WW II: Behind Closed Doors

National Standards

National Standards from the National Center for History in Schools at UCLA

United States History

Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)

STANDARD 3

The causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs.

Standard 3A

The student understands the international background of World War II.

Grade Level	Therefore, the student is able to
5-12	Evaluate American responses to German, Italian, and Japanese aggression in Europe, Africa, and Asia from 1935 to 1941. [Formulate a position or course of action on an issue]

Standard 3B

The student understands World War II and how the Allies prevailed.

Grade Level	Therefore, the student is able to
5-12	Explain the major turning points of the war and contrast military campaigns in the European and Pacific theaters. [Draw upon data in historical maps]
9-12	Evaluate the wartime aims and strategies hammered out at conferences among the Allied powers. [Hypothesize the influence of the past]
7-12	Evaluate the decision to employ nuclear weapons against Japan and assess later controversies over the decision. [Evaluate major debates among historians]
5-12	Explain the financial, material, and human costs of the war and analyze its economic consequences for the Allies and the Axis powers. [Utilize visual and quantitative data]

World History

Era 8: A Half-Century of Crisis and Achievement, 1900-1945

STANDARD 4

The causes and global consequences of World War II.

Standard 4A

The student understands the causes of World War II.

Grade Level	Therefore, the student is able to
9-12	Analyze the motives and consequences of the Soviet nonaggression pacts with Germany and Japan. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]

Standard 4B

The student understands the global scope, outcome, and human costs of the war.

Grade Level	Therefore, the student is able to
5-12	Explain the major turning points of the war, and describe the principal theaters of conflict in western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, North Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. [Interrogate historical data]
5-12	Assess how the political and diplomatic leadership of such individuals as Churchill, Roosevelt, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin affected the outcome of the war. [Explain the importance of the individual]
9-12	Assess the consequences of World War II as a total war. [Formulate historical questions]

Era 9

The 20th Century Since 1945: Promises and Paradoxes

STANDARD 1

How post-World War II reconstruction occurred, new international power relations took shape, and colonial empires broke up.

Standard 1B

The student understands why global power shifts took place and the Cold War broke out in the aftermath of World War II.

Grade Level	Therefore, the student is able to
5-12	Explain how political, economic, and military conditions prevailing in the mid-1940s led to the Cold War. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
7-12	Analyze major differences in the political ideologies and values of the Western democracies and the Soviet bloc. [Compare and contrast different ideas, values, and institutions]
7-12	Compare the impact of Soviet domination on Eastern Europe with changes that occurred in German and Japanese society under Allied occupation. [Compare and contrast differing values, behaviors, and institutions]

Note: While national standards provide recommendations for coverage of content, individual states establish their own curriculum standards. Please reference your own state's standards for specifics regarding grade level and topics.