Teachers’ Guide

to

Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery

A website created by

Dr. Larry Hannant, and the Mysteries Team

Teachers’ Guide

by

Jan Haskings-Winner

With the assistance of

TC2, Garfield Gini-Newman, Ruth Sandwell and the Mysteries Team

A Great Unsolved Mysteries
in Canadian History Project

Project Co-directors

John Lutz, Ruth Sandwell and Peter Gossage

A unit of study designed to foster critical thinking

in the intermediate and senior secondary level Canadian history curriculum

Table of Contents

Introduction:

Teachers’ Support and the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History websites

Historical Contexts: “Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery” in Canadian History

How to Use this Site

Learning Outcomes of this Site

Preparatory Exercises

Unit: Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery:A Unit for Secondary Students

Fitting this unit into your provincial curriculum

Unit Overview

Unit Rationale

Unit Themes

Unit Objectives, Skills and Attitudes

Instructional Strategies

Unit Synopsis (detailed overview of lessons)

The Lessons

Lesson 1: The Mystery: Events leading to the death of Herbert Norman

Lesson 2: Setting the context

Lesson 3: The Cold War’s Impact on Canada and Canadians

Lesson 4: The Life of Herbert Norman

Lesson 5: Beyond the “Merely” Personal: Political and Social Causes of Norman’s suicide, the role ofMcCarthyism

Lesson 6: Considering Historical Significance - What is the contemporary relevance of the Norman mystery?

Lesson 7: Culminating Activity: Design a two-page spread for a textbook

Support Materials

Support Material No. 1: What happened to Herbert Norman?

Support Material No. 2: Impact of World Events on Attitudes Towards Communism

Support Material No. 3: Research Record

Support Material No. 4: What can the death of Herbert Norman tell us about the Cold War in Canada?

Support Material No. 5: Who was Herbert Norman?

Support Material No. 6: Building a Personality Profile

Support Material No. 7: Political Cartoons in History

Support Material No. 8: What is Loyalty?

Support Material No.9: The Question of Significance: Why is Herbert Norman’s Loyalty so Hotly Contested Today?

Teachers’ Support and

The Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian HistoryWebsites

As the Teachers’ Corner of The Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History websites outlines [http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/indexen.html], these sites provide five kinds of support for teachers:

• a summary of the Foundational Ideas of history teaching that informs the Mysteries Project;

• a detailed Teachers’ Guide for each of the sites;

• short MysteryQuest lesson plans;

• a series of scaffolding activities and briefing sheets to introduce students to Key Concepts in Historical Thinking;

• access to the password protected “Interpretations” portion of the website.

1. Foundational Ideas gives you a thumbnail sketch of the teaching philosophy behind the Mystery websites, as well as a more detailed examination of the four different levels at which these sites ‘work’ as ways to teach and learn about history.

See: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/en/foundationalIdeas.php

2. Teachers’ Guides contain detailed, graduated, multi-lesson and age-appropriate unit plans as well as free-standing lessons for elementary and secondary students.

See: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/login/indexen.php

3. Short, focused, age-specific, single-lesson MysteryQuests include detailed lesson plans and teacher support relating to one or more of the Mystery sites. Each of the MysteryQuest lessons employs the popular and student-friendly Webquest format to present a lesson that uses The Critical Thinking Consortium’s “Critical Challenge” approach and a small selection of primary documents from the sites to create short but powerful lessons involving students in thinking critically about history.

See: http://www.mysteryquests.ca/indexen.html

4. Concepts in Historical Thinking provides activities and briefing sheets to introduce students to key concepts in historical thinking that they will be using as they work with these Mysteries. This part of the site is in active development at this time and currently includes three exercises: “What are Primary Documents?”, “History vs. the Past”, and “Testimony vs. Evidence”.

See: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/keyconcepts/indexen.html

5. Teachers are also eligible to request access to the password-protected “Interpretations” part of each of the Mysteries Website allowing you to read historians’ interpretations of the documents on the site. This section is password protected in order to encourage students to develop their own interpretations of primary documents, rather than relying on other people’s interpretations.

See: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/login/indexen.php

Historical Contexts: “Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery”in Canadian History

The website “Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery” is a virtual web archive that looks at one of Canada’s most troublingmysteries of the 20th century: the story of the death of famous Canadian diplomat, Herbert Norman. The task for students is to use the primary and secondary sources on the website to decide why Herbert Norman died.

While this mystery investigatesthe suicide of Herbert Norman in 1957, the mystery will also provide insight into the impact of the Cold War on Canada.The case can also tell us about issues of national security and individual freedoms both past and present. This Teachers’ Guideprovides a full teaching unit that provides high school students with a more focused and structured examination of the evidence, and, in the process, introduceshistorical research and historical thinking.

Herbert Norman was a Japanese historian and career diplomat with the Canadian Foreign Service. During and after the Second World War he was posted in Japanand worked with General MacArthur. He faced allegations of being a Communist and a possible spy during the McCarthy witch-hunts in the 1950’s. After a full inquiry in Canada, he was exonerated and sent to New Zealand as ambassador. In 1956,Norman was posted to Cairo, Egypt where he played an important role in the Suez Crisis.

In 1957, the old charges returned in the USSenate, and he committed suicide in April of 1957. Later that year, his friend Lester Pearson received the Nobel Peace Prize. The mystery is connected to what factors were linkedto his suicide and what wecanlearn from this event.

Site Organization

First of all, rest assured that no one is expected to read the entire site, not even you. No one is expected to peruse every item in an archive before s/he starts to write a research paper and the same principle applies here. What you need, as a teacher, is an understanding of the construction of the site in order to guide your students.

For a detailed overview of the site organizationand tips on how to use the site, see the “How to Use This Site” section found on the Home page of “Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery”.

