World War II Biography Project
Assignment: Secure another outside book, and use the Time Life books in the back or other Internet
sources (be careful with Wikipedia, it’s almost always heavily biased one way or the other) to
prepare a 5-7 minute biographical power-point presentation on a WW II figure of your choice
which you will present to the class. It must be a MINIMUM OF 5 MINUTES and be comprised
of at least 12 SLIDES (including the title slide and sources cited slide). PRINT OUT A COPY OF IT
AND TURN IT IN WHEN YOU PRESENT. You must also prepare a script using 3x5 note cards that
contains MOST of the additional information not covered by your power point captions. DO NOT
PUT ALL YOUR INFO ON THE SLIDES AND JUST READ THE POINTS. Try and memorize
your script as much as you can so you can give us good eye contact, but USE the note cards as a
backup and to let the audience know that you’re just as human/forgetful as the rest of us. Warning: If
your power point fails to accomplish the following or you obviously did not put enough effort into it, I
will require an additional 4 page formal essay on the topic with appropriate citation. PROPERLY
CITE YOU SOURCES USING THE LIBRARY’s APPROVED METHOD---note anything you
paraphrase and only make LIMITED USE OF copied material in quotations! Keep quotes to a
minimum!
Your biography presentation should accomplish two things.
1. It should discuss the major events in the figure’ life The questions you need to consider/address
here include: 1. Where were they born? 2. What was their family like (rich, poor, Ethnic background,
religious)? 3. What major events shaped their early experiences as a child or young adult? 4. Where
did they go to school? 5. What were their career plans? 6. What was their personality like( easygoing, friendly, withdrawn, crazy?) 7. Were they married or did they have children? 8. What were
their religious views? 9. Any peculiar physical traits or habits? 10. What were their personal flaws?
2. Second, it should focus on your figure’s role in the War and his or her ultimate legacy. The
questions you need to consider/address here are: 1. Why did they fight for their side? 2. What
job/rank did they hold in the war? 3. What battles did they fight in or what did they do, and how did
this affect the outcome? 4. What were their chief military contributions in the war? 5. Were there
any special personal challenges they faced? 6. Was there anything heroic about them or their actions?
7. Did they have any fatal flaws? 8. What major mistakes did they make in the war and what did they
learn from them? Finally, 9. What did they do after the war, and when or how did they die? and 10.
What was their ultimate wartime legacy?
(Alt. 2.) If your figure was not a soldier, substitute some of the following questions for Pt. II.: 1. Why
they fought/ what they thought their side was fighting for in the war. 2. What they did during the
war? 3. What new challenges did they face in the war and how did they respond to these challenges?
5. What impact did the war have on their family’s life or their relationship with their family? 7. What
were their greatest wartime achievements and failures? 8. What helped them remain committed to
their work or to the cause when the casualties mounted and the war dragged on? 9. What did they
learn as a result of their wartime experiences and what was their ultimate legacy?
Grade: Your final grade will be based on the accompanying powerpoint rubric. Your script and
Power Point Presentation is due on____________________ when we will begin presenting your
power points in class. Note: Make sure your power point is here and working on the day you
need to present. Power Point Presentations will be marked down 1 full letter grade for each day
it is late i.e. 12 (A+) to a 9 (B+).
Turn over for possible topics. . .
Possible Topics: One person per Block!
Adolf Eichmann
Frank Capra
Adolf Galland
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Adolf Hitler
Franz Halder
Admiral Chester Nimitz
Frank Sinatra
Admiral Jean F. Darlan
George Marshall
Admiral Karl Doenitz
George S. Patton
Admiral Nagumo
Gerd Von Rundstedt
Admiral Raeder
Georgi Zhukov
Artur Axmann
George H. Bush
Albert Kesserling
Glenn Miller
Albert Einstein
Gotthardt Heinrici
Albert Speer
Hans Ulrich Rudel
Amelia Earhart
Harry S. Hopkins
Anne Baxter
Harry S. Truman
Arthur “Bomber” Harris
Henri Giraud
Audie Murphy
Henry H. Arnold
Axis Sally
Hideki Tojo
B.C. Freyberg
Hugh Dowding
Benito Mussolini
Herman Goering
Bernard Montgomery
Heinrich Himmler
Betty Grable
Heinz Guderian
Billy Mitchell
Ira Eaker
Bob Hope
Irosuko Yamamoto
Carl Spaatz
I.S. Konev
Charles DeGaulle
James Cagney
Charles Lindbergh
Jane Russell
Clark Gable
James Doolittle
Claude Auchinleck
Jiang Kai-Shek
Claus Von Stauffenberg
Jimmy Stewart
Count Galeazzo Ciano
Jochen Peiper
Dietrich Von Cholitz
Joe Louis
Douglas MacArthur
Joe “Lightning” Collins
Doris Miller
John F. Kennedy
Dwight Eisenhower
John Wayne
Edward Dietl
Johnathan Waynwright
Eleanor Roosevelt
Joseph Goebbels
Emperor Hirohito
Josef Stalin
Eric Hartmann
Kate Smith
Erich Von Stroheim
Lale Anderson
Erwin Rommel
Leni Riefenstahl
Erich Von Manstein
Lord Haw Haw
Edward R. Morrow
Mao Zedong
Ernst Rohm
Mark Clark
Eva Braun
Marshal Petain
Francis Gabreski
Maurice Gamelin
Maximillian Schell
Mitsuo Fuchida
Neville Chamberlain
Nikita Khruschev
Omar Bradley
Otto Skorenzy
Rita Hayworth
Rodolfo Graziani
Ronald Reagan
Rudolf Hess
Sepp Dietrich
Sir Alan Brooke
Sir Archibald Wavell
Sir Brian Horrocks
Sir Arthur Tedder
Tomoyuki Yamashita
Tokyo Rose
V. I. Chuikov
Von Paulus
Vyacheslav Molotov
Walt. Von Brauchitsch
Werner Von Braun
Winston Churchill
William F. (Bull) Halsey
A personal friend,
retiree, or relative
who served in WW
II
Any other names must
be approved in
advance by the
instructor!