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Search Results for "1947"

The Boy Scouts of America (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

When this article first appeared, the Boy Scouts of America, as an institution, was barely thirty-five years old:

"The truth is that never in the history of mankind has a simple idea - an idea, incidentally, born in South Africa - so seized the imagination of boys the world over as has Scouting."

Both Boy Scots and Girl Scouts were active in the Japanese-American internment camps during W.W. II. Click here to read about that subject...

A Review of Saroyan's The Adventures of Wesley Jackson
(Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

The 1947 review of William Saroyan's war novel, The Adventures of Wesley Jackson:

"What makes the novel good is what makes Saroyan good. In this case his wonderful satires on army life, wangling , and the weird fauns of his private universe. What makes it bad is the overdose of soliloquies, hymns and plain mutterings on love, death life and the appeasement of divine wrath by means of scapegoat."

A White Woman Looks at the Negro and the Scourge of Racism (Pageant Magazine, 1947)

Writer Margaret Halsey (1910 - 1997) was a patriotic lass who did her bit for Uncle Sam by managing a soldier's canteen in New York City during the Second World War - you should know that throughout the course of that war there were thousands of canteens throughout America where Allied soldiers, sailors airmen and Marines could enjoy a free meal and have a dance or two with the local girls. Similar to most other canteens in the country, her doors were open to all servicemen regardless of color and as a result, the same policy had to be followed by the local girls who came to dance: they, too, could not discriminate. Her observations in this integrated environment led to believe that a national policy of racial assimilation will not be as difficult as many people at the time tended to believe.

Throwing Off the British Yolk (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

An article from 1947 concerning the ugly war fought by the visionaries who brought Israel back to life.

Click here to read a 1917 article that predicted America's unique bond with Israel.

Discrimination in West Hollywood (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

This is the story of Harry Crocker, a full-blooded Iroquois who lived in a house that was reserved for white people...

The U.S. Navy's War: Pearl Harbor to Midway (Dept. of the Navy, 1947)

An essay on the U.S. Navy's progress during the first six months of World War Two.

" Japan's decision to launch a war was based on the assumption that the conflict in Europe would render Russia and Great Britain negligible factors in the Far East. It was based on the further assumption that the United States, already committed to near belligerency in the Atlantic could not, even if finally successful in that theater, mount an offensive in the Pacific in less than 18 months to two years and would not in any case be willing to pay the price of total victory in the Pacific."

*Watch a Clip of Assorted Aircraft Carrier Crash Landings *

Suffering A W.W. II Head Wound ('47 Magazine, 1947)

When Joe Martin received a shrapnel wound to the head it affected that region of his brain that processes language. He spent a good deal of time in military hospitals trying to regain his lost ability to communicate, as he articulated clearly in the attached article:

"He then held up a pencil in front of me and asked, 'Joe, what is this?'"

"I heard myself reply, 'A paddle'".

BLOODBATH ('47 Magazine, 1947)

Written some eighteen years after the event, here is a reminiscence of the worst day in Prohibition history: the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

The Arabs Mobilize (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

"From a guarded high-walled villa in Alexandria, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni (1895 - 1974), exiled fifty-three year-old Grand son of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem craftily directs the affairs of the 1,200,000 Palestinian Arabs."

"In the Mufti's web, the strands of potential organized resistance include two rival 'youth organizations', the al-Najjada and the Al-Futawa and the 'mobile elements' of the secret Muslim Brotherhood, which is a sort of Middle Eastern Ku Klux Klan. The precise figures of their strength are elusive, but combined they may comprise something like 50,000 men and boys."

"Mohammad Nimr al-Hawari, thirty-eight-year-old leader of the Najjada told me, 'We believe in force'."

Frank Lloyd Wright Hated the U.N. Building (Rob Wagner's Script Magazine, 1947)

When architects and builders howled in protest when the firm of Wallace Harrison (1895 - 1981)was commissioned in 1947 to design the United Nations Center in New York City, the editors of SCRIPT MAGAZINE dashed off asking Frank Lloyd Wright to pick up his quill and ink-up his arguments against the project - and here it is.

The Trial of Franz von Papen (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

Franz von Papen (1879 – 1969) was born into the German nobility; he worked as a diplomat, a politician and during both World Wars he served as an intelligence officer in his nation's army. During the Third Reich von Papen was appointed Vice Chancellor under Adolf Hitler. This article concerns the period in von Papen's life when, after having been acquitted earlier by the international tribunal, he found himself once more on the docket for another misdeed.

Franz von Papen had an IQ that measured 134 - click here to read about the strangely high IQs of the other lunatics in Nazi leadership...

