pin up.doc

 

Cheerios (1941)

 

In 1941, General Mills came out with the “first ready to eat oat cereal.” (http://www.cheerios.com/ourCompany/history.aspx) They were called Cheerioats. The cereal was very popular and sold 2 million boxes in the first year. Its competitors weren't happy with their success and to avoid a lawsuit with Quaker Oats, the name of the cereal was changed to Cheerios. (http://www.foodreference.com/html/f-cheerios-cereal.html) Most of the early advertising was television and geared toward children compared with today, where advertising is directed at adults for the health benefits. Cheerios was popular in hard times like war for its low price then and still is now. In 2008 for example, sales of the cereal increased while pricier competitors' sales decreased. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-09-17-908536716_x.htm?loc=interstitialskip)

 

Leora Herrick

 

 

 

The Alaska Highway

             

     There was a Depression-Era proposal made in 1931 to build a highway to Alaska.  A congressional committee passed the plan that was supposed to create economic development in the northwest.  However, the Canadian government rejected the plan because it felt that the highway was just one step that would eventually lead the Us to takeover the Canadian territory in between Alaska and the lower 48. The next year Slim Williams journeyed from Alaska to Washington D.C. on a dog sled to gain support of a highway proposal called route A; the route would connect Vancouver to Alaska.  In 1938 the last Alaskan copper mine closes ending the once prolific mining boom.

     After the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, the US Government immediately makes inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands evacuate, fearing a Japanese military invasion.  From 1940 to 1943 the US troop presence in Alaska goes from 500 to 124,000.  Because there was such a desperate need for manpower the US Government accepted African American regiments, even though it thought they performed poorly in arctic conditions.  African Americans made up one third of the total manpower.

     On February 6, 1942 the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff makes public a plan to construct a military supply route to Alaska.  President Roosevelt authorizes the building of the Alaska Highway five days later.  Construction begins two months later led by the Army Corps of Engineers.  They chose their route in order to be far away enough from the coast to avoid Japanese bomber but also to link airports.  The surveyors would work about 10 miles ahead of the bulldozers and laborers clearing the road, while a second battalion followed, flattening the road surface.  Two months after the project began only 95 percent of the project had been completed.

 

     On June 4th Japan Bombs Dutch harbor in the Aleutian Islands, a week later Japan invaded.  Japanese occupation lasted for more than a year.  It was the bombing combined with the more favorable summer weather that sped up the building process.

During the summer months progress was made much faster as 665 miles of road were laid down in June and July alone.  On October 25 the road that laid the foundation for the highway was completed and less than a month later The Alaska Highway opened for military traffic.  The Highway continued to be worked on well after the first trek.  The spring after the Highway was completed many bridges along the highway washed out and had to be reconstructed.  The Public Roads Administration took over the task of fortifying the roads, employing private contractors to do the work. 

      The highway was initially completed in 18 months, covering a 1,500 mile span.  The Highway begins in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and ends in Fairbanks, Alaska.

 

             

 

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/alaska/timeline/timeline2.html

http://www.alaskahighwayarchives.ca./en/index.php

 

Photos:

http://www.wired.com/images/article/full/2007/10/alaska_highway_250x.jpg

http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/30/alaska_highway_T1932.jpg

http://www.dantesdame.com/04alaska/4-alaska%20highway%20me.jpg

http://www.alaskahighwayarchives.ca/images/map05.gif

http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/11-4/images/pic26.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tc.gov.yk.ca/digitization/images_web/005702.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tc.gov.yk.ca/digitization/dispatch/dispatch.php%3Faction%3DviewImage%26imageId%3D39792%26YUKONARCHIVESSESSID%3D7dcf95d60784ddfb09a77da0ae8efdb7&usg=__uDTuQ6e1PXvuGrbEJZrXFZt3ktg=&h=375&w=550&sz=61&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=Edp0q6hUd6G7hM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dalaska%2Bhighway%2B1942%2Bbridge%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG

 

 

-Erin Champion

 

Anne Frank Makes First Diary Entry (1942)

On her 13^th birthday Anne Frank received a red plaid autograph book as a gift and decided it would become her diary.  For the next two years and two months Anne would record the events that took place during her and her family’s time in hiding during the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. 

            Anne and her family were originally from Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany, but in 1933 when the Nazi’s took over Germany, Otto Frank, Anne’s father, relocated the family to Amsterdam, where Nazi power had not reached yet.  By 1940 the Netherlands also became occupied by the Nazi’s.  In July of 1942 Anne’s sister Margot had been called to relocate to a work camp.  Fearful for his family’s lives, Otto Frank moved the family into a secret annex at his office.  Only his closet employees knew that he and his family were there.  In hiding Anne recorded everything in her diary.  She lived with her Mother Edith, her sister, her father, and the Pels family.  While in hiding, the Franks and Pels were supplied with food from the employees’ of Anne’s father.  

 

     During the next two years Anne gained a close relationship with her family and the sons of the Pels family.  She wrote in diary not only about daily events, but she also wrote short stories.  Anne was very private about her diary and never wanted anyone to read it.  One day Anne heard a broadcast by a member of the Dutch government.  He said that when the war was over he was going to make a record of the oppression that all Dutch people went through.  Anne thought when the time was right she would submit her diary.  Shortly after deciding this Anne started to edit her diary.  She made pseudonyms for everyone in her diary to protect their identity.  Anne continued her writing often talking about her hard relationship with her mother and her beliefs on God and Nature.  On August 4, 1944, the German Security Police received a tip about the Franks from an unknown source.  Everyone in the Annex was arrested and sent to Gestapo headquarters.  On September 3, Anne’s family was transported to Auschwitz concentration camp.  Anne’s father was separated from the three girls.  Anne, Edith and Margot were sent to do slave labor.  On October 28, Anne and Margot were transported to Bergen-Belsen where both died of typhus just weeks before the liberation. 

     After the war was over Otto Frank tried to locate his family members only to find that all had perished.  Miep Gies, one of Otto’s trustworthy employees, kept Anne’s diary for safekeeping.  When she learned of Anne’s death she gave it to Otto.  After reading her diary Otto thought that his daughters words and experiences should be made public.  Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was first published in Germany and France in 1950, and in America in 1952.  The book received international acclaim and was published in many different languages.  Anne’s diary became the voice of youth during the Nazi occupation.  Her fearful time and coming of age story affected so many different people after the war.  Anne Frank has been mentioned in countless speeches and was recognized for her writing style and wise voice.  Anne Frank became a symbol of the holocaust and her story will be read over and over again for many years to come.

 

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/af/htmlsite/story.html

http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=17&lid=2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl

http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/frank01.html

http://www.washburn.k12.il.us/neff/AnneFrank/AnneFrank.html

 

 

 

 

Alyssa Cain

 

 

 

The Premiere of Bambi

On August 14 Disney released its fifth full-length animated feature Bambi. The story for the film was very different than the previous animated films Disney put out. The cast of Bambi was made up entirely on animals and followed a more serious story line (http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/bambi/bambi.html). Many steps were taken to assure that the film maintained realism. Animators were required to attend animal workshops at the LA Zoo, they watched countless footage of the wildlife in Maine and they released fewer drawings each day to ensure that the animals looked the exact same in each sketch (http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/bambi/bambi.html). Because of WWII, initial profits for Bambi were low, but the story endured over decades and was rereleased six times (http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/bambi/bambi.html). The film was based on the 1923 book Bambi in the Woods by Felix Salten (http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Bambi-(1942-movie)). Bambi was intended to be the second animated film to be released by Disney, but production took so long that four films were released before it was ready (http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/animation/bambifacts.html). It has been said that Walt Disney’s original script required that Bambi be shot in the movie, and he decided to change it to make Bambi’s mother be shot instead (http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/animation/bambifacts.html).-Amy Wicks

 

Rose Bowl Played in North Carolina (1942)

 

The 1942 Rose Bowl was the 28th Rose Bowl game. For the only time in its history, in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and amid fears of a possible enemy assault on the West Coast, the game was played not in Pasadena but at Duke Stadium in Durham, N.C. The United States government had ordered any event on the West Coast to be prohibited for the duration of the war, and the first significant canceled event was the Rose Bowl Game scheduled for New Year's Day, 1942.

