WWII Newspaper Themes

Rise of Hitler: Germany after WWI, Nazi Movement, Gestapo, Propaganda, Anti-Semitism

Rise of Japanese Imperialism: Asia, Sphere of Influence, War in China,

Italy/Mussolini: Italy after WWI, Fascism, Italian morale; colonialism

Blitzkrieg (Poland, France): German style of warfare that uses aircraft and tanks to quickly overrun a country and terrorize its citizens

Dunkirk: British troops are trapped on the coast of France; British citizens rescue soldiers using civilian boats

Battle of Britain: Germany tries to bomb Britain into surrendering; air war and dogfights; Britain stands up to Germany alone; civilian casualties and courage of everyday people

Invasion of Soviet Union: Germany turns on Soviet Union and invades; millions of civilian casualties and bloody warfare

Pearl Harbor: Japan attacks the US bases in Hawaii; US officially enters WWII

Doolittle’s Raid: US aircraft bomb Tokyo as revenge for Pearl Harbor

Japanese Internment Camps: US government places Japanese American citizens into camps; racism

Bataan Death March: US soldiers captured during the fall of the Philippines are forced to march to their prisoner of war camp

Battle of the Coral Sea: Pivotal naval battle of the Pacific war; the first loss suffered by Japan

Island Hopping in the Pacific: Guadalcanal, other islands taken from Japanese control one by one

Stalingrad: City in Soviet Union that was under siege for months; furthest advance of Germany into USSR

North African Campaign: Germany takes control of Mediterranean coast of North Africa; desert warfare; tanks

Naval Operations (submarines and aircraft carriers): U-boats vs. Allied shipping; the first aircraft carriers; PT boats

Prisoners of War: Conditions for POW’s in Germany, Asia, and the US

Warsaw Ghetto: Jews held captive in a neighborhood of Warsaw, Poland; Holocaust; resistance fighters

Resistance/Underground: Civilians in occupied countries fight the enemy through secret operations and sabotage

Espionage: Spies work to find the Axis Powers’ secrets

Holocaust/Death Camps: Systematic killing of Jews in Europe; other groups targeted for the camps;

Role of Women: Women in the military; military nurses; women on the home front

Role of African-Americans: Segregated military units and integrated units; Tuskegee Airmen

Burma Road: The war in northern India;

Bombing Missions over Europe: Massive bombing raids on German cities and German-occupied areas

D-Day: Allied forces work together to invade France to take mainland Europe back from German occupation

Iwo Jima: One of the last and bloodiest battles in the Pacific; Japanese soldiers won’t give up

Development of the Atomic Bomb: US scientists secretly work to develop a nuclear weapon that may end the war

Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive toward the end of the war; German army able to break through Allied lines

Death of Hitler: The end of the war is imminent; Hitler hides out in bunker; Hitler and those close to him commit suicide to avoid capture

Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: First use of atomic weapons; mass destruction of Japanese cities; forced Japan to surrender

Is there another topic related to World War II that you are interested in researching? You may choose your own WW II topic; just get approval from Mrs. McGinnis before beginning.

The newspaper you create should be centered around aspects of World War II that relate to the theme you’ve chosen. For example, if you’re theme is Naval Warfare, you can have articles, battles, photos, charts, maps, graphs, interviews, obituaries, etc. that all tie into the role of the navy in the war.

Your group must agree on a theme before you begin. Any disagreements among group members that slow the progress of the project will be settled by the teacher.

Learn more about the listed topics by picking up an information sheet about them. Read through the summary of that topic to help you decide if it sounds right for your team.

No duplicates of themes in a single class period!