Primary Sources Essay

Primary sources are documents written by those who experienced a particular event first hand. They help students understand what it was like to live through certain occasions and allows them to comprehend what all is happening besides the fighting in the war. These sources give insight and more detailed experiences that one would not learn through a textbook or even in school. Textbooks tend to leave out significant events that are important in the history of the United States. "A Breath of Freedom", Tadeusz Borowski, and the film "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" are examples of sources that challenge the traditional Ideas of World War II. "A Breath of Freedom" allows the reader to understand the personal experiences of the soldiers while fighting overseas. When reading about World War II through, for example, a textbook, it only

The film "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" shows a different perception of the everyday German civilians during the Nazi regime. When one thinks of an everyday German civilian during the time of World War II, most think that the civilians were happy with the idea of Hitler and Nazism. However, there were many civilians who did not support Hitler, but students are not taught that there were German people against the regime. The film shows the German civilians in a different way through the eyes of the White Rose. The White Rose was a group of non-violent students who were against the Nazi regime. They protested with the use of anonymous anti-Nazism leaflets. As seen in the first few minutes of the film, Scholl and her brother were at a University spreading the leaflets throughout the building. The film is about Sophie Scholl and her brother, who was caught handing out anti-Nazi leaflets and, after hours of questioning, are eventually sentenced to death. Sophie Scholl died for what she believed in and did not give in. Not many civilians had the bravery to stand up against Hitler because they knew of the harsh consequences that would