See: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/norman/home/howtousesite/indexen.html

Learning Outcomes of the “Herbert Norman” website

This website can be used as the foundation for an entirecourse or for a single class. This Teachers’ Guideprovides a number of lessons that comprise a single unit built around the question: “To what degree was Herbert Norman’s death the result of Canada’s own version of a Cold War ‘witch-hunt’”? Lessons in this unit are directed at secondary level classesin history, social studies or politics. They are designed to be cumulative, providing students with the scaffolding of skills and background knowledge that allows for their increased understanding, both of historical thinking and historic knowledge as the unit progresses. Nevertheless, many of the lessons in the unit can be adapted for stand-alone, single lessons, if time is too tight to allow an entire unit on this site. We have generally found that a single class does not allow the students or the instructor to fully answer some of the basic questions and would suggest devoting more time.

While this unit is directed at an intermediate/senior secondary class, the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History websites have been used for elementary to university graduate students, and the Herbert Normanmystery is no exception. The level of your students will determine how “deep” you ask them to go.

A list of the specific courses across Canada for which this site would be a particularly appropriate hasbeen included at the beginning of the unit. In general terms, this site will promote the following kinds of knowledge and skills. It will allow students to:

• identify and clarify a problem, an issue, and/or an inquiry

• develop a vocabulary that will allow them to analyze historical documents

• plan and conduct research using primary and secondary electronic sources

• generate and critique different interpretations of primary and secondary sources

• assess and defend a variety of positions on controversial issues

• construct a narrative from pieces of evidence that are non-sequential

• plan, revise, and deliver formal presentations that integrate a variety of media

• demonstrate leadership by planning, implementing, and assessing a variety of strategies to address the problem, issue, or inquiry initially identified

• develop their abilities to work independently or in groups

• refine abilities to construct and defend an argument

Please see the Unit Plan that follows to find more specific ways to introduce your students to the site, and for examples of instructional strategies that take full advantage of the pedagogical strengths of this site.

UNIT

“To what degree was Herbert Norman’s death the result of Canada’s own version of a Cold War ‘witch hunt’”?

~ A unit of study designed to foster critical thinking

in the intermediate/senior secondary level Canadian history curriculum ~

Fitting This Unit into Your Provincial Curriculum

Our Teachers’Guideteam has done some research into provincial curricula across Canada. The Herbert Normanmystery could be used effectively in the following courses, by province and territory:

British Columbia

• Social Studies 11

• Law 12

Alberta

• Grade 12 Perspectives on Ideology/Understandings of Ideologies

Saskatchewan

• History 30 – Canadian Studies

• Law 30

• Social Studies 30

Manitoba

• Senior Social Studies 3 – Canada: A Social and Political History

Ontario

• Grade 10: Canadian History Since World War I

• Grade 12: Canada: History, Identity and Culture

• Canada and World Politics, Grade 12 University Prep

Quebec

• Secondary 4: History of Quebec and Canada

New Brunswick

• Grade 11: Canadian History 121

Nova Scotia

• Canadian History 11

• Law 12

Prince Edward Island

• Grade 12 – Canadian History 621

• Canadian Law 521 (Grade 11)

• Canadian Law 531 (Grade 11)

Newfoundland

• Canadian History 1201

• Canadian Law 2104

Nunavut & NWT (see Alberta)

Yukon (see British Columbia)

Unit Overview

The story of Herbert Norman’s death is one of tragedy, intrigue, espionage, and above all, persecution. Herbert Norman was a distinguished diplomat who held many postsaround the world and made important contributionsin helping to resolve or avoid international conflict. In the end, it was his past affiliation that seems to have overshadowed his accomplishments. This unit invites students to use the primary and secondary sources on this website to decide if Norman’s suicide was the result of the pressure he faced due to a scathing witch-hunt. Since the days of the McCarthy era in the United States, Canadians have for the most part assumed the political witch-hunts that characterized the period to be a black eye on American history but something Canada was able to avoid. Is this in fact the case? Did McCarthyism creep into Canada? Were the rights of individuals such as Herbert Norman sacrificed for perceived threats to national security? By exploring questions such as these through the use of a variety of primary and secondary sources studentshave the opportunity to actively engage insome key aspects of historical thinking: What makes some evidence better than others? What is the significance of the Norman case in understanding the impact of the Cold War on Canada? Students, in other words, will learn about ‘doing’ history, and will emerge with a better understanding of Canada’s past as a result.

The rich selection of documents that students will encounter provide a nuanced picture of the impact of the Cold War on Canada and Canadiansand the many ways individuals responded to the issues of the period.

The overriding question is one of causationas students consider the degree to which Norman’s suicide can be attributed to the witch-hunt he endured for his past communist sympathies and theimportance of the Norman case including its relatedcircumstances in understanding the Cold War’s impact on Canadian society.

This unit has been designed to be flexible in its application.Students will broaden their knowledge of the Canadian past, be introduced to the use of historical primary documents, and learn to exercise skills of critical analysis, evaluation, and thinking. Students at the junior/intermediate/senior secondary stages of their education cannot be expected to have the time and academic resources to re-examine every proffered piece of evidence from interdisciplinary perspectives. This unit proposes to introduce them to these skills and resources. Nevertheless, each exercise and lesson suggested here draws students further into the case itself, encourages a personal engagement with history, and generates an opportunity to examine history and the social sciences in a more critical and informed manner.

Unit Rationale

This unit uses the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History website “Death of a Diplomat: Herbert Norman and the Cold War Mystery ”, to introduce students to some of the issues surrounding the life and death of Herbert Norman and the Cold War. It is also designed to introduce students to primary documents in history and social studies. It particularly aims to facilitate students' critical awareness of the social context of historical documents, to teach them to evaluate opposing evidence, to understand the utility of documents from a variety of perspectives, and to encourage students to adopt a broader and more critical perspective when reading historical evidence and narratives.

