# World War II Podcast For Kids

An episode of [The Children's Hour](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1373480705), 11 Jan 2026, 1 h 00 min.

Audio: https://media.blubrry.com/childrenshour/ins.blubrry.com/childrenshour/TCH_WWII-new_podcast.mp3

We take a step back in time, to over 80 years ago to World War II, one of the biggest conflicts in human history, which changed modern humanity forever. Learn from Ms. Teresa Rand Bridges' bilingual 5th grade class at Alvarado Elementary, a public school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

## Transcript

[0:01] Coming up on The Children's Hour, we're going to take a step back in time to over 80 years
[0:07] ago, to World War II, one of the biggest conflicts in human history which changed modern humanity
[0:15] forever. Learn from Ms. Theresa Rand Bridges' bilingual fifth grade class at Alvarado Elementary,
[0:22] a public school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There's a lot to learn today on The Children's
[0:28] Hour. We're mixing with music that either came from the era or teaches us something about
[0:34] World War II. Stick with us. This is The Children's Hour. The Children's Hour is produced by The
[0:41] Children's Hour, Inc. We're a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization dedicated to giving
[0:47] kids opportunities to create radio. You can learn a lot more about us at Children'sHour.org.
[0:54] It's time for The Children's Hour. Kids call the radio. What does the statue of liberty
[1:05] stand for? I don't know what. It can't sit down! This time we're just children's power.
[1:16] Kids Public Radio.
[2:44] I don't speak right
[3:34] Find a learning guide with activities, lesson plans, and more for this episode at ChildrensHour.org.
[3:40] Look for World War II. That was Why Can't We Be Friends by War. You're listening to the
[3:47] Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone and today on the show we're taking a step back in time.
[3:54] Over 80 years, in fact. We're learning about World War II today. one of the biggest conflicts
[4:01] in human history, which changed modern humanity forever. World War II started September 1st,
[4:09] 1939, when Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. It lasted six
[4:16] years, until September 2nd, 1945. You'll learn more about World War II today from the research
[4:23] of Ms. Theresa Rand Bridges' bilingual fifth grade class at Alvarado Elementary. a public
[4:30] school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The music we play is either from that era or is about
[4:38] World War II. If you ask experts or historians when or how did World War II start, well,
[4:45] people are still debating that almost a hundred years later. But what we all know for sure
[4:52] is that World War II was one of just two periods in history where every continent on the planet
[4:58] was involved in the same conflict, forming two major teams, the Allied power and the
[5:05] Axis powers. Around 56 million people died in World War II. I don't know about you, but
[5:12] that number can be hard for me to wrap my mind around. It's more deaths than any other war
[5:19] in history, and there's a lot to learn about how that tragedy unfolded. Here's Anakin Madrid
[5:26] from Alvarado Elementary. There were two sides in World War II, the Allied and the Axis powers.
[5:33] The Allied powers were the United States of America, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Great
[5:40] Britain led by Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union led by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
[5:48] The Axis powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan. After World War I, Germany had lost and they
[5:56] did not accept it. In the 1930s in Germany, a new political party came to power. They
[6:03] called themselves the Nazis and their vision for the world was harsh and cruel, where society
[6:10] was divided by people's identities. They thought that some people were better than others just
[6:16] because of their religion or hair color or who they loved. A lot of innocent people were
[6:21] persecuted just for who they were. Many families were taken from their homes and placed in concentration
[6:28] camps, including the young Anne Frank. Anne Frank was born to a Jewish family in Frankfurt,
[6:39] Germany on June 12, 1929. Judaism is a religion that believes in one God. Jewish people follow
[6:47] that religion. Anne's family tried to live a normal life in Frankfurt, but the conditions
[6:53] were getting worse for Jews because Hitler had his distinction between Aryan people and Jewish
[6:59] people, which is false. The Franks later moved to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Anne was only four
[7:06] when they moved. In Amsterdam, she lived a normal life with her family. For Anne's 13th
[7:13] birthday, she got a blank diary.