A Grateful Immigrant Speaks ('47 Magazine, 1947)

An article by Atomic Age immigrant Juanita Wegner testifying as to her undying gratitude that she should be permitted to live in a nation with so many freedoms. Having spent much of her life on the run from the Fascists of Austria, Italy and Argentina, Wegner stated:

"For all my life I've wanted to be an American. I've dreamed about it, studied, worked for it...I've been an American for only a few days. But if I could have one wish it would be to go up to everybody I meet and say: 'Aren't we lucky to have this chance! Let's never forget it.'"

Down With Christian Dior and His ''New Look''! (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

The California fashion critic who penned this article believed that the fashions of Christian Dior stood firmly in opposition to the optimistic, Twentieth Century casual elegance of Claire McCardell (1905 – 1958) and Adrian (1903 – 1959). She could not bare Dior, with his vulgar penchant to spin

"the feminine figure in the unconventional manner, trying to make her look good where she ain't. He seeks the ballet dancer illusion - natural, rounded shoulders, too weak to support a struggling world...Her waist is pinched in an exaggerated indentation, the better to emphasize her padded hips...There are butterfly sleeves, box pockets, belled jackets, and barreled skirts, suggesting something like a Gibson girl, or whatever grandmother should have worn."

Click here to read a 1961 article about Jacqueline Kennedy's influence on American fashion.

*Watch A Film Clip About Cristian Dior*

Swimwear (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

The only big fashion innovation popular enough to share the 1947 headlines with Dior's "New Look" involved the evolution in women's swimwear; most notably the Bikini. The attached single page article pertains to all the new fabrics being deployed in ladies beachwear and all their assorted coverups:

"Sand-and-sun fashions for this summer are perter and briefer than ever before. Although the typical bathing suit covers just about 2.5 square feet of a swimmer's anatomy, a costume-look for the beach is achieved with a companion cape, skirt of short coat... Favored fabrics are those made to ride the waves. Knitted wool shows up in both classic and unusual designs. Colors are softer and muted. Black and blue appear most often, with cider, gray and smudge the 'high-style' shades."

•Click here to learn about women's fashions from the Summer of 1934•

Exploited Farm Labor During World War II (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

This 1947 Collier's article, "Heartless Harvest" by Howard Whitman makes clear the sad story of migrant agricultural laborers who picked the fruits and vegetables for the Americans of the Forties:

"A new crop of Okies, estimated in the millions, is wandering about the country, following the crops they pick. To get their story the author traveled 9,000 miles through 17 states, toiling in the fields. Here he describes working and living conditions you wouldn't believe could be tolerated in America today."

Click here to read about child labor exploitation during the Second World War...

Korean Unification Commission Breaks Up (America Magazine, 1947)

"The Truman Doctrine for Greece and Turkey may soon have to be applied to South Korea, if the Soviets continue to sabotage the Moscow Agreement as they have done in the past."

The Soviet Army moved into northern Korea during the August of 1945, click here to read about it...

A 1947 Review of THE BUTTERFLY by James M. Cain (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

Appearing in the Beverly Hills literary rag, "Rob Wagner's Script" was the 1947 review of The Butterfly by James M. Cain (1892 – 1977):

"I have not read Cain's older books to confirm this impression, but offhand I would say that 'The Butterfly' is second to 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', among his longer things, as an exhibition of his peculiar talents...This work concerns itself with incest. Technically, no incest is committed, but a marriage is made and consummated between two people, one of whom supposes that she is the other's daughter..."

From Amazon: The Butterfly

FDR, Congress and the Plan to Pack the Supreme Court (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

Attached is an article by James A. Farley (1888 – 1976), who in 1933 was appointed by F.D.R. to serve as both the Postmaster General as well as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. During the Thirties, Farley was also FDR's go-to-guy in all matters involving politics on Capitol Hill, and he wrote the attached article two years after Roosevelt's death in order to explain how the Court-packing scheme was received in Congress and how his relationship with FDR soon soured.

"Boss," I asked him, "why didn't you advise the senators in advance that you were sending them the Court bill?"
"Jim, I just couldn't," he answered earnestly. "I didn't want to have it get to the press prematurely..."

''Dark December'' (The Commonweal, 1947)

This is the 1947 review of Robert Merrian's history on the Battle of the Bulge, Dark December; the reviewer, T.E. Cassidy, had served as a U.S. Army intelligence officer in the Ardennes:

"Merriam is at his best analyzing the actual confusion that was rampant from the very beginning of the German drive on December 16th. I know his handling is expert here, for I was in the midst of the chaos, and can vividly recall, for example, the blank stares I met at various headquarters when I would ask what road net was clear, and to what point. It was really no one's fault, after the first day or two. People simply did not know what was happening. And it was days and days before there was any concerted agreement among the different levels as to just what was going on."

A Design Crit by Frank Lloyd Wright (Rob Wagner's Script Magazine, 1947)

When the architectural community howled in protest upon hearing that the firm of Wallace Harrison (1895 - 1981) was commissioned to design the United Nations Center in 1947, the editors of SCRIPT MAGAZINE dashed-off to ask Frank Lloyd Wright to pick up his quill and ink-up his arguments against the project.

