I believe this is why my grade 2 class in Montreal was shown this famous Quebec movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dog_Who_Stopped_the_War where the movie ends with a child dying in the collapsed snow fort.
(This formative message could explain a lot. I prefer Quebec's snow safety message.)
Around that time was also the Disney Channel, which many parents of young children would get for their cable TV package, for presumed kid-safe shows, and which showed many old Disney movies, including this one.
Of course not everyone has seen it, but a lot have, maybe especially in households that prioritized exposure to "family-friendly" TV/movies.
Why not western ?
Also when you said "us schoolchildren were shown" you are directly implying this movie was (mandatory) shown in schools which based on your reply, is not what happened.
'US children' and network TV would have sufficed for your point.
Honestly your writeup feels purposefully dramatic.
Which given the name “The Dog Who Stopped the War” seems likely?
> Marc's dog Cléo comes after her owner, and one of the fortress walls collapses, killing her. The war ends, as both sides help bury her.