Articles from Collier’s Magazine
One of the many now-it-can-be-told stories of the early post-war period had to be that friction that existed on the SHAEF staff between British General Bernard Law Montgomery and General Eisenhower. It is recalled herein by the noted English war correspondent Alan Moorehead (1910 — 1983).
Montgomery’s Quarrel with Eisenhower (Collier’s Magazine, 1946) Read More »
When LIFE MAGAZINE ran a cheese cake picture of Diana Barrymore (1921 – 1960) on the cover of their July 31, 1939 issue
The Barrymore Girl (Collier’s Magazine, 1942) Read More »
When LIFE MAGAZINE ran a cheese cake picture of Diana Barrymore (1921 – 1960) on the cover of their July 31, 1939 issue
The Barrymore Girl (Collier’s Magazine, 1942) Read More »
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 »
An anonymous opinion piece that was published in the August 24, 1946 issue of COLLIER’S MAGAZINE in which the writer expressed his astonishment in finding that peacetime, after such a hard-fought victory, should seem so anti-climactic:
Consumers goods are so scarce everywhere that all major countries are suffering more or less inflation. A wave of big strikes in this country earlier this year slowed production badly, so that it seems impossible for us to freeze our own relatively mild inflation at its present point.
One Year After the War (Collier’s Magazine, 1946) Read More »
If you’ve been wondering what the stylish Yankee beaus of yore used to wear during the Summer of 1941 when they plopped themselves down to read about the British occupation of Syria or the Nazi siege of Leningrad, then you can stop looking because we have the article right here – it is the summer fashion forecast from COLLIER’S MAGAZINE of May 24, 1941 – illustrated with no fewer than three color images:
The newest color for vacation clothes is parchment, one of the natural tan shades. Don’t be afraid that you’ll look like a member of the street-cleaning department in a white linen suit. Even the Duke of Windsor wears one. It is ideal for vacation wear, as the jacket may be worn with colored slacks, the trousers with other light weight jackets…. For week-end and vacation wear you can choose from tropical worsteds, Palm Beach cloth, tropical weight flannels, linen, seersucker and tropical weight tweeds.
Men’s Suits in the Summer of 1941 (Collier’s Magazine, 1941) Read More »
Léon Degrelle (1906 – 1994) was a Belgian con-man and Nazi collaborator:
Handsome, plausible and glib, politics eventually appealed to him as a field for his talents, but repeated bids for office resulted in defeat. Nothing seemed more certain than that the ‘man with the electric voice’ would remain a local windbag, but in 1935, Adolf Hitler began the development of fifth columns in other countries, and Léon Degrelle was his choice in Belgium.
Berlin’s Man In Brussels (Collier’s Magazine, 1943) Read More »
This is President Herbert Hoover’s recollection as to how his administration addressed the mass demonstrations of W.W. I veterans in need of relief. It is very different from the version recalled in high school history books in that Hoover stated that the order to burn the Anacostia shacks came from General MacArthur, not him.
Read about the the mood of the Great Depression and how it was reflected in the election of 1932 – click here…
President Hoover and the Bonus Marchers (Collier’s Magazine, 1952) Read More »
In this 1952 article, Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States (1929 – 1933) painstakingly explained why he was not responsible for the Great Depression.
‘Don’t Blame Me” (Collier’s Magazine, 1952) Read More »
The use of animals in war is as old as war itself; but the concept of kicking dogs out of perfectly good aircraft so they might be able to parachute onto snowy hilltops and deliver aid to wounded combatants dates to World War II. This printable Collier’s Magazine article tells the story of the Parapups:
Completely G.I., the dogs have service records, serial numbers, enlistment papers and shots against disease. Sentimentalists along the Alaska Division even proposed that they be authorized to wear Parawings after five jumps.
Dogs Used in the Rescue of Downed Pilots (Collier’s, 1945) Read More »
