cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Didnt do WW2 in school, they focused "history" on ancient history and upto the time of HenryVIII. Everything I know and learned about WW2 I probably gained from TV documetaries and particularly movies. Like, Battle of Britain,Dam Busters, 633 Squadron, Great Escape, Reach for the sky, longest day, and so on. A regular Sunday afternoon movie feature on TV. Took a Thai history class when going to University here in Thailand Also confirm no mention of world War 1 or WWII it went straight from ancient times into more recent past Only part that was included was the names of kings and PMs that were in charge in the early - mid 1900's but no discussion of the details of what was going on during that period you should have changed University. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I was at school in the UK in the 50's and 60's...No mention of WW2... And Yet, It was our History subject in summer 1968. UK Secondary Modern. Probably at the back of the class drawing pictures of cars and didn't notice. I was... ....but a few years earlier....That Ford GT40 was really something... You see my family were with Ferrari the year before - 1,2,3........ and also Lola which the Ford was based on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Didnt do WW2 in school, they focused "history" on ancient history and upto the time of HenryVIII. Everything I know and learned about WW2 I probably gained from TV documetaries and particularly movies. Like, Battle of Britain,Dam Busters, 633 Squadron, Great Escape, Reach for the sky, longest day, and so on. A regular Sunday afternoon movie feature on TV. Summed up by Steve McQueen escaping from the Germans on a 1961 Triumph! - "the role of American personnel in both the planning and the escape was largely fabricated." - (Wiki), which just about sums up EVERY historical film ever made - a very poor source for history. Edited March 8, 2016 by cumgranosalum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puffy Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookMan Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. Education and knowledge can be different things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangsuda Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (snip)...Thailand is much older than Australia... I think the Aboriginal Australians might disagree with that statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. Education and knowledge can be different things Yes, there are plenty of people on ThaiVisa who know loads but understand nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (snip)...Thailand is much older than Australia... I think the Aboriginal Australians might disagree with that statement. I think SL's post is another example of the Euro-centric perception of history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyjim5 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. Your 'professional' I suspect is one of very few. One does not have to be uneducated to know little or nothing about history. There is some research (cannot be bothered to dig out the detail) conducted among Western youth which challenged their knowledge of modern history. The outcome would accord with your belief that those who do not know are, ipso facto, uneducated despite being able to display great knowledge/skill in other subject areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. Your 'professional' I suspect is one of very few. One does not have to be uneducated to know little or nothing about history. There is some research (cannot be bothered to dig out the detail) conducted among Western youth which challenged their knowledge of modern history. The outcome would accord with your belief that those who do not know are, ipso facto, uneducated despite being able to display great knowledge/skill in other subject areas. I think that in reality if you assessed comparable demographics in both East and West, you'd find that lack of knowledge or understanding of WW2 is about the same....the difference being that European and Americans THINK they know alot about WW2 but in reality all they know is from movies and TV.....a media based perception.....Thailand is in their own way, no more guilty than the west of spreading disinformation as and when convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiKneeTim Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 just don't try. thais had their own bit of trouble with the vietnam incident. ww2 happened 80 years ago, time to let go and focus on stuff happening today. for you and me - involved or directly related to people involved, this might be different. but why would a 35 year old thai be interested in adolf, winston and josef? You're referring to the war in Europe, but it was a *world* war (the clues in the name) with the Japanese trying to cause a bit of trouble around this area too. Despite Thailand being right in the middle of it all I'm surprised that it isn't mentioned in history lessons, or maybe they want to forget the whole embarrassing situation!! The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries around the world are a sobering sight, I try to visit as many as I can. Just take a walk along the lines of headstones and more the ages of the dead servicemen; many of them never even weren't even old enough to vote, or drink alcohol, but the were old enough to be shot at!