Project by: Spencer Rosenblum (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Tom Murphy
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Kara Luce

For this project, I wanted to explore at how the Allies were able to win WW2. My goal was to look beyond the traditional explanations and get “under the skin” of an everyday soldier to better understand what made them tick, and how they performed in battle. I also think that this aspect of the war is often overlooked, and deserves more attention from the community. I also wanted to get a better understanding as to how the Allies were able to beat Germany. Week By Week Summary

Weeks 1-2: During this time I read and researched the chapter entitled: “A Genius For Mass-Production.” This chapter focused on the advantages the Allied industrial machine had, as well as why the German economy was so poor when compared to its adversaries. Some of these reasons include: Unstandardized production, damage and public fear caused by bombings, a general lack of Morale, amongst others. This chapter was really eye opening for me, because while I understood the allied economic advantage, I never understood how far behind Germany was in comparison. This is why it is one of the three subjects I eventually wrote about in my poster.

Weeks 3-4: During this time I read and researched the chapter entitled: “A War of Engines.” This chapter focused on the military technologies of the German powers and the Allied powers and compared their differences. The main takeaway from this chapter is a clear reversal of military strategy and technological advantage experienced by these two powers. An example of this would be the German “Blitzkrieg,” which was the original Nazi strategy of invading quickly and causing chaos behind enemy lines. This military doctrine would eventually be used against Germany in 1944 by the allied powers, while Germany itself would eventually revert to the early French and Russian approach to modern warfare (of heavy slow moving lines).

Week 5: During this time I read and researched the chapter entitled: “Impossible Unity.” This chapter focused mainly on how the Allied forces were able to unite against Germany while the Axis powers were in-fighting. Initially during the war, the United States and Britain feared the USSR just as much as it did Nazi Germany, and viewed communism as just as dangerous as fascism. However, with the common fear of Hitler, both of these countries came together in “impossible unity” to face against this dangerous enemy. The Axis powers did not have as united a cause. Hitler often viewed some of his allies as hindrances rather then helpful and would often curse and blame the people for the inevitable defeat of the Axis.

Week 6-7: During this time I read and researched the chapter entitled: “Evil Things, Excellent Things.” This chapter outlined the morale of the major combatants in the war. The main points in the paper was that the Allies used hate as well as fear and patriotism to keep the public morale for the war high. The Axis however, had a much lower morale. Germany and Japan only kept fighting the war out of fear of there enemies (USSR and the US respectively), while Italy completely surrendered. This lack of morale from the Axis powers allowed the Allies to have an unmistakeable advantage in all forms of war and was indispensable in the allied victory. This subject was particularly powerful to me and so I decided to write about it as part of my poster.

Weeks 8-9: During this time I read the brief summary chapter and worked/constructed my poster for the final share.

End of Process Reflection:

Reading this book and researching with Tom has completely shifted my view of World War II. Looking back on my project, I have learned so much interesting and rich history that it is honestly hard to summarize it. To answer my question that started this whole project off, the Allies Won because of there ability to mass produce weapons and vehicles, the large amount of public support for the war, the unity of the three major powers, the ability to adapt to new warfare and many more reasons. The allies economy at the start of the war was weaker then there Axis opponents, but after some trial and error, as well as a lot of time, the Allied powers were able to completely outgun their opponents. The morale of the troops became an indispensable tool for the allies because with a passionate fighting force, an ok army can become a great army. By aligning three extremely powerful countries, some of whom were terrified of each other, Hitler accidentally contributed to one of the main reason for his defeat. Finally with the Allied ability to combat, comprehend, and eventually used there enemies tactics (such as blitzkrieg), the allies proved that adaptation is the key to a great military. Sadly when writing this summary I had to exclude many things, however, if any reader is still interested in learning even more, or would like to start an honestly great book, I would highly recommend “How the Allies Won” by Richard Ovary.

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T2 Reflection:

Working on this honor’s project has been eye opening. I did not realize to any degree how directly involved every citizen was in the war effort. When reading through Richard Over’s book I realized that every citizen in Europe lived in constant fear of the sound of allied bombers overhead, and yet these attacks were very significant to stopping Axis production, raising a real question of morality for the Allied Powers. I look forward to continuing to build these eye opening details into next year!

Work:

Sadly because I have not finished my project, I cannot share my essay yet.

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T3 PROJECT PROPOSAL

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

This project will be a continuation of my trimester two honors project where I studied How the Allies Won WW2. This trimester I will continue to keep digging deeper beyond the traditional explanations and getting “under the skin” of an everyday soldier and what made them tick, and why they would win or lose battles.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

I will draw on our learning essential of critical thinking in my honors project. This is by moving beyond the traditional explanation of “They were three superpowers attacking one country” and explain specifically why Germany ended up fighting three superpowers, and why this lead to their downfall. I will also use critical thinking to link together reasons that on the surface may look like they are unconnected, and connect them.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

To show my completion of this project, I plan on creating a short essay in the form of a poster, that summarizes the main points of why the Allies won WW2 that I went over with Tom, as well as offer in depth analysis of “unorthodox” views of how the allies won.

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

This trimester I will finish the book I started in trimester two title “Why the Allies Won WW2” by Richard Overy, however I also plan to finish this book before the end of the trimester. Using this extra time I will peruse other sources and get a second angle from a different historian as to why the allies won.

When do you plan on meeting?
Thursday during lunch of each week

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ORIGINAL PROPOSAL

Project by: Spencer Rosenblum (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Tom Murphy
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Kara Luce

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

The project I am proposing will be a one trimester long look into WW2, and will specifically look at how the Allies were able to win WW2, moving beyond just the traditional explanations. I want to take on this project because I find the world of WW2 extremely interesting, and I would like to get a better understanding as to how the Allies were able to beat Germany. I also think that this aspect of the war is often overlooked, and deserves more attention from the community.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

I will draw on our learning essential of critical thinking in my honors project. This is by moving beyond the traditional explanation of “They were three superpowers attacking one country” and explain specifically why Germany ended up fighting three superpowers, and why this lead to their downfall. I will also use critical thinking to link together reasons that on the surface may look like they are unconnected, and connect them.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

To show my completion of this project, I plan on creating a short essay (or perhaps a visual component if possible), that summarizes the main points of why the Allies won WW2 that I went over with Tom, as well as explain why this topic might be more complicated than it appears on the surface.

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

For this project, I will start by reading “Why the Allies Won” by Richard Overy, to get a general look at how the Allies did indeed win. I will try to read a chapter or two every week (10 total) and meet with Tom on Thursday of each week, to discuss the chapter and enhance my understanding of the war and how the Allies won. I also plan on doing some online research, and getting additional opinions from different sources.

When do you plan on meeting?
Thursday during lunch of each week