Wright, a bitter foe of skyscrapers and cities, voiced his disapproval in the attached article. Those who are familiar with the high esteem in which Frank Lloyd Wright held himself will not be surprised that he referred to himself entirely in third person throughout this entire article!

Frank Lloyd Wright was a member of the Unitarian religion...

Black Tie, Please (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

One evening in 1947, Henry L. Jackson, co-founder of Esquire Magazine, realized that his magazine alone was not sufficient enough in circulation for passing the word along to his fellows that the rules for men's evening wear were rapidly being rewritten; knowing full-well that Collier's was one of the preeminent American magazines of its day, he no-doubt must have pleaded the urgency of his case to their editors and, in so doing, saved the collective faces of the homo Americanus once more! We're delighted that he did so, because now you will have a more thorough understanding as to how you might have dressed had you lived in post-war America.

A Review of the Whole Show (The Commonweal, 1947)

It seems so odd that that the House Un-American Activities Committee that convened to examine the communist influence in the Hollywood motion picture industry lasted only nine days - yet it is one of the most well-known of all the Congressional committees in the history of the republic. That said, we have posted one journalist's summary of all the hearings:

"Former investigations of this kind were mainly concerned with what people had done or not done; this investigation set a precedent by being concerned about what people thought."

The Hats of 1947 (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

With the exception of the broad-brimmed sun hat pictured in the attached fashion editorial, you will find that women's hats were growing smaller throughout the course of the Forties and they tended to sit farther back on the cranium, requiring hairdos that would accommodate and complement these creations.

The Sally Victor hat composed of red cherries took its inspiration directly from the bizarre, comical costumes worn by the actress Carmen Miranda. This fruit theme was typical of many post-war milliners. The six other hats in the piece were by two American designers: Lilly Dache and John-Frederics.

Click here to see what men's summer hats were like during this period.

Vincent Sheean Covered the Spanish Civil War Alongside Robert Capa ('47 Magazine, 1947)

New York-based journalist Vincent Sheean (1899 - 1975) remembered a funny anecdote told to him by the iconic combat photographer Robert Capa (1913 – 1954). The story took place during the Spanish Civil War when Capa was diving for cover amidst the panic of a Luftwaffe bombardment in Bilboa or Guernica...

Government-Supplied Scabs (Commonweal Magazine, 1947)

Writing to the editors of the news monthly, Commonweal during the Autumn of 1947 was Harry Leland Mitchell (1906 – 1989), president of the Southern Tenant Farmer's Union who reported that the National Farm Labor Union was engaged in an important strike against the Di Giorgio Corporation in Bakersfield, California:

"First, the Di Giorgio Corporation is the world's largest fruit-producing corporation... it is to large scale industrialized agriculture what Ford is to the automobile industry. If the National Farm Labor Union wins the strike, it will be possible to proceed rapidly to the [organizing] of the migratory agricultural workers of California."

- but the union didn't win. Di Giorgio, in league with the Department of Agriculture, secured foreign laborers to break the strike.

''The Strange Death of Heinrich Himmler'' (Coronet Magazine, 1947)

Here is an eyewitness account of the suicide of Heinrich Himmler as told by Major John C. Schwarzwalder, a former member of the intelligence division of the U.S. Army Services Forces:

"...At the end of the search an army doctor told Himmler to open his mouth. The prisoner did so, but Himmler bit down. The doctor withdrew his finger hastily. Himmler then ground his teeth together and swallowed hard. Some say he smiled grimly. In another second he was on the floor writhing in agony..."

White Primaries in Georgia (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

On January 29, 1947, the Georgia House of Representatives approved the Democratic white primary law - which was intended to exclude any African American in that state from voting in state primary elections.

The Feuding Dorsey Brothers (Coronet Magazine, 1947)

Brought up in Pennsylvania, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey had a harsh taskmaster in the form of their father:

"Thomas Dorsey was a self-taught musician who earned $10 a week in the coal mines and a few dollars extra by giving music lessons. When Thomas Francis Dorsey [his second son] was born in 1905, the father made up his mind that his sons would be musicians, or else!"

"While still in knee-pants, both learned all the wind instruments before specializing in the saxophone and trombone, respectively... The boys mother, Tess Langton Dorsey, often was distressed by her husband's rigid disciplining of her sons. To miss a day's practice meant a licking."

Inasmuch as the Dorsey brothers may have been united in their efforts to please their father, their union ended there. Much of the article pertains to their opposing temperaments and the skyrocketing career that both enjoyed as a result of their mutual desires to out-do the other. It wasn't until the old man's death in 1942 that their competition subsided.

America's Favorite Illustrator (Pageant Magazine, 1947)

Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1978) once remarked in an interview:

“The view of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and the ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be.”

