Lesson Plan: Remembering the Italian Campaign

Aim

To engage youth in remembering and commemorating Canadians who fought and died in the Italian Campaign during the Second World War.

Objectives

Youth will:

• demonstrate an understanding of remembrance and commemoration of Canadians who served during the Second World War;
• develop a basic knowledge of cemeteries in Italy where Canadians who died during the Second World War are buried.

Target Audience

This activity is suitable for ages 12 to 18.

Sequence of Events and Anticipated Time Frame [90 minutes]

(This activity can be modified to fit available time.)

• Introductory Discussion [10 minutes]
• Research [45 minutes]
• Presentations [30 minutes]
• Closing [5 minutes]

Materials

• Computers with access to Internet
• World map and map of Italy
• Selected list of Canadian fallen of the Italian Campaign
• Canada Remembers the Italian Campaign historical sheet
• Canadian Virtual War Memorial website
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
• A Day of Remembrance

Introductory Discussion [15 minutes]

Open a discussion on the Second World War. Ask your students what they know about the Canadian participation in the conflict. Talk about the Italian Campaign and the role Canadians played there between July 1943 and February 1945. You can refer to the historical sheet Canada Remembers the Italian Campaign for background information. You can mention that in the 20 months there, more than 93,000 Canadians saw action; more than 26,000 became casualties and of that, almost 6,000 were fatal.

Let the class know that they will do a research project on a Canadian fallen of the Italian Campaign and present their findings to the class. Tell them that more than 5,900 Canadians are buried throughout Italy in 41 cemeteries. Some cemeteries have only one Canadian while one cemetery has more than 1,000 Canadians burials. Some Canadians who died during the Italian Campaign have no known grave, so they are commemorated on a special memorial. These Canadians who died in the cause of peace and freedom were from all regions of our country.

Research [40 minutes]

Distribute the list of selected Canadians buried in Italy. The list contains one individual buried in each of the 41 cemeteries there. Men and women from across Canada, they served in the army, the air force and the navy. By learning about and remembering one individual, it helps us to remember all those who served and died.

Assign one name per student or let your students choose the fallen they want to research from the list. Alternatively, if students know a specific Canadian who is buried in Italy, they may do their research project on that individual.

Show your class how to use the Canadian Virtual War Memorial website. This special resource helps to recognize and keep alive the memory of the achievements and sacrifices made by those who served Canada in the defence of freedom and to commemorate the lives of more than 118,000 Canadians who, since Confederation, have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country.

To start, search the Canadian Virtual War Memorial by filling out the last name of the fallen in the search box. If you end up with a large number of names, you can enter more information to narrow the results.

Once the page of the fallen is found, have your students capture personal information, such as:

• Date and place of birth
• Date of death
• Service number
• Age
• Force, unit or division
• Cemetery
• Grave reference
• Additional information

Invite your student to do a Web search on their fallen to try finding more information. Online newspaper archives are a good starting point, as well as military history research websites.

Then, ask your students to research on the cemetery where their fallen service member is buried. You can tell them how many Canadians are buried in each cemetery (this information provided on the selected list of Second World War Canadian fallen buried in Italy. Students may discover information about the cemetery on the fallen service member’s page in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, or they can also visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. There, they will find the exact GPS coordinates of the cemetery, plus a map.

The purpose is to find out where exactly in Italy the cemetery is located and to show, during the class presentations, where Canadians served, fought and are buried. Cemeteries are for the most part located in the vicinity of where the fighting happened. However, you will also find out that some service members like aviators, for instance, may be buried far from the main combat zone.

Presentations [30 minutes]

Have students present their fallen and share information on the cemetery where he or she is buried.

Provide a map of Italy where students can show the location of the cemetery of their fallen Canadian service member. If possible, have them indicate where they are buried on a paper map with a push pin or a virtual marker on a digital map. At the end of the presentations, you should see various places on the map where Canadians are buried, offering a powerful image of the wide ground covered by the Canadians in their 20 months in Italy.

Closing [10 minutes]

Remind your class that 93,000 Canadians served in Italy during the Second World War and over 26,000 were casualties. Researching on a fallen Canadian of the Italian Campaign helps them remember and commemorate all Canadians who served both during that specific campaign and the Second World War.

Using the Veterans Affairs Canada resource A Day of Remembrance as a guide, provide some background information on the concepts of commemoration and remembrance. Ask some general questions, such as:

• Why should we remember?
• Whom should we remember?
• How can we remember the sacrifices and accomplishments made by Canadians during times of war and peace, allowing us to live in peace and freedom in the Canada we know today?

Now ask the class to list possible activities they could pursue to mark the anniversary of the Italian campaign. Examples might include:

• Compiling a list of Italian Campaign Veterans who live in their community;
• Designing and developing a commemorative display to mark the anniversary that could be showcased in the school;
• Organizing a commemorative ceremony at the school and share the event on the Canada Remembers Facebook page or on Twitter;
• Visiting a local war memorial or cemetery which pays tribute to men and women who served;
• Contacting the local municipality or Veterans' organization and volunteer to assist with commemorative activities or events that may be planned for the area;
• Creating a presentation about the Italian Campaign, using the Italian Campaign photo gallery and art gallery;
• Listening to stories of Italian Campaign Veterans on the Heroes Remember website, the Memory Project website or on the National Film Board website;
• Including a visit to a war cemetery or memorial as part of an overseas school trip, etc.

Ask them which activity they would like to pursue themselves and how likely they are to try some of them.