Growing up in the United States, we learn about WWII due to its deep importance in American history. Many of us have family members who were alive during the war, and some of us even know someone who fought in the war. The history we learn and grow up hearing about is not an experience unique to America. In Japan, Japanese students learn about WWII as well--but from a Japanese perspective. Many of the topics are similar, but some subjects are viewed rather differently. I asked a few Japanese friends and consulted my Japanese history professor to learn more about how WWII is treated and understood by Japanese people.
I first contacted my history professor, Dr. Bailey, in order to tap his expertise on the topic of World War II. “Many Japanese people didn’t know the true status of the war until it was too late,” he told me. “Propaganda wasn’t just a Western concept. Japanese people were led to believe the war was necessary and that Japan was winning almost the entire time.”
I borrowed the book Japan at War: An Oral History, which is full of firsthand accounts from the war. Many of those in the book mention their confusion and suffering towards the end of the war.
