The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread where we focus on "THE HOME FRONT".

This thread is part of the folder devoted to the discussion of the SECOND WORLD WAR which can include - (people, locations, events, books and other publications, battles, historic sites, maps, research information, urls, etc.).

"The home front covers the activities of the civilians in a nation at war. World War II was a total war; homeland production became even more invaluable to both the Allied and Axis powers. Life on the home front during World War II was a significant part of the war effort for all participants and had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Governments became involved with new issues such as rationing, manpower allocation, home defense, evacuation in the face of air raid, and response to occupation by an enemy power. The morale and psychology of the people responded to leadership and propaganda. Typically women were mobilized to an unprecedented degree. The success in mobilizing economic output was a major factor in supporting combat operations. All of the power involved had learned from their experiences on the Home front during World War I and tried to use its lessons and avoid its mistakes."

Source: Wikipedia
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_fro...

Please feel free to add any and all discussion information related to this topic area in this thread.

Note: Please no self promotion, personal blogs, urls or links or references to personal books. Please check rules and guidelines before posting. If you have any questions, reach out to a moderator and they can help you with the rules and guidelines.

Bentley


Note: Proper citation rules must be used when citing any books or authors. You must include the bookcover when available, the author's photo when available and always the author's link.

Here is an example:

by Winston Churchill

This thread was requested by Bryan Craig.

Fighting fit in the factory. Your employer, foreman or trade union representative will tell you about it

1939-46

Help put the lid on Hitler by saving your old metal and paper

1939 - 1946

I hope this thread dispels many of the myths surrounding the British home front in WW2. I'm pressed for time, but rest assured, I will be posting a few book links to back up my point.

I look forward to your posting, R.M.F.

America 1941: A Nation at the Crossroads

(no image)America 1941: A Nation At The Crossroads by Ross Gregory

Synopsis:

A lively portrait of a nation poised between the tribulations of the Depression and the horrors of WW II that focuses on the changes being wrought in the lives of average citizens—city- and country-dwellers, blacks, churchgoers, Army inductees, etc. Gregory (History/Western Michigan Univ.) develops his themes with assurance and insight, leavening with intriguing anecdotes what could have been merely a scholarly sociological study.

Helluva Town: The Story of New York City During World War II

Richard Goldstein

Synopsis

In the stirring signature number from the 1944 Broadway musical On the Town, three sailors on a 24-hour search for love in wartime Manhattan sing, "New York, New York, a helluva town."

The Navy boys’ race against time mirrored the very real frenzy in the city that played host to 3 million servicemen, then shipped them out from its magnificent port to an uncertain destiny. This was a time when soldiers and sailors on their final flings jammed the Times Square movie houses featuring lavish stage shows as well as the nightclubs like the Latin Quarter and the Copacabana; a time when bobby-soxers swooned at the Paramount over Frank Sinatra, a sexy, skinny substitute for the boys who had gone to war.

Richard Goldstein’s Helluva Town is a kaleidoscopic and compelling social history that captures the youthful electricity of wartime and recounts the important role New York played in the national war effort. This is a book that will prove irresistible to anyone who loves New York and its relentlessly fascinating saga.

Wartime Broadway lives again in these pages through the plays of Lillian Hellman, Robert Sherwood, Maxwell Anderson, and John Steinbeck championing the democratic cause; Irving Berlin’s This Is the Army and Moss Hart’s Winged Victory with their all-servicemen casts; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! hailing American optimism; the Leonard Bernstein–Jerome Robbins production of On the Town; and the Stage Door Canteen.

And these were the days when the Brooklyn Navy Yard turned out battleships and aircraft carriers, when troopships bound for Europe departed from the great Manhattan piers where glamorous ocean liners once docked, where the most beautiful liner of them all, the Normandie, caught fire and capsized during its conversion to a troopship. Here, too, is an unseen New York: physicists who fled Hitler’s Europe spawning the atomic bomb, the FBI chasing after Nazi spies, the Navy enlisting the Mafia to safeguard the port against sabotage, British agents mounting a vast intelligence operation. This is the city that served as a magnet for European artists and intellectuals, whose creative presence contributed mightily to New York’s boisterous cosmopolitanism.

