1947

Articles from 1947

The Marshall Plan: Rebuilding Europe (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

The Marshall Plan was a U.S. Government aid program that was instrumental in the reconstruction and economic resurrection of 16 Western European nations following the devastation caused by the Second World War. It is named for Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who co-authored the initiative with the help of the prominent business leader William Clayton, and the American diplomat George F. Kennan.


The attached article concerns the first draft of the scheme that was drawn-up by Marshall and the representatives of these 16 nations during the Summer/Fall of 1947. The amount of cash to be distributed (and paid back over a period of 30 years) was $22.44 billion.


Marshall knew that such an economic stimulant (and the liberties that would follow) would serve to guarantee that Western Europe would not fall into clutches of the Soviet Union.


To read about the Soviet reaction to the Marshall Plan, Click here


Read more articles from PATHFINDER MAGAZINE…

The Marshall Plan: Rebuilding Europe (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947) Read More »

The Soviet Reaction to the Marshall Plan (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

To paraphrase Second Corinthians: Europe’s despair was Stalin’s opportunity – he delighted in the post-war unemployment, the inflation and the general lack of confidence in their governmental institutions. When the Marshall Plane came to the rescue in rebuilding Europe, the Soviets knew they were licked. This article reveals how totally bummed the Soviets were over the broad European acceptance of the Marshall plan. They hated it.

The Soviet Reaction to the Marshall Plan (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947) Read More »

America’s Favorite Illustrator (Pageant Magazine, 1947)

Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1978) once remarked in an interview:


“The view of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and the ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be.”


– and his vision was shared with millions of Americans. He had a fondness for depicting everyday life in small town America, childhood friendships, family life, middle school sporting events and (as discussed in the attached article) the Boy Scouts. He knew who he was; he never referred to himself as an artist, he called himself an illustrator.

America’s Favorite Illustrator (Pageant Magazine, 1947) Read More »

Thoughts on Blouses (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

By the time 1947 was coming to a close, an enormous shift in the fashion winds had taken place that altered the silhouette of the fashionable woman. Waists were narrow, hips were padded – and the hemline had dropped as much as twelve inches. The New Look out of Paris dictated the appearances of suits and evening wear, but blouses were left out of the revolution – everyone had to figure it out for themselves and hope that the couturiers from across the sea would come to the rescue the following season.



Thoughts on Blouses (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947) Read More »

Modular Housing (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947)

After eight years of research, the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association and the Producers’ Council, an organization of building materials manufacturers, have polished up all the known short-cut, dollar-saving methods in building, packaged them into an industry-wide program, and labeled them the ‘four-inch module plan.’… The house is built on of three sections, each 16 x 24 feet, and bolted at floor, walls and roof. Wall joints are hidden by cabinets; by simply removing top and side cabinets, bolts can be loosened and the house readied for moving on trailers.

Modular Housing (Pathfinder Magazine, 1947) Read More »

The Tired Russians (Collier’s Magazine, 1947)

This article goes into greater length to confirm what U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan (1904 – 2005) observed in his famous 1947 article Sources of Soviet Conduct (FOREIGN AFFAIRS, July 1947) – that the Russian people were physically and spiritually exhausted. After the terrible strain and sacrifice of the Second World War they were gleefully anticipating some much needed rest; they didn’t get it and they weren’t very happy about it.

The standard of living in Russia has never been very high, but even despite his natural stoicism, the average citizen feels he has a good reason to be disgruntled with his life… Like any other totalitarian state, the Soviet state has done its best to paint a larger than life-size picture of its citizens. It likes to describe them as steel-hard heroes with an inflexible will, living for nothing but the great ideal of a Communist future, laughing at difficulties, gaily grasping with hard ship – a continent of Douglas Fairbankses. This is just a bit too good to be true, and the last one to be taken in by it is the average Russian.

The Tired Russians (Collier’s Magazine, 1947) Read More »

Henri Landru, Monsieur Verdux and Charlie Chaplin (Rob Wagner’s Script, 1947)

Attached is an article about the Charlie Chaplin film, Monsieur Verdux (1947) and the monstrous beast Henri Landru -the French murderer on whom the story is loosely based. This article was written by Gordon Kahn, remembered chiefly in our own time as one of the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriters of the post-World War II period. Not too long after this article was written he went into self-exile in Mexico.

Henri Landru, Monsieur Verdux and Charlie Chaplin (Rob Wagner’s Script, 1947) Read More »