Explains the physics principles behind the VT (variable time) fuze, also called the proximity fuze, that was used in World War II in a radio device built into the nose of an aircraft shell or bullet that made it explode at the instant of passing an airplane in a near miss. Discusses other uses of the proximity fuze. (JRH)

Examines autobiographical narratives of three scientists from the wartime Los Alamos Laboratory. Finds an organizational structure manifest in ideological discourses for nuclear practice and sensemaking, permitting rationalization for working identities and labor objectives. Considers implications for the critical study of organizational…

Wrestles with the questions of how teachers might understand and respond to the risk of exposing children to graphic historical narratives. Focuses on picture books and novels intended to help children remember, understand, and confront the implications of the Nazi genocide of European Jewry and the use of nuclear weapons on the people of…

Argues that social change can be evidenced in the absence of an image. Discusses how murals painted by children 50 years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki do not depict "the bomb," but it pervades the murals nonetheless. Shows that viewers draw unintended analogies between the images and the bombings. (DSK)

Discusses the state of Germany's armed forces in World War II. Describes Germany's progress from inferior weaponry and unprepared military at the beginning of the war to superior weapons and fighting. Stresses heavy German dependence on horse drawn supply. Credits Germany's defeat to human attrition accelerated by Hitler's operational leadership.…

Examines a unit approach to World War II that emphasizes totalitarianism, the military conduct of the war, and the Holocaust. Advocates using a variety of teaching strategies, methods, and materials. Includes several examples of innovative materials and activities. (MJP)

Maintains that most history textbooks support the traditional view that dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima (Japan) was necessary to end World War II and save U.S. lives. Briefly articulates the revisionist view that the bombing's main purpose was to intimidate the Soviet Union. Reviews six textbooks. (MJP)

Presents results of a questionnaire asking Japanese teachers how and what they teach about World War II. Reports that survey included broad and narrow questions on the war in Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. Concludes that Japan's postwar peace education has been a success but that more emphasis needs to be placed on cause and effect in history. (DK)