Unit Themes

To facilitate teachers in developing additional lessons and/or an expanded unit, some of the central themes of this website are listed:

Forces of Nationalism

Canadian Social History

International Politics

Canadian Politics

Unit Objectives, Skills, and Attitudes

The central goals of this unit are:

• to encourage students to think about the significance of everyday life in history

• to refine students’ historical thinking through the use of primary documents, understanding the nature and uses of evidence, and the role of both of these in building historical narratives

• to raise students' awareness of the constructed and contested nature of historical narratives

• to encourage students to develop tools appropriate to the evaluation of opposing evidence

• to facilitate students' critical awareness of author's perspective in historical documents

• to encourage students to adopt a broad perspective when reading historical evidence and narratives in order to become aware of less-obvious and alternate agendas

• to build a coherent narrative based on non-sequential evidence

• to develop skills in defending an argument

Instructional Strategies

Need for Computer Lab Time

While this entire unit is fully integrated with the Norman site, most tasks can be completed if the requisite documents are printed off ahead of time and handed out to students. In this way, classes with limited access to computer lab time can still complete the unit.

Assessment & Evaluation

Because assessment and evaluation standards vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, only generalized guidelines have been included here. Instructors may wish to assign process marks for completion of the various tasks, or not, if their students are sufficiently mature enough to recognize that the successful completion of the various tasks is crucial to successful completion of the culminating activity.

The following skills and habits of mind are ones that should be carefully assessed in the process of evaluating the critical thinking needed in working with this site:

• Issues are analyzed seriously and thoughtfully

• Presentations and talks are given carefully, with materials well-prepared and organized, and points well thought out

• Results are expressed cautiously and are supported with reference to appropriate evidence

• Opinions are reasoned. Reports and narratives are written discerningly, reflecting the above and with care, attention and evident pride in quality work¹

Preparatory Exercises

If students have not worked critically with primary source documents before, it is STRONGLY recommended that students do at least one of the preparatory lessons included in the Teachers’ Corner section of the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History website: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/indexen.html

Lesson 1: The Mystery: Events Leading to the Death of Herbert Norman

(2 classes)

(DAYS 1 and 2 of unit)

Overview

In this lesson, students identify the most significant events that led to the death of Herbert Norman. After gathering evidence on the events that seem to have contributed to his suicide, students will be invited to select the 5 most significant events for inclusion on their timeline. Students should also develop a plausible explanation for what happened on the day of his death. This will be a preliminary look at important events. Students will be encouraged to review and revise their timeline and explanations as the unit progresses and as their understanding of the events surrounding Norman’s death deepens.

Lesson 1, Class 1 (Day 1 of Unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Invite students to write about a time when the reputation of themselves or someone they know was affected(either positively or negatively) because of their past associations. Provide a few minutes for this. Invite students to share some consequences of the incidents they have recorded. Encourage students to discuss with a partner the degree to which they believe someone’s reputation should be shaped by their beliefs and values, their associations or the quality of work they perform.

Step 2: Explain that in this unit, thanks to a special project called the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History, they are going to be able to examine many different kinds of evidence that will help them to learn about the Cold War. They will use this knowledge to determine “To what degreewas Herbert Norman’s death the result of Canada’s own version of a Cold War ‘witch-hunt’?” Provide students with an overview of the story they are going to investigate by explaining that Herbert Norman died by suicide on April 4, 1957 in Cairo, Egypt while serving as Canada’s ambassador to Egypt during the time of the Suez Crisis. Further, inform the students that Norman had previously been investigated as a suspected communist sympathizer, and at the time of his death the allegations had resurfaced. Despite being a highly successful and respected diplomat, Norman’s suspected communist sympathies cast him in a negative light in the heat of the Cold War. Point out to the students that this mysterycentres on causal explanations in history, as they are attempting to determine if Norman’s suicide was a result of the enormous stress created by the allegations and investigation. Suggest students review the section of the website dealing with causal explanations (http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/keyconcepts/indexen.html) to help provide them with a grounding for this challenge.

Step 3: Explainthat historians do their work by making inferences about various types of evidence left from the past. (This concept will be explored in more detail in the second class.) Explain that there are two types of evidence used by historians -primary documents (which are created at or near the time of the event/issue) and secondary documents (interpretations of events/issues in the past). If time permits, and if students have not worked with primary documents,you may want to have them work through the lesson “What are Primary Documents?” in the Key Concepts in Historical Thinking section of the website that you can access from the Teachers’Support Section at http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/indexen.html.

Lesson 1, Class 2 (Day 2 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Students will need access to the computer lab. Invite them to work with a partner to gather evidence about the events leading up to the death of Herbert Norman. Suggest thatstudents make notes on important and relevant information about who Herbert Norman was, including his professional, social,and personal connections using the documents suggested below. Remind students that they need to try to identify any key events that may be of importance in determining what happened. Encourage students to use Support Material No. 1: What happened to Herbert Norman? to make their notes and to share their notes with their partner.

Herbert Norman, 48, Dies in 12-Floor Cairo Leap ‘Without Hope’ Note Says
Probe Goes on Despite Suicide
Smearing of Canadians Former Red Linked To M’Arthur Vendetta
Ex-Red Courier Says He Originated Charges Against Norman In 1940
The Truth Comes Very Late
Death of a Diplomat
SISS testimony about Norman Releasing Communist Prisoners
Reasons of His Own
Norman’s Suicide Notes

Step 2: Invite students to determine which events are most significant in helping us to understand the role the Cold War played in contributing to Norman’s death. Suggest students consider the following criteria when selecting the events to record:

• contributed to increasing the stress Norman felt

• led to an attack on Norman’s reputation

• escalated tensions between countries

Encourage each student to select the 5 events they believe are most significant considering the criteria and to record them on a timeline. Suggest students write a brief caption to accompany each of the events. Remind students that an effective caption should be concise, accurate, and insightful. You may need to provide some examples of insightful and non-insightful captions to help students unpack the term. Encourage students to identify a cause and effect relationship in their captions. You may wish to read more about casual explanations in history by going to http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/keyconcepts/4178en.html.

Lesson 2: Setting the Context

(3 classes)

(DAYS3, 4 and 5 of Unit)

Overview

This lesson will help to familiarize students with the site and the issues. They will be divided into groups and asked to conduct research on one of the following areas: the Depression and the 1930’s; the Second World War; the post-war period; proxy wars; espionage. The focus for the student research will be on how the periods or events contributed to shaping attitudes towards communism as an alternative system or threat and on the balance between issues of national security and individual human rights. Student groups will prepare a poster that will share their insights on how the historical period shaped views and actions of Canadians and their government. The research will stay in the room for future reference.

