World War II

Victory Gardens? War Bonds? Women Working? What could we possibly be talking about? Find out as the Vincent College Review staff takes a look at the homefront during World War II. Continued... GET YOUR PACTS STRAIGHT True or False: Hitler's refusal to brush Stalin's hair led indirectly to the fall of the Nazi war machine. Not sure? Find out inside, as the Vince College Review examines the lesser known provisions of the German / Russian non-aggression pact. Pact-tacular! Guest Column The Vince College Review periodically asks top students from the history department to come on board as guest columnists. This week, we've asked our guest to give overview of the infamous Battle of the Bulge, most especially the Siege of Bastogne in which German Panzer divisions surrounded the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in the small Belgian town. This event gave rise to one of the more lighthearted stories to come out of the war: outnumbered and outgunned, the American general in command replied "NUTS!" when the Germans demanded he surrender. This week's guest columnist is Patrick Frenstrom ('14) a Vince College undergraduate majoring in history and family studies who won the department's coveted Anthony Tarantoniozacrio Award for the Most Promising Undergraduate History Student. He hails from Gardner, Massachusetts. In addition to history, Patrick says he is enthusiastic about hackysack and hanging out. The Battle of the Bulge By Patrick Frenstrom ('14) Ok. So its the world war and George C. Scott - who you have to see in Exorcist III - is all like yo, Hitler we're gonna kick your butt. And Hitler's all like noooo. So there this big attack somewhere and the Americans are cold because it's the winter and there's snow everywhere and this was before global warming. So all these Notzee's are like we're going to lose the war if George C. Scott keeps beating our butts here in Europe so we need to have a big counter attack and George C. Scott in the movie is all like nobody would attack in the winter and we're kicking the Notzee's ASS so therefore that's what I believe they are going to do. Dude is right, Hitler's all like we're attacking and they do. The germans need to win the bulge because if they don't the USA wins and British. So instead of going back to germany the germans fight for the bulge and at one point the pantsers, which are like tanks, a division of them and they surround 101 USA airborne troops in this small town. It was a seize for a bunch of days. So the USA troops are cold like I said and they want to win but they are surrounded and the german general sends a note to the USA general and says SURRENDER!!! and the USA general goes deez nutz! And everybody laughs. -'Hitler' spelled backward spells 'RELTIH' - World War II cost over $1 million in 1940s money - that's nearly $100,000 in contemporary dollars! - I'm pretty sure my grampa is lying when he says he fought in the army. He has hands like a girl's.

Memorial Day is here, which means it's time to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our right to sleep in and be unproductive on national holidays. The staff of the Vince College Review would rather die than dishonor the memories of these heroes by toiling away in defiance of the rights they fought so hard to secure. In that spirit, please enjoy this classic issue of the Vince College Review while the editorial staff uses the time they might have spent working to do more important things, like perfect the recipe of the ultimate frozen cocktail - 'The Man's Kiss.' In September 1939, a ragtag band of German soldiers strode across the world's most ineptly defended border and into history. They thought they were conquering Poland, but they were stepping into history as the first combatants of the best-selling war of all time: Planet Clash! (Upon its American release, Planet Clash was renamed World War II) It's a conflict whose effects are still being felt today, from the "iron curtain" that divides Europe between East and West to the endless anecdotes of our obnoxious uncles, most of whom probably served on laundry ships and who got those Purple Hearts after cutting their hands on broken beer bottles. Whatever the case, it sells a lot of books, and it's in that spirit that the crack historians of the Vince College Review tackle this fascinating conflict from all sides. Vince College Interview Everything you think you know about World War II is wrong. At least that's what controversial historian Hans Jaenger believes. You'd be surprised to learn what else Jaenger believes. Come look inside as Jaenger takes the hot seat and answers the tough questions of the notoriously brutal Vince College Interview. More Inside... Gardening, Working, Shunning: Cowardly Civilians Did Their Part Everyone is familiar with iconic images from World War II such as Rosie the Riveter and Virgil, the Dog Who Bites Traitors. But these colorful posters were actually little-seen at the time: wartime censors worried that the image of a woman's bare arm would so enrage the populace that the famous Rosie posters were never actually shown in public until 1974. Far more familiar to Americans of the war era (1941-1947) were the countless newsreels made by the U.S. Department of War Information. These short films – shown as previews to feature films of the day, and often made by some of Hollywood's top filmmakers - instructed Americans on the homefront in everything from the need to buy war bonds to the critical role beets played in defeating Hitler. Here are some of the more famous newsreels: THIS IS AMERICA, CHARLIE. . . KEEP IT FREE! (1943) A common device of newsreels was to contrast the freedoms of the United States with the oppression of Nazi Germany and Soviet Japan. This film is typical of the genre, showing Americans doing things that were impossible in those nations: voting, going to church, swimming, kissing, carving pumpkins, attending staged wrestling matches, and being tall. At the time of its release, some questions were raised about its accuracy: some civil rights groups, for example, claimed that the 3rd Amendment to the Constitution did not enshrine Coca-Cola as the official "drink of freedom." LABOR'S MIGHT - HITLER'S DELIGHT! (1944) This film was scripted by Harold Gray, creator of popular comic strip "Lil Orphan Annie," and it reflected his deep antipathy toward labor unions. The film shows a fictionalized struggle between factory workers and a wealthy owner in which the workers are covertly supported by an oddly rotund Joseph Goebbels, who bakes them cookies and urges them to vote for Roosevelt. Widely reviled upon its release, original reels of the film were among the first items shot by the U.S. space program into the sun. THE REICH IS UGLY, TOO (1943) World War II was not just a struggle between armies, but a conflict of ideologies. To make freedom and democracy appealing, America had to become a showcase for those virtues. That was the thinking behind this film, which urged parents to keep ugly children indoors for the duration of the war effort. The idea was that if American children were seen as universally good-looking, it would sap Axis morale as well as win over neutral countries to the Allies' cause. The film had some unfortunate consequences, though, as when a group of patriotic filmgoers in Muncie, Ind. stoned several fat children after watching the newsreel. Luckily, fat people have no feelings. THE 'V' IN 'VAGRANT' MEANS 'VICTORY' (1942) All classes and types of Americans were caught up in supporting the war effort: women went to work, children collected scrap, and Japanese-Americans patriotically were imprisoned in camps. This mobilization also affected America's vast underclass: hoboes, tramps, train-hoppers, juiceheads, rummies, goodtime gals, panners, goldbricks, and straight-up bums all did their part. This film sought to enlist this transient population of human flotsam to the Allied cause by asking them to spy on Italian neighbors and, when purse-snatching, to turn in stolen jewelry to scrap drives. Walter Brennan did a star turn as the President of Hobo Mountain. NATIONS UNITED, NATIONS FREE (1945) With victory on the horizon, newsreels began imagining what life would be like after the final defeat of fascism. This film spotlighted America's allies in the war, and is remarkable today for its unstintingly positive portrayal of the Soviet Union. Communism is called "Americanism with a moustache and a hankering for potatoes" and Josef Stalin is several times called the heavyweight champion of the world. The film also has positive things to say about the French - "They managed to escape total annihilation," narrator Bing Crosby notes - and winningly concludes that the Chinese "recently became fully human." The film is today much sought after by collectors for the coda in which former Vice President Henry Wallace welcomes America's newest allies – the people of Saturn.

World War II in Poster Form Recommended reading: "Incredibly tedious!" -Pope Benedict XVI "I really hated it!" - Everyone else Buy it today! Or don't!

 

 

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