process paper
A couple years ago, I was encouraged to read The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This book was a piece of historical fiction that told the story of Helmuth Hubener in first-person, through him sharing memories of his resisting while in his prison cell, awaiting execution. His story amazed me then and still does today. The fact that he had the courage to stand up for what he knew was right. When I was considering topics, I thought back to him and realized there would be no other topic that I felt more passionate about. I researched further and eventually expanded my topic to European resistance movements in WWII.
When I began conducting my research, I first reread Bartoletti's book and watched a documentary on Helmuth. These both led me to consider other resistance groups thus giving me other research opportunities. From there, I continued to investigate through all kinds of sources including, videos, websites, articles, and books. Through researching, I was able to find very useful sources. One even lead me to an interview in which I learned more information on a resistance group and gained many useful quotes. I was also able to find extremely useful primary sources. I found books written by insurgents, video interviews with them, even a virtual museum. I found resources from several libraries, including the University of Washington, from relatives, and on the Internet.
Originally, I was considering presenting my project as a documentary, an exhibit board, or a website. However, I had my hesitations with each. I didn't know if I had enough pictures, videos, or other visuals for a documentary and I couldn't visualize how to get my message across with an exhibit board. With a website, I was worried I wouldn't be able to make the closer deadline. However, as I started working with Weebly, I realized I had all the information and resources I needed. My website turned out better than I was expecting and I can't see my project in any other way.
My topic was originally hard to relate to the theme, seeing as half of the movements died before they could change much. However, I was very passionate about this topic and worked hard to make it relate. My thesis went through several revisions. In the process, I realized how the resisting groups, though overlooked, conducted a turning point. If they had not resisted, many would not have known the truth, thousands more would have died, and nations might not have been freed. There were more movements in Europe including in France, Hungary, Norway, Russia, and many more. Together all these movements were a turning point in history. After all, with out them, how much more would the Nazis have accomplished? What information would the Allies lack? Most importantly, who would have won the war?
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