After World War I, the "War to end all wars," most people thought that Europe had settled into a time of peace. Little did they know that the peace established was fragile and would shatter in Septemeber of 1939. Like during World War I, the United States tried to remain neutral in World War II until a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor sucked them in. During this lesson you will learn about World War II and its effects on your community by interviewing local veterans and their spouses.

To discover how World War II and US's involvement in it began, and how these events impacted your community, you will need to do these things: The USS Arizona during the attack of Pearl Harbor. Image from We Witnessed the Attack of Pearl Harbor
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  • Your Textbook
  • Interview Packet
  • An Interview with a Local Veteran/Spouse of Veteran

Adolf Hitler
Leader of Germany and the Nazi's
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Step A: Get the Facts
  1. Check with your teacher to find out who you will be interviewing and get their background information so you can find information related to your interviewee's life.
  2. Before you can interview someone about the start of WWII, you need to get the backgroudn information. So learn about how World War II began and how the United States got involved with your textbook and these websites:
  3. You'll also want to review tips on conducting an oral history interview. Check out Ten Principles of Oral History or ask your teacher for more information.
  4. Consider some starting points for your interview. Make an outline of what you want to discuss and your focal point. Don't forget to ask about individual and community reactions to the start of the war.

Headline on the December 7, 1942, Honolulu Star-Bullettin--Image from
We Witnessed the Attack of Pearl Harbor		 Step B: Collecting Oral History
  1. Check with your teacher to find out when your interview will be done.
  2. Get familiar with and test any equipment you will use during your interview. Fill out a tape index before you get started.
  3. Here's the fun part! Interview your veteran or spouse about the start of WWII. Find out all sorts of stuff about Pearl Harbor, Hitler and the events of the period.
  4. Be sure to listen and think about everything your interviewee says. Ask plenty of secondary questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why?) to get all the details.
  5. Ask any questions if you aren't sure what your interviewee means or don't understand a word they use. Chances are if you don't understand, someone else reading or watching the interview won't either.
  6. Thank your interviewee when you're all done.
Step C: Putting It All Together
  1. After your interview, review your video or audio tapes to see what you discussed.
  2. Now see if you can summarize the content of your interview in a few (2-3) sentences.
  3. Try to summarize your interviewee's life in one or two paragraphs.
  4. Describe the setting of your interview and how well it went in one paragraph. Was your interviewee cooperative or difficult? Were they easy or hard to understand? Did they seem knowledgable about the events and remember facts, dates and names?
  5. Combine all of this information to create an Introduction to your interview transcript (a written, word-for-word version of an interview). See Dr. Marchiafava's Sample Introduction for a good example.
Your teacher will watch your interview and grade your Introduction, so be sure that it is accurate and free of any grammar, spelling or punctuation problems. Also be sure that your Tape Index(es) are complete.
After doing all that background research and your interview, you should be able to answer these questions:
  • When did the US get involved in World War II in Europe? In Japan? Why?
  • How did people in you community react to the war? Were they surprised? Scared?
  • How did your interviewee feel about the US entering WWII? Were they for or against it?
  • How did they feel about conscription (the draft)?
Visit Quia! to play theirWho's Who of World War II games.
President Roosevelt
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