 

When the game was cancelled, Oregon State, which had posted a 7-2 regular-season record earning it's first Rose Bowl bid, then offered to make the trip to Durham if Duke would agree to play host to the game. Duke agreed and Oregon State arrived in time for Christmas dinner. The Beavers were so lightly regarded that virtually no one expected them to put up much of a fight against the powerful Blue Devils, who had outscored their opponents by 30 points a game.

 

The "Displaced Rose Bowl" game was still played on January 1 in Durham. Borrowed bleachers from the University of North Carolina and NC State boosted stadium capacity from 35,000 to 55,000 spectators. A flood of East Coast sportswriters descended upon Durham for their first Rose Bowl while only a single writer came from southern California. The heavily favored Duke team lost on a cold, rainy day to an underestimated defensive team that successfully protected an early lead. The Oregon State Beavers defeated the host Duke Blue Devils 20-16. Donald Durdan of Oregon State was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.

 

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942_Rose_Bowl

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/31/sports/sp-crowe31

http://www.osualum.com/s/359/index.aspx?sid=359&gid=1&pgid=445

http://www.rosebowlstadium.com/RoseBowl_history_154_facts.htm

http://www.claremont.org/publications/pubid.263/pub_details.asp

http://www.footballhistorian.com/football_heroes.cfm?page=50

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=735947

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19911201&slug=1320421

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/therose/ci_7684335

- Kristin Kokkeler

 

September 24, 1942; First Female SOE Agents in Occupied France

 

In 1940 British intelligence forces created the Special Operations Executive that was branch but completely separate from the Secret Intelligence Service. According to British archives the SOE "had then a twofold purpose: ultimately, to raise secret armies to rise in concert with the eventual Allied invasion; in the meantime, to carry out a programme of sabotage detrimental to the enemy's fighting potential." Because of the secretive nature of the group the SOE headquarters did not have an official registrar and records were kept sporadical. Not that many documents actually survived the war. Some had been burned because of the enemy's advances or because of storage space. Women were an intricate part of their operations and in 1942 two woman, Andree Borrel and Lise de Baissac became the first female agents to parachute into occupied France. 

 

 

 

Andree Borrel was French and worked for the French resistance when France surrendered to Germany. She went to southern France to work as a red cross nurse helping British soldiers. Once the operation was found out Borrel fled to England where she was recruited to the SOE despite her leftist leanings. Codename Denise, she parachuted into France September 24, 1942 with Baissac. Borrel went to Paris to work with the Prosper Network. She helped train people with weapons and sabotage techniques. Rising quickly to second in command. However the Gestapo found out their actives thanks to informers and wireless technology. Borrel was arrested with other field agents. After being interrogated she was sent to a concentration camp. Borrel and four other agents were given lethal injections and their bodies were burned in 1944. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lise de Baissac was English and joined the SOE with her brother. Codename Marguerite she parachuted into occupied france with Borrell and went to Poiters where she acted as a liaison officer between the Prosper Network. However, because of communication difficulties she had to travel to Paris and other cities in order to send and receive both messages and funds. The gestapo also found out her activities but she was able to escape back to England. She reentered France in 1944 but after problems with the SOE officer in charge she moved to be with her brother in Normandy. Baissac died in 2004. 

 

 

 

 

Both women were commended for their service. The officer overseeing Borrel  Francis Suttill noted she, "has a perfect understanding of security and an imperturbable calmness." Baissac's SOE record states, "She was the inspiration of groups on the Orne and by her initiative caused heavy losses to the Germans with tyre bursters on the roads near St Aubin-le-Desert, St Mars, and as far as Laval, Le Mans and Rennes. She also took part in several armed attacks on enemy columns." The SOE and the women involved in the program helped to combat the German forces baring down on Europe. 

Below is a documentary of the Special Operations Executive activities during World War 2. Although not dealing specifically with Andree Borrel and Lise De Baissac it gives a good background on the importance of the SOE. 

Liz Wilks

Sources:

http://www.specialforcesroh.com/browse.php?mode=viewiroll&rollid=3601

http://www.64-baker-street.org/agents/agent_fany_andree_borrel.html

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SOEborrel.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SOEbaissac.htm

http://www.specialforcesroh.com/browse.php?mode=viewiaward&awardid=2310

http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080205132101/www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front%3fpagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1050510206588

 

 

 

The Battle Of Los Angeles

      During the late night and early morning of February 24^th and 25^th 1942 respectively, unidentified flying objects were spotted in the skies of Los Angeles. On February 23^rd a Japanese submarine fired on an oil production facility in Santa Barbra, California and given the proximity to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which prompted the U.S. involvement in WWII, the west coast was on high alert. On February 24th naval intelligence indicated that an attack on southern California could be impending within nightfall. By 7:18pm local time reports of blinking lights and flares in the sky caused an alert to be sounded, this alert was lifted by 10:23pm thus allowing the city rest. However, the city was abruptly awoken when air raid sirens pulsated throughout Los Angeles. A total blackout was called for shortly thereafter. Reports of “enemy planes” near Long Beach flooded in and at 3:16am the coast artillery brigade began firing the first of its estimated 1400 anti-aircraft artillery. Some reports claim to have seen up to 25 planes flying synchronously while others claimed to have seen the object hit on several occasions by anti-aircraft fire. However, no object was ever recovered. Around 7am the all clear was sounded thus ending the blackout. “The Battle of Los Angeles”, as it was deemed by local news stations, claimed a total of six lives, three were killed by anti-aircraft fire and the other three suffered heart attacks, which may or may not have had a causal relation with the events. In addition to the casualties, there was an abundance of property damage. Since the so-called “battle” there has been much speculation as to what the object(s) could have been. Many claim that it was a balloon of sorts but these theories have been dismissed given the apparent speed at which the UFO’s traveled and it's ability to withstand the barrage of gunfire. Other theories include range from a failed Japanese attack; to war hysteria, and as many of you have guessed it there are also many theories that involve extra-terrestrial activity.

 

Tim Holley

 

Sources:

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist9/aaf2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Los_Angeles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacks_on_North_America_during_World_War_II#Ellwood_shelling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP185xsDJ4s (Radio broadcast youtube clip)

http://www.book-of-thoth.com/blogs/oddthings/uploaded_images/BOLA%20(UFO%20enhanced%20and%20framed)-742571.jpg (image)

 

 

The Bataan Death March (April 1942)

 

 

 

Months into American involvement in World War II, Japanese forces were making an aggressive push into the Pacific Rim Islands; spreading its military strength over a large area and shielding itself from retaliation from Allied forces.  In March 1942, the Phillipine Islands were captured and nearly 90,000 to 100,000 American and Filipino soldiers became prisoners of war.  The Japanese commander, Lt. Gen. Homma Masaharu planned on moving the POW's on Bataan Island up to the northern Camp O'Donnell, which was about a hundred miles from were they were currently held.  Because the camp was believed to be a short distance, Homma had the planned approved thinking that the POW's would be moved quickly.  The conditions of the soldiers were, however, very poor.  Many of the POW's were undernurished from half-rations and many of them had been severly beaten by the Japanese soldiers.  But, Homma ignored the warnings and moved foward with the planned move. 

