1936 – Page 3 – Old Magazine Articles

The Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses
(Literary Digest, 1936)

Here is an article concerning the persecution of that Protestant faith so unique to American shores: the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religion that numbered 50,000 world-wide in 1936. The attached article reported on the school expulsions of various assorted young followers for failing to show proper respect to the American flag on campus:

A year ago the first such case, in Pennsylvania, startled the newspapers. ‘If you kill me I won’t salute!’ quavered an eleven year-old schoolboy. He was expelled. Soon after, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, a teacher was was dismissed for refusing to honor ‘the flag of horror and hate.’

Elsa Schiaparelli Recommends…(Photoplay Magazine, 1936)

Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973), Paris’ leading fashion authority of the 1930s tells how to dress inexpensively and yet look smart as a star.:

Cheap jewelery should never be worn unless it happens to be something that you positively know suits you. Pearls, including cheap ones, are always in good taste.

Women can learn from men and improve their ‘chic’. A man wouldn’t think of wearing a tight shoe or one that didn’t harmonize with his suit.

Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph
(American Legion Monthly, 1936)

This chill November morning the Cenotaph is surrounded by serried masses of men. Up and down Whitehall as far as one can see are thousands and thousands packed in so tightly they cannot move…Suddenly from St. James Park comes the sound of a gun. They used to say it was impossible for a British crowd to be quiet. That was before Armistice Day. For the hum of London dies at the sound of the gun…Somewhere in the distance a horse paws the ground and neighs. A flag flaps in the breeze. Never such a silence as this. A King and his people pause sixty seconds in solemn celebration for the dead. It is the Great Hush.

The New Glamour of Velvet
(Literary Digest, 1936)

A 1930s fashion article which perfectly encapsulated some of the heady excitement that filled the air when a new crush-resistant, non-wrinkling, packable, ultra-fashionable velvet hit the market. The material was immediately swooped-up by the glam squad in far-off Hollywood; RKO chief costume designer Walter Plunkett pontificated:

Velvet is the epitome and symbol of elegance.

Not one to be upstaged, Travis Banton (1894 – 1958) Plunckett’s counterpart at Paramount Studios, chimed in declaring:

The flattery and refinement of velvet is supplied by no other material.

Anticipating the Springtime coronation of Edward VIII, thousands of yards of velvet had been manufactured for the occasion.

Click here to read about the woman who dictated many of the fabric restriction rules on the American home front.

Armistice Day Mussolini Style
(American Legion Monthly, 1936)

American World War I veteran John Roberts Tunis (1889 – 1975) was charged with the task of writing about the two Armistice Day ceremonies as they were marked in both London and Rome; needless to say they were entirely different in nature and spirit. The attached piece is an excerpt from that article and reported on the manner in which fascist Italy observed the anniversary of November 11, 1918 – the day World War I came to a close; a war in which Italy lost 1,240,000 men. Tunnis was disgusted to observe how the Italians seemed to learn nothing from the war – Mussolini’s Armistice celebration was drenched in fascist pageantry and the attending masses had far greater interest in their current military adventures in Africa than remembering their sons and fathers who had perished just eighteen years earlier.

British Civilians Trained to Use Gas Masks
(The Literary Digest, 1936)

This article appeared in 1936 and reported that the populations of both England and France were being trained in the general use of gas masks in anticipation of a German invasion.

Even babies will be protected in covered perambulators, into which masked ‘Nannies’ can pump air, forcing it through filter cans. Researchers are working on an infant’s mask with a nipple attachment.

Military Buildup in Belgium
(Literary Digest, 1936)

With a clear understanding as to what was coming down the pike, Belgian Foreign Minister Paul Henri Spaak (1899 – 1972) prevailed upon Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland to push through the Chamber of Deputies a bill increasing the military service from twelve to eighteen months for Belgium’s 44,000 conscripts while at the same time, reinforcing the fortifications along the French border.
Over half the article pertains to the fascist party of Belgium, REX, a group that hardheartedly resisted any such defensive posturing. A few weeks following this printing, Léon Degrelle (1906 – 1994), the leader of REX, the Belgian fascist party, marched on Brussels and brought down the van Zeeland government.

Versailles Treaty Violations
(Literary Digest, 1936)

Attached is an interesting article that announced the Nazi march into the Rhineland as well as the island of Hegoland. The journalist also listed various other Versailles Treaty violations:

• The treaty said that Germany should have no troops in the Rhineland. On March 7 of this year, they marched in.

• The treaty said that Germany should never have a conscript army. On March 16 of this year, conscription was announced by Chancellor Hitler.

• It said that Germany should have no military aviation. She has it.

