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WW 2 History Club

27 – Jul - 2011

The The Home Home FrontFront

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The Home Front

"But there is one front and one battle where everyone in the United States - every man, woman, and child - is in action… That front is right here at home, in our daily lives.“

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1942

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Home Front Topics

Dozens of topics; had to pick just a few and focus on US only (see Daily Items on web site for more)

1. Total War

2. Transformation of Washington, DC and the Federal Government

3. Manufacturing Miracle

4. Women – the other American soldiers

5. Propaganda in WWII

6. Eyewitness – Gene Talanek

Interest Groups?

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Total War

WWII was total war

WWII was a war between ideologies and between production systems. The superior production system would win.

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Total War

“Orators, columnists, professors, preachers, and propagandists performed magnificently with the theme that World War II was a war between two ideologies. But what ever inflamed people's minds in warring countries, victory was on the side of the heaviest-armed battalions. The conflict became one of two systems of production.”

Charles Sorensen, The Biggest Challenge of My Life

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Total War

Destroying factories and the enemy’s ability to wage war was as important as destroying its armies.

The bomber did not always get through but for the first time, virtually any location within the enemy’s borders could be attacked.

Everyone was a combatant

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Transformation of Washington, DC and the Federal Government

Pre WWII: sleepy southern city

US Federal Government was completely unprepared (worse than industry or military)

Little was in place to cope

Traditional Federal government was inept

New Dealers were not capable

A 2nd government took shape to manage the US through WWII

New Deal aside, Fed Govt did not place a significant role

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Stabilization of the Economy

• As the war began, FDR attempted to stabilize the national economy by creating an Office of Economic Stabilization led by an Economic Director.

• In the process, the president assumes an unprecedented executive control over the American economy.

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Transformation of Washington, DC and the Federal Government

Alphabet Soup (just a sample!)

AWPC Aircraft War Production Council

NDAC National Defense Advisory Commission

NDMB National Defense Mediation Board

NDRC National Defense Research Commission

NJAC National Joint Aircraft Commission

ODT Office of Defense Transportation

OEM Office of Emergency Management

OPA Office of Price Administration

OPACS Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply

OPM Office of Production Management

OSRD Office of Scientific Research and Development

OWI Office of War Information

PAW Petroleum Administration for War

SPAB Supply Priorities and Allocation Board

WMC War Manpower Commission

WOW Women Ordnance Workers

WPCC War Production Coordinating Committee

WPM War Production Board

OCI Office of Coordinator of Information

OSS Office of Strategic Services

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

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Paying for the War

Demand for labor

Wages and Prices

Controlling Labor

Controlling Inflation

War bonds

Beginning of modern income tax

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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TAKES CONTROL OF INFLATION

• With prices of goods threatening to rise out of control, FDR responded by creating the Office of Price Administration (OPA)

• The OPA froze prices on most goods and encouraged the purchase of war bonds to fight inflation (siphon off excess cash)

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Financing The War • Federal government encouraged

citizens to purchase war bonds. • By borrowing money, ~ 40% of the

cost of the war. • high levels of deficit spending also

boosted the national debt five-fold from 1940 – 1945.

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Financing The War • Income tax funded most

of the war • 4 million paid in 1940• 60 million in 1945• Withholding initiated

• Fed Govt finally had a continuoussource of funds

• WWII came and went• Income Tax came and

stayed

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Rationing • The productive capacity of the

United States during World War II surpassed all expectations.

• Americans at home were asked to conserve materials and to accept ration coupons or stamps that limited the purchase of certain products such as:– Gasoline **– Rubber– Sugar– Butter– Certain cloths

• American responses to rationing varied from cheerful compliance to resigned grumbling to black market subversion and profiteering.

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Inflation & Food Prices • Facing rapidly increasing food

prices and wage rates, FDR submitted a bill to Congress on September 7, 1942.

• Roosevelt spoke to the American people that evening warning that farm prices may succumb to drastic inflation unless the government establishes further price controls.

• He also explained to the nation the need for the government to increase the federal income tax rates.

• The Office of Price Administration established price controls to control inflation.

• Congress passed a stabilization bill on October 2nd.

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“Victory Gardens”

• Farm labor migrating to defense work and into military

• Office of War Mobilization encouraged citizens to participate via Victory Gardens

• Help lower cost of feeding the troops

• Help manage inflation.

• 40% of all the produce grown during the war

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Transformation of Washington, DC and the Federal Government

1940:

sleepy southern city

Modest presence

Hardship assignment

4 million paying taxes

New Deal was dead

Isolated

Economic potential

Rollercoaster Military

Major World Player

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center of the free world

Fed Govt everywhere

Coveted assignment

60 million paying taxes

Another deal is brewing

International oversight

60% of world output

Large Standing Military

True Superpower

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Manufacturing Miracle

Effect of the Depression

Industrial potential

Jump start from Europe

Virtually everything mined, manufactured, grown or transported

Every business – large or small

Need for much increased labor force

Federally subsidized factories

Assembly lines and the American Way

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Manufacturing Miracle

Quantity and Efficiency (often cut costs and time in half)

Bearings, rifles, gunpowder

Uniforms and boots (5600 sizes, 200M in ’44)

Weapons Systems• The best design is only as good as the ability to

manufacture, deploy and service

• German tanks were elegant designs and extremely deadly, but ultimately failures as weapons systems

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War Production Board (WPB)

• To ensure the troops had ample resources, FDR created the WPB

• The WPB decided which companies would convert to wartime production and how to best allocate raw materials to those industries

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A Production Miracle

• Americans converted their auto industry into a war industry

• The nation’s automobile plants began to produce tanks, planes, boats, and command cars

• Most other industries also converted to war-related supplies

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Aircraft Production

Ranking behind the USSR, Britain & Germany in 1939, the Ranking behind the USSR, Britain & Germany in 1939, the U.S. became the top aircraft producer in the world by 1941. U.S. became the top aircraft producer in the world by 1941. By war's end, the U.S. had produced 86,500 more aircraft By war's end, the U.S. had produced 86,500 more aircraft

than Germany, Italy & Japan combined & tripled the than Germany, Italy & Japan combined & tripled the combined output of Germany & Japan.combined output of Germany & Japan.

