Example of AI in the Secondary and Higher Ed Classroom
By comparing and contrasting World War I and World War II in this freshmen assignment, students can better comprehend the causes and effects of the two world wars, and in the end we can all hopefully learn by history and avoid a World War III in future years.
Today’s Big Question:
How did WWI lay the foundation for WWII?
What do you know about World War I?
We are going to start this class by looking at the key moments from World War I. Follow the directions on the sheet I am handing out. Work quickly - you only have 15 minutes to complete your slides. �
Title: The Invasion of Poland and the Beginning of World War II
Summary:
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II (History.com Editors, 2019). This event is often considered the spark that ignited the war, as it led to a series of events that ultimately involved numerous countries around the world in the devastating conflict. The invasion was a result of Hitler's aggressive foreign policy and expansionist ambitions, and it prompted the United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany, setting the stage for the global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945.
Background:
In the years leading up to World War II, Europe was plagued by economic depression, political instability, and a rising sense of nationalism (Shirer, 1990). Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party had risen to power in Germany in 1933, promoting a strong sense of German nationalism and advocating for territorial expansion. Hitler aimed to create a Greater German Reich by annexing territories inhabited by ethnic Germans and expanding eastward to establish Lebensraum, or living space, for the German people (Kershaw, 2008).
The Treaty of Versailles, signed after World War I, had imposed harsh penalties on Germany, including the loss of territory and the requirement to pay massive reparations to the victorious Allies (Keylor, 2018). Many Germans resented the treaty, and Hitler capitalized on this sentiment to gain support for his expansionist agenda.
Invasion of Poland:
On September 1, 1939, Germany launched a surprise attack on Poland, using a new military tactic known as the blitzkrieg, or "lightning war," which involved fast, coordinated assaults by air and land forces (History.com Editors, 2019). Within weeks, Poland was overwhelmed by the German onslaught, and on September 17, the Soviet Union, which had signed a nonaggression pact with Germany, invaded Poland from the east (Roberts, 2006). By early October, Poland had been divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, and the stage was set for the broader conflict of World War II.
References:
History.com Editors. (2019, January 31). Invasion of Poland. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/invasion-of-poland
Kershaw, I. (2008). Hitler: A Biography. W.W. Norton & Company.
Keylor, W. R. (2018). The Twentieth-century World and Beyond: An International History Since 1900. Oxford University Press.
Roberts, G. (2006). Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939-1953. Yale University Press.
Shirer, W. L. (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Simon & Schuster.
Plagerism Detection Demo
Best Practices �Education/Academic Integrity
Best Practices Education