YEAR 11-12 The Impact of World War I on Australia Teacher’s Notes Overview In this activity series, students will study the impact of World War I in Australian society. This activity series includes the following: Analyse and Research: Research: Propaganda, Research: Background Charles Bean and Marketing and Internment Camps Information Censorship Conscription and Immigration Research: The Supplementary achievements of Additional Activities Extension Activities Activities William ‘Billy’ Hughes These activities are designed to provide background information into Australian history for more intensive study of the period. Curriculum Alignment Learning content and activities align with the Senior Secondary Modern History Curriculum under the following parameters: Unit: Unit 3: Modern Nations in the 20th Century Topic: Australia 1918- 1949 Knowledge Historical Skills An overview of Australia in 1918 as Identify links between events ACHMH120 background information for more intensive ACHMH098 to understand the nature and significance of study of the period causation, change and continuity over time Analyse, interpret and synthesise evidence The changing nature and significance of ACHMH123 ACHMH105 from different types of sources to develop Australia’s foreign policy from 1916-1949 and sustain a historical argument 1 YEAR 11-12 Knowledge Historical Skills The key features of post- war reconstruction, including Evaluate the reliability, usefulness and industrialisation, immigration, the provision contestable nature of sources to develop ACHMH125 ACHMH106 of social welfare, and attitudes and policies informed judgements that support a towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait historical argument Islander Peoples, and women The role and impact of significant Analyse and account for the different individuals in the period, for example W.M ACHMH127 ACHMH107 perspectives of individuals and groups in the Hughes, Sir John Monash, Vida Goldstein, past Ben Chifley, John Curtin, Robert Menzies Evaluate contested views about the past to understand the provisional nature of ACHMH109 historical knowledge and to arrive at reasoned and supported conclusions Learning Goals Resources Students will learn about: Teachers and students will require the following resources to complete the activities: • Censorship during WWI as background Computer or device with internet information for more intensive study of the ☐ period. connection for research • The role and impact of Charles Bean Projector, TV or Smartboard for the display ☐ including his credibility as a source for the of images to the class for class discussion era. Students can complete the handouts • The marketing and propaganda around digitally on their devices or the student enlistment during WWI particularly in ☐ handouts can be printed 1916-1917 • Conscription particularly in 1916-1917 in ☐ RSL Education website for images line with enlistment numbers as background information for more intensive study of the period. • Internment Camps during WWI as background information for more intensive study of the period including its effects on society and policies such as immigration. • William ‘Billy’ Hughes including his significance and impact in Australian history between 1915-1949. 2 YEAR 11-12 Background Information World War I considerably changed the future of Australia which led the country to become a member of the League of Nations. When war was declared in 1914, many Australian’s rushed to enlist but as the war continued and the list of casualties grew, the list of men wanting to enlist declined. The government called two referendums on conscription, but they were both defeated. By the end of the war, more than 60,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. This provided Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes the leverage required to play an active role in the talks that resulted in the treaty of Versailles. This was a significant milestone and achievement for Australia’s foreign policy. At home, the Australian Government interned thousands of people who had been born in enemy countries like Germany or those who were Australian-born descendants of migrants from these countries. As soldiers began returning from the battlefields, many of them with terrible injuries, organisations like RSL were founded to provide support and camaraderie. To the historian, images and documents collected during a war are important sources of evidence. Using the images and other supporting documents which can be accessed online, complete the following activities 3 YEAR 11-12 Analyse & Research: Charles Bean and Censorship Setting the Scene The image to the right, depicts Charles Bean, an official war correspondent in the trenches during World War I. Bean was a journalist and not a professional historian. In September 1914, the Australian Journalists Association chose him to become Australia’s official war correspondent. He travelled to Egypt with Australian troops and landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on 25th April 1915. Despite suffering a wounded leg at Gallipoli, Bean travelled with Australian troops