 

   

 

On April 10, 1942, what would be known as the Bataan Death March began in the Mariveles Camp.  Any and all troops who fell behind were executed.  Soldiers were randomly beaten and denied food or water for many days.  Anyone who dared to ask for water was executed.  When they were allowed to sleep at night, their quarters were often so cramped that many of the soldiers were unable to move around and even then they would only get a couple hours of sleep.  One particular method of torture that was used on this march was known as the suntreatment, where a soldier would be made to sit out in the sun without shade, helmet, or water. Many soldiers who lived likely would have collapsed over their dead comrades and those who fell would of been bayoneted instead of helped.  The POW's were forced-marched to San Fernando in a 55 mile trek.  Once they reached San Fernando, they were loaded onto rail cars and taken to Capas.  Once there, they were forced-marched another 8 miles to Camp O'Donnell, if they hadn't suffocated in the boxcars first.  The whole move took over a week to complete.  Only 54,000 reached Camp O'Donnell out of the 90,000-100,000 that started out in the march.  7,000-10,000 died along the way while the rest escaped into the jungle, many of them never to be seen again. 

 

 

After the war, in January 1946, Homma Masaharu was tried by a U.S. military commisission in Manila for responsibility of the death march.  He was convicted of ordering the march and was executed soon after on April 3, 1946.  The Bataan Death March stands as one of the most horrific war crimes commited during World War II.  Memorials to the victims of the march can be found across the globe, from the Philippines to Minnesota U.S.A.

 

Bataan Death March  www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/55717/Bataan-Death-March.html

Bataan Death March Info.  http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ehimchak/death_march.html

Wikipedia-Bataan Death March-Commemorations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March

James Humphreys

 

 

 

 

 

The Battle of Midway (1942)

 

 

 

The Battle of Midway was the turning point in the Pacific War during World War II. This battle, which the Japanese intended to destroy the American carrier fleet, caused the loss of their own carrier force (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_midway.htm).

 

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Combined Fleet, set sail with the majority of the fleet for this tiny little Pacific atoll called Midway (http://www.microworks.net/PACIFIC/battles/midway.htm). It’s goal was twofold: take Midway and use it as staging area for future operations (http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm) and to lure the American fleets (and their carriers) out and cripple their enemy (http://www.microworks.net/PACIFIC/battles/midway.htm).

 

The strategy that Yamamoto and his commanders came up with would not be enough. Upon realizing that intercepted Japanese transmissions referring to an “AF” could be Midway, Combat Intelligence sent a message (via an underwater telephone connection) to broadcast unencrypted back to Pearl Harbor that their desalinization plant had broken (http://www.microworks.net/PACIFIC/battles/midway.htm). This was Japan’s fatal mistake. Once realizing the target, the commander of the Pacific navy, Admiral Chester Nimitz sent his carrier force to lay in wait.

 

In the air battle that ensued, the Japanese forces lost four carriers (Out of Many, Vol. 1, Brief 4^th Edition). Not only did losing the four fleet aircraft carriers hurt the Japanese Combined Fleet, they also lost much of their highly trained pilots and crew that were on those ships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway). For the remainder of the war, Japan would be on the defensive until their defeat became inevitable.

 

 

 

Todd Green 

 

 

Gandhi’s Last Imprisonment Begins

http://www.mkgandhi.org/images/barrister.gif

http://www.ethnomediallc.com/TheRedemption/images/pagemaster/Mohandas_Gandhi.jpg

    Gandhi was arrested many times in his life.  On August 9, 1942, he was imprisoned for the fourth and final time.  Gandhi was arrested following the ‘Quit India’ movement.  Quit India was intended to gain independence for India from Britain.  Many acts of violence took place during the protest and some supporters were killed by policemen; thousands more were arrested.

    He was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in a small town on the coast of west India on October 2, 1869.  By the age of 13 Gandhi was married to a 13 year old girl named Kasturbai.  By the time they were 15 they had their first son, but he only lived a few days.  Their second of five sons was born when they were 18 as Gandhi was leaving to go to college in England.  It was there that he became a barrister.  Once he moved back to India, shortly after his college years, Gandhi moved back and forth between South Africa and India for political reasons.  In January 1915 he returned to India as a Mahatma which means “Great Soul”.  He remained in India for the rest of his life except for a quick trip to Europe I 1931.

    During his imprisonment related to Quit India, Gandhi’s wife died after 18 months of being in jail.  Gandhi also suffered from a malaria attack while in prison.  The Raj of India did not want to see Gandhi die in prison, so with his health failing Gandhi was released from jail on May 6, 1944, serving almost two years.  And by the end of WWII the British gave over their power back to India.

    10 days after a failed assassination attempt, at the age of 78, Gandhi was killed by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948.  Godse and his co-conspirator Narayan Apte were later executed.  Gandhi died only several days after his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.  A posthumous Nobel award had never been given, and because Gandhi died before the Nobel Committee could make a decision the Norwegian Nobel Committee choose not to award a prize that year because “there was no suitable living candidate.”

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/gandhi/index.html

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mahatma_ghandi.htm

http://www.mkgandhi.org/main.htm

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gandhi2.html

http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/magazine/mohandas_gandhi12d.html

Kelcey Friend

 

Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps

 

 

    During World War II many men and women served in the United States Army. In 1942 the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC – known as the Women’s Army Corps – WAC by 1943) was established to work side by side with the regular army. These were the first women allowed in the military who were anything other than nurses (http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm). Massachusetts Representative Edith Nourse Rogers introduced the bill to Congress to allow women in the Army in 1941, but Congress did not pass the bill until May 14, 1942 after Pearl Harbor was bombed and there was an increased demand for armed forces (http://www.mscd.edu/~history/camphale/wim_001.html).

    Though women were not allowed to command men in the Army, the bill stated that women can exercise their rights as citizens and therefore can serve in the military. The bill was officially signed in 1943, and the name switched to the Women’s Army Corps. Over 150,000 women served in the WAC in World War II, and General MacArthur called WACs “my best soldiers,” adding that “they worked harder, complained less, and were better disciplined than men” (http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/10/19/13127-my-best-soldiers-thirty-six-years-of-the-womens-army-corps/). Many people wanted to add women to the draft, but officials never did because they feared it would cause a public outcry. Nevertheless, women served in the Army as well as the women who served at home in industrial settings. Just like the War Posters like Rosie the Riveter, the WACs were portrayed on a variety of posters and postcards (http://www.scripophily.net/womarcorwacp.html).

    WAC soldiers were never on the front lines, but they often were very close. For example, the WAC arrived on the beaches of Normandy, but only after the men had fought the battle. Mostly the women served as clerks, telegraph operators, switchboard operators, typists, and postal workers. An experimental unit (the 6669th Headquarters Platoon) was placed in North Africa to test women on the field. They would stay six or so miles behind the front lines, and still filled administrative positions. These women were under immense stress and would have to make complex connections between phones very quickly (http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm). 

    The US Army was not the only branch with women’s corps. During World War II there were over 100,000 Navy Waves alongside the Navy Nurse Corps. There were women who flew planes in the Women Air Service Pilots. The Marines had the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and the Coast Guard had SPARS. Over 400,000 women served in the military during WWII (http://www.mscd.edu/~history/camphale/wim_001.html). So even though the majority of the soldiers were men, between the women at home working to build airplanes and ships, collecting supplies and rationing and the women in these branches of the military, women had an integral role in the War Effort. 

-Rebecca Meredith 

 

 

1942  American War Effort Cartoons:

 

 

 

“From early on, animated films were viewed as a uniquely convincing way to persuade and educate people,” said Michael Sappol, a historian at the library. Animation could get a message across while also entertaining an audience.”

 

 

“Donald Crafton, an animation historian at the University of Notre Dame, said that during the war, “the animation studios made the case to the government that they were an essential industry and that these propaganda and training films were crucial to the war effort.”

