Does the End Justify the Means?

Students will write a position paper. Students will use the following questions to guide their research:

During times of war, do the ends ever justify the means? Did the ends justify the means used by the Allies in World War II in one of the following episodes of the war?

• The bombing of Dresden, Germany
• The refusal to bomb the routes into the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp
• The dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan

In small groups, students will also create and give a short PowerPoint presentation in class. In it, each group will illustrate and defend its findings and opinions regarding one of the above three actions.