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World War II: Pearl Harbor

Topic guide covering the events surrounding World War II.

Internet Resources

Remembering Pearl Harbor

From this unimaginable hell came survivors of the attack. More than half a century has passed, yet the events of that day are as vividly painted in their memories as were the flames of Pearl Harbor against the morning sky. That was December 7, 1941. These are their stories. The stories of heroes from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and U.S. Marines.

Source: Films on Demand

World War II - The Road to Pearl Harbor

Hitler's successful attacks on his European neighbors in 1939 and 1940 and his vicious anti-Jewish policies caused many Americans to seek intervention on behalf of Britain. Roosevelt committed America to full-scale war only after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. America's military forces, small and unprepared, expanded rapidly, but victory appeared remote in early 1942.

Source: Kanopy

Perspectives

Sunday in Hell

The author of A Return to Glory constructs a compellingly detailed and panoramic history of the fateful day that ushered the United States into WWII. Using long-established historical records and contemporary journals, as well as recently released wartime documents, Bill McWilliams has created a brand-new minute-by-minute narrative of the Day That Will Live in Infamy. Told from the points of view of dozens of characters, from generals and admirals and politicians and diplomats down to deckhands and private soldiers and innocent civilians at all levels, this panoramic overview of one of the most traumatizing and shocking events in American history puts the reader in a position to understand the big picture of strategy and tactics, as well as the intimate details of what the chaos, violence, and presence of death felt like to people immersed in the surprise of an armed attack on American soil. December 7, 1941, was a turning point in the history of the United States, which had been teetering on a decision between isolationism and intervention. One might argue that every US military engagement since then has been affected by what happened when America learned that it could not stand by and watch war among strangers without potentially becoming involved--whether we wished to or not.

Eyewitness to Infamy

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed the lives of almost every American, and began the process of putting 17 million of them in uniform to fight in World War II. Yet in the long and fascinating body of literature about this terrible event, most historians have neglected the compelling and moving accounts of the surviving military personnel and civilians who were on Oahu at the time of the attack, at dawn on December 7, 1941. Eyewitness to Infamy is their story--the astonishing oral history of the brutal attack that pushed the United States into WWII on the side of the Allies: the British, French, and Russians. With the help of the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion, Paul Travers collected more than 200 eyewitness accounts from which he painstakingly selected those critical to this behind-the-scenes narrative account. With breathtaking clarity, the narratives cover the full range of military activity on the island, along battleship row, and around the harbor, while portraying the human side of the event--the heroic, the tragic, and the terrible reality of the assault.

Doris Miller

Presents a biography of Doris Miller, an African-American sailor from Waco, Texas, who survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, defended his ship, and rescued several crewmen.

Pearl Harbor Christmas

Christmas 1941 came little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The shock--in some cases overseas, elation--was worldwide. While Americans attempted to go about celebrating as usual, the reality of the just-declared war was on everybody's mind. United States troops on Wake Island were battling a Japanese landing force and, in the Philippines, losing the fight to save Luzon. In Japan, the Pearl Harbor strike force returned to Hiroshima Bay and toasted its sweeping success. Across the Atlantic, much of Europe was frozen in grim Nazi occupation. Just three days before Christmas, Churchill surprised Roosevelt with an unprecedented trip to Washington, where they jointly lit the White House Christmas tree. As the two Allied leaders met to map out a winning wartime strategy, the most remarkable Christmas of the century played out across the globe. Pearl Harbor Christmas is a deeply moving and inspiring story about what it was like to live through a holiday season few would ever forget.

The Eagle and the Rising Sun

Alan Schom's histories and biographies have been celebrated for their iconoclastic approach and a dramatic focus on extraordinary personalities meeting at the crossroads of history. In this magisterial history of World War II in the Pacific, he shows how the conflict was in neither the United States's nor Japan's best interest. On one hand, the American government and people were as inadequately prepared for war as any major power has ever been; on the other hand, Schom's close reading of Japanese military and political documents reveal that their supreme command knew they could not possibly win.

Infamy! The Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tactical success for Japan, in that it destroyed much of the US naval fleet. But it also proved to be one of the most reckless and irresponsible strategic decisions in the history of warfare. Witness the events that occurred on the day of "infamy," and reflect on how and why the US was caught off guard.

Source: Kanopy

Under Attack - Pearl Harbor

Six episode series devoted to the history of the Pacific Theater of World War II. Starting with the tensions in the Pacific that led to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor through the epic battle of Midway and the Atomic Bombing of Japan.

Source: AVON