Brazil and the Second World War
Objective
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- evaluate Brazilian foreign policy initiatives in the 1940s.
- determine the rationale behind Brazil's entry into World War II.
- analyze the military situation faced by Brazilian forces.
- assess the Brazilian contribution to Allied victory.
Teacher Note
This lesson is best utilized in social science classes when discussing the Allied military campaigns of the Second World War.
Material
Activities
- Distribute the student handout entitled The Italian Campaign. (If available, display a topgraphic map of Italy in the classroom.)
- Review with the class the rationale behind the Allied decision to invade Italy in 1943.
- Explain that the government of Mussolini had collapsed in 1943, but that the Germans still had a strong hold on Italy. Those forces had to be dealt with.
- Explain that some of the Allies, particularly Winston Churchill, viewed Italy was the "soft underbelly” of the Axis," easily cut through to reach Germany.
- At the same time, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, did not want to divert extensive forces from the full scale invasion of Nazi occupied Europe. The Italian front was seen as secondary.
- Direct students to trace the course of Allied progress from September 3, 1943 to the Gothic Line. How long had it taken the Allies? How do they account for this? (If a topographic map is available, illustrate the mountainous nature of the Italian peninsula.
- If available, show clips of the fighting in Italy from The World at War series, Volume 13: “Tough Old Gut.” Explain that the Italian Front saw some of the toughest fighting of the war. Was Churchill correct in calling it the “soft underbelly?”
- Distribute the student handout entitled Brazil Goes to War.
- Direct students to read the first section: "Brazil in the 1940s."
- Ask students to describe the nature of the Brazilian government in the 1940s. Was it democratic or authoritarian?
- Ask students to explain why the Brazilian Foreign Minister believed that Brazil had "to decide: the United States or Germany."
- Direct students to read the second section: "The Path to War."
- List the following on the chalkboard: Power, Protection, Prestige, Profit, Principles.
- Explain that these are the five primary reasons, according to political scientists, why nations go to war. Based on the information given in the handout, ask students select the reason(s) that motivated Brazil to enter the Second World War.
- Direct students to read the section entitled "Getting Ready."
- Ask the class to assume the role of a platoon of Brazilian soldiers recruited for this war effort. What would they know about the war in Europe? What would be their concerns?
- Direct students to read the section entitled “On the Front Lines” and to compare the map in this section with The Italian Campaign map.
- Ask students to locate the IV Corps position on both maps. If they were part of the Brazilian DIE, would they really be prepared to fight a campaign in this mountainous country? What difficulties might they face, particularly in winter?
- Direct students to read the section entitled "In Combat."
- Ask students to place themselves in the Brazilian DIE. If they were members of the Cobras Fumantes. How would they feel about what they achieved during the Italian campaign?
- Direct students to locate the term "Monte Castello" in the first paragraph. Although not of the same significance as D-Day or Iwo Jima in the big picture of the war, why would Monte Castello hold special significance for the Brazilians?
- Direct students to read the final section entitled "The Aftermath."
- As a concluding activity, ask students to assume the role of a Brazilian soldier in Italy at the end of the war, and direct them to write "a letter home" describing their experiences and their feelings about what they have achieved.
- When students have completed their letters, direct them to make a bulletin board collage using the letters to describe the experiences of the Cobras Fumantes.