- and his vision was shared with millions of Americans. He had a fondness for depicting everyday life in small town America, childhood friendships, family life, middle school sporting events and (as discussed in the attached article) the Boy Scouts. He knew who he was; he never referred to himself as an artist, he called himself an illustrator.

What Did the Germans Think of Their Occupiers? (Prevent W.W. III Magazine, 1947)

By the time this article appeared on paper, the defeated Germans had been living among the soldiers of four different military powers for two years: the British, the French, the Russians and the Americans - each army had their own distinct personality and the Teutonic natives knew them well. With that in mind, an American reporter decided to put the question to them as to what they thought of these squatters - what did they like most about them and what did the detest most about them?

The Germans did not truly believe that the Americans were there friends until they proved themselves during the Berlin Blockade; click here to read about that...

• In This Video A Russian Veteran Recalled His Crimes In Nazi Germany •

Stalin and His Cronies (Pageant Magazine, 1947)

Here is an expose that revealed the hypocrisy of Stalin and the Soviet party members - who spoke of the inherit nobility of the laboring classes and the triumph of "the worker's paradise" while they lived like the czars of old:

"The children of the country's rulers already regard themselves as the hereditary aristocracy... The absence of a free press and consequently, of public criticism, allows them to retain this psychology even beyond their adolescence."

William Saroyan's Reminiscence of
Combat Photographer Robert Capa ('47 Magazine, 1947)

Dramatist and author William Saroyan (1908 - 1981) treated the readers of '47 MAGAZINE with a number of his anecdotes concerning his close wartime friendship with W.W. II photographer Robert Capa.

They all involve alcohol.

Click here to read an anecdote about Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War.

A Leftist Review of It's a Wonderful Life (The Nation, 1947)

James Agee, the film reviewer for The Nation (1942 - 1948), was charmed by the warmth of It's a Wonderful Life and believed that it was an admirable and well-crafted piece of film making; he nonetheless came away feeling like he'd been sold a bill of goods and rejected the movie primarily because he believed that films created in the Atomic Age should reflect the pessimism that gave birth to the era.

Gowns (The Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

"The fashionable gowns will be one of two extremes: pencil slim or big skirted like a puff ball. Whatever its cut, its color may be anything from soft dove grey to something called satan red. Fabrics are rich and lustrous, particularly the nontarnishable metallic materials. Newest is aluminum, colored gold or silver and woven into lame or onto rayon or even wool in gleaming designs."

Gertrude Stein on America ('47 Magazine, 1947)

"What our most famous literary expatriate really thought of her country".

Remembering Captain Uemumra (Rob Wagner's Script Magazine, 1947)

An article in which Bataan Death March survivor Dean Sherry, tells the tale of his jailer, a kindly school teacher known only as Captain Uemumra, and remembers him with a tremendous sense of gratitude.

An unusual story during a horrible time.

The U.S. Navy's War: Tarawa to Tokyo (Dept. of the Navy, 1947)

Attached is a 1947 report by the U.S. Navy summing up the remarkable roll that naval aviation played during the last half of the war with Imperial Japan:

"In the advance across the Central Pacific the carrier task force with it's extreme flexibility and mobility had been the dominant factor. It established the conditions under which long-range amphibious advances were possible. It never failed to gain command of the air at the required time and place, successively overwhelming the air garrisons not only of the Japanese perimeter but of the major fortresses of Formosa and the Philippines, and maintained command of the air until shore-based air forces could be established."

To read articles about W.W. II submarines, Click here.

*Color Film Footage of the Carrier War 1942 - 1945*

Comrade Spy (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

Fingered as the premier Soviet agent working in the United States by a former communist and editor of The Daily Worker and People's World, Gerhart Eisler (1897 – 1968) - was arrested in the Fall of 1947 and charged with espionage.

Standing before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Eisler refused to take the oath, preferring instead to read a prepared statement. The committee refused to play along and the Justice Department soon leveled Eisler with additional charges. By 1949 things were looking dark for Eisler; jumping bail he made good his escape and secured passage across the Atlantic. Welcomed in East Germany as a hero, Eisler was soon named director of East German radio and became a prominent voice for the Communist government.

The Soviet Reaction to the Marshall Plan (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

To paraphrase Second Corinthians: "Europe's despair was Stalin's opportunity" - he delighted in the post-war unemployment, the inflation and the general lack of confidence in their governmental institutions. When the Marshall Plane came to the rescue in rebuilding Europe, the Soviets knew they were licked. This article reveals how totally bummed the Soviets were over the broad European acceptance of the Marshall plan. They hated it.

Gaudalcanal to Bougainville and the Progress of the U.S. Navy (Dept. of the Navy, 1947)

"With the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, United States and Japanese carrier strength became nearly equal. At the same time the news that the Japanese advance was creeping down the Solomons and commencing the construction of an airfield on Guadalcanal made it advisable to undertake a limited offensive in the South Pacific."

Read about the Battle of Leyte Gulf...