[7:19] The Nazis, a group Hitler led, later invaded Amsterdam. Lots of Jews left from Amsterdam,
[7:25] but the Franks went into hiding. hid with two other families, and of course, her family.
[7:33] Their secret house was hidden behind a bookshelf. Anne was only 13 when she went into hiding.
[7:43] Anne wrote in her diary, My greatest wish is to be a journalist and later on a famous writer.
[7:50] loved to write about the way she felt especially during the hard months of hiding. One unusual
[7:57] morning, the Franks were discovered. Most of the family got sent to concentration camps.
[8:04] Anne and Margo, Anne's sister, got sent to Bergen-Belsum, a concentration camp in Germany.
[8:11] Sadly, and Margot got very ill with typhus. Margot died and shortly after Anne died at
[8:19] the age of 15. Otto Frank, Anne's dad, was only survivor from the families who lived in the
[8:28] secret annex. Otto returned to the secret annex in hopes that his family would be there. Instead,
[8:35] he found Anne's diary and had it published in 1947. Now it's in bookstores and has been
[8:43] read around the world. Anne did fulfill her dream of being a writer. It's a great book.
[8:49] You should read it.
[9:05] You come when I call you, I'll come when you call me I'll call you at half past one Once
[9:13] for the pretty little baby that's born, born, born and gone away Oh will you come when I
[9:22] call you I'll come when you call me I'll call you at half past two Two's for the love of
[9:29] me and you One's for the pretty little baby that's born Born, born and gone away Oh will
[9:38] you come when I call you I'll come when you call me I'll call you at half past three Three's
[9:46] for these warships at sea Two's for the love of me and you for the pretty little baby that's
[9:53] born, born, born and gone away. Will you come when I call you? I'll come when you call me.
[10:02] I'll call you at half past four. Fours for the guns of this war. Threes for these warships
[10:09] at sea. Twos for the love of me and you. Ones for the pretty little baby that's born, born,
[10:16] born and gone away.
[10:20] When I call you I'll come When you call me Five's for the warplanes that fly Four's for the guns
[10:31] of this war Three's for these warships at sea Two's for the love of me and you One's for
[10:37] the pretty little baby that's born, born, born and gone away Oh will you come when I call
[10:46] you I'll come when you call me Call you at half past six Six for the city's all wrecked Five
[10:54] for the warplanes that fly Fours for the guns of this war Threes for these warships at sea
[11:00] Twos for the love of me and you Ones for the pretty little baby That's born, born, born
[11:07] and gone
[11:17] Seven for the continents, blowed up Six for the cities all rent Five for the warplanes
[11:23] that fly Fours for the guns of this war Threes for these warships at sea Twos for the love
[11:30] of
[11:49] Seven for the continents, blowed up Six for the cities all wrecked Five for the warplanes
[11:55] that fly Fours for the guns of this war Threes for these warships at sea Twos for
[12:22] Seven for the continents, blowed up Six for the cities all wrecked Five for the warplanes
[12:27] that fly Fours for the guns of this war Threes for these warships at sea Twos for the love
[12:34] of me and you Ones for the pretty little babies that's born, born, born
[12:51] the atom bomb loose again. Nine for the crippled and blind, eight for my eight billion grave.
[12:57] Seven for the continents, blowed up. Six for the cities all wrecked. Five for the war planes
[13:02] that fly. Four's for the guns of this war. Three's for these warships at sea. Two's for the love
[13:09] of me and you. One's for the pretty little baby that's born, born, born anew.
[13:19] That was the Woody Guthrie tune, Come When I Call You, done by The Clasmatics off of Wonder
[13:24] Wheel. We just heard a little bit about Anne Frank's life. She's one of six million Jewish
[13:30] people who were murdered by the Nazis. That effort to rid the world of Jewish people is
[13:35] called the Holocaust. And in addition to Jewish people, other groups were targeted too, like
[13:41] people of color, disabled people, and the LGBT communities. That forced a lot of people to
[13:48] try to escape to other countries, like Anne Frank's family, who were helped by strangers.
