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How to Talk to Young Learners About 9/11
What was the World Trade Center?
View of lower Manhattan on the morning of September 11, 2001. Photograph by David Monderer. Collection of the New-York Historical Society.
The World Trade Center was a group of seven buildings in lower Manhattan, a busy and crowded part of New York City. Many people worked and visited there. There was also a hotel and an underground mall where people shopped and stayed during visits.
What were the Twin Towers?
Two Towers. Photo by Fernando Zaccaria.
The centerpieces of the World Trade Center were the Twin Towers. They were called the Twin Towers because there were two of them and they looked nearly the same. What made them different was that the North Tower had an antenna on the top. They had 110 floors and were the tallest buildings in New York City. For a short time, they were the tallest buildings in the world. People came from all over the world to see them and enjoy the view from the observation deck in the South Tower. The buildings were filled with the offices of different companies. 35,000 people worked in the towers and 430 companies had their offices there.
What is 9/11?
Gift of Nicholas Kornfield
“9/11” is shorthand for a date, September 11, 2001. On that date, a group of nineteen men crashed two airplanes into the Twin Towers and one into the Pentagon outside of Washington DC. The men tried to crash a fourth plane into another building, but the passengers fought back, and the plane crashed into an empty field in Pennsylvania. The men were born in other countries and were part of a group called “al-Qaeda.” Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group and the men were terrorists – they use violence and fear, especially against civilians, to force people or countries into taking a certain action.
What happened to the Twin Towers and the World Trade Center?
Collection 9/11 Memorial Museum, Gift of the photographer, Roberto Rabanne.
Around 17,000 people were in the buildings when they were hit by the planes. Most of them left safely. As they rushed out, firefighters, police officers, and other volunteers rushed in to help those still trapped. We call these heroes “first responders.” The buildings were very damaged, though, and before the first responders could help everyone, they collapsed. There was rubble everywhere and nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Why did the terrorists do this?
The terrorists hoped that by attacking important buildings and hurting many people they would weaken the United States and force it to change how it interacts with countries around the world, especially in the Middle East. Even though the hijackers did hurt the United States, they were wrong about what happened after the attacks. Many people, from New York, the United States and around the world, came to help at the World Trade Center and to support those who were impacted by the attacks.
What happened after the buildings fell?
Photograph by Andrea Booher, FEMA
Immediately, people came from all over the world to help. Some came to help the injured. Some came to help clean up the site. Others brought food and cards for the workers. Many people worked around the clock to clear the rubble and the debris, and eight months later, the last of the steel was removed. The World Trade Center complex has now been rebuilt. The 9/11 Memorial opened on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011 and the Museum opened in 2014. There are also new office buildings and a train station. One of the buildings is even taller than the Twin Towers!
How can we remember what happened on September 11, 2001?
Photograph by David Starke.
When we don’t have someone in our lives anymore, we can still remember them. Sometimes, people make artwork or look at photographs or tell stories to help remember a person or a favorite thing. As long as you remember someone or something, you still have a part of them with you. To help us remember, a permanent 9/11 Memorial was opened on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011. A museum was opened a few years later, in 2014. Millions of people from all over the world have come to see the Memorial and Museum since it opened. Both are located at the site of the original World Trade Center. Together, they remind us of what happened that day and help us remember all the people who were killed. They also let us remember the importance of helping each other and making our community and world a better place.