 

 

 

In "The Draft Horse" a character who would go on to be Private Snafu gives the horse a brushing, only to end up being brushed by the horse himself. Private Snafu as a series character did not officially debut until 1943

.

 

 

Walt Disney's studio was one that helped the war effort, as almost every cartoon produced by Disney in this period dealt with the war effort.  Der Fuehrer's Face, starring Donald living a nightmare in "Nutziland", was one of the most popular and famous cartoons of the period. The song from the cartoon also became very popular for its contempt of Nazi society.

 

 

 

But the films also frequently trafficked in racial and sexual stereotypes, reflecting social attitudes that were widespread at the time, he said. Japanese people, for instance, were often shown as caricatures with thick glasses and bad teeth or even portrayed as germ-carrying flies.

 

 

 

 

Alanna Steeves

Sources:

(http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/United-States-home-front-during-World-War-II#Propaganda_and_culture)

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/health/21snafu.html?_r=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Draft_Horse

 

1942 Negro League World Series

 

Despite many sports leagues canceling their seasons, or cutting them short due to World War II, the Negro Baseball association was given permission from President Roosevelt to continue with their playoffs. This series would mark the resumption of the Negro World Series after more then a decade without it having been played. It was also the first Negro League Championship series that would declare a champion of the two Negro leagues, where as before conference championships were the deepest round of playoffs. The Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American league would sweep the series in 4 games. Unlike today’s World Series championship, the games in this round were played in 5 different cities (one game was thrown out). Game one took place in Washington D.C; game two at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field; game three at Yankee Stadium; the fourth at Kansas City; and finally ended in Philadelphia where the Monarchs would receive the pennant. These games would feature several future Hall of Famers, such as; Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith and Jud Wilson.

(Satchel Paige)

Most importantly, and something very different from the way today’s game is played, Satchel Paige was featured in all five games at pitcher. That Kansas City Monarchs teams is arguably one of the best teams of all time, featuring the fierce pitching duo of Paige and Hilton Smith. Soon after the World Series win, the Monarch would quickly be dissembled with four of its All-Stars leaving to fight the war, while 2 more left for unspecified reasons. Due to integration coming only a few years later, the Negro League was removed of most of its talent and eventually was absolved by the Major Leagues.- Joseph Sullivan

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070212&content_id=1800480&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/1942_Negro_World_Series

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/408166/Negro-league

 

United States Executive Order 9066 Leads to Internment (1942)

On February 19, 1942 Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which allowed the Secretary of War and the Military Commanders to declare military areas that can exclude any and all persons from the designated areas. The Executive Order gave the military power to ban any citizen from from a fifty to sixty mile wide coastal area extending from Washington down to California (historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5154). The military area was used to relocate Japanese, Italian, and German Americans to internment camps. However, the Japanese Americans received the brunt of the executive order's power. 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to 10 internment camps throughout Eastern portions of Washington, Oregon, and California. The tragic part is that more than two-thirds of those were American citizens (www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911390,00.html).

 

 

"Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion." (historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5154)

 

 

However, with the internment of Japanese Americans and blatant racism towards the Japanese, there was one human interest story. Ralph Lazo, a 17 year old high schooler, from the Los Angeles area voluntarily went to Manzanar internment camp with his Japanese American friends.  Lazo said, "These people hadn't done anything that I hadn't done except to go to Japanese language school." (www.laalmanac.com/history/hi07se.htm). Ralph Lazo is the only person of non-Japanese decent without a Japanese spouse to be voluntarily interned.

 

Ralph Lazo

 

Jayson Choe

 

Voice of America begins broadcasting (1942)

 

The voice of American began broadcasting in 1942. VOA is a broadcasting service produced by the American government. The VoA is dedicated to providing news, information, educational, and cultural programming. It now has a variety of multimedia broadcasts, but in 1942 was a strictly radio broadcast. The VoA is overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent agency of the federal united states government.  The VoA was the first government run radio service, but by 1939, the us was one of the last world power to be without one.  The first broadcast of the VoA said, “Daily at this time, we shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good or bad. We shall tell you the truth.” By the end of the war, By the end of the war the VoA had 39 transmitters and provided service in 40 languages, but most of those transmitters were discontinued when the war ended in 1945. 

 

 

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_America

http://www.voanews.com/english/about/index.cfm

http://www.ibb.gov/about/index.html

 

Sloane Cameron

 

World's First V-2 Rocket Launched (1942)

 

 

 

 

On October 3, 1942, The Germans had successfully launched the world’s first ballistic missile known as the V-2 Rocket. This powerful terrifying vengeance weapon was created by German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and General Walter Riedel and was a product of Hitler’s secret arsenal. Propelled by a mixture of pure alcohol and liquid oxygen, the V-2 could travel a distance of 200 miles in less than 5 minutes and hit a point, more or less, where you had aimed it. The one ton warhead it carried was capable of flattening a city block. This was a huge leap forward for weaponry and the most astonishing technological advance at this time was the missile’s guiding system known as gyroscopes. They controlled things in the exhaust that steered the rocket towards its target. Once this missile had been successfully launched there was no stopping it. The main objective for the V-2 was to devastate London and at least 3,172 V-2 missiles were launched in the following months. An estimated 2,754 civilians were killed and 6,523 were seriously injured in London from V-2s. Melissa Stout

 

 

Sources:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/homefront/arp/arp4a.html

 

http://www.v2rocket.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A6EnqEJTfE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifTqqxrxuGU

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket

 

Premiere of Casablanca (1942)

 

November 26th, 1942 the classic film Casablanca premiered at the Holleywood Theatre in New York City.  The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and took him just three months to shoot the film.  This romantic drama stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, and Sydney Greenstreet.  The movie was filmed on the Warner Bros lot.  The movie is set in the times of WWII and deals with a man that has to choose between love and virtue.  Rick Blaine played by Humprey Bogart is a fromer freedom fighter and exiled american.  He runs a nightclub where he is met by his old love, Nazi General, and an underground czech leader.  Their love rekindles and they plan to run off together but it doesnt turn out to be that simple.  The movie had a good budget and A-list stars but not many people involved with film expected it to be the success that it was.  Casablanca won three Academy Awards including the the coveted Best Picture award.  Still today the movie is considered one of the best films of all time.  The film's script was written by Julius and Philip Epstein.

 

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)

http://www.reelclassics.com/Movies/Casablanca/casablanca.htm

http://thisdistractedglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/Casablanca.jpg  

Josh Hogan

 

 

 

Fort Stevens (Oregon) attacked by Japanese Submarine (1942)

Fort Stevens is located on the border of Oregon and Washington at the mouth of the Columbia River.  On June 21, 1942 the fort was attacked by a Japanese submarine when they fired 17 torpedoes at the military base (www.historylink.org).  No damage was done to the base itself, but it was the only attack on a military institution in the continental United States during all of World War II.  Fort Stevens was originally built during the Civil War to defend the mouth of the Columbia River against potential attacks from the British (www.historylink.org).  The fort was also utilized during the San Juan Islands Dispute during 1860’s and Alaska Boundary Dispute.  Fort Stevens remained open until 1947 when it was no longer used for military purposes.  Today it is known as Fort Stevens State Park which has been preserved so the public can observe the history of the military base (www.visitftstevens.com). -WILL CRUMPACKER

 

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi47VeMwzvQ

Office of War Information Opened

www.usmm.org/postertalk2b.html

 

"Uncle Sam wants you!" That's what Americans read on posters during World War II. To attract U.S. citizens to jobs in support of the war effort, the government created the Office of War Information (OWI) on June 13, 1942, seven months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  OWI photographers documented American life and culture by showing aircraft factories, members of the armed forces, and women in the workforce. Using propaganda (photographs and captions with emotional content), the OWI aimed to inspire patriotic fervor in the American public.  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/wwii/owi_1