[13:54] But sometimes finding refuge was more challenging. From the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington,
[14:01] D.C., we have the story of one friendship across the Atlantic Ocean that saved a family's life.
[14:08] My dear Jane, you cannot imagine how happy I was when I got your letter. It showed me
[14:15] that I really have some real friends who think on me also in bad times. Mary Ann Winter,
[14:21] a teenager in Vienna, was writing to her pen pal, Jane Bomberger, who lived in the United
[14:28] States. I am sure you follow the papers. Facts are that we have to emigrate under every circumstances.
[14:35] Jews like Mary Ann and her family were suddenly encountering daily harassment and persecution.
[14:42] Nazi Germany had annexed Mary Anne's home country earlier that year. The move was overwhelmingly
[14:48] popular with the majority of the Austrian people. Thousands gathered in the streets to welcome
[14:55] the unopposed arrival of Hitler in the German army. While many cheered, Jews were subjected
[15:02] to numerous restrictions on daily life and to public humiliation. In one such incident,
[15:09] Mary Anne and her mother were stopped in the street. and forced to scrub the floor of a
[15:15] barracks. Faced with increasing persecution, the Winter family was desperate to escape.
[15:21] Jane Bomberger lived in Pennsylvania, where her father worked as a builder. Jane had never
[15:28] met Marianne in person. She picked Marianne's name randomly from a list at a campfire girls
[15:34] meeting. By the time Marianne asked for help getting out of Europe, the pen pals had exchanged
[15:41] letters for three years. sharing details about their lives and families. Now I ask you, my
[15:47] dear, if it would be possible for you to get a connection with any rich man who would be
[15:52] able to give us an affidavit. Of course, I know that you and your family have not the
[15:58] money to claim for us, but it is sad to say that we have no one in USA. Fleeing the Nazis
[16:04] and getting into the United States was far from easy. Most immigrants had to get an affidavit
[16:11] of financial support. from an American sponsor, plus many different documents. One missing
[16:18] or expired document could mean starting the process all over again. Nearly 140,000 people
[16:26] in Germany and Austria were on the waiting list to receive U.S. visas. Despite these challenges,
[16:33] and although the two families had never met, the Bombergers agreed to sponsor the winters.
[16:39] Dearest Jane, you cannot imagine how we felt after having received your letter an hour ago.
[16:47] We could not believe that there are such people who really are so kind and to help us. In
[16:54] August 1938, their situation became unbearable, and the Winters fled Vienna to live with relatives
[17:01] in Prague, Czechoslovakia. There, the U.S. Consulate initially denied their visa application
[17:08] because Joseph Bomberger's affidavit of support listed the Winter family as friends instead
[17:14] of relatives. Fearing the Nazis would invade Czechoslovakia, Marianne's father Max wrote
[17:22] to Josef Bomberger for additional help. Without hesitation, Josef sent more income statements
[17:29] to prove he could support the Winters financially. I thank you again and again for everything
[17:36] you are doing just now for us and what you did the whole time. After reviewing the new documents,
[17:42] the U.S. consulate in Prague finally issued their immigration visas. The Winters set sail
[17:49] from Italy on January 6, 1939 on the SS Conte di Savoia. After a long voyage, they were
[17:57] greeted by Jane and her father upon their arrival in New York City. The family stayed at the
[18:03] Bombergers' home for a brief time before moving to a nearby apartment. Mary Ann's family sought
[18:10] to help other refugees. But leaving Nazi-occupied territory became increasingly difficult, especially
[18:18] after the war began later that year. Somewhere over the rainbow way up high There's a land
[18:43] that I've heard of once in a lullaby Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are
[19:03] And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star
[19:16] and wake up where the clouds are far behind me Troubles melt like lemon drops away above
[19:29] the chimney tops That's where you'll find me
[19:55] You're listening to the Children's Hour, Kids Populic Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's
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[21:40] Welcome back to The Children's Hour. Today on the show, we're learning about World War II,
[21:45] before the break somewhere over the rainbow was sung by Ingrid Michaelson, which originally
[21:50] appeared in the hit movie, The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939, just before the start of
[21:57] World War II. And in any war, countries put a lot of work into getting and transmitting
[22:05] information that could help their side win. From using spies to secret codes, there's so
[22:13] much to know about how the US and its allies used information to fight the war.
