LETTERS FROM THE GREAT WAR

LINKS

Letters from the WWI

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/letters-first-world-war-1915/

Timelines

https://spartacus-educational.com/FWWchronology.htm

https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/ww1-timeline/

https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/interactive-wwi-timeline

Useful information about the events

https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/wwi

http://www.historiasiglo20.org/4ESO/wwi.htm

https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I

https://www.firstworldwar.com/

Maps and locations:

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/first-world-war/a-global-view/

Photos:

https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/world-war-i-in-photos/

INSTRUCTIONS TO PREPARE THE WORK

The job is to "put yourself in the skin" of a World War I soldier and write a letter telling what he is living.

1. PERSONAL DATA

1.1. Name and surname of the soldier. Invented or real, but appropriate to their nationality. The students must adopt one, since the women were not recruited to fight in the front line.

1.2. The nationality and the alliance. Although the previous section must have been made clear, it should be reflected to which country and to which alliance the combatant belongs.

2. HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE

2.1. The front: western or eastern. Battle. Place and date. The soldier must be on one of the fronts and fight in a battle. You can use the best known - Marne, Tannenberg, Verdun, Somme or Marne- or research on lesser known ones. The letter must be indicated in the right margin of the part above the place, name of the battle and the date (day, month and year).

2.2. Life in the trenches. The letter should refer to the subhuman conditions that the soldiers endured: poor food, cold, humidity, mud, dirt, diseases, living with rats and lice, etc.

2.3. The new weapons. Some of the new weapons used should be mentioned, such as airplanes, tanks, machine guns, grenades, howitzers, gas and, consequently, the use of gas masks.

2.4. The censorship. It is possible to refer to the censorship through which correspondence passed or the danger of the content of the letter.

3. FEELING

3.1. The recipient. You should make it clear to whom you write, usually to a relative (mother, father -or both-, sisters, woman and children), your girlfriend or friends. The letter must be credible and the feelings of sadness and joy must be present.

3.2. New communication and response to other letters / s. The letter can be a new communication or a response to previous correspondence.

3. 3. Mood. By virtue of the date and battle chosen, the mood of the troops would be revealed: illusion, patriotism, hatred of the enemy, despair, disappointment, riots, desire for peace, etc.

4. PRESENTATION AND FORMAL ISSUES

4.1. Cardboard or folio, envelope and plastic. The presentation of the document can be done on a cardboard with a suitable color or on a sheet that will be provided with a slightly brown or sepia color - not so dark that the letter cannot be seen -, usually achieved with a little coffee. There are also students who choose to burn the sheet by some parts or trim it. The letter will be delivered in a plastic or in an envelope with a stamp, even with some strings, where the name and surname of the recipient and the sender will be written on the back.

4.2. Letter readable and suitable for the time. The letter must be legible, with paragraph differentiation by subject and, if possible, slightly inclined to the right. Spelling mistakes should be avoided.

4.3. Space. The recommended space is that of one side of a sheet, although if necessary by virtue of the font size or content, it can be extended to two sides.

4.4. Student ID. The student will write his name, surname and group behind the face of the written sheet, in a corner.