I know this must be simple but I can’t for the life of me understand what the question is asking. It is:
Evaluate how the recordings of firsthand accounts of fighting at the Western Front provide a different perspective than official records. Identify the people whose accounts you are considering in your response.
What I don’t understand is where do I find the official records mentioned.
TIA
This sounds like an assignment question for the Modern History Preliminary course, and so I'll tailor my answer for that - let me know if I'm wrong though!
If this is the case, than this is a more specific / "biased" question than you would usually be asked in the HSC since the aim is to get you to research and think critical about different perspectives.
"First hand accounts" would likely refer to primary sources such as dairy entries from soldiers, letters sent from the front, and other such documents. You can often find these on museum websites such as the Australian War Memorial.
On the other hand, "official records" can be slightly subjective in that it can refer to both official sources at the time which can include propaganda and other inaccuracies or "official" in the sense of being verified by professional historians. Again, museums often host online collections of records and sources and you can also use academic sources to get the opinions of professional historians.
In this case, my interpretation of this question is that your teacher wants you to research and focus on differences between the "official story" at the home front (propaganda, reporting, census data) versus the realities of life at the western front. I would take the interpretation of "official" as meaning "at the time" (though I recommend you confirm with your teacher) so I would focus on propaganda and censorship.
Specific examples you could discuss include the censoring of letters sent back from the Western Front and fabricated news reports demonizing the Axis forces, a stark contrast to events like the Christmas Truce (where soldiers from both sides upheld an unofficial ceasefire). Particularly in Germany, propaganda was so effective that the general German public was shocked to hear that they had been defeated (this would result in the Nazis perpetuating the "stab in the back myth" and leads directly to the core topic of Power and Authority in year 12).
This is a pretty cool question, and leaves a lot of room for you to explore and find your own examples. I would highly recommend you talk to your teacher to clarify exactly what they mean, but hopefully this post has given you some ideas of how to approach and think about your essay!
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