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THE CHILDREN OF WORLD WAR I

PRIMARY SOURCES IN THE CLASSROOM

The primary sources in the unit, Children of World War 1, provide relevance and facilitate active student engagement in the personal and human aspects of war. Textbooks often enumerate about battles, leaders, and technology but omit the human consequences of war. Using the primary source photos and other resources listed on this page foster a deeper perspective of war. Students will analyze and internalize the motivation to defend as well as the effects of war on diverse social groups through primary source pictures.

"All armies in the Great War used kid soldiers. In the beginning of the war the enthusiasm to join the battle was so great that young boys (and even girls) could hardly be stopped to enlist. Recruiting Officers in all countries closed their eyes when eager children clearly under the required age - 18 years old - showed up to join their armies. At the end of the war children were even more welcome in the ranks, as the Great Mincing Machine continued to require human bodies with an astonishing need. Hardly trained the kids were sent to the trenches in Belgium, France, Russia and Turkey, where they mingled with the older soldiers - and died with them."

Primary Source Photographs

Young German Solder with Mother

Young Irish soldier

Young Sailor Navy

German mother smarts up her boy, who is ready to go to war.
Picture taken from Krieg dem Kriege (1924), the anti war book by Ernst Friedrich in which he addresses those responsible for "inspiring and preparing children for mass-murder".

From Kid-Soldier To Senator American Senator Mike Mansfield was a kid-soldier from the Great War. Mansfield was a son of Irish immigrants. In 1917, fourteen years old, he quit school and tried to enlist in the armed forces, but he was turned down.
He then went to the Catholic church where he had been baptized, obtained a copy of his birth certificate, and forged it to show that he was born a few years earlier. With these papers he was accepted in the Navy and he crossed the Atlantic seven times before officers discovered he was underage and discharged him.

Young British Soldiers

Young U.S. Soldier

Young American sailor.
In the USA enlisting of underage boys was an old custom. It went on until the early fifties of the last century.
The USA is the only country where an association called Veterans of Underage Military Service exists. The VUMS was formed in 1991.

Young British Soldiers

Eton boys ready for war. The story goes that under-age youths wishing to enlist during the war used to write the number eighteen on a piece of paper placed into the sole of their shoe. This was done in order to deceive the enrollment officer when asked if they were over 18...
The British army resisted any suggestion that recruits prove their age by producing their birth certificates when enlisting. It was a scandal which provoked complaints in Parliament. The National Service League also protested, claiming that around 15% of wartime recruits were underage.
The army eventually allowed underage soldiers to be reclaimed by their parents.

"Two French battalions of the line headed the charge, mostly formed of the youngest recruits. The Bavarians held their ground and fought gamely. The youngest soldiers of France rushed the machine-guns, at no matter what loss, emptied their magazines into the crowded trenches, and then jumped in and fought with the bayonet."

British weekly The War Illustrated on 28th May, 1915, describing a battle near La Bassée:

Young German Children

Young Child Digging Trenches

Young French Recruits

German children playing soldier.
Picture made in 1914. The boy on the left definitely is too young, but his brother will be wanted for the German army in the next years.
Photograph taken from Krieg dem Kriege (1924), the famous anti-war book by Ernst Friedrich.

Children like this boy had to work - cleaning and digging of trenches
as shown in this picture - and to fight as hard as grown up soldiers.

In France the enthusiasm to join was enormous. The picture shows young Frenchmen on their way to the recruiting office. A quote from the British weekly The War Illustrated on 28th May, 1915, describing a battle near La Bassée:

Interesting Fact:

The United States is the only country to have an organization for underage veterans of military service. You can read more about this at http://www.oldvums.com

Many pictures and information for this lesson may be found at:

http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-children.htm

Belgian orphans in France, 1917

French children watching advancing column of 101st Ammunition Train, Soulosse, 10 Apr 1918

http://www.loc.gov

School garden to help the War

The Library of Congress has a great section with pictures, letters, etc. called 'FROM THE HOME FRONT AND FRONT LINES". Go to: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/homefront-home.html

Suggestions for Lesson Implementation

The level of experience your students have had working with primary documents will determine where you will begin. If your students are novices, you may want to implement the Children of the War lesson as a whole group and then move to small group with extensions. Work within YOUR comfort zone as you develop your objectives, skills, methodology, and assessment. The suggestions below are simply ideas that I have incorporated in my classroom when using primary documents and interactive notebooks.

Organization:

1. To begin, I select pictures that are reflective of the concepts and ideas that I want my students to understand. This step in planning is the most time consuming but critical in developing your folders. Additionally, I always add a few pictures/documents in the folder collection that will create some group discussion.

2. Organize the pictures into group folders. You can use the SAME pictures for each group or make each folder different. In the early stages of primary document work, I have made each folder alike enabling students to listen to the ideas of others as we "debrief" on their experience working with the pictures/documents.

3. You can use pictures only or include text. I found a few letters from underage soldiers and families at the Library of Congress (Link listed above). For ESOL students or younger students, you may want to type the handwritten text and/or add phrases to help students understand more complex language.

4. Begin the lesson with ONE picture for the whole group in a power point or on the overhead projector. The one at the top of the page is a good starter. Include a letter written during this time or a recruiting poster from this time encouraging underage boys to enlist. Ask open ended questions about the picture (the 5W's works well) or guided observation questions. Then, present the objective and directions for the task to the class.

5. Give each student a document analysis recording sheet. The Library of Congress has some already made for text, photos, etc. I prefer to create my own. Additionally, my students put the document summary sheet in their OUTPUT side of the interactive notebook. The INPUT side would include facts about underage youth in the War that they already have from another class session.

6. Another page I give my students is called HDI (Historical Detective Investigation). The concept is based on the CSI television show. The location pictures work well to determine the "crime scene" or setting. Then, they have to zoom in on the details of the picture. Students record their information on a detective primary document analysis sheet in their notebook. I always have an affective box on the analysis worksheet for recording the "mood" or "feelings" from the pictures or document. Students also write a summary conclusion statement based on their work and must be ready with their points that prove their statement.

7. HINT: Since I spend so much time finding the exact pictures and documents, I do not want to have to do this again. Also, printer ink is expensive. I print the pictures in color on cardstock and laminate them. This way the kids can use and reuse the pictures. Also, put a number on the back of each picture in each folder, i.e. folder one pictures all have "1" on the back of the picture. When pictures get mixed up it is easy to find its "home" folder.

Lesson suggestions and more primary source links coming soon

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