The American Magazine – Page 3 – Old Magazine Articles

Friend of the Allies
(The American Magazine, 1940)

Colonel William J. Donovan and Edgar Mower, writing of fifth-column activities at the direction of Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, charged Fritz Wiedemann [as having been] praised by Hitler for helping to spike American legislation to aid the Allies in 1939.

Numerous nasty remarks were quoted in the attached article concerning the German Consul General in San Francisco, Fritz Wiedemann (1891 – 1970), but the journalist who penned the article could not possibly know that Wiedemann was at that time spilling his guts to the FBI. Having served under Hitler for some time as adjutant, by 1940 Wiedemann had denounced his devotion to the Nazi Party and told Hoover all that he Knew about Hitler and what the world could expect from the man.

In 1940, Japanese spies made the mistake of confiding in Wiedemann – more about this can be read here.

Finding Japanese Spies
(The American Magazine, 1942)

Here is an interesting article by an American counter-espionage agent who tells several stories about the various Japanese spies he had encountered during the early months of the war. He wrote of his his frustrations with the civil liberty laws that were in place to protect both citizen and alien alike.

It was Mexican president Manuel Avila Camacho who chased the spies out of his nation – click here to read about it…

Family Politics
(American Magazine, 1953)

Early next month the whole world will take time out from its atom bombs and cold wars and financial worries to re-live for a day all the jeweled delight of an old-fashioned fairy tale. This fairy tale will be all the more significant because it happens to be true… In short, a young queen will be crowned in London… But, amid all the glitter and pomp, the one man who would normally be expected to be the most important guest will not have a roll to play – The Duke of Windsor.

The Birth of American Parachute Infantry
(The American Magazine, 1941)

Here is an account of the earliest days of the paratrooper branch of the U.S. Army. It is told by a man who claims the unique distinction of being the first volunteer to be recruited into the organization, Captain William T. Ryder (1913 – 1992). At this point in history the word paratrooper was not is use – the author uses the term jump-fighter, instead.

‘Hello, Central, Give Me Heaven”
(The American Magazine, 1943)

Recognizing that simply because he had retired from the ministry, it did not mean that he had retired from spreading the Good News; Reverend J.J.D. Hall immediately began to deliver a sermon with each and every wrong number he received. That was in 1940 – three years later his telephone number was recognized as an institution and a reliable source for those thirsting for knowledge of The Almighty.

‘School Crises in Dixie”
(American Magazine, 1956)

Not since the Civil War has the nation faced such an explosive situation as it will when public schools in the South open their doors next month. In a plea for tolerance, sympathy and understanding in the South as well as the North, Pulitzer Prize award winning journalist Virginius Dabney (1901 – 1995) analyzes and interprets a problem serious to Americans in every section of the country.

A Blitzkrieg Refugee Speaks
(The American Magazine, 1941)

One of Hitler’s refugees from Warsaw recalled the terror of the Nazi attack on her city:

In a mad panic I ran through streets that were a sea of flames, dragging by the hand my two children, aged eight and three. I have seen wounded and dead. I lost many friends and all my belongings. I was a refugee. And for months I suffered hunger and cold… I can still see myself pressed against the wall, holding the children tight, and waiting, waiting for the bomb to crash…

Click here to read about the fall of Paris…

‘Why Hitler Thinks He’ll Win”
(The American Magazine, 1942)

This is a great article, penned by an American correspondent who had actually sat face-to-face with Hitler on numerous occasions. He tells the reader many of his observations concerning the man’s personality, expressions and what he has observed regarding the German people:

I have presented [in this article] the essential psychological and material factors in Hitler’s conviction that he will still win the war. There were signs even while I was still in Germany that the German people have given up the dream of a ‘total victory’ to follow their total war.

More about Adolf Hitler can be read here…

1920s Road Rage
(The American Magazine, 1927)

Is it possible for a person to drive an automobile and remain a human being?

Do gasoline and courtesy mix?

Can you tell me why Ottis Throckmorton Whoozies, secretary of the Golden Rule Society, will smile sweetly, lift his hat and say graciously, ‘I beg your pardon. I’m really awfully sorry. Please excuse me,’ when he accidentally steps on a strange woman’s foot in a theater lobby, yet will lean out and make faces at his own grandmother if she fails to slow up her flivver and allow him to ‘cut in’ on a congested highway?

There’s something about a windshield that distorts a man’s outlook on life.

Click here to read about Lincoln, the joke teller.

The Man Behind The WAAC Uniforms
(The American Magazine, 1942)

Although the WAAC uniforms were designed by Dorthy Shavers (1893 – 1959) of Lord & Taylor, this short article credits U.S. Army Colonel L.O. Grice – who actually served more in the capacity as the Army’s artistic director who supervised the designer.

He picked everything from purses to panties for Uncle Sam’s powder-puff army…

Click here to read about the WAVE’s uniform…

The Aerial Nurse Corps of America
(The American Magazine, 1941)

To read the U.S. magazines and newspapers printed in 1941 is to gain an understanding as to the sixth sense many Americans had in predicting that W.W. II would soon be upon them – and this article is a fine example. One month before Pearl Harbor the editors of AMERICAN MAGAZINE ran this column about Lauretta Schimmoller (1902 – 1981) who established the Aerial Nurse Corps of America, which, at that time, was composed of over 400 volunteers:

All air-minded registered nurses, they stand ready to fly with medical aid to scenes of disaster…Now established on a nation-wide scale, ANCOA, with its 19 national chapters, has already handled more than 3,000 emergency cases.

Badass
(The American Magazine, 1943)

For those who survived it, the Second World War changed many lives – some for better, some for worse. Gale Volchok was rescued from a dreary job in New York retail and delivered to the proving grounds of two different infantry training camps in New Jersey. It was under her watchful eye that thousands of American soldiers learned to throw their enemies into the dirt and generally defend them selves.

Engaging The Japanese Soldier
(The American Magazine, 1945)

Wherever they have fought in this war, the Japs have shown an amazing aptitude for the queer and fantastic. They have staged solemn funeral processions in the midst of hot battle. They have blown themselves to bits with hand grenades, have stabbed themselves with daggers, sabers, bayonets and even with scythes. They plunged forward in stupidly blind Banzai charges. They have danced wildly atop ridges while exposed to American fire. And they have directed artillery action while lounging in hammocks.

Mother of the American Soap Opera
(The American Magazine, 1943)

Here is a short profile of Irna Phillips (1901 – 1973) – she was, more than anyone else, the one who can be credited with the creation of the daytime dramas called soap operas on both radio and television.

Mother of the American Soap Opera
(The American Magazine, 1943)

‘Me & My Flapper Daughters”
(American Magazine, 1927)

A Victorian father embraced the spirit of the Flapper rebellion, welcomed it into his house and testified that it made his daughters better and their family bonds stronger.

He Represented Four Million POWs
(The American Magazine, 1943)

Here is a petite profile of Tracy Strong (1887 – 1968), who, as Director of the YMCA War Prisoners Aid Committee, had license to enter every combatant nation in order to see to the health and welfare of all POWs. Much of his work involved procuring books, sporting equipment and musical instruments to the incarcerated.

The Extraordinary Story of Eugene O’Neill
(The American Magazine, 1922)

A marvelous interview with the thirty-four year old playwright, Eugene O’Neill (1888 – 1953) -coincidentally published just as it seemed his stock was on the rise.

Click here to read a 1930s article about Eugene O’Neill.