Long before 9/11, New York felt vulnerable to a foreign foe. Helluva Town recalls how 400,000 New Yorkers served as air-raid wardens while antiaircraft guns ringed the city in anticipation of a German bombing raid.

Finally, this is the story of New York’s emergence as the power and glory of the world stage in the wake of V-J Day, underlined when the newly created United Nations arose beside the East River, climaxing a storied chapter in the history of the world’s greatest city.

Warfare State: World War II Americans and the Age of Big Government

James T. Sparrow

Synopsis

Although common wisdom and much scholarship assume that "big government" gained its foothold in the United States under the auspices of the New Deal during the Great Depression, in fact it was the Second World War that accomplished this feat. Indeed, as the federal government mobilized for war it grew tenfold, quickly dwarfing the New Deal's welfare programs.

Warfare State shows how the federal government vastly expanded its influence over American society during World War II. Equally important, it looks at how and why Americans adapted to this expansion of authority. Through mass participation in military service, war work, rationing, price control, income taxation, and the war bond program, ordinary Americans learned to live with the warfare state. They accepted these new obligations because the government encouraged all citizens to think of themselves as personally connected to the battle front, linking their every action to the fate of the combat soldier. As they worked for the American Soldier, Americans habituated themselves to the authority of the government. Citizens made their own counter-claims on the state-particularly in the case of industrial workers, women, African Americans, and most of all, the soldiers. Their demands for fuller citizenship offer important insights into the relationship between citizen morale, the uses of patriotism, and the legitimacy of the state in wartime.

World War II forged a new bond between citizens, nation, and government. Warfare State tells the story of this dramatic transformation in American life.

Don't You Know There's a War On? The American Home Front, 1941-1945

Richard R. Lingeman

Synopsis

The tragic events of September 11, 2001 brought to the surface memories of an earlier time of unprecedented national emergency—Pearl Harbor—and America's subsequent involvement in World War II. In this evocative cultural history, Richard Lingeman re-creates the events—historic, humorous, and tragic—and personalities of the American home front. From V-girls and V-mail, blackouts and the internment of the Japanese, to new opportunities for African-Americans and women, Lingeman recaptures a unique time in American history in this New York Times Notable Book.

This iconic poster is probably one of the most recognizable from the home front during WWII.



In 1942, Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller was hired by the Westinghouse Company's War Production Coordinating Committee to create a series of posters for the war effort. One of these posters became the famous "We Can Do It!" image—an image that in later years would also be called "Rosie the Riveter", though it was never given this title during the war. Miller is thought to have based his "We Can Do It!" poster on a United Press International wire service photograph taken of Ann Arbor, Michigan, factory worker Geraldine Hoff (later Doyle), who was 17 and briefly working as a metal-stamping machine operator. The intent of the poster was to keep production up by boosting morale, not to recruit more women workers. It was shown only to Westinghouse employees in the Midwest during a two-week period in February 1943, then it disappeared for nearly four decades. During the war, the name "Rosie" was not associated with the image, and it was not about women's empowerment. It was only later, in the early 1980s, that the Miller poster was rediscovered and became famous, associated with feminism, and often mistakenly called "Rosie The Riveter

No doubt, Jill, a great poster.

This is the first time that I've ever joined a debate on this site, so please bear with me if I make a mistake.

Anyway, I'd like to mention this book

David Edgerton

You may be aware of this book. Anyway, I recently read it, and it's part of a new revisionist look at Britain in WW2. Most of the chapters are devoted to the fighting side of things, but I'll post points in relation to food production/home front.

Edgerton's main claim is that Britain was not the weak, underpowered nation that many people thought it to be, but rather, was a global colossus.

A few points from the book:

1) With a global Empire of 500 million, and all the resources it needed, Britian was in a far superior position to wage war than any other country, including America (which was the sleeping giant)and to sustain its people and build its armies.

2) Britain led the way in food technology and food imports, due to its vast wealth and expert skill in farming and technology.

