Background
World War Two took place between the years 1939-1945. The two sides were the Allied powers, which included the United States, France, and Great Britain, and the Axis Powers who included Germany, Japan, and Italy. The main goal of the Allied Powers in the war was to put an end to the Nazi party in Germany, and to stop the spread of communism in Eastern Europe. With the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Berlin, two of the biggest battles in the war, World War Two went down as one of the deadliest wars in history, with a death toll from anywhere between 50 million and 80 million. With the end of the war in reach for the Allied Powers, in 1945 the United States dropped 2 atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The devastation of these bombs put fear into the Germans and Japanese, and around a month later on September 2nd, the last Axis Power, Japan, surrendered to the Allies. We were able to speak with Charles Seay, a bomber pilot in the war, and he told us about his experiences in the war, and how life was like being in the war and fighting for the United States Army Air Corps.
Historical Contextualization
World War Two was the greatest war in world history, it introduced new world powers especially the United States, new war technologies, and changed the way people thought about war. It also created many organizations such as the United Nations and THe United States first Central Intelligence agency. It introduced nuclear weapons and sparked new wars including the cold war and the war in Afghanistan. This helped the United States in instilling fear in other countries because at the time we were the only ones with the nuclear bomb. It created a new suburbia environment that changed American culture to be more centered around family values. During the time of the war women and all citizens started working to help war efforts. This increased patriotism throughout the country and brought the country together under one cause.
Podcast Audio
Essential Focus
For our podcast we wanted to focus on four main ideas that we felt were most important to understanding the veteran’s experience in WWII. We wanted to know how informed American soldiers were on the Holocaust, and after our interview we all agree that they were much less informed than you would think. Most soldiers, and most people in general, knew very little about the Holocaust because the government wanted to keep it under wraps as to minimize its impact in America which is surprising because you would think that everyone would know about the atrocities going on in the camps. Another key point we were wondering about was how the soldiers felt about everything going on back at home during the war while they were away. We discovered that soldiers were actually very aware of what was going on back at home and knew about everything from the rationing to Rosie the Riveter and the surge of women in the workforce. They admired how the country came together to support the war and how everyone made sacrifices for their country.
We also wondered how effective the propaganda during the war was and if it really made a difference and through our interview we came to realize that both the national attitude as well as the way the war was portrayed at home played a huge role in motivating Americans to join the war effort in whatever way they could. As earlier mentioned, Rosie the Riveter was extremely successful in pushing women to join the workforce and many young men who felt similarly to our veteran Mr. Charles Seay, who said he felt a need to join because he was “patriotic,” to join the military. We learned that most Americans absolutely hated the Axis Powers during the war years both because of how prominent nationalism was and also because that is what everyone was taught, to hate the enemy Our last main area of focus was the soldiers opinions of the Axis Powers after the war as well as how they felt about the atomic bomb being dropped. While many of the soldiers hated the enemy during the war, most eventually forgave them and moved on from their feelings that they had held during WWII. As for the nuclear bomb, most people and soldiers had no idea that it was going to be used, but most soldiers, including our veteran, did agree and like the fact that it was used because it finally ended the war. Mr. Seay had no knowledge prior to the dropping of the bomb that we would use nuclear weapons to end the war but the end of the war was very important to him. As for our veteran’s opinion on the Axis Powers now, he has visited both Japan and Germany and has, in his words, “no enemies anywhere in the world.”
We also wondered how effective the propaganda during the war was and if it really made a difference and through our interview we came to realize that both the national attitude as well as the way the war was portrayed at home played a huge role in motivating Americans to join the war effort in whatever way they could. As earlier mentioned, Rosie the Riveter was extremely successful in pushing women to join the workforce and many young men who felt similarly to our veteran Mr. Charles Seay, who said he felt a need to join because he was “patriotic,” to join the military. We learned that most Americans absolutely hated the Axis Powers during the war years both because of how prominent nationalism was and also because that is what everyone was taught, to hate the enemy Our last main area of focus was the soldiers opinions of the Axis Powers after the war as well as how they felt about the atomic bomb being dropped. While many of the soldiers hated the enemy during the war, most eventually forgave them and moved on from their feelings that they had held during WWII. As for the nuclear bomb, most people and soldiers had no idea that it was going to be used, but most soldiers, including our veteran, did agree and like the fact that it was used because it finally ended the war. Mr. Seay had no knowledge prior to the dropping of the bomb that we would use nuclear weapons to end the war but the end of the war was very important to him. As for our veteran’s opinion on the Axis Powers now, he has visited both Japan and Germany and has, in his words, “no enemies anywhere in the world.”