[22:24] Why were spies so important? Because they got important information from the Axis and Allied
[22:30] powers. They found out where they were going to put bombs and how to break their codes.
[22:36] Spies also helped the US avoiding major attacks. The US cracked the German code, but the Axis
[22:45] powers never cracked the US code. The Germans used a cryptography machine called the Enigma.
[22:54] In contrast, the US developed a code from the Navajo language. The US was able to capture
[23:03] an enigma machine and figure it out, but Germany and Japan never figured out the Navajo code.
[23:10] Navajo code talkers were US Marines that made and used codes to keep secrets. In 1942,
[23:19] Philip Johnstone had an idea. His idea was that he could base codes on indigenous languages,
[23:26] so he picked the Navajo language. When the Navajo men were trained at boot camp, they
[23:32] called them Code Talkers, or Wind Talkers. Code Talkers went to different islands for
[23:37] battle. Code Talkers also helped U.S. coordinate during battle. They called airplanes hummingbirds
[23:45] and submarines big wells. President George Bush gave an award to the Navajo Code Talkers for
[23:52] their help.
[24:06] He was born and grew up on Navajo land, a child of the masons and canyons so grand.
[24:36] The holy ones looked upon him with care. Nature provided him warmth, water, and air. Kotaker,
[24:47] you were chosen as a warrior. Kotaker, for you there was no barrier. Kotaker, you are
[25:01] like Manuelito. Ko-Takur. Victory was your only motto. He was at school one day when
[25:13] he heard they needed him. He devoured every word. He answered the call without hesitation.
[25:23] He left school to help the whole nation. Ko-Takur. You were chosen as a warrior. Kotaker. For
[25:40] you, there was no barrier. Kotaker. You are like Chief Manuelito. Kotaker. Victory was
[25:56] your only motto. He sailed west. The route changing women took to rouse the enemy out
[26:10] of every cranny and nook. His sacred language, short and deadly strife. The baffled enemy
[26:22] had to run for his life. Kotaker. Your country knows of your Kotaker, your objective was
[26:39] not of Everest. Kotaker, though you are called a nation's hero, you chose to be humble, but
[26:52] you're still a hero. Next is sir.
[27:26] That's read Mila Cody with Code Talkers. You're listening to the Children's Hour and we're
[27:32] learning about World War II with Miss Rand Bridge's bilingual fifth graders at Alvarado Elementary
[27:39] School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The attack on Pearl Harbor happened December 7, 1941.
[27:49] It was a well-planned surprise attack by Japan. The person who led it was the Vice Admiral
[27:56] of the Japanese Navy. The US military didn't respond to Pearl Harbor's call for help until
[28:02] the next day. This attack was a total surprise for the US. The Japanese sent spies to Pearl
[28:10] Harbor to know when was the right time to attack. The day of the attack, a soldier named Joseph
[28:17] detected a swarm of aircraft in the air, 130 miles away. This could have prevented the
[28:24] attack on Pearl Harbor, but they thought they were American planes flying in from the mainland.
[28:30] Little did they know it was the Japanese. Days after the attack, Germany and Italy declared
[28:38] war on the US. This led to the US joining World War II.
[28:52] German and Italian citizens living in the United States were held as political prisoners during
[28:58] World War II, but after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the U.S.