Lesson 2, Class 1 (Day 3 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Connecting with the concrete: Invite students to identify any threats that we face today in the world and what evidence confirms the presence of these threats. After students have thought to themselves for 30 seconds, suggest they turn to a partner and exchange ideas. Some possible responses might include terrorist threats evidenced by increased security checks at airports and greater need for identification going into USA; or climate change as seen in more frequent extreme weather occurrences. Discuss with students how world events have an impact on Canada in such situations. Invite students to consider how certain events contribute to an atmosphere of fear and whether it is fear or measured consideration that drives government reaction to these events.

Step 2:Building background knowledge:Remind students that for them to develop a reasoned assessment of the degree to which the Cold War manifested itself in Canada and contributed to Norman’s suicide,they will need some historical context and background about what was happening in Canada and internationally at this time. Consider providing background information on some of the following questions before students begin examining primary documents:

• What is Communism?

• How does it differ from our system of capitalism?

• Why was communism so appealing to so many people worldwide during the Depression, and who felt it was a threat?

• Why did nations spy on each other?

Step 3: Organize students into 5small groups to research one of the following topics: i) The Depression and the 1930’s, ii) The Second World War, iii) The Cold War, iv) The Hot Wars of the era and v) Espionage and National Security. Explain to each group that their ultimate goal is to respond to the bigger question: How did their topic shape attitudes towards Communism and affect the relationship between national security and individual rights?See Support Material No. 2: Impact of World Events on Attitudes Towards Communism to organize each group’s research.

a. The Depression and 1930s

The Crisis of the Thirties: A View from the Left
Graham Spry’s Impressions of the USSR
Graham Spry’s Contrast Between the USSR and Canada
Letters from Canadians to the Prime Minister About the Depression

b. The Second World War

Canada Sends Her Tributes to Red Army
Motive For Spying
Communists and the War
Britain to Honor Russia for Two Years’ Heroism
The Russo-German War
The “Fifth Column” Agitation of the Warmongers

c. The Cold War

Opposition to War in Europe
Is World War III at Hand?
“Iron Curtain” Speech
Motive for Spying
Anti-Communist Ballot Cuts Out All But Two

d. The Hot Wars of the era

Letter From Norman About Conversation With General MacArthur
Korean War Looms
‘Cold War’: Russia Gains Edge
U.S. Plans for Asia 1949
Norman on the Suez Crisis
Norman on British and French in Suez Crisis

e. Espionage and National Security

Motive for Spying: Emma Woikin
Motivation of Agents
The Report of the Royal Commission
Says Soviet Right in Seeking Bomb
Why Did They Spy?

Step 4: Provide time in the computer lab for students to access their research. You may wish to build in accountability by requiringat least one source perstudent to beread and reportedon to their group. Provide students with a copy of Support Material No. 3: Research Recordon which they can record the evidence they find. Inform students that the last column on the right is for them to rank the order ofsignificance of the sources they studied from 1 (most significant in helping understand the how the period shaped attitudes) to 5 (least significant in providing helpful information or insights), which they will do after sharing their findings with their group.

Lesson 2, Class 2 (Day 4 of unit)

Step 1: Allow students sufficient time to complete their examination of the assigned sources and to complete the graphic organizer. Once all students have completed their study of the documents,have them reconvene in their groups and share their research on each source. Encourage students to record notes on the documents others studied so that they develop a deeper understanding of the events that contributed to Cold War tensions and possibly Norman’s death.

Lesson 2, Class 3 (Day 5 of unit)

Step 1: Invite students to prepare a powerful poster that clearly illustrates the degree to which communism was feared and resisted in the West in the post-war years as well as reflecting the degree to which tension existed between human rights and national security. The poster should reflect aspects of the time periods and events to establish a context for why communism was feared. Also, the poster should contain examples of the tensions between individual rights and national security. Remind students that a powerful poster is:

• informative

• provocative

• conveys accurate and relevant information

Encourage students to make effective use of titles, subtitles, and captions to capture important information or ideas.

Step 2: Ask each student to write a paragraph to respond to the question “Why did alternative political and economic systems pose such a threat to a country’s national security?” Encourage them to consider who might gain and lose if this system was successful. Suggest the paragraph be written so as to support the images and messages conveyed by their poster and askthat students submit the poster and paragraph together.

Homework: Complete the poster and paragraph.

Lesson 3: The Cold War’s impact on Canadaand Canadians

(3 classes)

(DAYS6, 7 and 8 of unit)

Overview

• In this lesson, students examine a variety of evidence to determine the degree to which the Cold War affected Canadians socially, politically, and economically. To complete this challenge, students will first need to identify what would constitute acceptable evidence of the Cold War’s impact on each aspect of Canadian society. They then consider evidence garnered from a variety of sources both within the Norman Mystery site and outside of it. Students will consider how “reading against the grain” or looking for information in sources that was not intended by the author, can yield important insights for historians. For example, examining textbooks used in Canadian classrooms in the 1950s can provide evidence of the degree to which the Cold War was having an impact on Canadian society. As well, movies, newspaper articles, and other aspects of popular culture can be vehicles to elicit insights on the impact of the Cold War on Canadian society. Students will use their research to prepare an editorial that comments on whether the actions of the Canadian and American government toward Norman were justified.

Lesson 3, Class 1 (Day 6 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1:Connecting to previous knowledge:Review with students the events that started the Cold War. Discuss with students the concept of a ‘witch-hunt’. What do they think it means? What images come to mind when they hear the term? How might the concept relate to the research they have done so far? Does the term have a negative or positive connotation?

Consider introducing students to theIgor Gouzenko case using a textbook or Internetsource. Ask students to explain why the Gouzenko case should be considereda key event in the history of the Cold War and to make a case for why students in other countries such as the United States should be aware of the case. Ask students to consider the extent to which the Gouzenko case heightened the sense of fear of communism.

Review with students the events leading to the death of Herbert Norman and what other factors, in addition to the Gouzenko case, may have contributed to his decision to commit suicide. Inform students that historians often go beyond personal actions and consider both political and social phenomena to understand events.

