The Year of 1942

Anne Frank goes hiding

During the time when countries were ravaged with World War II and the Nazi’s were taking control, one iconic young lady recorded her life as she was in hiding. Anne Frank along with her family, hid in a Secret Annex. They were originally from Frankfurt but due to the Nazi’s rapidly approaching, the Frank family fled to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for safety.  Margot, Anne Frank’s mother, was supposed to report to a work camp, causing the family to go in to hiding sooner than planned. Eventually not only was the Frank family in hiding but they graciously hid four other Jews - Hermann, Auguste, Peter Van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer. They all hid successfully for 2 years until they were betrayed and were later arrested before being sent away to concentration camps. Otto Frank was the only survivor in the whole ordeal. Anne’s diary was given back to him and he later had it turned into a publication that has enlightened thousands of people to what life was like living in hiding.  (Holocaust Museum)

Japanese-Americans held in camps
While the Jewish were being held in concentration camps overseas, the U.S government sent thousands of people who were of Japanese decent to internment camps.  Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 enabling this movement. This was a precaution taken by the Roosevelt administration after the bombing of Pearl Harbor justifying it by saying anyone of Japanese decent could possibly be a spy for the Japanese.  Life on the internment camps was intense. Because most internees were forced to evacuate in 48 hours, they had little belongings with them. Many died from sickness and emotional stress. After being released in January 1945, some of the internees stayed in the US while others decided to move back to Japan.  (History)

The Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway, is considered the decisive battle of the war in the Pacific. The Japanese wanted to use the Midway as an advanced base and to entrap and destroy the U.S Pacific Fleet.  The U.S had communication intelligence successes and surprised the Japanese forces, sinking the four Japanese carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor only six months before, while only losing one carrier.  (Parker)

The Year of 1941

Invention of the Jeep
During a time where World War II was plaguing the country, the United States army decided to arm themselves accordingly for what may be coming their way. They needed a vehicle which was rugged and versatile but moved expeditiously as well.  The army called upon the talents of many car companies to design such a model in the time restraints of 49 days. The first successful prototype was designed by Karl Probst and his team. They named the prototype the “Jeep.”  The name of the company is American Bantam Car Co. The media portrayed this invention to be a turning point in the war.  (Belles)

Mount Rushmore

What better way to honor the nation’s most prestigious figures than to put their faces on the side of a huge mountain. Doane Robinson thought these sentiments exactly. He is known as the “Father of Mount Rushmore.” He wanted to use Mount Rushmore to draw people from all over to gaze in amazement at the monument. Robinson collaborated with sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who named the Black Hills of South Dakota as the perfect location to place the monument. Robinson and Borglum had to team up with Congressman William Williamson and Senator Peter Norbeck to get congress to fund the idea. Mount Rushmore was completed October 31, 1941.

Pearl Harbor

One event that changed the American history was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which marked the beginning of World War II.  This occurred after Japan and the U.S relations became strained due to differences concerning China. The Japanese government allied their country with Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance in 1940. More stress and strain led up to an attack that the U.S was not expecting. On December 7^th, around 6 am in the morning, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 181 planes composed of torpedo bombers, dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters on to Pearl Harbor. This even alone was significant enough to begin one of the most major wars in history.  (pg 53)

Thhe Year of 1940

Pinocchio
Walt Disney Productions releases its second full-length animated feature “Pinocchio” on February 7, 1940. The film was distributed by RKO Pictures. It was based on the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Italian Carlo Collodi who released the first “The Adventures of Pinocchio” short story in 1881. The plot was about a wooden toy that comes to life and his quest to become a real boy. Made on a budget of just under $2.3 million dollars (Barrier), it would go on to earn $38,976,570 at theaters (Box Office Mojo)

Lascaux, France
On September 12, 1940, four teenagers, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas (Bahn), hiking in southwest France discovered a series of paintings on the walls of caves by that were found out to be dating to the Paleolithic era, about 17,300 years ago (Capelo). Much of the art found there depict the type of animals that they hunted. It also showed humans as well as abstract figures. The numbers of images exceeds 2,000 with around 900 being of animals.

America on eve of war:

Winston Churchill takes over the role of Prime Minister of Great Britain from Neville Chamberlain on May 10, 1940 (Chamberlain Resigns, Churchill Becomes Prime Minister).  This was in the mist of World War II. The continent of Europe was being turned in to a battle scene as Hitler’s Nazi regime of Germany and Benito’s fascist Italy led a campaign to conquer land the lay in the way. In Asia, their ally Japan had invaded China (Fiscus). The continent was turning into ruble as cities were being leveled, including London which suffered attacks from Germany under the Blitz bombing campaign (Remembering the Blitz). Franklin Roosevelt would close out 1940 on December 29 with a radio speech aimed at reassuring Americans, that in the face of war, their freedoms would be protected where he claimed the nation had to be an Arsenal for Democracy. He championed Detroit’s motor industries for their rapid conversion to produce armaments for WWII (Roosevelt, Arsenal of Democracy).