[29:06] rounded up 120,000 people of Japanese descent and put them into internment camps, including
[29:15] two here in New Mexico. Nearly two-thirds of them were American citizens. Years later, the
[29:23] U.S. government would apologize and pay reparations to the people who had been held in the camps.
[29:29] But it took decades for that to happen. Robin Amor and Jesse C. from Vocalo Media have more.
[29:37] Chie Tomohiro and Sam Ozaki were both interned during World War II. They were teenagers in
[29:43] the early 40s. Both lived on the West Coast. Chie was from Portland. Sam was from California.
[29:48] Both of their fathers were fairly successful businessmen. active in the Japanese community.
[29:53] Both Chie and Sam described their fathers as community leaders. They were leading successful,
[29:59] stable lives, the kind of lives their families had come to America hoping to achieve, until
[30:05] Pearl Harbor. Suddenly, they weren't model citizens anymore. They were the enemy. Here's
[30:12] Chie describing what happened. The FBI had selected certain people that they considered
[30:18] leaders in the community. Right on the day of Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941, my father
[30:24] was picked up by the FBI. The FBI came in, ransacked her house, went through all the
[30:30] drawers and everything. And you know, I had a US savings bond, a $25 US savings bond. They
[30:36] even took that. There was something going on at the church and my mother and I were out.
[30:44] We were so naive. Can you believe this? We thought that since my father was very fluent in English
[30:50] that he was taken to help interpret, you know, be a translator. We were so naive. That's
[30:58] what we thought. Well, when we found him in the Multnomah County Jail, you know, locked
[31:05] up like an ordinary prisoner, then we knew he was, you know, not there to help.
[31:17] They were treated like prisoners of war. He didn't return until was April of 1944. So
[31:24] he was separated from you and your mother for three years? Yeah.
[31:34] My father had lived in this country since 1903 and because of the law saying that no Asians
[31:43] can become naturalized citizens, he did not have citizenship. And so when the war came,
[31:49] he automatically became an enemy alien. The FBI thought that by taking the leaders of the
[31:56] community out and away, that we would be helpless. We wouldn't be committing sabotage or whatever.
[32:03] I don't know what they thought we were going to do. They thought they were taking the dangerous
[32:08] people out of the community. was a similar story for Sam's father. He was sent to a camp in
[32:14] Santa Fe, New Mexico. We would not see him for possibly a good year, maybe year and a half.
[32:21] We never dreamed under the circumstances that we would have to be evacuated and interned.
[32:30] And especially since we were born and raised in this country and we had citizenship, we
[32:36] thought that the Constitution was going to protect us. And it's very interesting, the notices
[32:43] that were pinned up on the telephone poles and on the walls of buildings ordering us to report,
[32:50] you know, to the assembly center, it said, To all people of Japanese ancestry, aliens
[32:57] and non-aliens. They didn't want to say citizen. They knew they were doing something that was
[33:05] unconstitutional. They did not have the facilities to house 120,000 persons right away. So what
[33:14] they did, they took over racetracks. fairgrounds, places where they had some kind of facility
[33:22] where they could house temporarily 120,000 persons. I was one month away from graduating high
[33:29] school when we were ordered to the assembly center, which was the Pacific International
[33:35] Livestock Exposition Grounds. That was a very horrible place. It was one huge barn, and we
[33:41] were all forced to live in. the areas where the animals were displayed. treated the horses
[33:48] better than they treated us because these race horses are very valuable pieces of property.
