Public Digital History World War II Fall 2022

World War II was an extensive globalized war, involving various countries and groups of people. As students in the United States, our understanding of history is primarily through the perspective of an American citizen. The result of this is an American-biased understanding of history. Our exhibit will portray World War II from various perspectives, emphasizing the voices of underrepresented and marginalized groups. Through a revisionist historical lens, we hope to offer audiences a diverse collection of lesser-known stories that are not part of the dominant narrative of traditional public history. This will allow the visitor to obtain a more unbiased and comprehensive understanding of this significant historical event. 

Our exhibit will include six diverse sub-topics that highlight the lesser-known stories of World War II. Lillie Aivars intends to explore the nuanced experience of Latvia’s historical involvement in the war. Her analysis specifically surrounds the perspective of her late grandfather, who was a captured Latvian soldier forced to be a translator in a German concentration camp. Avery Minter will investigate how American and Japanese citizens reacted to and interpreted Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and how their perspectives differ. Furthermore, she will be attempting to objectify aspects of World War II through the inclusion of both Japanese and American perspectives and questioning America’s understanding and representation of WWII. Alexander Leon will explain and analyze how German soldiers experienced WWII. He will talk about how German soldiers perceived WWII in different ways as some were forced to serve for varying circumstances while others were excited to serve their country until they witnessed the horrors of war. Erin Guaspari is going to focus on the Attack on Pearl Harbor from the women’s perspective. Specifically, she is going to look at the stories of Army Nurses. The stories are often overlooked, so the goal is to highlight different perspectives on the attack. Eli Ivashkin will focus on the eastern front of WWII from the perspective of the USSR. He will be focusing on the events that led to them joining the war effort, and what role this played in the overall momentum of the war. Owen Van Stralen will be focusing on the role California played in WWII. He will look into the agricultural and industrial aspects that shaped the decisions the US made throughout the war.