Irwin Shaw Recalled Combat Photographer
Robert Capa ('47 Magazine, 1947)

American novelist Irwin Shaw (1913 – 1984) was quick to reminisce about the bad old days of World War II and Robert Capa (1913 – 1954), who fit it like a round peg fits a round hole:

"Capa is a dangerous influence because he has perfected the trick of making life among the bombed cities and the stinking battlefields of our time seem gay and dashing and glamorous..."

Click here to read an anecdote about Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War.

The American-Imposed Censorship (Commonweal, 1947)

The suspicious lads of the U.S. Army's Civil Censorship Detachment, General Headquarters, Japan, were given the task of combing-over not simply the articles that were to appear in the Japanese press, but all civilian correspondences that were to be delivered through the mail, as well. Seeing that the Japanese were recovering Fascists, like their former BFFs in far-off Germany, the chatter of unfulfilled totalitarians was a primary concern. They were especially keen on seeing to it that the gruesome photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki be as limited in their circulation as possible. But what makes this column most surprising is the fact that the brass hats at GHQ knew full well that the American people hate censorship and would not want it practiced in their name.

Hiroshima Two Years Later (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

The Collier's article attached herein, The Atom Bomb's Invisible Offspring does not simply track the radioactive illnesses and contamination generated as a result of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also discusses the nuclear testings at Bikini and Alamogordo, New Mexico. Attention is paid to how the devastated people as well as all the assorted flora and fauna in the targeted regions.

Thoughts on Blouses (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

By the time 1947 was coming to a close, an enormous shift in the fashion winds had taken place that altered the silhouette of the fashionable woman. Waists were narrow, hips were padded - and the hemline had dropped as much as twelve inches. "The New Look" out of Paris dictated the appearances of suits and evening wear, but blouses were left out of the revolution - everyone had to figure it out for themselves and hope that the couturiers from across the sea would come to the rescue the following season.

The Cold War and Public Opinion ('47 Magazine, 1947)

This article was written by Gallup Poll Editor William Lydgate who compared various opinion surveys that were taken shortly after the close of W.W. II with the ones that were created just one year later.

The 1945 poll revealed that the American public generally looked forward to friendly relations with the Soviet Union, shared remarkably high hopes for world peace and believed deeply that the United Nations would be responsible for the creation of a better world. However, the 1946 poll measured an enormous drop in this sunny disposition.

''The Runner-Up to the Bible'' (Pageant Magazine, 1947)

"In His Steps, the second most popular book in history, has sold [50,000,000] copies [and just as many downloads] and is still going strong."

The Amish (Coronet Magazine, 1947)

Here is a wonderful photo-essay that depicts the lives of one of the most pious communities in the United States: the Mennonites of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania:

"The Biblical statement that God wished to 'purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works' [Titus 2:14] is followed literally by the Amish. They do everything possible to ensure their goodness and to make themselves different from ordinary men."

The Archbishop Did His Bit (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

A small notice from 1947 that reported on the archdiocese of St. Louis standing up in favor of racially integrating their school system - while simultaneously threatening excommunication to all members of the flock who contested the decision.

The 1948 Tucker (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

"[The] First models of the Tucker '48, [the] only really revolutionary postwar car so far, should be ready for public showing in New York, Chicago, and on the West Coast within 60 days..."

Ho Chi-Minh on the March... (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

A 1947 article reporting on the French desire to maintain their colonies in Indo-China, and their conflict with a Moscow-trained revolutionary Marxist (and Paris-trained pastry chef) named Ho Chi-Minh (1890 – 1969).

Click here to read about American communists and their Soviet overlords.

'It's a Wonderful Life' - the Synopsis (Photoplay Magazine, 1947)

A thumbnail review of It's a Wonderful Life written in the form of a favorable plot synopsis. Oddly, the film was released in March of 1947 - long after Christmas.

The War on Christmas

Fast Facts About Hollywood Silent Movies ('47 Magazine, 1947)

A really quick, informative read that will let you know a whole bunch about the earliest days of Hollywood silent film production:

• Silent film production companies averaged three movies per week.
• A good salary for an early Hollywood silent film executive was $50.00 per week
• Silent film extras were paid 1.50 per day.
• There were no stunt doubles.
• The average silent film director was paid $150.00 per week.
• A big-budget production was one that cost $500.00.
• Silent film directors would talk continuously during shooting.

- and much more.

Click here to read articles about Marilyn Monroe.

The Further Education of Harry Truman (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

President Harry Truman (1884 – 1972) Came to the presidency following the death of FDR on April 12, 1945. He said of the post, "I wasn't briefed for the job, I had to learn it from the ground up"; by 1947, he was no longer "Roosevelt's stand-in, reading from a New Deal script" - he was his own man and this was becoming clearer and clearer to his critics in Washington. This article, by Frank Gervasi (1908 – 1990), covers Truman's earliest years in the White House, and his handling of some of the hotest potatoes that landed in his lap.

