Comparative Questions?

1. The documents in this chapter present varying perspectives on individual lives and government policies during the Great Depression and the Second World War. What comparisons or contrasts can you draw among the documents based on the perspective of each author? Which documents present an “official” version, and which a more personal version? How does the author’s perspective affect your reading of each document?
2. Both the Nuremberg Laws (Document 30-2) and Truman’s press release (Document 30-4) reflect the efforts of very different governments to explain themselves or to further their own interests. Compare and contrast these two documents.
3. The press release on Hiroshima (Document 30-4) and the interview with Toshiko Saeki (Document 30-5) present two very different accounts of the nuclear strike on the city of Hiroshima. How is the atomic bomb described in each document? Compare and contrast the descriptions.
4. In what ways does each document in this chapter quantify human suffering? When they cite numbers, what effect do those numbers give? Are numbers more or less powerful than other forms of description? Cite examples.