3) Even with the U-boat menace, the British populace was far better feed than any other country (except America) Rationing was widespread (obviously) but this was not a serious hinderance to the population. In contrast, occupied europe underwent many hardships with food production, even Germany struggled.

4) Before 1941, the British merchant fleet was the biggest in the world, and with the addition of the Norweigen and Danish fleets, it became larger still and was able to import huge quantities of meat and grain from South America, petrol and rubber from Asia, and anything else it needed from the USA. In fact, imports from the USA were low due to the vast surplus of goods it could draw from the Empire.

5) Large chunks of British industry relocated to North America (Canada in particular) and through its demand for war goods, was partly able to galvanise the US economy, by using it's vast wealth to place Billion dolar orders.
Wnen the Netherlands and Belgium were overun by Germany, their imperial possesions came over to Britian. by the end of 1940, Britian controlled almost a third of the globe and all the resources that went with it.

There are many more points I could mention, but these are just a few from my head to start a debate.

Welcome. This is great because I have not heard of this book before, nor its argument. It seems that the prevailing notion was that Britain was weak, but it seems like solid counter-arguments to that.

For a book citation, just two things:
1. Cite the book at the bottom of the post. It makes things easier to read.
2. Make sure the author link is on the same line.

David Edgerton

Thanks for the information R.M.F.

Apologies for that mistake. But back on topic. Now the logical question is: if Britain was as strong as this book ckaims it was, then why the policy of appeasement?

The answer to that is simple - nobody wanted another Batlle of the Somme.

One of the main reasons Britian avoided war was not out of weakness or fear of Germany (it was producing more wepons and aircraft than Germany) but rather, the public revulsion of another slaughter on the Western front.

Also can I recommend this guy if you're not familiar with him.

Richard Overy

He has done a number of books on the Battle of Britain and has done much to dispel some of the myths surrounding it.

I think you are correct, the horror of WWI did help drive the policy regarding Hitler. It left a big scar on people's consciences.

December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World

Craig Shirley

Synopsis

In the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, eyes in America were focused on the war in Europe or distracted by the elevated mood sweeping the country in the final days of the Great Depression. But when planes dropped out of a clear blue sky and bombed the American naval base and aerial targets in Hawaii, all of that changed. December 1941 takes readers into the moment-by-moment ordeal of a nation waking to war.

Best-selling author Craig Shirley celebrates the American spirit while reconstructing the events that called it to shine with rare and piercing light. By turns nostalgic and critical, he puts readers on the ground in the stir and the thick of the action. Relying on daily news reports from around the country and recently declassified government papers, Shirley sheds light on the crucial diplomatic exchanges leading up to the attack, the policies on internment of Japanese living in the U.S. after the assault, and the near-total overhaul of the U.S. economy for war.

Shirley paints a compelling portrait of pre-war American culture: the fashion, the celebrities, the pastimes. And his portrait of America at war is just as vivid: heroism, self-sacrifice, mass military enlistments, national unity and resolve, and the prodigious talents of Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley aimed at the Axis Powers, as well as the more troubling price-controls and rationing, federal economic takeover, and censorship.

Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II

Arthur Herman

Synopsis

Remarkable as it may seem today, there once was a time when the president of the United States could pick up the phone and ask the president of General Motors to resign his position and take the reins of a great national enterprise. And the CEO would oblige, no questions asked, because it was his patriotic duty.

In Freedom’s Forge, bestselling author Arthur Herman takes us back to that time, revealing how two extraordinary American businessmen—automobile magnate William Knudsen and shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser—helped corral, cajole, and inspire business leaders across the country to mobilize the “arsenal of democracy” that propelled the Allies to victory in World War II.

“Knudsen? I want to see you in Washington. I want you to work on some production matters.” With those words, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enlisted “Big Bill” Knudsen, a Danish immigrant who had risen through the ranks of the auto industry to become president of General Motors, to drop his plans for market domination and join the U.S. Army. Commissioned a lieutenant general, Knudsen assembled a crack team of industrial innovators, persuading them one by one to leave their lucrative private sector positions and join him in Washington, D.C. Dubbed the “dollar-a-year men,” these dedicated patriots quickly took charge of America’s moribund war production effort.

