The fabulous jewels worn by the stars in movies look like the real thing, but they are all paste. Most of this fake splendor is produced by Joan Castle Joseff of Hollywood (1912 – 2010) whose factory turns out 90 percent of the jewelry used in pictures. Sometimes an order must be filled in twenty-four hours, to avoid holding up a costly production.
During the last miserable days of 1944 came this one page, first person account by a common American soldier marching through a shell-pocked German landscape. The fellow went to great effort to describe the general discomfort experienced by all those GIs privileged enough to be posted at the spearhead of that winter advance through the Hürtgen Forest. Halting in frozen rain and blinding winds, his platoon languished around a liberated Nazi pillbox where it was decided that each of them should enjoy a three hour respite inside to escape the cold. When it was our hero’s turn he explains how nice it was to be surrounded by four walls and a roof.
Click here to read about the mobile pill boxes of the Nazi army.
A brief article published some six months after the Armistice in which the editors collected various opinion pieces from assorted German newspapers that clearly stated the deep hatred many Germans felt for their former king. Also mentioned was the possibility that the dethroned Kaiser could possibly stand trial before the court of Nations.
The rotten branch on the Hohenzollern tree must be broken off, so that the tree may once more bloom and flourish. William II is superficial, frivolous, vain, and and autocratic; a lover of pomp; proud of his money, void of seriousness; a petty worshiper of his own petty self; without one trait of greatness, a poseur, an actor, and worst of all for a ruler: a coward.
Click here to read what the Kaiser thought of Adolf Hitler.
While serving as FDR’s Federal Reserve chairman between 1934 and 1948, Marriner Stoddard Eccles (1890 – 1977) put into play numerous policies that allowed the Federal Reserve to be sublimated to the interests of the Treasury; as a result, he is largely remembered as the patron saint of deficit spending. When he left that position during the Truman administration he went on the lecture circuit where he repeatedly condemned both the post-war economic policy as well as the Cold War policies of the State Department. The attached article summarizes a talk he gave at the University of Maryland in February of 1950.
Click here to read a Cold War editorial by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.
In the aftermath of World War II Germany found themselves occupied by four armies; in the attached article General Eisenhower explained what the policy of the German occupation was to be:
‘His idea is that the biggest job for right now is riding herd on the rehabilitation of Germany’s political and economic structure…We are working toward a government of Germany by the Germans under the supervision of the Allied General Control Council,’ he said. The government will pass more and more under German civil control. At first we’ll have to look down the German’s necks in everything they do.’
-To read more 1940s articles about General Eisenhower, click here.
The furniture made available for private purchase to British officers during World War One was a far cry from that which their Victorian father’s enjoyed; however, the thought of going off to war without camp furniture at all was foreign to them. The page illustrates the simple, collapsible furniture that was approved by the British War Office for use in the field.
By the close of 1952 it became evident to anyone who followed the events in Asia that the army of the Republic of Korea (ROK) had evolved into a competent and reliable fighting force; highly disciplined and well-lead, it was finally able to both take and hold ground while simultaneously inflicting heavy casualties on their the enemies. Gone from the mind was that South Korean army of 1950: that retreating mob that quickly surrendered their nation’s capital to the on-rushing Communists just three days into the war, leaving in their wake a trail of badly needed equipment.
After a year and a half of the most vicious combat, the ROK Army put in place the badly needed reforms that were demanded if the war was to be won. Relying on their own combat veterans as well as their United Nation’s allies, recruits were clearly schooled in what was required to survive in battle. As relieved as the many Western commanders were to see how effectively the South Koreans were able to create such a force, the liabilities of this army were still genuine and they are listed in this article as well.
When this small piece was published there was a lot of talk concerning the blessings of the tin can. Recycling was in its infancy on the home fronts during the Second World War and tin played a big part for both the military (you can read about that here) and civilly (the home preservation of fruits and vegetables). This short article will tell you more about this helpful invention that aided in the allied victory.
John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (1866 – 1929), Member of Parliament, publisher of THE CAR and all-around advocate for the internal combustion engine gave an address in which he extolled the virtues of the automobile in societal evolution. Some of the virtues are just plain quaint while others touch upon elements of Edwardian life we would never consider. Lord Montagu innocently believed that motorists would play a part as unofficial ambassadors; traveling abroad, joyfully chatting with one and all and thereby decreasing the chances of a European war.
He would have been surprised to know what an active roll the automobile played throughout both world wars.
By the time this item appeared in print, the Balkan War (1912-1913), was over however some of the swells of Europe put their crowned heads together and collectively came up with the best Medeival plan they could think of in order to insure the promise of peace. The plan was to have:
• the Czar’s daughter, Grand Duchess Olga (1895 – 1918), would wed Serbia’s Crown Prince Alexander
• the Czar’s second daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana (1897 – 1918), was promised to Rumania’s Crown Prince Charles (1893 – 1959)
• All concerned agreed that Rumania’s Pricess Elizabeth (1894 – 1956) and Crown Prince George of Greece (1890 – 1947) would make a simply splendid couple (they divorced in 1935).
