Third Generation Warfare - The interwar years 

Third Generation Warfare - The interwar years 

In our very first lesson of the year we looked at what is history and how historians play an important role in preventing those in power from using and abusing the past for their own interest. School history creates its own potential problems. School history textbooks must be approved and exam boards control what is taught. Governments are often keen for us to be proud of our ‘nation’s past’, so want us to learn a particular version of our ‘nation’s story.’ Historians are a problem, because they encourage us to question such simple stories. 

Japanese textbook controversies

How do countries teach their children about events in their past that are difficult to be proud about. High-school students in Germany for example are required to take classes on 20th-century German history, including the Nazi era and the Holocaust.  As we have already seen the conduct of the Japanese army from 1937 resulted in the deaths of many tens of thousands of civilians. So how is the event generally known as the 'Rape of Nanjing' presented in Japanese some school textbooks? 

How history textbooks are produced in Japan have been a source of conflict between Japan and her regional neighbours - China and South Korea - and have occasionally threatened to become major diplomatic incidents. For example, anti-Japanese demonstrations were held in the spring of 2005 in China and South Korea to protest against a New History Textbook quoted above. In the end, although the book was approved for use in schools, very few Japanese schools elected to use it.  

Activities

Watch the film History textbook controversies and read the BBC article by Mariko Oi about studying history in Japan.  Mariko Oi was born in Japan but went on to study history as part of the International Baccalaureate programme in Australia. 

1. Why do think history teaching in schools can become so controversial? 

2. Read the extract from the 2005 Japanese history textbook.  It doesn't lie about the past, so why did so many people protest against it?