Henry J. Kaiser was a maverick California industrialist famed for his innovative business techniques and his can-do management style. He, too, joined the cause. His Liberty ships became World War II icons—and the Kaiser name became so admired that FDR briefly considered making him his vice president in 1944. Together, Knudsen and Kaiser created a wartime production behemoth. Drafting top talent from companies like Chrysler, Republic Steel, Boeing, Lockheed, GE, and Frigidaire, they turned auto plants into aircraft factories and civilian assembly lines into fountains of munitions, giving Americans fighting in Europe and Asia the tools they needed to defeat the Axis. In four short years they transformed America’s army from a hollow shell into a truly global force, laying the foundations for a new industrial America—and for the country’s rise as an economic as well as military superpower.

Featuring behind-the-scenes portraits of FDR, George Marshall, Henry Stimson, Harry Hopkins, Jimmy Doolittle, and Curtis LeMay, as well as scores of largely forgotten heroes and heroines of the wartime industrial effort, Freedom’s Forge is the American story writ large. It vividly re-creates American industry’s finest hour, when the nation’s business elites put aside their pursuit of profits and set about saving the world.

We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema During World War II

by Robert L. McLaughlin & Sally E. Parry

Synopsis
We'll Always Have the Movies explores how movies made in Hollywood during World War II were vehicles for helping Americans understand the war. Far from being simplistic, flag-waving propaganda designed to evoke emotional reactions, these films offered audiences narrative structures that formed a foundation for grasping the nuances of war. These films asked audiences to consider the implications of the Nazi threat, they put a face on both our enemies and allies, and they explored changing wartime gender roles. We'll Always Have the Movies reveals how film after film repeated the narratives, character types, and rhetoric that made the war and each American's role in it comprehensible. Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry have screened more than 600 movies made between 1937 and 1946 -- including many never before discussed in this context -- and have analyzed the cultural and historical importance of these films in explaining the war to moviegoers. Pre-Pearl Harbor films such as Sergeant York, Foreign Correspondent, and The Great Dictator established the rationale for the war in Europe. After the United States entered the war, films such as Air Force, So Proudly We Hail! and Back to Bataan conveyed reasons for U.S. involvement in the Pacific. The Hitler Gang, Sahara, and Bataan defined our enemies; and Mrs. Miniver, Mission to Moscow, and Dragon Seed defined our allies. Some movies -- The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero, and Lifeboat among them -- explored homefront anxieties about the war's effects on American society. Of the many films that sought to explain the politics behind and the social impact of the war -- and why it concerned Americans -- Casablanca is perhaps one of the most widely recognized. McLaughlin and Parry argue that Rick's Café Américain serves as a United Nations, sheltering characters who represent countries being oppressed by Germany. At Rick's, these characters learn that they share a common love of freedom, which is embodied in patriotism; from this commonality, they overcome their differences and work together to solve a conflict that affects them all. As the representative American, Rick Blain (Humphrey Bogart) cannot idly stand by in the face of injustice, and he ultimately sides with those being oppressed. Bogart's character is a metaphor for America, which could also come out of its isolationism to be a true world leader and unite with its allies to defeat a common enemy. Collectively, Hollywood's war-era films created a mythic history of the war that, even today, has more currency than the actual events of World War II.

I'm going to look into the recommendations regarding the American home front. When I think of home front, I've always tended to overlook America, due to it's distance from the frontline, and the fact that it wasn't bombed by the Germans or the Japanese. By this I mean, American Mainland and not Pearl Harbour!

But the transition of American industry from Civilian to War production, is an interesting area, and of course there is one major questions to ask as well: did it end the Great Depression?

R.M.F., the consensus is that the war did end the Great Depression. It was not FDR and his New Deal, although it helped. In fact, there was a dip in the economy in FDR's second term. However, it was the ramping up of American industries for war that got the U.S. out of the Depression.