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Merchant Ship Production

Another insightful statistic illustrating the United States' enormous industrial output is the gross tonnage of

merchant ships built during the war. When compared with England and Japan, the second and third largest fleets

respectively, the U.S. output is staggering.

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Manufacturing Miracle

$1,500,000,000,000 (2010 $)

41,000,000,000 rounds of ammo

2,600,000 machine guns

2,400,000 trucks

200,000 defense companies

126,839 gun carriages

5,600 merchant ships

79,125 landing craft

5,000 hours / soldier

24 lbs /man/day

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Manufacturing Miracle

“The Axis powers turned out more human robots than war machines. Although Hitler's armament was formidable and fearsome, it would have been more so had it come from mass production Henry Ford-Detroit style. The seeds of United Nations victory in 1945 were sown in 1908 in the Piquette Avenue plant of Ford Motor Company when we experimented with a moving assembly line. Thirty-five years later everything from artillery shells to giant four-engine bombers came off assembly lines in the same method that we first developed when turning out Model Ts.”

Charles Sorensen, The Biggest Challenge of My Life

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Manufacturing Miracle

Video:

Birth of the B29

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Women in WWII

The American women won WWII for the Allies

Without the American women, the manufacturing miracle would not have happened

American women were different

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Women in the Workforce • Workforce shortage? • Men depart for the military• Women in the war industries would only

be temporary• Perceived problems

– No understanding of machinery– Could not do heavy work– Disturbing influence on male workers– Not readily teachable– Facilities for women

• Actual problems– Lack of facilities– Dress code / safety code compliance– Absenteeism

• Unexpected results– Better at many jobs– Less easily bored (saw the big picture)– Increased production

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Women in the Workforce • Govt launched propaganda campaign

to sell the importance of the war effort and to lure women into working.

• Promoted fictional character* of “Rosie the Riveter” as the ideal woman worker: loyal, efficient, patriotic, and pretty.

• Women responded to the call to work differently depending on age, race, class, marital status, and number of children.

• Half of the women who took war jobs were minority and lower-class women already in the workforce, moving from lower-paying traditionally female jobs to higher-paying factory jobs.

* “Girl From Lockheed”

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Women and the Homefront• public resistance to the idea of

working mothers: lower rate of women aged 25 to 34 in the work force.

• Rationing made home life more labor intensive

• Women in big cities felt this squeeze more

• Women’s magazine

• Uniform glamour factor created need for “better looking” factory attire and created WOW

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LABOR’S CONTRIBUTION

• By 1944, nearly 18 million workers were laboring in war industries (3x the # in 1941)

• More than 6 million of these were women (36%) and nearly 2 million were minorities

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Women and The Home Front

Video:

String of Pearls

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Propaganda

Anything that attempts to influence opinion

Books, magazines, posters, movies, cartoons, newspapers, …

Get the population behind the war

Get the population to hate the enemy

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Home Front Propaganda

• 1940 – 41: US public was against foreign involvement

• However, the government (FDR) recognized that American participation was necessary, and quickly stepped up pro-war propaganda.

• This was not very successful until after Pearl Harbor, when the war no longer seemed comfortably distant but very close to home.

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Home Front Propaganda

• It was also necessary to begin stepping up production and conservation of materials for the war effort, because the Allies only real advantage was their great production power.

• As the war began in earnest, America increased the flood of propaganda, utilizing the radio and visual media, most specifically posters. Thousands of posters were created on virtually every subject

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Home Front Propaganda

• Hollywood contributed with not so subtle propaganda films and the very effective use of animation.

• 90 million Americans went to the movies once a month. Movies and cartoons were very effective propaganda.

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Demonizing the Enemy

During the war, both sides attempted to demonize their adversary. During the war, both sides attempted to demonize their adversary. In these American posters, the Germans and Japanese are depicted in In these American posters, the Germans and Japanese are depicted in

less than flattering light.less than flattering light.

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Encourage Production

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Discourage Careless Talk

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Encourage Participation

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Encourage Rationing

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WWII Propaganda

Video:

Der Fehruer’s Face

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The Home Front

Eyewitness:

Gene Talanek

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Sources

Miracle of World War II – How American Industry Made Victory Possible, Francis Walton

My Forty Years With Ford, Charles Sorensen

Our Mother’s War – American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II, Emily Yellin

War and Society – The United States, 1941-1945, Richard Polenberg

War Lords of Washington, Bruce Catton

Washington Goes to War, David Brinkley

Web-Based Sources:

Northwestern’s Library Collection of WWII Posters (on-line)

The Home Front (PP file: 17TheWWIIHomeFront), Alyson Westby

THE US in WWII (PP File: A C 17 US CHAPTER 17.ppt), John Naisbitt