Step 2:Sharing objectives with students: Inform students that they will be writing an editorial at the end of this lesson to respond to one of these questions: On what grounds, if any, did the US have the right to investigate a Canadian? Should Norman have lost his position in the 1930s when his communist politics werediscovered? Should the protection of the Canadian state from spying or subversion trump Norman’s individual human rights?Provide students with an editorial from a recent newspaper on an event prominent in the news. Invite students to identify the key features of an editorial. You may want to have them contrast an editorial to a front-page news story on the same issue to help them identify the key features of an editorial. Some of the key features they should identify include:expressing a point of view;providing arguments and evidence to support that point of view. You may wish to provide students with a definition of an editorial such as “an editorial is an article in a publication expressing the opinion of its publishers or editors” (Webster’s Dictionary).

Step 3:Building background knowledge: Organize students into 5separate groups at 5stations, each of which focuses on one of the questions below. Students will read the evidence at each station and record key ideas into their Support Material No. 4: What can the death of Herbert Norman tell us about the Cold War in Canada?Encourage students to move between stations at your signal,allowing sufficient time for them to read and discuss the evidence.

a) In what ways (other than Norman’s suicide) was Canada negatively influenced by American security intelligence agencies and the calculated political methods practiced by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the various congressional investigation committees?

Gouzenko, White and Pearson
FBI Memo About Lester Pearson
The Pearson Case
In Reply to a USSR Peace Resolution: Pearson’s Speech to the United Nations
US Prober Passes Opportunity to Deny Pearson on His List
Pearson on List

b) What did the case mean for a ‘middle power’ trying to chart its way in the world?

Telegram No. 100 (From Norman)
The Norman Case is Closed
Opposition to War in Europe
Canadian Government Protest
Letter From Norman About Conversation With General MacArthur
Korean War Looms
Anti-Communist Ballot Cuts Out All But Two
In Reply to a USSR Peace Resolution: Pearson’s Speech to the United Nations
US Prober Passes Opportunity to Deny Pearson on His List

c) Is there necessarily a connection between 1) communism and spying, or 2) between being critical of our political system and being a traitor?

RCMP First Report on Norman
RCMP Interrogation of Norman 1952
RCMP Report on Norman
RCMP Report on Egerton Herbert Norman
External Affairs Confronts Norman About Halperin

d) Why were people providing information to the Soviets? Why were they spying? Can the decision to provide information to the USSR during the Second World War be justified?

Canada Sends Her Tributes to Red Army
Most Skeptical Russians Hold Second Front Now Imminent
Motive For Spying
Motivation of Agents
The Crisis of the Thirties: A View From the Left
The Russo-German War
The “Fifth-Column” Agitation of the Warmongers
Says Soviet Right in Seeking Bomb

e) Should Norman have lost his job in External Affairs for being a Communist as soon as his involvement in communist politics in the 1930’s was discovered?

RCMP First Report on Norman
RCMP Interrogation of Norman 1952
RCMP Report on Norman
RCMP Report on Egerton Herbert Norman
External Affairs Confronts Norman About Halperin

Lesson 3, Class 2 (Day 7 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Invite students to return to the last station they worked at on the previous day. Allow sufficient time to complete notes from this station before having them continue their rotations through the stations.

Step 2: Encourage students to review their notes once they have completed all of the stations and make note of any confusion or lack of clarity in the information. Invite students to ask questions about what they have read,encouraging others to offer responses before providing comments for clarification.

Lesson 3, Class 3 (Day 8 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Invite students to prepare a draft editorial on one of the following questions:

• On what grounds if any, did the US have the right to investigate a Canadian?

• Should Norman have lost his position in the 1930’s when his communist politics were discovered?

• Did/should the protection of the Canadian state from spying trump personal rights?

Review with studentsthe features of an editorial,reminding them that the strength of an editorial is largely dependent on the quality of the arguments and the consistency between the point of view and the evidence provided.

Step 2: Encourage students to exchange their draft editorial with a peer for feedback. Suggest the peer editors first read through the editorial looking for the point of view, support arguments,and related evidence to see if a consistent and well supported argument is made. Secondly, the peer editors should review the paragraph and sentence structure and lastly,review for spelling and grammatical errors.

Step 3: Applying knowledgeIf time permits, have students participate in a class debate or academic controversy activity to debate the question: Under what five conditions should a country compromise personal freedoms for the public good?

Lesson 4:The Life of Herbert Norman

(3 Classes)

(DAYS 9, 10 and 11 of unit)

Overview

In this lesson, students build upon their knowledge of the death of Herbert Norman and the Cold War on Canadian society to dig deeper into the life of Herbert Norman, examining his rise as a career diplomat, his political leanings, and how the emerging Cold War tensions affected his working relationships. By considering how context and perspective impact on what makes events historically significant, and by considering issues of cause and consequence, students will be asked to identify the 10 most significant aspects of Norman’s life that shed light on the mystery. Students will weave these ten pertinent events into a concise, informative, insightful, and impartial biographical sketch of the life and times of Herbert Norman.

Lesson 4, Class 1 (Day 9 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Connecting with the concrete:Explain that through this lesson, students will consider what is historically significant. Ask students to select three significant events in their own lives and in a paragraph explain why they are significant. Ask students to develop criteria for significance. Students can use the following criteria (from Teaching About Historical Thinking, p. 13) to consider using in judging historical significance. Prominence at the time (was it noticed at the time), Consequence (magnitude and scope of the impact, lasting nature) and Subsequent profile (is it remembered or memorialized in popular culture or professional history?) Does it inform our understanding of history? Students can use their own family to determine if the criteria were met for their significant events.

Step 2: Building background knowledge:Explain that students will be asked to identify the 10 most significant aspects of Norman’s life that shed light on the mystery. Students will weave these ten pertinent events into a concise, informative, insightful,and impartial biographical sketch of the life and times of Herbert Norman. Invite students to examine some evidence about the life of Herbert Norman and use Support Material No. 5: Who was Herbert Norman? to record their research.