Bryan wrote: "R.M.F., the consensus is that the war did end the Great Depression. It was not FDR and his New Deal, although it helped. In fact, there was a dip in the economy in FDR's second term. However, it..."

I would agree, Bryan. FDR's programs certainly gave some framework for economic recovery but probably did less than most would care to admit. The US began to move away from Depression status with the Lend Lease program even before the country entered the war....then, of course, war production infused the economic situation after Pearl Harbor.

Here is a book on German home front industrial output during WWII.

Arming the Luftwaffe: The German Aviation Industry in World War II

by Daniel Uziel

Synopsis
During World War II, aviation was among the largest industrial branches of the Third Reich. About 40 percent of total German war production, and two million people, were involved in the manufacture of aircraft and air force equipment. Based on German records, Allied intelligence reports, and eyewitness accounts, this study explores the military, political, scientific, and social aspects of Germany's wartime aviation industry: production, research and development, Allied attacks, foreign workers and slave labor, and daily life and working conditions in the factories. Testimony from Holocaust survivors who worked in the factories provides a compelling new perspective on the history of the Third Reich.

Some interesting video links on Rosie the Riveter and American women in WWII to honor Women's History Month:

Rosie the Riveter Song

Rosie the Riveter an Academic View

Women at the Grumman Aircraft Company during WW2

Thank you G, Mark, Jill, Bryan, RMF for your fine adds and posts.

Ford in the Service of America: Mass Production for the Military During the World Wars

Timothy O'callaghan

Synopsis
This is the history of the Ford Motor Company's achievements and products during World Wars I and II. It demonstrates how, in addition to well-known contributions like jeeps, Eagle Boats and B-24 Liberators, Ford also produced key items ranging from squad tents and the ultra precision gun director to tanks and aircraft engines. Details on each product and how Ford produced it are included. During both wars, the automotive giant used precision manufacturing methods and innovative designs and procedures to increase quantity and quality while lowering production costs.

Here is soon to be released book on baseball and the “Home Front”. The heading seems to tell it all.

Baseball and the Bottom Line in World War II: Gunning for Profits on the Home Front

Jeff Obermeyer

Synopsis
What were the business aspects of professional baseball during World War II? The sport, like many nonessential industries, struggled to find its place in society during a time of war. The men who ran the game faced government interference and manpower shortages that threatened to shut down their businesses for the duration, and they had to balance the need to show a patriotic front to the public while at the same time protecting their investments. Archival and primary sources provide insight into the perceptions of the major league owners and an understanding of how most of them were able to keep their businesses profitable while the nation fought an enormous two-front war.

The story of how Detroit came to the rescue in the area of arms production. How sad to look at Detroit in the 21st century.

The Arsenal of Democrary: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War

by A.J. Baime (no photo)

Synopsis:

In 1941, as Hitler’s threat loomed ever larger, President Roosevelt realized he needed weaponry to fight the Nazis—most important, airplanes—and he needed them fast. So he turned to Detroit and the auto industry for help.

The Arsenal of Democracy tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call, centering on Henry Ford and his tortured son Edsel, who, when asked if they could deliver 50,000 airplanes, made an outrageous claim: Ford Motor Company would erect a plant that could yield a “bomber an hour.” Critics scoffed: Ford didn’t make planes; they made simple, affordable cars. But bucking his father’s resistance, Edsel charged ahead. Ford would apply assembly-line production to the American military’s largest, fastest, most destructive bomber; they would build a plant vast in size and ambition on a plot of farmland and call it Willow Run; they would bring in tens of thousands of workers from across the country, transforming Detroit, almost overnight, from Motor City to the “great arsenal of democracy.” And eventually they would help the Allies win the war.

Drawing on exhaustive research from the Ford Archives, the National Archives, and the FDR Library, A. J. Baime has crafted an enthralling, character-driven narrative of American innovation that has never been fully told, leaving readers with a vivid new portrait of America—and Detroit—during the war.(

Thank you for the adds Jill

With the shortage of food becoming a problem, the people of Britain had their "victory gardens" to put fresh provisions on the table.