 

www.usmm.org/postertalk2b.html

 

OWI asked film makers to consider a multitude of questions before producing a movie including will this picture help win the war? If it is an "escape" picture, will it harm the war effort by creating a false picture of America, her allies, or the world we live in? Does the picture tell the truth or will the young people of today have reason to say they were misled by propaganda?  Films like Casablanca genuinely attempted to inform the moviegoing audience of the causes of and reasons for the war. The OWI sought to avoid hate pictures, providing instead a balanced view. These good intentions quickly dissolved, though, as the OWI found it necessary to crack down on the motion picture industry. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hollywood turned out numerous anti-Japanese films, some of them quite racist. Particularly, the mid-summer 1942 Little Tokyo, U.S.A.,which dealt with the controversial subject of Japanese internment, caused the OWI to crack down on the artistic license of Hollywood. As the OWI became more regulatory, truthfulness gave way to the use of sentimental symbolism to manipulate opinion by denying or clouding relevant information. By the end of World War II, the OWI had a heavy hand in all production coming out of Hollywood.  http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood3.html

  Erin Boyle

 

 

WWII: Rationing of 1942

 

            During WWII, consumer goods were rationed by the government because certain items were in short supply during the war and rationing was the only way to make sure everyone got a fair share, even if they could afford more [1]. Rationing is defined as “the controlled distribution of resources and scarce goods or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time” [3]. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, it dramatically ended the debate over America's entrance into the war that raged around the world.  With this, the economy shifted to "war production," which meant consumer goods took a back seat to military production as nationwide rationing began immediately. 

               In January of 1942, tires were the first item rationed because supplies of natural rubber were interrupted [3]. Tire rationing led to banning of new car production as former auto plants switched to the production of military vehicles [2].

            Rationing affected every American family. Every man, woman and child all received a ration book that restricted consumption of essential products [3]. The books dictated how much gasoline, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any one person could buy.  “Across the country 8000 rationing boards were created to administer these restrictions” [1].

 

 

War Ration Book

           Voluntary gas rationing proved ineffective and by the spring of 1942, instead, mandatory rationing was put into practice.  To get classification and ration stamps, Americans had to certify to a local board that you needed gas and owned no more than five tires [1]. By the end of 1942, half of U.S automobiles were issued an 'A' sticker which allowed 4 gallons of fuel per week. That sticker was issued to owners whose use of their cars was nonessential.  Hand the pump jockey your Mileage Ration Book coupons and cash, and she could sell you three or four gallons a week, no more.  For nearly a year, A-stickered cars were not to be driven for pleasure at all [1]. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types of rationing included:

• Uniform coupon rationing (sugar is an example) provided equal shares of a single commodity to all consumers
• Point rationing provided equivalent shares of commodities by coupons issued for points that could be spent for any combination of items in the group (processed foods, meats, fats, cheese)
• Differential coupon rationing provided shares of a single product according to varying needs (gasoline, fuel oil)
• Certificate rationing allowed individuals’ products only after an application demonstrated need (tires, cars, stoves, typewriters)

 

 

 

Some may question the future of tax rationing, and currently, world wide tax rationing has not yet been implemented in human history. Some predict that in future, as the globe is running out of certain important resources such as fossil oil, most countries of the world may have to sit together to consider tax rationing in order to prevent economic disasters caused by the shortage of resources [3].

 

     Photos:

     http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm

     Sources:

     [1] http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm

     [2] http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vogas.htm

     [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_rationing

 

Sylvie Atkins

 

 

Worlds first Nuclear Reactor Built in Chicago (1942)

 

The first nuclear reactor was built in Chicago in 1942 by Enrico Fermi, and Italian physicists. Fermi migrated to the United States to get away from the Fascist dictatorship. In 1938, Fermi was without doubt the greatest expert on neutrons, and he continued his work on this topic on his arrival in the United States, where he was soon appointed Professor of Physics at Columbia University, N.Y. (1939-1942). Upon the discovery of fission, by Hahn and Strassmann early in 1939, he immediately saw the possibility of emission of secondary neutrons and of a chain reaction. He proceeded to work with tremendous enthusiasm, and directed a classical series of experiments which ultimately led to the atomic pile and the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. This took place in Chicago on December 2, 1942 - on a squash court situated beneath Chicago's stadium. He subsequently played an important part in solving the problems connected with the development of the first atomic bomb (He was one of the leaders of the team of physicists on the Manhattan Project for the development of nuclear energy and the atomic bomb.) (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1938/fermi-bio.html). The nuclear reactor was dubbed the Chicago Pile-1. Chicago Pile No. 1 (CP-1) was made of pure graphite in which uranium metal slugs were loaded toward the centre with uranium oxide lumps around the edges (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/110486/Chicago-Pile-No-1).

 

 

 

In relation to the fabulous atomic bomb program, of which the Chicago Pile experiment was a key part, the successful result reported on December 2nd formed one more piece for the jigsaw puzzle which was atomic energy. Confirmation of the chain reactor studies was an inspiration to the leaders of the bomb project, and reassuring at the same time, because the Army's Manhattan Engineer District had moved ahead on many fronts (http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/firstpile/firstpile_01.shtml). Jamelia Haughton

 

 

The Wannsee Conference

 

On January 20, 1942, the fifteen top bureaucrats of the Nazi party met in Berlin, Germany for the Wannsee Conference.  Led by Reindhard Heydrich, a senior officer of the SS, the conference was held to organize the Final Solution, the Nazis plan to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe, approximately 11 million persons.  To prepare for the Wannsee Conference, Adolf Eichmann, SS lieutenant colonel, composed a list of the population of Jews in Europe.  The list (shown below) divided European countries into two categories, “A” countries were controlled or occupied by the German Reich and “B” countries were the allied or neutral states, or countries at war with Germany.  “The numbers reflect actions already completed by Nazi forces;  for example, Estonia is listed as judenfrei ("free of Jews"), as the thousand Jews who remained in Estonia after the German occupation had been virtually exterminated by the end of 1941” (Historyplace.com). 

 

 

 

Before the Wannsee Conference took place, the Nazis began slaughtering Jews in their occupied territories.  The conference marked the first time non-Nazis were informed and included in the Final Solution.  These leaders agreed to assist the Nazis transport Jews from German-occupied countries to concentration camps in Poland, where they would be “exterminated” by the SS.  The Wannsee Conference only lasted an hour and thirty minutes and no crucial decisions were made regarding the actions of the Final Solution.  However, it was Reindhard Heydrich’s opportunity to establish his authority as the chief executive of the Final Solution and to ensure that all leaders had the same knowledge of the plans.           Perry Fox

 

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-wannsee.htm

"Explaining the Unthinkable." The Economist 322 (1992): 103.

Gerlach, Christian. "The Wannsee Conference." Journal of Modern History 70 (1998): 759.

http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/wannsee.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference

 

 

 

Grand Coulee Dam COMPLETED

 

 

 

Grand Coulee Dam completed June 1^st, 1942. The largest dam of its kind in the United States, the Dam was constructed under the commission of Franklin D. Roosevelt, under the US Bureau of Reclamation as a part of the Columbia Basin Project. Spanning the widest river in the world, the Coulee is nearly one mile long and supplies water for the desert regions of eastern Oregon as well as Hydro-electric power for countless homes in the Northwest.

 

 

 

Started in the 1930’s to stimulate the dead flat economy of the Great Depression, the Dam’s purpose as a relatively conservative “low dam” was expanded to that of a high output, technologically advanced “high dam” in order to increase the number of laborers required and the length of the project.

