This document describes the ways in which Japan and the German nations have taught the history of World War II. According to the document, the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) took a pro-communist and anti-fascist approach to the subject. At the same time, the Western Allies pressured the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to institute a political education system designed to prevent the Germans from starting anew on the track toward fascism. In recent years, the FRG took greater responsibility for the War, and the mass media were instrumental in bringing information to the German public. Japanese teaching about the War downplays the nation's aggression in Asia and the Pacific and emphasizes the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. The document argues that there is a continued need for peace education concerning World War II, but there is also a need to avoid negative politicization of the issue. Eighteen endnotes are included along with 47 references. (LBG)