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morakot Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. That's absurd! I don't think the OP meant "educated" in the sense of being well-read on the intricate details of WWII theaters in Southeast Asia and historical geo-politcal agendas. Please give the OP the benefit of doubt and try to be more constructive with the rather interesting aspects of the story you bring to this topic. My question to you, how old was this educated Thai man you are referring to? What is his interest, pastime, and profession? Edited March 8, 2016 by Morakot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwdrwdrwd Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 My wife was similarly uninformed, we watched Schindlers List and that prompted a load of questions about who / what / why.That was Europe - Did you inform her of the Franco Thai war? (1940s) did you explain the pre-war policies of Phibun? did you mention the Japanese -Thai alliance?...or the role of Pridi in the Thai resistance? or the role of USA in taking over after the war? Actually yes, to the majority of those questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This person can't be very educated as you say. When I was speaking to an educated Thai professional about WW2, he knew quite a great deal about it. He was also fully aware of Thailand's appeasement of the Japanese and was quite ashamed of this, however he did make me aware of a Thai resistance movement I knew nothing about. Not all Thai people are as ignorant as this person. That's absurd! I don't think the OP meant "educated" in the sense of being well-read on the intricate details of WWII theaters in Southeast Asia and historical geo-politcal agendas. Please give the OP the benefit of doubt and try to be more constructive with the rather interesting aspects of the story you bring to this topic. My question to you, how old was this educated Thai man you are referring to? What is his interest, pastime, and profession? To explain the OP needs to realise that East and West perspectives on that period in history - from the 1930s to the 1950s after quite different and he seems to expect this person to see it from a European/Western perspective - so he probably needs to reassess his own perspective of "WW2" - first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayk Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Loads of great documentaries on youtube regarding world war 2. Best way to explain it is to watch some with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manarak Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) one factor not mentioned in the thread so far is that the majority Thai people who witnessed the events during WW2 died much earlier than Western people, so in the eighties there were very few people left to tell their grandchildren about the war. Another reason is that Thai commoners were vastly unaffected by WW2 and had no story to tell at all. What was more surprising for me, is that many Thais are ignorant about the recent history of Cambodia. Edited March 8, 2016 by manarak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryB Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Just inform them that Thailand won the War they will be happy to know and like you for the good news I inform all the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWMcMurray Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Didnt do WW2 in school, they focused "history" on ancient history and upto the time of HenryVIII. Everything I know and learned about WW2 I probably gained from TV documetaries and particularly movies. Like, Battle of Britain,Dam Busters, 633 Squadron, Great Escape, Reach for the sky, longest day, and so on. A regular Sunday afternoon movie feature on TV. Took a Thai history class when going to University here in ThailandAlso confirm no mention of world War 1 or WWII it went straight from ancient times into more recent past Only part that was included was the names of kings and PMs that were in charge in the early - mid 1900's but no discussion of the details of what was going on during that period you should have changed University. Why? I wasn't majoring in Thai history or world history ... It was a basis 101 course and free elective .. Was quite happy with the quality of the core courses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Loads of great documentaries on youtube regarding world war 2. Best way to explain it is to watch some with her. Do they have subtitles in Thai? or are they dubbed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Didnt do WW2 in school, they focused "history" on ancient history and upto the time of HenryVIII. Everything I know and learned about WW2 I probably gained from TV documetaries and particularly movies. Like, Battle of Britain,Dam Busters, 633 Squadron, Great Escape, Reach for the sky, longest day, and so on. A regular Sunday afternoon movie feature on TV. Took a Thai history class when going to University here in ThailandAlso confirm no mention of world War 1 or WWII it went straight from ancient times into more recent past Only part that was included was the names of kings and PMs that were in charge in the early - mid 1900's but no discussion of the details of what was going on during that period you should have changed University. Why? I wasn't majoring in Thai history or world history ... It was a basis 101 course and free elective .. Was quite happy with the quality of the core course so not really in a position to make a nationwide judgement then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayk Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Loads of great documentaries on youtube regarding world war 2. Best way to explain it is to watch some with her.Do they have subtitles in Thai? or are they dubbed? Did you not notice that I said watch with her. Why would they have to be in Thai or dubbed? I'm pretty sure the English speaking OP can explain it to her if she is unable to understand English, but by the OP stating she is educated and intelligent I'm sure she can understand spoken English considering he has already been trying to explain it to her. Always has to be at least