The Dam also served the purpose of limiting flood issues, and providing recreational destinations (by virtue of Franklin D. Roosevelt lake)

 

Sources: 

http://www.dams.org/kbase/studies/us/us_exec.htm

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/89497_shorttrips03.shtml

http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/dams/wa00262.htm

 

Daniel Akers

 

 

Second Battle of El Alamein (1942)

 

The second battle of El Alamein, Egypt, lasting from October 23 to November 5 1942 resulted in an Allied victory and marked a turning point in the Western Desert Campaign. [1]

 

British General Bernard Montgomery commanded 230,000 [2] Allied forces consisting of soldiers from the UK, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece and Free France. [3] Montgomery is one of the most prominent commanders from WWII. Not only did he succeed in Africa, but he later became the Commander in Chief of the ground forces during the invasion of Normandy. [4]

 

German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commanded the 105,000 [5] Axis forces consisting of soldiers from Germany and Italy. [3] Rommel was well respected among the Allied – not only because of his skills as a commander, but also because of his humane treatment of prisoners of war. His Afrika Korps was not accused of committing any war crimes. [6]

 

The battle was important because an Axis victory would give them control over the Suez Canal – giving the Axis “near enough free access to the oil in the Middle East.” This would also seriously hurt the Allies’ ability to supply themselves. [7]  

 

Waiting for a full moon, the British finally attacked on the night of October 23. [8] The first attacks were somewhat unsuccessful because the tanks had to move slowly because of the Axis’ minefields. Finally, Montgomery had to call off this first phase and plan a new attack. [7]

 

However, while the British were unsuccessful with their primary attack, the Australian attack further north, by the Mediterranean, was successful. Rommel had to move his tanks north to stop the Australian movement. [1] He did this not only to deal with the Australian attack, but also because he believed that Montgomery’s next tank attack would take place there as well. [7] The Australians is said to have fought with great ferocity and gave Montgomery time to manoeuvre his tanks and finally attacked the Afrika Korps to the south of where the Australians were fighting. Outnumbered, on November 4, Rommel had no option but to withdraw, although Hitler had ordered him to “fight to the death.” [8]

 

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once wrote: “It may almost be said, that before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat.” [8]Also, after the battle he gave one of his memorable quotes: “The Germans have received back again that measure of fire and steel which they have so often meted out to others. Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”[9]

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTM6xbc96Y

 

Sources:

[1] http://www.defence.gov.au/army/ahu/history/Battles/El_Alamein.htm

[2] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648813/World-War-II/53566/Montgomerys-Battle-of-el-Alamein-and-Rommels-retreat-1942-43#ref=ref512037

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Montgomery,_1st_Viscount_Montgomery_of_Alamein

[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_el_alamein_03.shtml

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel

[7] http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_el_alamein.htm

[8] http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974393-6,00.html

[9] http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=388#not_the_end

 

– Erik Soerflaten

 

 

 

Roger Hornsby Selected into Baseball Hall of Fame

(http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=116156)

 

 

On January 4, 1942, Roger Hornsby became the fourteenth player selected to be enshrined in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. According to the “National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,” Hornsby was widely renowned as “Perhaps the game’s most proficient right-handed hitter.” Hornsby played on numerous professional baseball clubs during his tenure in the majors, including the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants. Hornsby was also well-known around the sporting and media circles for being an extremely confident and powerful individual on and off the field. According to Hornsby, “"I don't like to sound egotistical, but every time I stepped up to the plate with a bat in my hands, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the pitcher." Hornsby was born in 1896 and lived until 1963, where he died at the age of 66 (wikipedia). Roger Hornsby seemed to be in a league of his own during his career. Known as a hard hitting and tough nose super athlete who was definitely playing ahead of his times. His selection into the 1942 class of the Hall of Fame was received with an overwhelming percentages of yes votes and solidified his legacy as one of baseball’s all time greats. 

 

 

 

 

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=116156

 

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quohorn.shtml

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Hornsby

 

               - Jack Jensen

 

 

Song "White Christmas" First Released

 

   Bing Crosby              Irving Berlin

 

     In 1942, The film entitled Holiday Inn was released, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.  Holiday Inn was a Paramount Pictures production and the movie was based on an original idea of Irving Berlin's. Irving Berlin wrote all the music and lyrics for the film, including the song "White Christmas".  "White Christmas" was written in the 1940's for the film and performed by Bing Crosby.  

    The song "White Christmas" quickly became a huge hit.  It is the most popular recording ever, selling 125 million copies, and is the only single to make the American pop charts 20 times (throughout the 40's-60's).  Bing Crosby had become one of America's first multimedia superstars with his work spread across three different mediums: Film, television, and radio.  "White Christmas" was especially popular among the soldiers fighting in World War II who were homesick for America.  Bing Crosby would sing the song to the troops on USO tours during the war.  

   Irving Berlin won an Academy Award for the song.  Bing Crosby ended up introducing/performing more Academy Award nominated, and Academy Award winning songs than any other film star.  The movie White Christmas ended up being loosely inspired by the film Holiday Inn. 

 

  This is the original performace of the song in Holiday Inn: 

 

 

Sources: 

 

~ http://www.bingcrosby.com

~ Pictures from Wikipedia

~  AFI Catalog entry on Holiday Inn:  http://0-afi.chadwyck.com.janus.uoregon.edu/film/full_rec?action=BYID&FILE=../session/1233781832_14294&ID=27267

 

        ~Elizabeth Jackson

A piece of one of the two types of pipe for the PLUTO Operation.

 

 

     In May of 1942 the first prototypes of a new military technology called Operation PLUTO were tested, and passed with flying colors. Operation Pluto or, Pipe Lines Under The Ocean, is an innovative pipeline system which was capable of delivering millions of gallons of oil a day [2], and was discovered and implemented by the British as a WWII operation. It was designed to alleviate the problems associated with oil tankers such as their scarcity, unreliability in bad weather, and they made easy targets.

 

     The man responsible for engineering and developing the technology was Arthur Hartley, although it was initially discovered by Admiral Louis Mountbatten [1]. It was designed for passing oil between England and France under the cover of the English Channel [1] and was a highly secretive operation, so all critical movements on its production and use occurred at night [2]. Pump works and pipe systems were erected at each port camouflaged as gravel pits, garages, and bungalows [3]. The pipe itself weighed 63 tons per nautical mile [2], needed an internal pressure 100lbs per square inch at all times, and could not be bent [1] so, bigger more bad-ass ships were necessary. Full scale production began in August and in the last week of December PLUTO had its first successful test which sent it forth into full production and implementation. In August of 1944 the first line was laid to France. Operation PLUTO remains one of history's greatest feats in military engineering [1].

 

The PLUTO network

 

Sources

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pluto [1]

 

http://www.ww2inthehighlands.co.uk/folders/localhistory/operationpluto.htm [2]

 

http://www.eaglespeak.us/2007/06/sunday-ship-history-operation-pluto.html [3]

 

by Nichole Johnson

 

CP-1 and The Manhattan Project

 

On December 2^nd, 1942 Italian Physicist Enrico Fermi’s creation, named CP-1, became the world’s first nuclear reactor after achieving a self-sustaining fissile chain reaction at the University of Chicago.

The reactor was made up of six tons of uranium and nearly four-hundred tons of graphite blocks. Fermi and the other scientists had become convinced that with enough uranium, a self-sustaining reaction could occur. The graphite blocks were meant to serve to increase the fission in the uranium. Fission is a type of atomic explosion and nuclear reaction. When an atomic nucleus splits into fragments, it gives off several hundred million volts of energy called a Fission. When used in the form of a bomb, the Fission reaction violently explodes creating a devastating, and deadly, effect.

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126323/weapons.htm

The creation of CP-1 was part of the “Manhattan Project”, a secret government project meant to research and discover the method to making the atomic bomb before the Germans. From about 1939 to 1945, the government spent nearly two billion dollars funding the Manhattan Project. In July of 1945, the U.S Government tested the first atomic bomb in New Mexico and in August of 1945, the U.S droped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan.