• It said that the Great German General Staff should be abolished. It was never disbanded.
*Violations of the Versailles Treaty began, in fact, a week before it was signed.

Click here to read an additional article concerning the Versailles Treaty violations.

Calling Out the Kaiser, et al…
(”Our Times”, 1936)

[On January 16, 1920] the Peace Conference at Paris summoned Holland to yield the ex-Kaiser of Germany for trial… In its reply, issued January 23, Holland refused.

The conferees also demanded that Germany hand over some 850 German citizens to stand trial for numerous infractions; needless to say, nothing came of the request.

Grant Wood: Iowa as Muse
(Art Digest, 1936)

An art review of the American painter, Grant Wood (1891 – 1942), and his efforts to illustrate a 1935 children’s book titled Farm on the Hill.

Wood, a reigning member of the Regionalism School in American art, had come into the public eye some six years earlier with the creation of his painting, American Gothic, is quoted in this article concerning his creative process and the importance his vision of Iowa plays while painting:

…Mr Wood seceded from the neo-meditationists of Paris because when he began to meditate he realized that ‘all the really good ideas I’d ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.’

Click here to read a 1942 article by Rockwell Kent on the proper roll of American artists during wartime.

Hermann Goering Named as ‘Economic Dictator’
(Literary Digest, 1936)

Uncle’ Hermann to the masses, ‘Our’ Hermann to the army and big business, Col. Gen. Hermann Wilhelm Goering (1893 – 1946) last week became economic dictator and virtual Vice-Chancellor of the Third Reich.

Adolf Hitler dropped into his brawny, outstretched arms full power to carry out the gigantic plan which aims at making the Nazi State economically self-sufficient [in four years].

Hermann Goering Named as ‘Economic Dictator’
(Literary Digest, 1936)

Adolf Hitler dropped into his brawny, outstretched arms full power to carry out the gigantic plan which aims at making the Nazi State economically self-sufficient [in four years].

Elsie Janis Entertained the Doughboys
(American Legion Monthly, 1936)

The Americans who fought in the Second World War had Bob Hope to entertain them, and their fathers who fought in the First had Elsie Janis (1889 – 1956). Like Hope, Janis traveled close to the front lines and told the troops jokes, and sang them songs – making it clear all the while that her sympathies and affections for the Doughboys were strong – and they, in turn, loved her right back. In the attached 1936 reminiscence Janis recalls some of her experiences from the six months in which she entertained the American Army in France; she also speaks of her roll entertaining the volunteer American Army of the 1930s, as well.

Click here to read about the U.S.O. entertainers…

Danzig Nazis
(The Literary Digest, 1936)

The attached 1936 magazine article presents a picture of the Polish city of Danzig as it was during the mid-thirties. It was a city in which Danzig Nazis, like Arthur Karl Greiser, spoke of making that town a part of Germany once more (it was ordained a Polish city as a result of the Versailles Treaty) and Minister Joseph Beck who liked everything just the way it was, thank you very much.

NAZI PATIENCE: Neither Beck nor Hitler is anxious to come to a break over Danzig. Hitler, a sworn enemy of Soviet Russia, advises his Danzig Nazis to forbear from mentioning their intention of completely abandoning League control for secession to Germany…

Hitler’s troops invaded Poland on August 31, 1939.

Danzig Nazis
(The Literary Digest, 1936)

Hitler’s troops invaded Poland on August 31, 1939.

Nazi Art Criticism
(Art Digest, 1936)

A few vile words concerning modernism and Jewish artists by a forgotten Nazi art critic named L.A. Schutze:

The only one who has created an art entirely born out of the Talmudistic spirit is Picasso, heir of Arabian decorative artists or the Jewish cabalists of Spain.

Click here to read about the contempt that the Nazis had for Modern Art.

The Richest Tribe
(Literary Digest, 1936)

Living, as we do, in the age of Indian gaming casinos it seems rather quaint to talk about which tribe was considered the richest of them all back in the Thirties. Nonetheless, this 1936 article tells the tale of the Osage Indians (Missouri) and the great wealth that was thrust upon them when oil was discovered on their tribal lands:

In 1935, some 3,500 Osage Indians proved their right to the title of wealthiest Indian tribe in America by drawing an income of $5,000,000 from their oil and gas leases…The members of Chief Fred Lookout’s tribe were not stingy with their new wealth. They bought clothes, big cars lavishly ornate homes…

A List of German Versailles Treaty Violations
(Literary Digest, 1936)

This is an interesting article that announced the Germans march into the Rhineland as well as the island of Hegoland. The journalist also listed various other Versailles Treaty infractions.

Click here to read an additional article concerning the Versailles Treaty violations.