[33:55] It's nice to visit a horse stable on occasion for a few minutes, but when you have to live
[34:00] in a stable and you smell the horses all the time, that's not so pleasant. I think that
[34:05] the lack of privacy... The total lack of privacy... ...was a worse thing for everyone. The only
[34:11] way anybody could get any privacy was hanging the Army blankets that we were given. There
[34:17] was only a wall, not a wall, but a barrier, I would call it, between the families. And
[34:22] so the whole barn can hear you if you had a quarrel or anything like that. We were in the
[34:29] Santa Anita racetrack for approximately six months. and that gave the government time to
[34:34] build a more permanent type concentration camp. called it relocation center. I call it a euphemism
[34:40] when they call it a relocation center, but we were given numbers on the tags. From there
[34:47] on in, we were numbers. We were first told to stuff these ticks with straw, which were
[34:55] our mattresses for our army cots, and we were assigned a 2020 by 24 room, they called it
[35:05] apartments, but they were rooms for each family. I happened to be lucky because I was an only
[35:12] child. Our next door neighbor, there were four kids and mother and father in one 20 by
[35:20] 24 room. In our case, my two sisters, my mother had a very small unit. maybe 20 by 15 or something
[35:29] like that. There was no furniture in the room. The only thing that we had was a potbelly stove.
[35:33] And I worked as a lumberjack cutting down trees and cutting the branches into smaller pieces
[35:40] so they could be used to burn in the potbelly stoves. That was the only warmth we had during
[35:47] the winter. Actually, there were no chairs, no benches, nothing. No closet, of course.
[35:52] No place to hang your clothes. After a while... You know, we found lumber and empty boxes and
[36:00] brought them in to sit on. And there were some people who were very handy and they created
[36:05] cupboards and desks and things like that, but I had no skills and there was no real lumber
[36:12] to build these things.
[36:17] That piece originally aired on Vocalo 89.9 FM Chicago Public Media. He said my name is Nakashima
[36:30] I am a proud American I came here in 27 from my
[36:47] And I picked your grapes and oranges, saved some money, bought a store until 1942. Pearl
[37:08] Harbor
[37:13] game They took our house, the store, the car And they drove us through the desert To a place
[37:32] called Manzanar A Spanish word for apple orchards We kiss on apple trees Just the rows of prison
[37:53] barracks With barbed wire boundaries And we dream of apple blossoms Waving free beneath
[38:10] the stars Till we'd wake up in the desert The prisoners of Mons and Arms
[39:16] of apple blossoms waving free beneath the stars till we'd wade still prisoners of Monsignor,
[39:39] Monsignor. 50 years of all but vanished. Now I am...
[40:01] came here from Japan
[40:09] winter nights I often wish upon a star that I'd forget the same sorrow that I felt at Montenar
[40:29] where we dream of apple blossoms Waving free beneath the star
[40:44] You're listening to the Children's Hour Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's
[40:50] Hour is now producing weekly educational modules to go with every episode, thanks to a grant
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[41:40] Welcome back to the Children's Hour. Before the break, was Manzanar by Tom Paxton and Ann
[41:44] Hills off of Under American Skies. And that word Manzanar refers to the Manzanar War Relocation
[41:51] Center in California. It was one of 10 American internment camps set up between March 1942
[41:59] and November 1945. Today on the show, we're learning about World War II with Ms. Rand Bridges'
[42:06] fifth grade bilingual students at Alvarado Elementary and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Japan went to
[42:14] war because they needed resources. Their military traditions were very different and included
[42:22] surprise attacks and self-sacrifice. In World War I, Japan was on the winning side, but felt
[42:30] cheated because they had so few resources. Japan attacked China because China had so much
[42:37] raw materials. 2,500 Japanese kamikaze soldiers sacrificed themselves by diving their planes
[42:46] into battleships. They thought they were honoring themselves to their ancestors. As an island
[42:54] nation, Japan had a very strong navy. They thought they could intimidate their enemies
[43:01] with big ships, surprise and kamikaze attacks, and strategic advantages, but the Allies
[43:09] were eventually able to defeat them.
