World War II DBQ Essay Assessment: Civil Rights Violations During Wartime


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HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

World War II was a period of immense suffering and turmoil, not only for those directly involved in the conflict, but also for innocent civilians who were caught in the crossfire. During this time, numerous human rights violations occurred, ranging from military aggression to crimes against humanity. Despite these atrocities, World War II also had a profound impact on the development of modern human rights laws and protections.

DOCUMENT 1

Testimony of Zhou Xiuhua, survivor of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria

In 1937, my family lived in No. 166 of Erdaogengzi. On the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month of the lunar calendar, the Japanese occupied Nanjing. My elder brother went out of the cave but never returned home. The whole family was very worried and looked for him everywhere. At nightfall, we found him in the Jinhua Soy Sauce Factory at Erdaogengzi. By the time we found him, he was still breathing, with the intestines exposed to the air. 

 According to his last words, another man surnamed Chen was also killed with him. The Japanese soldiers said he was Chinese soldier and pulled out his intestines with bayonets. My elder brother was only 20 years old then, and the man surnamed Chen was in his 30s. Soon my elder brother stopped his breathing. Later we found the body of Chen in a vegetable field, with a saber (knife) still poking into the body. The man surnamed Chen died miserably and left two mute teenage orphans.

Why did the Japanese soldiers accuse Chen of being a soldier?

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DOCUMENT 2

“Today I will once more be a prophet: If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the bolshevization (making communist) of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!” – Adolf Hitler

What is Hitler promising to do in this quote?

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DOCUMENT 3

Based on the map how was the European Jewish population affected by the Holocaust?

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DOCUMENT 4

How was the post-war treatment of Japanese leaders similar to Nazi leaders.

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DOCUMENT 5

Identify 2 laws that were violated by the defendants during the Nuremberg trials. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DOCUMENT 6

Identify 2 laws that were violated by the defendants during the Nuremberg trials. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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