The Second World War

Our World War II programme is suitable for year levels 7-13.

Although the First World War cost the lives of more New Zealanders, the Second World War involved a larger mobilisation of people and resources. About 140,000 men and women served overseas; 104,000 in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and the rest in British or New Zealand naval or air forces. In total, 194,000 men and 10,000 women served in the armed forces, with almost 12,000 of them losing their lives.

Students will explore the Museum’s WWII galleries in small groups using our WWII Mission Cards, with time to reflect and consider New Zealand’s part in the Second World War.

The programme is supported by our Handling Collection for World War II where students can handle genuine artefacts from WWII, and Grandpa’s Suitcase where students can unpack what items returned home from the war.

To support your learning in the classroom, here are some other resources available to you:

• For Primary School teachers, you already have a wonderful selection of non-fiction readings in your school that will help your students understand more about WWII. We have put together a list of School Journal reading resources to help get you started.
• For the Secondary School teachers and educators, we have a collection of Primary Sources excerpts collected from our Kippenberger Military Archive from WWII NZ soldiers’ diaries.