Activity overview
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Primary HTC concept(s)
explored in this activity Cause & Consequence guidepost 3 Events result from the interplay of two types of factors: (1) historical actors, who are people (individuals or groups) who take actions that cause historical events, and (2) the social, political, economic, and cultural conditions within which the actors operate. Cause & Consequence guidepost 4 Historical actors cannot always predict the effect of conditions, opposing actions, and unforeseen reactions. These have the effect of generating unintended consequences. |
Secondary HTC concept(s)
explored in this activity Significance guidepost 3 Historical significance is constructed. Events, people, and developments meet the criteria for significance only when they are shown to occupy a meaningful place in a narrative. . |
Writing for the same newspaper as in Activity #1, students will write a profile of Major-General Bertram Hoffmeister’s decision to attack Delfzijl, guided by the research and inquiry questions.
In this activity, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that led to this decision, as well as an understanding that unintended consequences can change the course of events as much as intended ones. Please see The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts (2012) by Peter Seixas and Tom Morton, as well as the Historical Thinking Project website for further ideas for student assessment or to adapt these activities.
Questions posed to students in this activity
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Research question: What was the reasoning for the attack on the port of Delfzijl?
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Inquiry question(s): Were there any unintended short- or long-term consequences of this decision?
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Considerations for teachers to introduce in student inquiry
Additional guiding questions for students: If you were in command would you risk your soldiers’ lives to save the Dutch population, knowing the war was nearly over?
Debates among historians: Those few histories that examine the Dutch Liberation debate whether the difficult attack on Delfzijl and the loss of the last Canadians killed in the campaign were necessary. Terry Copp posed that question in his 2006 book, Cinderella Army. Dan Byer’s 1998 article on “Operation Canada” in Canadian Military History also considers the question.
Debates among historians: Those few histories that examine the Dutch Liberation debate whether the difficult attack on Delfzijl and the loss of the last Canadians killed in the campaign were necessary. Terry Copp posed that question in his 2006 book, Cinderella Army. Dan Byer’s 1998 article on “Operation Canada” in Canadian Military History also considers the question.