Biographic Reports on Selected Members of Foreign Missions in Japan
RCMP First Report on Norman
Persuasion or Force: The Problem of Free Speech in Modern Society
RCMP Report on Norman
Norman the Diplomat – A Newsman’s Size-Up
Norman Seen Victim of US Witch Hunters

Lesson 4, Class 2 (Day 10 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1:Invite students to work in small groups to organize the evidence they have located so that it can be used in writing a profile of Herbert Norman. Encourage students to gather relevant information about Norman using Support Material No. 6: Building a Personality Profile. The profile should describe his physical characteristics, personality traits, education,and career background and any other important details that would help us to garner an accurate picture of Norman as a person and diplomat. Once students have gathered evidence about Herbert Norman,invite them to offer a hypothesis as to the relationship between events surrounding Norman and his suicide. Remind students that their hypothesis will be based on inferences. Inform students that an inference is a conclusion drawn in light of available facts and evidence. The greater the consistency between the conclusion and the evidence,the stronger the inference is.

Step 2:Invite students to use the evidence gathered on Support Material No. 6: Building a Personality Profileto help them writea biographical sketch of Herbert Norman. Encourage them to use facts and evidence gathered so far as well as inferences they believe are warranted by the evidence. Stress to the students that they need to integrate significant events that explain the impact of the Cold War on his life.

Lesson 4, Class 3 (Day 11 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1:Begin the class by having students complete activities dealing withbiased and impartial perspectives found athttp://www.canadianmysteries.ca/teachers/keyconcepts/indexen.html.

Step 2: Once students have a sound understanding of the concepts of bias and perspective and the attributes of a biased or impartial perspective, invite them to exchange their biographical sketch with a partner. Remind students that an impartial perspective is open-minded, full-minded, and fair-minded. Suggest students review their partner’s biographical sketch and assess the degree to which they have managed to construct an impartial account of Norman’s life.

Lesson 5: Beyond the “Merely” Personal: Political and

Social Causes of Norman’s suicide, the role ofMcCarthyism

(3 classes)

(DAYS 12, 13 and 14 of unit)

Overview

In this lesson, students examine a variety of documents by cycling through an assortmentof stations to determine whether or not there is convincing evidence that the political “witch-hunt” referred to as McCarthyism was also present in Canada. Students will create an editorial cartoon that reflects their conclusions about the presence of McCarthyism in Canada and the degree to which it contributed to the death of Herbert Norman. Students will deconstruct a variety of Cold War cartoons in order to identify the attributes of an effective editorial cartoon as well as uncovering additional insights into the perceptions of the Cold War portrayed in the popular press. Students will then be expected to apply their understanding of effective editorial cartoons and the depth of influence of McCarthyism (non-existent, minor force, considerable influence, dominant influence) on both Canadian society in general and more particularly the life and ultimate death of Herbert Norman in the creation of their own editorial cartoon that addresses Norman’s suicide.

Lesson 5, Class 1 (Day 12 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Provide students with examples of political cartoons from a recent newspaper or an electronic source. Invite students to work in groups of 3-4 to examine the cartoon. Using Support Material No. 7 Political Cartoons in Historyask students to determine who is in the cartoon and what is the message of the cartoonist. Inform students that the type of cartoon they have been looking at is called an editorial or political cartoon. Invite them to suggest as many ways as possible that an editorial cartoon differs from a cartoon in a comic strip. You may want to provide some sample cartoons from a favourite comic strip.

Step 2: Inform students that they will be creating their own editorial cartoon on the depth of the influence of McCarthyism in Canada. To do this, have the students carefully examine a variety of Cold War cartoons to determine the attributes of an effective cartoon. Provide student groups of 3-4 a variety of Cold War cartoons. Askthem to arrange them from the most effective to least effective at a) creating humour; b) being provocative; c) conveying a message. Invite groups to share their thoughts on the most and least effective cartoons. Encourage students to identify the attributes that made cartoons more or less effective. Post the agreed upon attributes in the room for future reference.

Lesson 5, Class 2 (Day 13 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Set up learning stations around the classroom. At each learning station, place several different types of documents printed from the website: newspaper articles, government documents, reminiscences. Consider differentiating instruction by deciding in advance which documents each student will examine (within a small group of 3)at eachlearning station. Perhaps group students by reading ability so that struggling readers might focus on shorter, more straightforward documents, etc. As students examine the documents, remind them to gather evidence of the presence of McCarthyism in Canada and the breadth and depth of a political “witch-hunt” in Canada. In particular, students should watch for evidence that suggests Norman was or was not a victim of a “witch-hunt”.

a) Beyond the ‘merely’ personal:

Documents that illuminate the political and social ‘causes’ of Norman’s suicide.

Herbert Norman, 48, Dies in 12-Floor Cairo Leap ‘Without Hope’ Note Says
Smearing of Canadians Former Red Linked to M’Arthur Vendetta
Ex-Red Courier Says He Originated Charges Against Norman in 1940
SISS Testimony About Norman Releasing Communist Prisoners
The Truth Comes Very Late
Reasons of His Own

b) What is the evidence of McCarthyism? What distinguishes a ‘witch-hunt’ from reasonable concerns about national security?

Minding Your Business
The Truth Comes Very Late
US Prober Passes Opportunity to Deny Pearson On His List
Pearson On List
Let’s Avoid Hysteria
Member of Parliament Demands Investigation of Civil Service
External Affairs Confronts Norman About Halperin

Lesson 5, Class 3 (Day 14 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1:Invite students to create an editorial cartoon that addresses the depth of influence of McCarthyism in Canada and on Canadian society. The cartoon could focus on the challenges Norman faced, the presence of McCarthyism in politics, or the influence of McCarthyism on Canadian society. You may want to have students review “Decoding Political Cartoons” from the Library and Archives of Canada website (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/education/008-3050-e.html) in order for them to become familiar with cartooning techniques that allow the cartoonist to create effective cartoons.

Step 2:Applying knowledge:

As a follow-up to the activity you may wish to have the class engage in a discussion on one or more of the following questions:

• Was Canada immune to the ‘black madness of the witch-hunt’ as Pearson claimed?