What was the Truman Doctrine?

Henry Dreyfuss (Coronet Magazine, 1947)

Attached is an article about the work of the American industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss (1904 – 1972):

"At 43, Henry Dreyfuss is enormously successful, a fact which he makes every effort to conceal... In designing a typewriter, he measured the fingers of hundreds of typists. In creating a new chair for plane or train, he doesn't settle for the fact that the chair simply seems comfortable. He hires an orthopedic surgeon to advise."

"Industrial design was barely getting started when the 1929 Depression struck. America's economic collapse may have meant calamity for millions of people, but for designers it spelled golden opportunity. Savage competition became the rule. To stay in business, a manufacturer had to give his products new utility, new eye-appeal..."

Irony at the Command and General Staff School ('47 Magazine, 1947)

This is a humorous World War II story about the heroics of Captain Charles W. Davis (1917 – 1991), former resident of Guadalcanal, and his experiences with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The Tired Russians (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

This article goes into greater length to confirm what U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan (1904 – 2005) observed in his famous 1947 article "Sources of Soviet Conduct" (FOREIGN AFFAIRS, July 1947) - that the Russian people were physically and spiritually exhausted. After the terrible strain and sacrifice of the Second World War they were gleefully anticipating some much needed rest; they didn't get it and they weren't very happy about it.

"The standard of living in Russia has never been very high, but even despite his natural stoicism, the average citizen feels he has a good reason to be disgruntled with his life... Like any other totalitarian state, the Soviet state has done its best to paint a larger than life-size picture of its citizens. It likes to describe them as steel-hard heroes with an inflexible will, living for nothing but the great ideal of a Communist future, laughing at difficulties, gaily grasping with hard ship - a continent of Douglas Fairbankses. This is just a bit too good to be true, and the last one to be taken in by it is the average Russian."

The Marshall Plan: Rebuilding Europe (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

The Marshall Plan was a U.S. Government aid program that was instrumental in the reconstruction and economic resurrection of 16 Western European nations following the devastation caused by the Second World War. It is named for Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who co-authored the initiative with the help of the prominent business leader William Clayton, and the American diplomat George F. Kennan.

The attached article concerns the first draft of the scheme that was drawn-up by Marshall and the representatives of these 16 nations during the Summer/Fall of 1947. The amount of cash to be distributed (and paid back over a period of 30 years) was $22.44 billion.

Marshall knew that such an economic stimulant (and the liberties that would follow) would serve to guarantee that Western Europe would not fall into clutches of the Soviet Union.

To read about the Soviet reaction to the Marshall Plan, Click here

Down With Christian Dior and His New Look! (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

This West-coast fashion critic believed that the fashions of Christian Dior stood firmly in opposition to the optimistic, Twentieth Century casual elegance of Claire McCardell (1905 – 1958) and Adrian (1903 – 1959), preferring instead to spin

Click here to read more 1940s articles about Christian Dior and his "New Look".

When FDR Wrote a Script... (Coronet Magazine, 1947)

Here is an article by one of the foot soldiers of legendary silent movie producer Adolf Zukor, in which she recalled a time in 1923 when the future president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, mailed an unsolicited photoplay (ie. script) to their offices in hopes of securing some measure of Hollywood immortality.

Knowing that FDR had tremendous power in both New York and Washington, Zukor instructed her to let him down gently; twenty years later Roosevelt would chuckle about his ambitions with her at a White House party.

President Lincoln had his own dreams and aspirations...

Spotlight on U.S. Schools in the Late Forties (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

One can't but help but cry a little when reading that the Americans of 1947 actually believed that their public school system was substandard; they had no idea the depths this same system would be thrust just thirty years hence. The Forties was a time when most school teachers believed that the school's biggest problem was "talking in the classroom" or lingering in the halls. However, this article lists the ten "firsts" that both state and Federal governments had initiated in order to make a fine education system better.

The Best Years of Our Lives (Photoplay Magazine, 1947)

The post-World War II film The Best Years of our lives (1947) is attached herein, reviewed by the senior editor of Photoplay:

"Of all the films released since August 1945 it best dramatizes the problems of men returning from war and of their families to whom they return...It eloquently preaches the need for veterans to do their share in the adjustment between home and soldier and between employer and returning worker. It eloquently preaches against the ugly attempts of the few to incite in these chaotic days race and religious hatreds. And it eloquently preaches the truth that physical disability need not cripple a man's soul or his opportunities."

Modular Housing (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

After eight years of research, the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association and the Producers' Council, an organization of building materials manufacturers, have polished up all the known short-cut, dollar-saving methods in building, packaged them into an industry-wide program, and labeled them the 'four-inch module plan.'... The house is built on of three sections, each 16 x 24 feet, and bolted at floor, walls and roof. Wall joints are hidden by cabinets; by simply removing top and side cabinets, bolts can be loosened and the house readied for moving on trailers."