Digging for Victory: Gardens and Gardening in Wartime Britain

by Twigs Way (no photo)

Synopsis:

Digging for Victory tells the story of Homefront gardens & gardening during the Second World War. Using contemporary photographs and ephemera this meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated account covers the role and fate of both the 'ordinary' garden as well as the larger gardens and estates. Full description

C....thanks for your list of great book recommendations. However, you need to follow the citation guidelines with the author photo (if available) and link. Thus;

by Denise Kiernan
by Emily Yellin
by Penny Colman (no photo)
by Alistair Cooke
by Norman Longmate (no photo)
by Vere Hodgson
by Nella Last

C - very good attempt with your citation. We find that it is easier to place the citation by itself and not try to embed it in the text. We always suggest for members to type naturally in the text and place the citation at the bottom of the comment box under the text like this. We also place (no photo) after the link to show that there is no author's photo if that is the case. Additionally, if you mention other books in your write-up they must be cited too. Thank you very much for the add and just keep these things in mind.

by Molly Guptill Manning (no photo)

Here is the Mechanics of the Board thread because we do have standards and guidelines which are a snap once you practice them:

Mechanics of the Board:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

============================================================
So your post would look like this:

C wrote:

Found another that I think would be very interesting for us avid readers who are also interested in WW2 history~ When Books Went to War The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning.

"When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned over 100 million books and caused fearful citizens to hide or destroy many more. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks, for troops to carry in their pockets and their rucksacks, in every theater of war.

Comprising 1,200 different titles of every imaginable type, these paperbacks were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy; in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific; in field hospitals; and on long bombing flights. They wrote to the authors, many of whom responded to every letter. They helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity. They made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon. When Books Went to War is an inspiring story for history buffs and book lovers alike."

by Molly Guptill Manning (no photo)

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

by Betty Smith (no photo)

World War II changed the role of women who became the backbone of the homefront while their men were fighting around the world.

Women at War

by Brenda Ralph Lewis (no photo)

Synopsis

Staggering in scale and impact, World War II called vast numbers of men to fight for their country and left behind huge vacuums -- in the family, the workplace and society at large. Written with profound insight and admiration, "Women at War" celebrates the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters who bravely stepped into the breach and explores how their experiences changed lives ever after for both sexes.Heartfelt personal stories and evocative period photography dramatically capture the sacrifices and remarkable achievements of women of rare courage -- for both the allied and axis countries.

Among the many unsung heroines of World War II, readers will meet:
-- Women at home, coping with air raids, rationing and loneliness, taking in refugees and growing in resourcefulness and independence
-- Women in industry, acquiring technical skills and mastering feats of manual labor traditionally performed by men only
-- Women in service, both public and military, from fire brigades to catering corps to the privileged ranks of female pilots
-- Women in espionage, manning anti-aircraft floodlights, plotting war plans, breaking codes and uncovering the secrets of enemy intelligence

The amazing story of the Women's Voluntary Services in Britain, put together to protect the home front.

Women at the Ready

by Patricia Malcolmson (no photo)

Synopsis:

From the summer of 1938, British women from all walks of life joined the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS). This disparate band of women came together for the common good - to help serve and protect their communities. By 1941 a million women had enrolled.

These brave and dutiful women played a vital role in Britain's victory. The positive impact of the WVS on wartime society was universally acknowledged. They were instrumental in implementing the large-scale evacuation of children from bomb-targeted cities, in the care of the wounded, and in keeping those in war service fed. Lady Reading, founder and fearless leader, was one of the most influential women in twentieth-century Britain.

The story of the WVS has never been fully told before. Social historians Patricia and Robert Malcolmson bring this vital part of the Second World War to life in a vivid and engaging way through the diaries and records of the women serving their country on the Home Front. Women at the Ready promises to be a magnificent saga of sacrifice and determination.

