were we are going we need to have a clear look at where we have been.

Task:  Visit the following link and read the CBC article History of UN Interventions. and read through the list of U.N. sanctioned interventions.  Find one mission that Canada was part of and research our involvement.  Leave a comment on this page summarizing your findings.  Be sure to include the date, location and reason for the mission.  Include and details you can find about Canada's involvement, number of troops, role etc., and if the mission would be considered a success or not.

Lessons from the Holocaust

And I Said Nothing

In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionist, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.


TASK: Write personal reflection on the atrocities of the Holocaust and how it has (or hasn’t) changed the world.

Keep these questions in mind:
• Who is to blame for the Holocaust?
• Could the Holocaust have been stopped?
• How to the "Stages of Isolation" show the gradual persecution leading to the annihilation of the Jews?
• What would you have done if you lived in Germany during the Third Reich?
• How does the passage "And I Said Nothing" portray the actions of the people in Germany during Third Reich? What is the danger in saying or doing "nothing"?
• What lessons must be learned from the Holocaust?
• How do we, as responsible and aware human beings, ensure that an event such as the Holocaust or any type of racial genocide never occurs again?
• Do you think we have “learned our lesson” from the Holocaust, use examples to support your point of view from more recent history

To view some images from the Holocaust click the following links.
http://www.phdn.org/histgen/schmitz/indexeng.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/phototoc.html

Battle Scenes

Explore the images of World War One and choose the one the best represents Canada's role in the War.  Copy and paste the image into a comment and explain why you chose it.  Remember it can be from the air, sea, ground or home front.

Exploring your Political Views

Read the following instructions and complete the activity. These were developed by a friend of mine, Mr. Thielmann, over at DP Todd.

Activity One
Purpose: find out what kind of political views you have and how they compare with world figures and political parties

Instructions:
go to http://www.politicalcompass.org/
read the instructions and complete the quiz
read through your results page to learn about your views
summarize what you learned from the quiz by commenting in response to this posting on the course blog -- http://www.soc11eh.blogspot.com

Tips:
left vs right: left-wing usually means more government control over industry and economy; right-ring usually means less government regulation and intervention (laissez-faire)
authoritarian vs libertarian: authoritarian means powerful government which controls rights and freedoms, sometimes it can be a dictatorship; libertarian means less government control of rights, sometimes less government in general

International Aid

NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) and government agencies play an important role in fighting poverty, famine and disease throughout the world. In recent times many of these organizations have been criticized for having too much overhead and administrative costs while not getting enough of the money directly to those in need. Others say that while there are flaws with some of the organizations any amount of aid that reaches these countries is better than nothing.

Visit the following sites and comment on the work these NGOs are doing. What organization would you donate either your time or money to?

Oxfam
The Red Cross
Doctors without Borders
CIDA
War Child
DATA
Unicef
World Vision

Lessons from the Holocaust

And I Said Nothing

In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionist, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.


TASK: Write personal reflection on the atrocities of the Holocaust and how it has (or hasn’t) changed the world.

Keep these questions in mind:
• Who is to blame for the Holocaust?
• Could the Holocaust have been stopped?
• How to the "Stages of Isolation" show the gradual persecution leading to the annihilation of the Jews?
• What would you have done if you lived in Germany during the Third Reich?
• How does the passage "And I Said Nothing" portray the actions of the people in Germany during Third Reich? What is the danger in saying or doing "nothing"?
• What lessons must be learned from the Holocaust?
• How do we, as responsible and aware human beings, ensure that an event such as the Holocaust or any type of racial genocide never occurs again?
• Do you think we have “learned our lesson” from the Holocaust, use examples to support your point of view from more recent history

To view some images from the Holocaust click the following links.
http://www.phdn.org/histgen/schmitz/indexeng.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/phototoc.html