NJ-ALPHA (New Jersey Alliance for Learning and Preserving the History of World War II in Asia) is an educational organization whose purpose is to educate the public about the history of WWII in Asia, especially the history about the atrocities that the Japanese Imperial Army inflicted on China, Korea, Philippines, and other parts of Asia (for more information about these atrocities, click here).  Improving the education of this part of history is especially important today when our students need to become world citizens.
 

The average length of time that a high school world history course spends on WWII Asian history is estimated to be about 15 minutes during a whole school year, and almost none on the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army in WWII.  Even if a teacher wants to teach more about this period of history, the teacher usually knows very little about it and there are no readily available teaching materials for students and teachers.  For the sake of our children and grandchildren getting a correct perspective on history, NJ-ALPHA wants to change this state of affairs.

NJ-ALPHA’s educational program focuses on educating the teachers, and then the students and the public at large.   During the past five years of our existence, we already have had significant achievements:

• In each of the past four years, NJ-ALPHA has sponsored several secondary school or college teachers/educators on an educational study tour to China, called "Peace and Reconciliation Tour to China" (or "China Study Tour" for short).  In each tour, the participants have an intensive two-week immersion in that part of history:  Interviewing survivors, discussing with scholars, visiting historical sites and museums, and collecting relevant documents and oral histories.

• In collaboration with the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, in September 2007 we published "A Curriculum Guide for Secondary Teachers:  The Nanking Massacre and Other Japanese Atrocities Committed During the Asia-Pacific War:  1931-1945."  The NJ Commission on Holocaust Education has distributed over 300 copies of this document to all the high schools in NJ.  Many high schools in NJ are beginning to include this part of history into their curriculum, and more will do so in the future.

• NJ-ALPHA and the teachers/educators upon their returns from the China Study Tours have organized various public educational programs to educate the public about this part of WWII history.

During the next five years, NJ-ALPHA plans to expand the above program in the following ways:

• Extend participation in the China Study Tours to college students, besides teachers/educators (and later also high school students)

• Extend participation in the China Study Tours to other states in Northeast U.S.

• Publish additional issues of the Curriculum Guide for secondary school students

• Publish a new Curriculum Guide that is targeted to middle school students

• Increase the number and depth of our public education events, including an International Educational Conference on October 8-10, 2010 at Oakcrest High School in Mays Landing, NJ

• Collaborate with appropriate libraries or research centers to establish physical and virtual resource centers with reference material on this part of WWII history

• Help to establish additional ALPHA chapters in Northeast U.S.