• Did American security intelligence agencies and McCarthyism have a significant impact on Canadian foreign policy?

• Did the Cold War impact on the lives of average Canadians or was it an issue of importance to the political elite?

• Did the Cold War have a significant positive or negative impact on the Canadian economy?

Lesson 6: Considering Historical Significance:

What is the Contemporary Relevance of the Norman Mystery?

(2 classes

(DAYS 15 and 16)

Overview:

In this lesson,students will consider the relative historical significance of the death of Herbert Norman in understanding the issues of national security and individual freedoms both past and present. By considering the impact of the Cold War on Canada, students will be invited to consider the contemporary relevance of the Norman mystery to Canadians as we grapple with questionssuch as:

1) What does the current and continuing interest in Herbert Norman tell us about the importance that a range of issues from the past (Cold War, spies, US power over Canadians, political loyalty, political criticism, political persecution, freedom of speech, freedom to believe in something other than the government)continue to have in today’s society?

2) What are the most important lessons we can take away from the Norman mystery that contribute to our on-going reflections about the issue of policy, state security,and individual freedoms?

3) To what degree have attitudes and actions of Canadians and the Canadian government changed or remained the same since the Cold War era? If a similar case unfolded today, what would be the likely similarities and differences?

Students make an overall decision about the extent to which the Herbert Norman case is historically significant. They participate in a U-shaped debate in which they articulate their argument, provide supporting evidence and have the opportunity to adjust their position based on the arguments of their classmates.

Activities

Step 1: You may wish to obtain the NFB film made about Herbert Norman, Inquiry into the life and death of Herbert Normanwhich is an abridged version of theoriginal documentary The Man Who Might Have Been: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Herbert Norman, produced by the NFB (English Program/Documentary – Ontario) 1998, 98 min. If time permits, show the entire film, otherwise select pertinent clips that will help students assess the contemporary significance of the Norman saga.

Step 2: Brainstorm with students aboutthe current implications of security issues post-9/11 and how this has affected Canada. Invite students to share some personal stories. Have these increased security requirements affected individual rights? On the board, draw a continuum from 1 to 10. Above the number 1, write “Insignificant / No lasting impact / Very few people affected”. Above the number 10, write “Earth-shattering impact for many people / Long Lasting impact”. Invite students to think to themselves about the following question: Imagine it is the year 2050. How significant will the events of September 11, 2001 be at that point? After students have thought to themselves for 15 seconds, invite them to approach the board and print their name along the continuum at the place that reflects their answer. Once all students have returned to their seats, ask them to share their answer with a partner. Consider randomly calling on several students to share their answers with the class.

Explain to students that they will be considering the historical significance of the death of Herbert Norman for Canadians today, approximately 50 years later,and what we can learn from the event.

Step 3: Review with students the criteria for determining the level of historical significance. Explain that the activity students just participated inreflects the concept of a historical Richter scale,whereby an event that had an“earth shattering” impact on many people, for a long period of time and in a significant manner would score a high number. Inconsequential events would have affectedfew people and would have had no lasting impact. Using the historical Richter scale to guide their thinking, invite students to determine where on a scale of 1 (insignificant) to 10 (highly significant) the death of Herbert Norman should be placed.Explain that they will be sharing their answer with the classthrough a U-shaped debate at the end of the lesson.

Step 4: Consider splitting the class into groups of five. Assign each student two sources to read. You may wish to consider organizing groups and assigning readings in such a way so that students that may struggle are provided with readings that they are likely to be successful with. Once all students have their readings, you may wish to reorganize groups so that students with the same readings come together to support each other as they gather evidence and then return to their original group to share that evidence later. As students read, ask them to record their evidence using Support Material No. 9The Question of Significance: Why is Norman’s loyalty so hotly contested today?

The Question of Significance: Why is Norman’s loyalty so hotly contested today?

The Norman Case is Closed
Not Acceptable
US Embassy, Ottawa, Reports that Canadian Press Will Let Norman Case Rest
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Operation
Unexplained Role of the RCMP in the Norman Case
Canada’s Security Service: An Historical Outline, 1864-1966
Pearson on the Norman Case
Reasons of His Own
Herbert Norman: An Agent of the Cominterm
Pearson’s Reminiscence of Norman Case

Step 5: Invite students to return to their original groups and share the evidence they have gathered. Once they have shared their evidence, ask them to propose where they believe the Norman case belongs on the historical Richter scale, on the basis of the two sources they have read. Other group members take notes on their organizer as they listen. Once all group members have shared their evidence and opinions about the historical significance of the case of Herbert Norman, invite each group member to reconsider their opinion in light of all the evidence that has been shared and to make a final decision about where the case belongs on the historical Richter scale.

Step 6: Organize the U-shaped debate as follows. The front left corner of the classroom will represent a “1” on the historical Richter scale and the front right corner of the classroom will represent a “10”. Ask a student whose own opinions reflect those two numbers to stand in their corresponding corners. Ask a student whose opinion reflects a “5” on the historical Richter scale to stand at the back of the classroom, in the middle of the wall. Invite all students to now stand and place themselves on the U-shaped continuum between the three students that are already standing based on their opinion of the historical significance of the Norman case. Explain that they will have to talk with the people standing close to them to determine the order in which they all belong. Once all students have placed themselves on the continuum, invite the students at the two extremes to share their arguments and the supporting evidence from their organizers. Continue to call on students to share their opinions. As students share, inform those who are listening that they are encouraged to shift their positions to the left or right if they hear arguments and evidence from their classmates that convinces them to change their minds.

Step 7: When students return to their seats, invite them to consider whether or not Canadian foreign policy and the protection of individual freedoms is virtually unchanged, somewhat changed or radically different from 50 years ago. You may wish to remind them of the discussion regarding 9/11 at the beginning of this lesson in considering their answer.