[43:17] Battleships and aircraft carriers served an important role in the Asian theater in World
[43:21] War II. The Japanese had the advantage at first because they had well-built battleships. They
[43:27] were made so big because Captain Kikuo Fujimoto believed that if you had a big ship and big
[43:32] guns, you would intimidate the other ships. On the other hand, the U.S. battleships were
[43:38] small because of the Panama Canal restrictions they had. It also meant that the U.S. battleships
[43:44] didn't have very thick armor. Once the war was underway, the US decided to focus on making
[43:51] aircraft carriers to hold planes. The US made so many aircraft carriers like the Yorktown
[43:57] that because of them they ended up winning the war. The US's superior Navy, especially battleships
[44:04] and aircraft carriers, was what helped us win the
[44:10] The Battle of Midway was an important event because it ended the threat of Japan invading
[44:16] the Pacific Ocean. The Midway Islands were in the very center of the Pacific Ocean, and
[44:22] the U.S. owned this territory. In May 1942, the Japanese were getting ready for a naval
[44:29] showdown with the smaller U.S. Pacific Fleet. On June 3rd, Japan invaded Midway Island,
[44:35] then the U.S. sent out their plane carriers and destroyed Japan's bomb carriers. and Mario
[44:40] Magucci responded to his burning ships by sending more planes to attack US ships. They seriously
[44:46] damaged one of the US best aircraft carriers, the US's Yorktown. On June 5, 1942, some
[44:54] of the US sailors on the Yorktown began an unsuccessful salvage operation. More of the Japanese destroyers
[45:01] sank and eventually the Japanese did not have enough planes to protect their ships. Both
[45:07] sides had many casualties, including the Yorktown aircraft carrier. But the Battle Midway was
[45:13] a victory for the U.S. and was a turning point for the Allied forces in the Asian threat.
[45:21] The Air Force is one of the most unique parts of the military. Plans were used in World
[45:27] War II to carry troops and materials. Since planes were new, they were very difficult to
[45:32] fly. The Air Force was founded after the war on February 18, 1947, and it shares the same
[45:41] birthday as the CIA. That shows how important the Air Force is.
[45:59] They'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover. Tomorrow just you wait and see. They'll
[46:16] be love and laughter and peace ever after. Tomorrow when the world is free.
[46:35] The shepherd will tend his sheep, the valley will bloom again. Jimmy will go to sleep in
[46:49] his own little room again. They'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover. Tomorrow just
[47:09] you wait and see.
[47:16] that was Rosemary Clooney with The White Cliffs of Dover. We're learning about World War II
[47:22] today from a bilingual classroom at Alvarado Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[47:29] These are fifth graders and they studied World War II to create this program for the Children's
[47:35] Hour.
[47:40] Women helped a lot during World War II. The women in World War II worked in factories to
[48:01] replace the men and created victory gardens to save money. This is the main way women
[48:14] served their country. The women also worked in the armed forces of nurses and administrators
[48:33] and they fixed planes. Not everyone believed that women played a very important role in
[48:51] the war. Afterwards, General Eisenhower claimed that we could not have won the war without
[48:57] women.
[49:03] All day long where the rain is shined She's the part of the assembly line She's making
[49:18] history working for victory, Rosie The Riveter keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage Sitting
[49:25] up there on the fuselage That little frail can do more than a male can do Rosie The Riveter,
[49:32] Rosie's got a boyfriend Charlie Charlie, he's the Marine Rosie is protecting Charlie Working
[49:39] overtime on the riveting machine When they gave her a production knee She was as proud as a
[49:45] girl could be There's something true about red, white and blue about Rosie Rrrrr you Rosie!
[50:28] Rosie! Working on assembly line! Rosie, Rosie, Rivet. That was Rosie the Riveter by Four
[51:24] Vagabonds. That song was inspired by Rosalind P. Walter, a young volunteer during the war.
[51:31] She was 19 when she started helping to put fighter planes together at the Vought Aircraft Company
[51:37] in Stratford, Connecticut. After reading newspaper articles about her, songwriters Red Evans
[51:44] and John Jacob Loeb wrote the song Rosie the Riveter. The Rosie character quickly became
[51:51] a pop culture sensation. Perhaps you've seen her poster bearing her slogan, we can do it.
