1. Why was the Russian campaign the turning point in the war for Germany?
2. How did the Japanese government miscalculate in entering the war against the Americans?
3. What was the holocaust? Who were its victims? Why was it carried out?
1. How did World War II change American society?
2. Why was World War II "the war of science"?
The Human Record, pp. 408-14, Rudolf Höss, Memoirs
1. How did Höss justify the killing of Jews and Russian communists? Do you agree with his position?
2. Who was responsible for the Holocaust? Was it Hitler, Nazi leaders, concentration camp commandants, camp guards, and/or German citizens?
Lost Names, pp.143-98
1. As the Japanese Empire declined and then surrendered to end the war, how does the relationship between Japanese and Koreans change? What prevents a bloodbath?
2. Based on the description of the "dying" Japanese Empire in the novel, should the U.S. have dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities filled with civilians to end the war? What do you think the boy in the novel would have wanted?
3. Today Japan is a stable, democratic society. Sixty years ago, why were so many Japanese driven to brutalize Koreans (an others in Asia)?
4. In the author's note at the end of the novel, Richard Kim writes, "in the last analysis, I do believe there is neither pure 'nonfiction' autobiography or memoir, nor pur 'fiction' fiction" (p. 198). What does he mean? Do you agree?