Lesson 7: Culminating Event: Design a two-page spread for a textbook

(3 classes)

(DAYS 17, 18 and 19 of unit)

Overview:

To conclude their examination of the suicide of Herbert Norman and the insights it provides us on the impact of the Cold War on Canada, students work in teams to design and create a two-page model textbook spread. The focus is to demonstrate what the Herbert Norman case tells us about the Cold War in Canadian history for use in a Grade 10 Canadian history text. Students will need to select the most significant information, integrate powerful visuals, use pertinent excerpts from primary and secondary sources, and pose some powerful questions for their students to consider in light of the traces and accounts provided by the two-page spread. Some important focus questions that could guide students include:

a) How prevalent is Herbert Norman in current Canadian history textbooks?

b) What cautions should we take from the Norman case regarding personal rights vs. national security; and/or American national security vs. Canadian sovereignty;

c) What do historians need to consider when they examine cause and effect relationships?

Lesson 7, Class 1 (Day 17 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Ask students to review the evidence they have gathered throughout the unit about the events and political intrigue that led to the death of Herbert Norman. Ask them to determine the extent to which McCarthyism and a witch-hunt is likely to have pushed Norman to suicide and what this tells us about the impact of the Cold War and American influence on Canadian society. Considering the evidence gathered with the various organizers throughout the unit, invite student partners to formulate a plausible thesisin response to the central question of the unit: “To what degree was Herbert Norman’s death the result of Canada’s own version of a Cold War ‘witch-hunt’”?.

Step 2: Inform students that they will be creating a two-page spread for a high school textbook. The thesis generated in Step 1 will act as an organizing theme for the spread and should be reflected in the title. The spread will focus on the death of Herbert Norman and the insights into the impact of the Cold War on Canada. Provide students with a variety of current textbooks being used in secondary classrooms. Invite students to peruse several of the books looking for features that make the text engaging, informative, and readable for students. Ask students for their recommendation on which book to purchase but insist that they provide a rationale for their choice. From the discussion on which text to choose, elicit criteria for an effective text. Be sure to consider layout, readability, depth of information, and how visuals support the text. Share the list of student suggested criteria with the class. Encourage students to pay attention to the criteria as they plan their two-page spread.

Lesson 7, Class 2 (Day 18 of unit)

Activities:

Step 1: Invite students to work in partners to respond to the following questions:

1. Is Herbert Norman in a Canadian text? Why/why not?

2. Which triumphed in the Norman case – personal rights or national security? American interest or Canadian sovereignty?

3. What do historians need to consider when they examine cause and effect relationships?

4. Why does the story deserve to be told?

Step 2: Invite students to work in partners to design and create a two-pagemodel textbookspread. The focus is to demonstrate what the Herbert Norman case tells us about the Cold War in Canadian history. Students will select the most significant information to include, integrate visuals, include pertinent excerpts from primary and secondary sources,and pose some powerful questions for students to consider. The powerful questions should:

• not be obvious

• invite reasoned assessment of an issue

• require use of accurate and relevant background knowledge

Support Material No. 1: What happened to Herbert Norman?

1. Using the evidence below, record your notes from the evidence.

2. Using the evidence from above, select the five (5) most significant events that explain the cause and effect of this event. Create a timeline with your key events.

Support Material No. 2:Impact of World Events on Attitudes Towards Communism

1. Each group will research and report on ONE of the following topics. Each person will select at least one source and create a fishbone organizer to record their notes. Then the group reconvenes to share their research and add to their fishbone organizer to include the ideas of each member.

   Topic/Focus Question	1	2	3	4	5
   i) The Depression and the 1930s Why was communism appealing to so many people during this time?	The Crisis of the Thirties: A View from the Left	Graham Spry’s Impressions of the USSR	Graham Spry’s Contrast Between the USSR and Canada	Letters from Canadians to the Prime Minister About the Depression
   ii) The Second World War How did relationships change and why?	CANADA SENDS HER TRIBUTES TO RED ARMY	Motive for Spying	Communists and the War	Britain to Honor Russia For Two Years’ Heroism	The Russo-German War The “Fifth Column” Agitation of the Warmongers
   iii) The Cold War What kept the Cold war cold? Why did the major powers not go to war?	Opposition to War in Europe	Is World War III at Hand?	“Iron Curtain” Speech	Motive for Spying	Anti-Communist Ballot Cuts Out All but Two
   iv) The Hot Wars of the era How cold was the Cold War? Did deterrence really prevent wars?	Letter From Norman About Conversation With General MacArthur	Korean War Looms	U.S. Plans for Asia 1949	Cold War: Russia Gains Edge	Norman on the Suez Crisis Norman on British and French in Suez Crisis
   v) Espionage and National Security How justifiable were countries’ excuses for spying on each other?	Motive for Spying: Emma Woikin	Motivation of Agents	THE REPORT OF THE ROYAL COM-MISSION	Says Soviet Right In Seeking Bomb	Why Did They Spy?

2. Discuss as a group – Why were the alternative political systems perceived to be a national security threat?

3. Prepare a poster to highlight the key ideas that relate to the focus question of each topic. Prepare to share some relevant information on your topic.

Support Material No. 3: RESEARCH RECORD
Period/Event:

Support Material No. 4: What can the death of Herbert Norman tell us about the Cold War in Canada?

At each station, select at least three different sources and record your conclusions about the question.

Support Material No. 5: Who was Herbert Norman?

What conclusions can be made about Herbert Norman based on this evidence?

Support Material No. 6: Building a Personality Profile

Support Material No. 7:Political Cartoons in History

A. As you examine a cartoon, consider the following questions and respond below:

Title __________________ Date _____________ Source _____________

B. Now that you have examined one or two current political cartoons, prepare some criteria for developing a cartoon that would reflect a historical period. When you create yours, provide the evidence in the second column for your teacher to see. Put the criteria in order of importance.

Support Material No. 8:What is Loyalty?

After reviewing the evidence, apply these ideas to Herbert Norman – was the death of Herbert Norman historically significant? Next, apply this understanding to one of the following in a debate.

Support Material No. 9: The Question of Significance: Why is Norman’s loyalty so hotly contested today?

Each member of your group will select two sources from this section and take notes in response to the question. After preparing your notes, prepare to share with your peers and take notes from theirs. Then the group will prepare a brief conclusion based on the evidence collected.

Conclusion: