1945 – Page 15 – Old Magazine Articles

African-Americans in the U.S. Army (Yank Magazine, 1945)

Here are a few fast facts about the African-Americans who served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War (it should be noted that the record keeping in 1945 was not nearly as accurate as they had hoped; the number of Black servicemen and women was way off compared to what is known today. Pentagon figures today number W.W. II African-American service at 1.2 million).

Those councilors who advised FDR on all matters African-American were popularly known as the Black Brain Trust…

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The Hat Superstition that was Reliable… (Pathfinder Magazine, 1945)

As far as superstitions and clothing are concerned, hats seem to be the one garment that has the most unfounded and irrational precepts attached to their existence. Plentiful are the dictates pertaining to where hats should never be placed or worn – these superstitions existed centuries before the Second World War, but for one citizen of San Angelo, Texas, he had his own beliefs where hats are concerned and some believed that, as a result, he was able to save the lives of 56 American servicemen…

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1940’s Sportswear for Men (Collier’s Magazine, 1945)

Halfway through 1944 American magazines began their individual count-downs until the war’s end; running with articles about the post-war world, the end of rationing, the demobilized military and the guaranteed boom that would come in the menswear industry. The attached fashion editorial appeared early in 1945 promotes the versatility of gabardine wool, it’s earliest appearance in the Middle ages, it’s use in uniforms and it’s newest application in sportswear.

The article is illustrated with five terrific color photographs.

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World War Two Fabric Shortages (Yank, 1945)

A one page article explaining what fabric rationing was and how it effected the fashion landscape of 1940s America.

Read a 1940s fashion article about fabric restrictions and the War Production Board.

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Fashion Symbolism in Wartime Attire (Yank Magazine, 1945)

This was an unusual article for Yank to run with but it is a wonderful read nonetheless. The column concerns fashion as a reliable barometer of societal direction and starts out with a quote from Basil Liddell-Hart (1895 – 1970) on this issue. The writer then goes to the author and all-around fashion philosopher, Elizabeth Hawes (1903 – 1971) who proceeded to speak thoughtfully on the topic of fashion in wartime. Hawes remarked that the clothing of the leaders can be read as an indicator of forthcoming events.

CLICK HERE to read about the beautiful Blonde Battalions who spied for the Nazis…

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The P-47N (Collier’s Magazine, 1945)

A printable one page article that expounds on the evolution of the P-47 Thunderbolt through varying stages of development into the fuel-efficient juggernaut called the P-47N. Remembered in the World War II annals as the dependable escort of the B-29 Super fortresses that bedeviled the axis capitals during the closing months of the war.

No sacrifice was made in ammunition, guns or protective armor to provide the P-47N with this long range. It still carries eight 50.-caliber guns, four in each wing. It also can carry 10 five-inch rockets which pack the destructive power of five-inch artillery or naval shells.

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Their Kamikaze Defense (Newsweek Magazine, 1945)

In a land where white is the color of mourning and black is the color of ceremony, where newspapers are read from right to left, this may have been a logical strategy. It was annunciated last week by the head of the Japanese government, Premiere Kantaro Suzuki… The upside-down Japanese mind could make the cost of conquest terribly expensive in American lives.

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The End of the War in Berlin (Yank Magazine, 1945)

YANK correspondent Mack Morris wandered through the fallen Nazi capital of Berlin two days after it’s collapse and recorded his observations:

There were Russians in the the square, dancing and a band played. In Unter den Linden were the bodies of dead civilians, the dust of their famous street like grease paint on their faces.

Click here to read about the German surrender proceedings that took place in the French city of Reims on May 6, 1945.

Click here to read about the inmate rebellions that took place at Auschwitz, Sobibor and Triblinka.

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– When the Home Front Became the Front Itself (Newsweek Magazine, 1945)

Berliners with an ear cocked to the cold east wind could hear the drums of doom: The heavy roll of Russian artillery along the Oder River. By night, flares from Soviet planes bombing the Berlin-Frankfurt highway lit up the eastern horizon.

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The Plot to Kill Hitler (Yank Magazine, 1945)

During the summer of 1945, Yank reporter Corporal Howard Katzander, spent some time among the Third Army’s prisoners of war where he happened upon a German senior officer who was in a very talkative mood:

The story he was telling was the story of why the war did not end last July. It was the story of the attempt to assassinate Hitler and he knew all about it. Because this was Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Kuebart, a member of the Wermacht General Staff, and one of the original plotters.

Published in June of 1945, this must have been the first English language article about the Valkyrie plot.

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