Build 'Em by the Mile, Cut 'Em Off by the Yard: How Henry J. Kaiser and the Rosies Helped Win World War II

by Steve Gilford (no photo)

Synopsis:

"This book is about a time when millions of Americans put their hearts, minds, and bodies into a clearly recognized goal, defeating the forces of Germany and Japan. The stories of the people who accomplished this are a reminder of the potential of this nation to rise up and meet a challenge. The Second World War is long over [but] once again, vital challenges face us. When they seem overwhelming and when the task seems as though it might be too much for us, we can turn to the example of America's World War II home front and in particular to the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California." - Congressman George Miller

The true stories of couples during WWII and how their marriages survived the long separation.

War Bonds

by Cindy Hval

Synopsis:

America s World War II is most often told through the stories of its great battles, when an entire generation of our young men was suddenly thrust across the oceans to represent the New World in deadly combat against the great powers of the Old. On sea, in the air, and on land our boys fought against totalitarian powers that threatened to overturn the American ideal of liberty for every individual, even civilization itself.

But while often forgotten, America s women were there too. On the homefront they were more than willing to share in the hardships of wartime, and in countless cases they fairly lived and breathed with support for our troops overseas. Whether working in factories or taking care of families, rationing or volunteering, their unflagging support contributed more to our victories than has ever been told.Young people have been falling in love since time began, but romance during a global conflagration brought a unique set of challenges. The uncertainty of the time led to an abundance of couples marrying quickly, after brief courtships. Others grew closer through intermittent correspondence, where the soldier was invariably censored by officers, yet true longing from either side invariably came through. It was the worst time at all to try to have a relationship; yet amazingly, thousands of couples created lifelong bonds.From blind dates to whirlwind romances to long separations, War Bonds highlights stories of couples who met or married during or shortly after WWII.

Underscoring these tales are the principles of maintaining lasting love in the face of tumultuous times, as well as the daily challenges of building a life together. When the soldiers finally came home and many of them did not the next job of building a family began. Suddenly it was the females who were the true front-line.Each of the 30 stories in this book begins with a World War II-era song title and concludes with a look at wartime couples in their twilight, as well as when they were so hopeful and young, and determined to save the world.

Illustrated with photos from the 1940's as well as current photographs of each couple, War Bonds offers readers a glimpse of bygone days, as well as a poignant glimpse of our own.During history s greatest war it was no time to start a relationship. But many among our young men and women did so regardless, and in this book we see how amazingly the war bonds of that World War II generation so frequently endured.

Once more the love of reading is validated!!

When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II

by Molly Guptill Manning(no photo)

Synopsis:

When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned over 100 million books and caused fearful citizens to hide or destroy many more. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks, for troops to carry in their pockets and their rucksacks, in every theater of war.

Comprising 1,200 different titles of every imaginable type, these paperbacks were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy; in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific; in field hospitals; and on long bombing flights. They wrote to the authors, many of whom responded to every letter. They helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity. They made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon. When Books Went to War is an inspiring story for history buffs and book lovers alike.

Radio played a major part in keeping the public informed of news from the fighting fronts. President Roosevelt held his famous "Fireside Chats", speaking directly to the people.

Fireside chats: Changing perspectives on the war

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) talked to the public through fireside chats, in which he would speak directly to citizens over the radio. He did this with the hope to inspire Americans after the Great Depression and as a source of information during World War II. He did not lie to citizens like German officials did; however, he was not able to tell them information that could benefit the other side. He was able to persuade Americans that war was necessary, and the public supported the war actions that were taken. The fireside chats changed the relationship between past presidents and the public. They created a more personal, casual relationship with the people. Because of this, it was easier for FDR to persuade American citizens.

"In spite of spreading wars, I think we have every right to maintain as a national policy the fundamental moralities, the teachings of religion, the continuation of peace, because someday we can be of an even greater help to a crippled humanity." - Franklin D. Roosevelt, September 3, 1939.

(For videos and more information, visit this source site:)
http://radioworldwar2nhd.weebly.com/f...

War on the Home Front

by Juliet Gardiner (no photo)

Synopsis:

Endorsed by the Imperial War Museum, this book provides the answers to many questions relating to the Britain at war experience, by using facsimiles of actual documents and memorabilia from the time: photos, paintings, propaganda, regulations, and witness accounts. A 70-minute audio CD accompanies the book.

