This resource is both a documentary that aired in 2005 and an article that discusses the final year of WWII and the lead-up to the Atomic Bombings. There are features provided that can be used to add to discussion or further research WWII or the Atomic Bombings, including articles, clips, and primary resources that were referenced in the documentary.
A documentary covering the story of America’s development of the nuclear bomb and the consequences that continue to loom over today. This is free to stream on PBS and can be assigned to students to screen in full or clips can be selected for class discussion.
A website that provides an overview of the history and science of the nuclear age, as well as a resource library filled with historical documents and a media gallery with photos and videos. This resource can be used as a reference to different atomic events (e.g. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Cold War) and provide a background for class discussions.
This resource features excerpts from textbooks produced in Japan, China, South Korea, and the United States to highlight differing coverage of sensitive issues such as the Nanjing Massacre and the Atomic Bombings of Japan. Not only is this a useful tool for better understanding the violence of the Japanese occupation of Nanjing, but also illustrates collective memory in action. It provides examples from textbooks as well as pictures that can be used in class discussions regarding historical events and how different perspectives change the way they are recounted.
“Using personal stories of the comfort women as teaching materials can help educators emphasize the importance of protecting human rights by providing students a vivid picture of the impact that human rights violations have on people’s lives. Comfort women stories may be graphic, but are necessary to fully understand the human rights violations that those women endured. For students who hear about today’s wars and atrocities from the media, an open and forthright discussion would be helpful to teach how to critically understand such events in both the past and the present.”
This site, sponsored by the “Comfort Women” Justice Coalition, the comfort system as a source of ongoing pain with insufficient reparations having been made by the governments responsible. It introduces prevalent comfort system survivors, summarizes the history of the system, and provides a list of resources for further information.
The term “comfort woman” (“慰安婦” pronounced ianfu in Japanese, wianbu in Korean and Wèi’ān fù in Mandarin), literally means “comforting, consoling woman” and is a euphemistic way of referring to those women conscripted by Japan during WWII to provide sexual services for the Japanese military. This page is a great starting point for understanding the how the ianfu system functioned, the reasons for its creation, and its lasting repercussions.
This page connects to DocsTeach, providing primary resources on Japanese internment during World War II. It includes documents that explore the impact of the order and its historical context, such as President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066–the order that led to the internment of Japanese Americans in relocation centers, postings of Exclusion Orders, and pictures of Japanese American families.
Time of Fear is a documentary published in 2004 by PBS that tells the story of Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Rohwer and Jerome camps in southeast Arkansas during World War II. Featuring rare home movie footage and interviews with former incarcerees and local residents, the film explores themes of racism, fear, and resilience. It offers a powerful lens into the intersections of race, place, and memory in one of the most segregated regions of the rural South.
Published in 2017 by filmmaker Vivienne Schiffer—daughter of former McGehee mayor Rosalie Gould—Relocation, Arkansas explores the long-term effects of Japanese American incarceration in Arkansas. The documentary follows the generation born after the camps closed, the stories of those who chose to remain in Arkansas, and the surprising relationship between the Japanese American community and Mayor Gould (who served from 1983 to 1995). Through themes of race, healing, and cross-cultural understanding, the film offers a deeply human perspective on a legacy of exclusion and resilience.
Densho is a leading digital archive and educational platform dedicated to preserving the histories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. The site features over 900 oral histories, along with tens of thousands of photos, documents, letters, and newspapers. It also offers age-appropriate lesson plans and classroom resources, making it one of the most comprehensive tools for teaching about Japanese American incarceration.
Hosted by the Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History & Art (part of the Central Arkansas Library System), this resource offers a concise overview of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Its centerpiece is the Rosalie Santine Gould – Mabel Jamison Vogel Collection, featuring hundreds of artworks created by Japanese Americans imprisoned at the Rohwer and Jerome camps in Arkansas. These paintings and drawings offer powerful visual testimony to life behind barbed wire and are ideal for interdisciplinary lessons combining history, art, and civil rights.