 

 

 

 

http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/tp/nuclear.01.htm

http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/atomic_bomb.htm

http://inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventions/a/Nuclear_Fission.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1

http://www.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/S/SiteNuclear.html

http://articles.gourt.com/en/Chicago%20Pile-1

 

 

More Videos can be found at http://youtube.com/watch?v=LOPGwSz1PDo

 

~Ainsley Kelly

 

Warsaw Ghetto (1942)

 

          July 22, 1942 was when Jewish people first started being transported out of the ghetto and into concentration camps. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of the Jewish ghettos. It was located in the territory of General Government during the Second World War. The Warsaw Ghetto was established on October 16, 1940 by the German Governor-General, Hans Frank. During the time, the population of the Ghetto was estimated to be 440,000 people, which was about 38% of the population of Warsaw.

          However, the size of the Ghetto was about 4.5% of the size of Warsaw. According to About.com, the "...ghetto was split into two areas, the small ghetto, generally inhabited by richer Jews and the large ghetto, where conditions were much worse." The two ghettos were linked by a single footbridge. The Nazis then closed the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world on November 16, 1940, building a wall with armed guards. According to the "Warsaw" article from the Holocaust Encyclopedia, the "wall was over 10 feet high, topped with barbed wire, and closely guarded to prevent movement between the ghetto and the rest of Warsaw."

          Also, food allotments rationed to the ghetto by the German civilian authorities were not sufficient to sustain life. In fact, in 1941, the average Jew in the ghetto lived on 1,125 calories a day. The "Warsaw" article states that Czerniaków wrote in his diary entry for May 8, 1941: “Children starving to death.” Between 1940 and mid-1942, 83,000 Jews died of starvation and disease. Widespread smuggling of food and medicines into the ghetto supplemented the miserable official allotments and kept the death rate from increasing still further.

 

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Sources

 

"DEPORTATIONS TO AND FROM THE WARSAW GHETTO." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 7 Oct. 2008. 4 Feb. 2009. <http://www.ushmm.org

          /wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005413>.

 

"The Warsaw Ghetto." Warsaw-life.com. 4 Feb. 2009 <http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/warsaw-ghetto>.

 

"WARSAW." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 7 Oct. 2008. Holocaust Encyclopedia. 4 Feb. 2009. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&

          ModuleId=10005069>.

 

-Alexandria Vallelunga

 

 

Gasoline Rationing

     Gasoline rationing shortly followed the United State’s declaration of war against Japan by President Roosevelt (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vogas.htm). Many other nations worldwide had implemented gasoline rationing and Roosevelt followed suit in the wartime efforts (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=7657). The army troops were not the only Americans affected by  the United State’s involvement with the war: citizens of all occupations were impacted as well The mass production of domestic products shifted to war production and the availability of everyday goods became rationed almost immediately (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vogas.htm).

     Rationing of rubber spurred the volunteer rationing of gasoline, which unfortunately failed by Spring of 1942. 90% of rubber was produced by the Dutch Indies Company and by 1942 the Japanese had taken over the rubber plantations (http://www.alumnibhs.com/old%20geezer%20photos/gas_rationing_during_ww2.htm). By December 1942 gasoline rationing became mandatory and drivers were allotted three gallons of gasoline per week. (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vogas.htm).

      Ration books were given out to keep citizens within their spending limits, and along with gasoline came whisky, new car production, cigarettes, nylons and food products. Many citizens planted personal “Victory Gardens” to grow sustain their own food products to supplement their allotted grocery lists (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vogas.htm). By 1942, the United States had turned into an ultimate “war machine”, only producing products that were wartime necessary and cutting back on frivolous, consumer items (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=7657). Magazines published through the nation held advertisements stating “your car is a war car now” to promote minimal driving and gas usage (http://www.alumnibhs.com/old%20geezer%20photos/gas_rationing_during_ww2.htm).

     Gasoline rationing was lifted three years later on July 1^st, 1945; however, every other household commodity was still limited  (http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/hfc/). ~Maggie Harris

 

 

The Fall of Singapore 1942

 

 

 

When recalling the opening months of the Pacific War most Americans will consider the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or the assault on the U.S. controlled Philippines.  The shock of losing half of the Pacific fleet and having thousands of Americans captured or killed evoke phrases like “Day of Infamy” and “Bataan Death March.” For the British, the shock of Japan’s victories over the colonial empires in the first months of the Pacific War and the expansion into the South Pacific is tied to the “Fall of Singapore.”  

 

 

 

Singapore, an island at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, was a vital part of the British Empire.  At the time, this island fortress was “supposedly impregnable” and also known to the British as the “Gibraltar in the Far East.” [1] And although Commonwealth troops outnumbered the Japanese 85,000 to 36,000, the battle for Malaysia and ultimately Singapore was lost after two months of heavy fighting. Unfortunately for the British defenders, poor leadership and planning had grossly underestimated the capabilities of the Imperial Japanese Army.  The Japanese forces under General Yamashita used amphibious landings and a “bicycle blitzkrieg,” of fast moving troops on bicycles to outflank and isolate the defenders. [2] In his last address to the defenders of Singapore Prime Minister Winston Churchill outlined what was at stake:

 

“The honor of the British Empire and of the British Army is at stake. I rely on you to show no mercy to weakness in any form. With the Russians fighting as they are and the Americans so stubborn at Luzon, the whole reputation of our country and our race is involved. It is expected that every unit will be brought into close contact with the enemy and fight it out” [3]

 

[4]

 

     Facing starvation and lack of munitions, British Commonwealth forces surrendered on the island of Singapore February 15^th 1942.  Surrendering to the Japanese were over 50,000 commonwealth soldiers from Britain, India and Australia and many of them would not survive captivity.  The battle and its aftermath was described by Sir Winston Churchill as “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history." [5] For the allies, the fall of French Indo China, the Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, and especially the garrison at Singapore marked the beginning of the end for European colonial rule in South East Asia.

 

[1] http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fall_of_singapore.htm 

[2] http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/PTO/RisingSun/BicycleBlitz/index.html#III

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore

[4] http://www.llgc.org.uk/illingworth/illingworth_s013.htm

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore#World_War_II

 

Film:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbzTSvA1hO4&feature=related

 

 

~Lucas Erickson

 

 

Operation PLUTO Tested (1942)

 

NEWSREEL VIDEO (About 3:30 in)

http://www.archive.org/details/1945-06-04_Allies_Sieze_German_Loot_and_Criminals

 

 

 

     During WWII, allied forces on the European continent needed immense amounts of fuel and supplies from the U.K. could be slowed by bad weather and were in danger of attack by German submarines. Thus, British scientists, oil companies and Allied forces began work to construct the first underwater oil pipeline in the English Channel. It was entitled Operation Pluto (Pipe-Lines Under The Ocean) and was developed by Arthur Hartley, chief engineer with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, after British Admiral Louis Mountbatten pitched the idea.

Planners knew that a large flow of fuel to France would be necessary following the D-Day invasion of Europe by the Allies.

 

 

“A loss of momentum could jeopardize the whole operation as German forces would have time to regroup and counter-attack. Conventional tankers and 'ship to shore' pipelines were in danger of cluttering up the beaches, obstructing the movement of men, armaments and materials and, in all circumstances, were subject to the vagaries of the weather and sea conditions and they were easy targets for the Germans.”  -http://www.combinedops.com/pluto.htm#Pipe-Laying%20Operations.

 

 

Obviously, this pipeline had a large impact on the success of the Allies. It was first tested in May of 1942 and went into production shortly after that, turning the tide of the war and driving the Germans back. This technological innovation helped WWII come to and end and peace to be restored around the world. It is just an example of the necessary military planning and innovation during the war, to win the war.