Klaus Grabe (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

An article from 1947 that clearly indicated that modern furnishings were a commercial hit in New York City during the immediate period following the war. The furnishings in particular were the product of German modernist named Klaus Grabe. A refugee from Hitler's Germany, Grabe was a Bauhaus-educated designer who had first settled in Mexico with Josef Albers before moving to New York.

Shortly after this article appeared, Klaus Grabe would write this book: Build Your Own Modern Furniture.

The Truman Doctrine (See Magazine, 1947)

"The Truman Doctrine is the only road to lasting peace. Twice within 30 years the stubbornly-observed practice of 'minding our business' has brought war."

Otto Klemperer Conducts Stravinsky (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

A printable music review by Lawrence Morton (1904 - 1987), long time advocate of modern music and habitual contributor to MUSICAL QUARTERLY and MODERN MUSIC. One of Morton's greatest interests was the music of Stravinsky, and it is Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements" that was discussed in this 1947 review:

"The symphony opens in full orchestra with a mighty affirmation of confidence and resolution. Then the horns state the main problem with which the composer would confront us: other instruments reiterate it, as if to show it to us from new angles and with new perspectives..."

This particular performance was conducted in Los Angeles by Otto Klemperer (1885 - 1973), who was singled out for high praise in this article.

Soviet Slave Labor Camps (Pathfinder & America Magazines, 1947)

Although the true horrors of Stalin's Russia would not be known until his death in 1953 (and then again with the opening of the Soviet Archives in 1990), bits and pieces were coming to the light as thousands of refugees and defectors swarmed the government offices of the Western Powers in search of asylum following the end of the Second World War. These small report from 1949 and 1947 let it be known how long the Soviet labor camps (Gulags) had been operational (since 1918), who was in them, how many different types of camps existed (there were three different varieties). As to the question concerning how many inmates were interred, there was no decisive count, somewhere between 14,000,000 to 20,000,000.

"Since they came into being, the Soviet [forced labor] camps have swallowed more people, have exacted more victims, than all other camps - Hitler's and others- together, and this lethal engine continues to operate full-blast..."

''A Red Is a Red is a Red'' (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

The Cold War was not often seen as a subject for poetry - but that didn't stop a popular versifier like Berton Braley (1882 – 1966). He took a look around at the post-war world and saw plenty subjects that rhymed:

"You'll meet, methinks, a lot of pinks
Whose statements are dogmatic
That Communists are Liberals
And really Democratic;
But when you hear that type of tripe
Keep this fact in your nut
- That Communists are Communists and nothing else but!"

His poem went on for three more stanzas...

To Live in Occupied Tokyo (Rob Wagner's Script Magazine, 1947)

A breezy account of American occupied Tokyo as reported by a literary magazine:

"Regardless of the festivities, the War Crimes Trials proceed as usual and the accused sit with earphones listening intently as the defense presents the China Phase."
"Japan seems to be striving toward Democracy, their interest in government affairs has broadened, and the voting in the national elections showed their arousal."

Should you like to read how the city of Kyoto fared during the Second World War, click here.

'47 Magazine ('47 Magazine, 1947)

'47 Magazine was established in March of 1947 and it was their intention to change their name with the calendar year, year by year and on through the succeeding decades. We have in our vast periodical library a few copies of '48 Magazine - but that is as far as they got before they were voted off the island.

It was a terrific magazine - and many of the names on their board of directors are recognized as some of the best literary minds that America had produced in the mid-Twentieth Century. But, as you'll see when you read the attached manifesto (they called it a "Statement of Intent", but I think that they really wanted to call it was a manifesto) they deeply desired to create an arts magazine that was entirely free of accountants, advertisers, lawyers, agents and, ultimately, profits; so they weren't around very long.

What the Navy Learned During the Pacific War (Dept. of the Navy, 1947)

The following is an essay from the office of the Chief of Naval Operations concerning what the U.S. Navy learned about carrier warfare during the four year war against Japan.

Princess Elizabeth During the Second World War (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

A printable article (excerpted from a longer one) outlining what exactly Princess Elizabeth II was up to during World War II:

...and it was decided that Elizabeth must not enlist in anything, that her training for the throne was of the first importance. But Elizabeth felt that she would be a slacker and carry about an inferiority complex for life. So for a year, relentlessly, she persisted. Just before her nineteenth birthday, her father gave in..."

• Watch a Newsreel Film About the Queen During W.W. II •

Air Pollution Becomes a Problem (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

This news article was penned a year and a half after the end of W.W. II and it concerns the steps various industrial cities were taking to limit the amount of pollutants that factories belched into the air daily. A year later, the Republican-lead Congress would pass an important piece of legislation titled the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

2013 marked the first time that the industrial powerhouse of China finally recognized that air pollution in the Beijing area exists and it is a problem. China regularly emits the lion's share of green house gasses (a whopping 23.5%).