to the western front where he continued to work in the capacity of official war correspondent. Right: Charles Bean walking in the muddy trenches of the western front during WWI Below Left: A soldier carries a wounded medical officer in Ypres, 1917 Below Right: Soldiers walking through the battlefield in Ypres, WWI. 4 YEAR 11-12 Introduction and Engagement Engage your students into a discussion about the three images. This discussion should include making comparisons between the image of Charles Bean and the images of the soldiers at Ypres. Additionally, you may wish to discuss the way information was communicated at the time as opposed to the availability of information today. You may also wish to share additional information with your students about the importance of war correspondents and Charles Bean. To enhance the student experience perhaps show a trailer or snip it from YouTube of the documentary Charles Bean’s Great War. Tip Analyse and compare the images of Charles Bean and the Soldiers at Ypres and then answer Analyse the following questions. After viewing and discussing the stimulus with the group, ask the students to answer the following questions. These questions could be answered as a class, in small groups or individually. Based on the image of Charles Bean and the images of the soldiers at Ypres, do you think Bean Q1 experienced the same conditions as the soldiers? Why/ Why not? Answers should reflect what students are able to see in the images in addition to using preconceived ideas and knowledge of conditions in Gallipoli and the Western Front. Answers should contain an analysis of what Bean is wearing, the surroundings and other items to justify their answer. Do you think this image of Charles Bean would enhance or strengthen Bean’s credibility as a Q2 source? Why/why not? Answers will vary but they should reflect analysis of the image and reasons why Bean is or is not a credible source. This analysis can be accompanied by any other knowledge that they have on Charles Bean. Students will further investigate the credibility of Charles Bean’s work by reading and analysing one of his works. Students will read a copy of a speech that Bean penned to be delivered to Australian Schools at the presentation of the Peace Souvenir Medals after WWI. If students do not have access to a computer or device where they can read the speech online, google the speech and display It on a projector or smartboard for students to read individually or as a group. In this activity students are exploring the writing of Charles Bean and his accounts and reflections of WWI. The students are also provided with the following quote from 5 YEAR 11-12 Ernest Hemingway’s book Men at War. The quote is designed to provide another writers perspective on the war for students to think about when assessing Bean’s credibility. Google ‘Charles Bean Speech’ and find the transcript located on the ANZAC Portal. This speech was delivered throughout Australian Schools at the presentation of the Peace Analyse Souvenir Medals after World War I. Read the speech and the quote from Ernest Hemingway then answer the following questions. The last [war]… was the most colossal, murderous, mismanaged butchery that has ever taken place on Earth. Any writer who said otherwise lied. So, the writers either wrote propaganda, shut up or fought. - Ernest Hemingway After reading a sample of Bean’s work and the quote from Ernest Hemingway, do you feel that Q3 Bean had to censor his writing to prevent Australians learning about the horrors experienced by men in the field? Why/ why not? Answers will vary but they should reflect an analysis of the primary source in addition to drawing on their pre-conceived knowledge of WWI. Q4 Do you think that the work of Charles Bean is credible? Why/why not? Answers will vary but should include an analysis of Charles Bean’s work, the conditions he was working in and include any other details that may impact his credibility. Research Censorship during WWI and investigate the effect censorship has had on Research Australian Society post WWI. Research can be conducted in small groups or individually. Students should use the following questions to direct and assist with their research. Students could brainstorm their thoughts with the answers placed on the board prior to conducting their research. This will assess any prior knowledge and ideas that they may have on Tip Censorship. 6 YEAR 11-12 Do you think that censorship would have impacted the general population’s perceptions of what Q5 veteran’s experienced on the battlefields of WWI? If so, list some possible impacts that this may have had to Australian society. Answers should include a brief analysis on the power of censorship and its impact on people who experienced events first-hand. It should also include the greater flow on effect in society. What impact do you think censorship and the work of journalists such as Charles Bean has had Q6 on Australian society from 1918-1949? Answers could include a comparison and analysis of how people received information at the time and could include other events where censorship was prevalent including WWII.