[51:56] We've posted it at childrenshour.org. Look for this episode, World War II. You've been listening
[52:02] to The Children's Hour and today we've been learning about World War II with Therese Rand
[52:06] Bridges fifth grade class at Alvarado Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We want
[52:11] to thank these bilingual fifth graders for presenting a show for us today. You can find a complete
[52:17] list of participants and links at childrenshour.org along with a lot of photos. We've got one more
[52:24] segment for you today on the end of World War II. Stick with us. You're listening to The
[52:29] Children's Hour. In World War II, scientists developed the atomic bomb. How did they make
[52:39] it? They made it with uranium-235. Uranium-235 is a deadly material that was put in the atomic
[52:51] bomb in order to make it powerful and deadly. They didn't drop one atomic bomb. They dropped
[52:59] two atomic bombs. The one they dropped on Hiroshima was called Little Boy. And the other atomic
[53:07] bomb they dropped was called Fat Man. The Fat Man was made with Plutonium-239, which is
[53:17] even more dangerous material than uranium.
[53:30] The city of Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945 at about 8.15 a.m.
[53:40] Hiroshima was bombed by a 9,700 pound atomic bomb called Little Boy. Hiroshima was bombed
[53:50] to bring World War II to a quick end. Roughly 70,000 to 138,000 people died. Some survivors
[54:00] say the flash of the bomb came with a rush of heat and was followed by a huge pressure wave
[54:06] and the loud sound of the explosion. After another city called Nagasaki was bombed, Japan surrendered
[54:14] to America. The Nagasaki bombing occurred on August 9th, 1945, three days after the bombing
[54:26] of Hiroshima. The bomb was called Fat Man and it weighed 10,000 pounds. 50,000 buildings
[54:33] when hit by Fat Man were fully or partially destroyed and it killed 40,000 people on impact.
[54:41] Many innocent people died, including children and women. So, Two days later, the Japanese
[54:49] Emperor Hirohito declared that they were surrendering to the Allies. That was the end of the war.
[55:10] That's Therese Rand-Bridge's fifth grade class at Alvarado Elementary teaching us about World
[55:15] War II. Learning about war is difficult. It's painful to think about the level of death and
[55:22] destruction that war leads to. Those who lost their lives in World War II were just like
[55:29] you and me. They were people with friends and families. Like Anne Frank, they had their own
[55:35] passions and dreams. But we study and remember history to learn from those moments and work
[55:43] together to make sure that they never happen again. We just have time for one more song
[55:49] for you today. Here's We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn. Thanks so much for tuning into The Children's
[55:55] Hour. I'm Katie Stone and we'll catch you next time. But I know we'll meet again some sunny
[56:14] day.
[56:20] smiling through just like you always do till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away
[56:37] so will you please say hello to the folks that I know tell them I won't belong They'll be
[56:51] happy to know that as you saw me go I was singing this song meet again don't know where don't
[57:09] know when but I know we'll meet again some sunny day we'll meet again
[57:36] Some sunny day Keep smiling through just like you always Till the blue skies, high in the
[57:57] dark clouds, far away. So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them
[58:10] I won't be long.
[58:23] Ta-da!
[58:39] Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour, Inc., a New Mexico non-profit. You can
[58:45] find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at Children'sHour.org.
[58:51] This episode of The Children's Hour was produced by me, Katie Stone, with help from Christina
[58:56] Stella, Rodrigo Cuenca, Mackenzie Gronke, Thaniel Lentz, and the students at Alvarado Elementary
[59:02] School. Our learning guides are written by Amber Scheele, and you can find this one at
[59:06] Children'sHour.org. Look for World War II. Our theme music was written by C.K. Barlow. The
[59:24] Children's Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, the Native American radio network. Thanks
[59:31] for listening to the Children's Hour, kids' public radio. you

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