The Rebellious Souls in Post-War Germany (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

This Collier's Magazine article from 1947 was penned by the German-speaking Sigrid Schultz (1893 - 1980) who's report told on those discontented Germans who enjoyed tweaking the collective noses of the armies that lorded over them - oddly believing that a war between the Western Powers and the Soviet Union was the best answer to their hopes. Elements of the populace spoke openly about the good old days under Hitler and sang the old Nazi anthem, "The Horst Wessel Song":

"In Munich, the signs on the square named for 'The Victims of Fascism' were replaced by signs reading 'The Victims of Democracy'. The police only acted after a Munich paper front-paged the story."

Read about American censorship in Occupied-Japan...

A Review of Memorial by Christopher Isherwood (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

A review of Christopher Isherwood's (1906 - 1986) semi-autobiographical novel, Memorial, which was placed in post-World War I Britain:

"The plot of Memorial can be discussed very briefly: it doesn't have one. It doesn't need one. It is entirely fascinating, not a dramatic sequence of events, but an increasingly intimate understanding of a state of affairs...The book proceeds, not forward in time, but inward by layers. Isherwood has a wonderful gift of getting inside people."

A Laugh on the Klan (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

In 1947 KKK-infiltrator Stetson Kennedy (1916 – 2011) wished to harness the power of government in order to parody, rather than eliminate the KKK:

"Stetson Kennedy, author of the KKK-exposing books Southern Exposure and Imperial Wizard asked for an Illinois state charter to set up a mock KKK group that would have as officers 'a Negro, a Jew, a Roman Catholic and an American Indian.'"

Illinois Secretary of State Edward Barrett denied Kennedy's application but his harsh criticism regarding the Klan's loathsome history was read into the records of the state legislator.

During the Thirties and early Forties there was a link between the Bund and the KKK: click here to read about him.

Henri Landru, Monsieur Verdux and Charlie Chaplin (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

Attached is an article about the Charlie Chaplin film, "Monsieur Verdux" (1947) and the monstrous beast Henri Landru -the French murderer on whom the story is loosely based. This article was written by Gordon Kahn, remembered chiefly in our own time as one of the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriters of the post-World War II period. Not too long after this article was written he went into self-exile in Mexico.

The Soviet Life Style (Collier's Magazine, 1947)

Her Life Since Leaving the White House ('47 Magazine, 1947)

Attached is a 1947 article that reported on the post-FDR life of "The Widow Roosevelt" since assuming the position of the United States delegate to the newly established United Nations:

"Mrs Roosevelt's performance during the first session of the U.N. General Assembly in London during the winter of 1946 surprised and pleased even those who had once been her husband's most bitter foes."

Son of ''Fast Facts'' ('47 Magazine, 1947)

To be sure, the motion pictures that Hollywood produced during the late teens were very "self-conscious, but they were beginning to develop smartness... Los Angeles and its environs were crowded with new motion picture companies. The American Film Company, the Vitagraph Company, the Universal Company Christie Comedies and Selig found competitors springing up like weeds after rain: the demand for flickers was enjoying its first boom."

COMMAND DECISION Book Review (Rob Wagner's Script, 1947)

Command Decision, the World War II novel by William Wister Haines (1908 – 1989), was written from the point of view of a general officer and the Allied effort to destroy the Nazi jet fighters before the Luftwaffe could muster the initiative and get the upper hand; the novel was based upon the author's own wartime experiences serving with the American 8th Air Force in Europe during the Second World War. Haines enjoyed much critical and popular success when the book was released; a 1947 Broadway production ran for 409 performances and a film adaptation premiered in 1948 starring Clark Gable (who also served in the 8th Air Force).

Click here to read the 1947 book review of a William Saroyan war novel.

Is Hollywood Red? (Photoplay Magazine, 1947)

Despite the catchy title, Novelist James M. Cain, did not even attempt to answer the question as to how lousy Hollywood was with dirty Reds, however he did spell out that there were enough of them in the industry to bring production to a halt, if they ever cared to do so. Cain's article encourages both the executive class and the pinko-wordsmiths to walk the middle path and keep the cameras rolling.

Click here to read a review of James M. Cain's novel, "The Butterfly".

Another Review (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

Japanese Naval Losses Measured in Tons (Dept. of the Navy, 1947)

Four graphs from a 1947 Naval study illustrate the amount of Japanese aircraft and assorted sea faring vessels that were destroyed during the course of World War Two.

Shavian Witticisms (Coronet Magazine, 1947)

Myriad are the clever epigrams that have been attributed to the famed Anglo-Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) - and attached you'll find additional chestnuts to add to the list. These particular ones recall the bon mots he tossed out while prattling-on with various assorted glitterati of his day; yapers like Clare Boothe Luce, Orson Welles, Judith Anderson and tennis champ Helen Wills.