Summer Learning Journey Week 2 Day 4

28/12/2017

Day 4: Another World War (1939-1945)

At the end of the 1930s, the world has been shaken once more by the start of another World War (WWII). World War Two started on the 1st of September, 1939 when an army from Germany invaded a country called Poland. Two days later, England and France declared war on Germany and WWII began.

Activity 1: An Eventful Experience

WWII was made up of many battles and events. Follow this link to read more about the timeline of WWII.

Choose two key events and find out some more information about what happened on those days. On your blog, write a short summary of two events, including the names of people involved and where the event happened.

3 September: Britain, France, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany

New Zealand along with Britain , Australia and France were the first countries to have declared war on Nazi Germany, after they failed to retreat from Poland in time set by the allies. British prime minister Neville Chamberlain made an announcement about this on radio for everyone to hear and it marked the beginning of world war 2.  

3 June: Germans bomb Paris. Evacuation of Dunkirk ends

254 people were killed after German air forces bombed the capital of France Paris. There plan was to kill and destroy their economy military, reduce their population and confidence, by bombing they caused lots of fear around the country. France's prime minister Edouard Daladier had to threaten his workers to stay and fight because they were so scared they were trying to flee the country.Even though the British were at the end of completing there evacuation in Dunkirk and France was about to collapse in from the German invaders, Haakon the king of Norway made a confident prediction that his allies would win so he fled Norway to England his country that is now under German residency.

These are the sites I got all my information from - 3 June  3 September

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Activity 2:  A Call to Arms

Over the course of WWII, approximately 140,000 New Zealanders were sent overseas to serve in the war. Many were sent to fight in huge battles, including the Battle of the Atlantic that lasted for 2064 days (over 5 years)! The Battle of the Atlantic came to an end in 1943, in large part due to the heroic efforts of people like Lloyd Trigg, a pilot from New Zealand. He was awarded a special medal from the New Zealand Government for his bravery. It is called a Victoria Cross (‘VC’ for short). A total of 22 New Zealanders have been awarded VCs.

Click on this link to find a list of VC winners. Choose one from the Second World War, and read about him. On your blog tell us about him. Who was he? What did he do to earn a Victoria Cross medal?

Donald Brown

Donald Brown was a was a soldier who fought in the Second World War and was awarded a Victorian cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of a enemy that can be awarded. on the 14 June 1917 he earned his medal because he captured the enemy's most important machine gun positions that helped New Zealanders push through the German lines to fight. He received his award on the 14 of June 1917.

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Bonus Activity: Women at Work

Both men and women served in World War II. Many women choose to enlist as nurses and be stationed overseas caring for wounded soldiers. My nana was one of those nurses. She (Dorothy) spent much of World War II working on a large Red Cross ship that was stationed off the coast of Cairo, Egypt.   

For this activity, you are going to imagine that you are just like Dorothy and that you are working as a nurse on a large medical ship.

One day you are walking along the deck of the ship when you hear a loud bang. You start to run as you see smoke coming from the far end of the ship. You run towards the room where your patients are waiting to receive treatment from the doctor. Just as you arrive at the door to their room you hear another loud bang and you…

Complete the story provided above. To earn full points you must write, at least, 8-10 sentences. What happens next?

SHORT STORY

For this activity, you are going to imagine that you are just like Dorothy and that you are working as a nurse on a large medical ship.

One day you are walking along the deck of the ship when you hear a loud bang. You start to run as you see smoke coming from the far end of the ship. You run towards the room where your patients are waiting to receive treatment from the doctor. Just as you arrive at the door to their room you hear another loud bang.

My Part 

I rush into my patients room to make sure they are OK, then BANG! The lights go out. “Ahhhhhhhhhh” all I can hear are the fearful screams of my patients I try to calm them. Phew, the door flings open a nurse is standing in the doorway yelling " you need to help round up all the nurses hurry up". So I run out behind her then Bang! A humongous wave hits the side of the boat and I come crashing to the ground. As I fell I could hear someone screaming for “heeeeeeeeeelp” I saw another nurse hanging off the side of the boat. I dash to my feet and run to her rescue as fast as my feet could carry me, but the waves were so strong, they keep knocking me over. I fell to the ground again the nurse was in plain sight, then woosh, in just a few seconds the waves got hold of her and she disappeared. I screamed and screamed for help and Ethel came running around the corner to see what happened I told her everything but she pulled me around the corner and what I saw was horrid . The patients were screaming in pain but the most daunting thing I have ever seen, were the dead bodies siting in the corner like a pile of dolls ready to be boxed. I didn't know what to do but Ethel directed me to help one man who's leg looked like it was bitten by a dog 10 times. He was in so much agony, he wanted us to amputate it right then and there. I talked to him and tried to calm him down, but the nurses needed me to run back to the drug room to grab painkillers for the patients. I had to run as fast as I could but the boat was so rocky. When I finally made it into the room I grabbed as many painkiller boxes as my arms could hold, but before I knew the waves were so strong we were upside down...

THE END

BONUS POINTS: 20