Andra världskriget i läroböcker: Hur olika länder minns och berättar historia

Sammanfattning: According to Skolverket the aim of history as a subject is to teach the students about different narratives in history. The purpose of this overview is to analyze and compare what earlier research tells us about how World War II is portrayed in textbooks in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. To achieve this purpose we are focusing on a number of narratives. The ability to critically review textbooks is important in the profession because usually the facts that are presented are in the interest of the nation. The material that has been used was found through the databases: Education Research Complete (ERC) and ERIC via EBSCO. The sources have been reviewed and analyzed to make sure that they are relevant for the subject. To narrow the material further we have only used peer-reviewed sources. Furthermore, additional sources have been presented through Google Scholar. The result in this overview tells us about how the countries in question use different narratives as a tool in nation building and the creation of a national identity. Depending on the country the narratives change to either connect or disconnect from other countries and their actions. A lot of the focus in the textbooks deals with things that happen within their own countries borders and the people that live within those borders. On the contrary, other countries and the people within those countries tend to be forgotten, especially in cases such as foundation, suffering and resistance. Concluding the overview,  the different materials used all argue that textbooks play an important role in nation building and the creation of a national identity. Focusing on a number of narratives, the difference in how nations portray the same narratives in different ways to build a national identity is clear. The results presented by the sources opened up for discussions about the relation between the teacher and the textbook as well as how the textbook is used.