Three Potential History Topics to Research
I’ve decided that the three potential history topics I would like to research this semester are: Civilian Reactions to Battle of Britain during World War II, the Evacuation of the Philippines to Corregidor during World War II or the heroic Battle of Bataan fought by the Marines in the Philippines during World War II.
The reasons for researching the topics listed above are as follows:
I would like to understand better how the civilian populace of London and surrounding country dealt with the nightly bombing of their homes by German bombers for months on end. How did this effect their daily lives, why didn’t they leave for safer environments, how did they deal with the after effects of rebuliding their homes, of losing family and friends? After all, they weren’t in the military and hadn’t signed up for the fight against Germamy, how did they feel about being part of the front lines, as it were?
The Evacuation of the Phillipines to Corregidor appeals to me for similar reasons as above; the people who evacuated the Phillippines to Corregidor were medical staff, patients, and embassy staff. Their suffering and deprivation for months with little hope of rescue and how they dealt with it are intriguing. They, too, weren’t soldiers who had signed up for war on the front lines (except for the injured, who were hoping to escape the trauma of the front lines). What was their thoughts and reactions to the approaching Japanes invasion?
The Battle of Baatan appeals to me because there were so few of these Marines and they had little hope of stopping the Japanese but they put of a brave fight. They felt they were alone and no one (read military leaders) cared; so why did they continue to fight? They knew the battle would end in Japanese victory with them either dead or prisoners of war.
The characteristics that the people of Britain, Corregidor, and Baatan have in common are what I find intriguing; the will the to survive no matter what, and pick up and better their lives; providing inspiration to future generations.