one foolish comment in every topic, and yours seems to be that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morakot Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 To explain the OP needs to realise that East and West perspectives on that period in history - from the 1930s to the 1950s after quite different and he seems to expect this person to see it from a European/Western perspective - so he probably needs to reassess his own perspective of "WW2" - first. In what way he needs to reassess his own perspective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikDao Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Given Thailand's collusion with Japan during WW2 it is probably no surprise that the subject is not spoken about in Thai schools. Umm, you sure? There's a small museum in Phrae dedicated to the memory of the Thai underground anti-Japanese resistance in WW II. They taught British and American intel agents how to survive in SE Asian jungles, engaged in anti-Japanese sabotage, and radioed information on Japanese military activities and troop strength in Thailand to the Allies in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The Thai government was given an offer they couldn't refuse* by the Japanese, who were headed to Burma from China, but I wouldn't say Thailand 'colluded" with the Japanese. * Basically, declare war on the Allies, or else! Edited March 8, 2016 by RikDao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Loads of great documentaries on youtube regarding world war 2. Best way to explain it is to watch some with her.Do they have subtitles in Thai? or are they dubbed? Did you not notice that I said watch with her. Why would they have to be in Thai or dubbed? I'm pretty sure the English speaking OP can explain it to her if she is unable to understand English, but by the OP stating she is educated and intelligent I'm sure she can understand spoken English considering he has already been trying to explain it to her. Always has to be at least one foolish comment in every topic, and yours seems to be that one. As someone who has taught at Thai universities I can tell you that most students do not have the language skills to explain historical theory in fact I'd say that most expats don't either, in their own language, let alone in Thai. Edited March 8, 2016 by cumgranosalum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumgranosalum Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Given Thailand's collusion with Japan during WW2 it is probably no surprise that the subject is not spoken about in Thai schools. Apart from a resistance army of about 90,000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 As a start, you could point her to the Wikipedia articles on the Second World War and the Death Railway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JusMe Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Given Thailand's collusion with Japan during WW2 it is probably no surprise that the subject is not spoken about in Thai schools. Umm, you sure? There's a small museum in Phrae dedicated to the memory of the Thai underground anti-Japanese resistance in WW II. They taught British and American intel agents how to survive in SE Asian jungles, engaged in anti-Japanese sabotage, and radioed information on Japanese military activities and troop strength in Thailand to the Allies in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The Thai government was given an offer they couldn't refuse* by the Japanese, who were headed to Burma from China, but I wouldn't say Thailand 'colluded" with the Japanese. * Basically, declare war on the Allies, or else! That "offer they couldn't refuse" was the same one given to Belgium, Holland, Denmark etc. wasn't it? Somehow those nations did refuse. And no, Thailand did not collude with the Japanese: they joined them and became full allies and declared war on the western nations, even to the surprise of the Japanese! That underground anti-Japanaese resistance was the Seri Thai, the best equipped, best communicating, best organized, best supported, and least effective of all anti-Axis resistance forces in all of World War II. They did radio information about bomb targets and damage reports, and rescued a few downed airmen, but caused no damage to the Japanese forces whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooloomooloo Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Very interesting period of history. It's just a bit too heavy for a Thai dinner date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackheart Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 If her English is good can't see the issue. Surely she understands the word war,tell who fought and how many died. Probably lucky if she wants to hear more then that as she may be thinking about her next meal or the previous nights thai drama. Thai education they say only focuses on Thailand people say, I find they know f all about their own country past and present to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk10002000 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Get the movie Bridge on the River Kwaai with Thai sub titles sorted That's not a bad idea. Many Thais died working on that railroad system. But as far as explaining WW2? Most Thais really are not taught much about the outside world. They don't have an appreciation of the size and scale of things. One girl I was with thought Thailand was so big. She was genuinely stunned as I showed her maps of the USA and how big some of the USA States were, with several being larger than Thailand. The ideas of thousands of ships and planes and millions of men and different ideologies would be a tall order to try and explain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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