 

http://www.swanseaheritage.net/article/gat.asp?ARTICLE_ID=470

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/uk_d_day_inventions/html/6.stm

 

-MICHAEL CALCAGNO

 

 

Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)

 

 

The Battle of Stalingrad took place from July 17, 1942 through February 2, 1943 and had combined casualties of 1.5 million. The battle was between the Soviet Union and the Germans over the city of Stalingrad, which is located in southern Russia.  Stalingrad was an important city for the Germans to gain control of because it was on the Volga River which connected the Caspian Sea to northern Russia, and because it was named after Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union’s communist ruler. Capturing the city would demoralize Soviet troops and civilians, and would be an excellent propaganda tool for the Germans. Stalingrad also was in a direct path to an oil-rich region in Russia known as the Caucasus region, and German capture of Stalingrad would mean that Stalin’s forces would be cut off from fuel supply. Germany already controlled the majority of the route to the oil-rich region. Stalin’s troops were fighting for the same reasons; they could not, and would not, let that happen. Whatever the cost, the German forces must be stopped at Stalingrad. -Kelly Littell

 

 

 

                During the battle, each side fought without regard to military or civilian decorum. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the streets, and any momentum gained by Germany during the day was regained by the Soviets at night. The battle continued like this from its start until the winter time. Once winter came, the Soviets realized that the Germans were not prepared to deal with the extreme cold and used it to their advantage. They were able to surround the Germans and trap them inside the city. Hitler then gave the German Army orders to not abandon the city and to fight until there was no one left to fight. Paulus, the German Army leader, eventually did surrender.

Sources:                                                                   http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_stalingrad.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad

Photo:                       http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39989000/jpg/_39989035_stalingrad_ap238.jpg

 

First Test Flight of Messerschmitt Me-262 (1942)

The first Jet-powered plane to see military service, the Messerschmitt Me-262, had its first test flight (powered by jets) on March 25, 1942.  The project started in 1938 when Messerschmitt (a German aircraft manufacturer) was commissioned by the Nazis to produce a new fighter plane to be powered by two gas-turbine engines in development at BMW.  The aircraft’s body was ready in 1941, well before BMW had successfully created the jet engines.  Wanting to test the plane’s maneuverability and other performance factors, the first test flights of the craft were performed using a single piston engine located in the nose of the plane.  The developers decided to keep the piston engine while testing the craft with the turbine engines, which is lucky because the jets failed just moments after the craft was airborne.  The piston engine enabled the pilot to make a safe landing.

The small jet (34.79 ft long with a wingspan of 40.69 ft) was originally flown solo (later versions featured room for a radio operator) and was capable of reaching speeds up to 580 mph.  Although its developers created the Me-262 to be an interceptor (a plane designed to take down enemy bombers), Hitler thought it would make a good bomber itself.  The shift in production from interceptor to bomber caused further delays in the aircrafts development.  The plane finally saw combat on June 30th, 1944, many historians believe that if the plane had seen earlier action it could have changed the outcome of the war.-Danny Martin

http://www.2worldwar2.com/me-262.htm

http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=108

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/me262/

 

 

Japanese American Internment – February 2, 1942

 

During this time, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps by force. These housing units were referred to as “War Relocation Camps.” Surprisingly, these relocations were applied unevenly throughout the nation, mostly concentrated in Hawaii and on the west coast of the nation. Of all those relocated, about 62% were American citizens (wikipedia.com).

 

President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order on February 2, 1942 as a reaction to the attack on American soil at Pearl Harbor (wikipedia.com).

 

Most Japanese and Japanese Americans ignorant to what lay ahead of them as they obeyed orders and crawled into the trucks, buses and trains that were to transport them to the camps. Many families lived in less than sanitary conditions such as horse stalls by open sewers, or run down barracks with communal bathrooms and no privacy. The families were trapped in their camps surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards (www.asianamericanmedia.org).

 

February 8, 1943 brought a new hope for those in the camps with the release of an application for release clearance. The questions, however, proved to be confusing, “Question #27 asked:

‘Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty wherever ordered?’ Question #28 asked: ‘Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power, or organization?’” (http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/camps/questions.html). Because of these poorly worded questions, tension grew in the camps and many were judged by their answers. The questions were confusing because, in Question 27 the older generations in the camps would not physically be able to serve in the army while in Question 28, Japanese who were already denied U.S. citizenship, were now being asked to renounce their loyalty to the country of which they were citizens (www.asianamericanmedia.org).

 

Finally, in December of 1944, the Supreme Court ended the internment based on it being unconstitutional and ultimately were closed completely on January 5, 1945 (www.wikipedia.com)

 

 

http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/camps/index.html

http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/camps/detention.html

http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/camps/camplife.html

http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/camps/questions.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgmbOh9zJLY&feature=related 

Brooke Burris

Betty Grable Lead Pin-Up Girl (1942)

 

betty.doc

pin up girl.doc

     Betty Grable hit her all time high of fame in 1942 for being the number-one top model Pin-Up Girl. Garble was an iconic figure during WWII working in movies and the singing industry. Betty's legs were made famous by Hollywood. In fact she had her legs insured with the Lloyds of London for $1,000,000. She performed in movies such as Down Argentine Way, Moon Over Miami, Spring in the Rockies, Coney Island, and funny enough a movie called Pin Up Girl in 1944. It was during 1943 that Grable hit all time Box Office hit with a Pin Up pose that was the huge all time hit with the GIs away from home fighting in the war.

     This was the time and era that nose art on war planes were very popular. Nose art would feature lots of famous women in films of the time. The military would do this process of painting their plane to allow others to see that they were friendly planes to identify themselves. This art work is concidered Graffiti or even American Folk Art. Some planes were made famous for the art work such as the well known B-17 decorated with a sexy Memphis Belle. The Pin-Up girls were a way for the guys to be reminded of what they were fighting for. Interestingly the nose art would be more adulterated the further away from their head units.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Grable

http://www.air-and-space.combetty.doc

Tarra Morton

 

The Congress of Racial Equality

 CORE started as a nonhierarchical, decentralized organization funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of its members. The organization was initially co-led by white University of Chicago student George Houser and black student  James Farmer. In 1942, CORE began protests against segregation in public accommodations by organizing sit-ins. It was also in 1942 that CORE expanded nationally. James Farmer traveled the country with Bayard Rustin, a field secretary with FOR, and recruited activists at FOR meetings. CORE's early growth consisted almost entirely of white middle-class college students from the Midwest. CORE pioneered the strategy of nonviolent direct action, especially the tactics of sit-ins, jail-ins, and freedom rides.

From the beginning of its expansion, CORE experienced tension between local control and national leadership. The earliest affiliated chapters retained control of their own activities and funds. With a nonhierarchical system as the model of leadership, a national leadership over local chapters seemed contradictory to CORE's principles. Some early chapters were dominated by pacifists and focused on educational activities. Other chapters emphasized direct action protests, such as sit-ins. This tension persisted throughout CORE's early existence.

Through sit-ins and picket lines, CORE had success in integrating northern public facilities in the 1940s. With these successes it was decided that, to have a national impact, it was necessary to strengthen the national organization. James Farmer became the first National Director of CORE in 1953.

 

Freedom Rides

On April 10, 1947, CORE sent a group of eight white and eight black men on what was to be a two-week Journey of Reconciliation through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky in an effort to end segregation in interstate travel. The members of this group were arrested and jailed several times, but they received a great deal of publicity, and this marked the beginning of a long series of similar campaigns.[2]

http://reportingcivilrights.loa.org/timeline/year.jsp?year=1942

http://www.core-online.org/History/history.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Racial_Equality">http://www.core-online.org/

http://www.core-online.org/History/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Racial_Equality

Lexi Kendall