Spike Jones and his City Slickers were a comic band popular during the 1940s. Here is one of his most famous songs, The Fuehrer' Face

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZlFB...

(Source: YouTube)

One of the icons of American advertising used as propaganda during WWII.

Creating Rosie the Riveter

by Maureen Honey (no photo)

Synopsis:

Creating Rosie the Riveter examines advertisements and fiction published in the Saturday Evening Post and True Story in order to show how propaganda was used to encourage women to enter the work force.

First person accounts of the British home front during her most challenging time.

Voices from the Home Front

by Felicity Goodall (no photo)

Synopsis:

Revisiting an era brought to life with the vivid re-telling of events, this is a book written by the people who survived the war from their own homes and in their own workplaces. From the cities come stories of the bomb shelters and munitions factories; recollections of getting on with life when everything was in tatters. From the coasts and the countryside the Britons who worked to keep the nation fed and who took in the children of stangers when they were evacuated to safety, tell their story. Here too are tales of liasons with American Gls, and the relationship of the public with Italian PoWs. Voices from the Home Front offers a collection of viewpoints that will strike a chord of familiarity for all those that share these living memories. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the resilience of a nation at war, the humour and the strength that such times inspired even in the face of hardship and tragedy.

If you can find a copy The Oaken Heart by Margery Allingham (best know for her Campion mysteries) is an excellent first person account of life in a small coastal village during WWIi. It was written before the US entry into the war. The book is not at all dry, but entertaining

Although I found copies for sale, the book is not widely available and the books I found were too expensive. I requested a interlibrary loan through my local library and they found a copy for me to borrow.

Jennifer, when mentioning books you have to make a proper citation at the end of your post, so that other members can easily access the book's page if they are interested. The citation should look like this:

by Margery Allingham

Can you, please, go back and correct it? Thank you! :)

Perhaps one of the most recognizable propaganda posters of any time, “I Want You for U.S. Army” was actually commissioned for WWI. Based on an equally iconic British recruiting poster, this indelible image was so effective that it was also extensively used in the Second World War. Even to our 21st Century media-savvy eyes, it isn’t hard to see why so many young men heeded its call. The stern, paternal face of the national icon Uncle Sam seems to be staring right into your soul, no matter which way you look at the poster. The appeal to honor and duty, not to mention the slightly sinister undertone, was enough to convince countless men to willingly sign up for a tour in Hell. If that isn’t an effective piece of propaganda, what is?
(Source: Toptenz)

I think Uncle Sam does look slightly sinister, much more so than Field Marshal Kitchener in the original. He just looks military, which is scary enough.

Posters were excellent tools for propaganda during both World Wars......and I don't use the word "propaganda" in the negative sense. The other poster of Rosie the Riveter, shown in post #10, along with this one of Uncle Sam, are probably the most well remembered.

BTW, I thought Kitchener looked pretty sinister!!!! :)

I just thought that was his normal look! :-)

They had some good posters in WWI too.

A look at how our parents/grandparents ate during WWII when food was rationed.

The Victory Cookbook

by Marguerite Patten

Synopsis:

This early work is a fascinating read for those nostalgic for wartime cooking. A wealth of simple recipes intended to save ration points.

I have got to find this book!!

The British Home Front Pocket-Book

by Brian Lavery (no photo)

Synopsis:

In June 1940, following the BEF's scrambled evacuation from Dunkirk, the Second World War was brought home to Britain. As the Luftwaffe initiated their bombing campaigns and the threat of invasion grew daily, civilians were urged to play their part in the war effort, and take responsibility for their own survival. Many pamphlets and leaflets were issued with information and advice on a diverse range of subjects, from how to put on a gas mask, to how to build a bomb shelter and what to do in the event of an air raid, as Britain braced herself for a protracted conflict, literally on the front line, fighting alone.
The literature drawn together for this evocative pocket-book captures the reality of civilian life during the Battle of Britain. It is a revealing and charming addition to Conway's trailblazing quarter-bound pocket-book series.