For some reason, whether it's the upcoming election or the situation we've been living with during the Covid-19 pandemic, lately I've been thinking about United States history more than I usually do. So, as I was thinking about what to discuss with Aunt Grace today, I decided I'd like to know more about her life as a teenager during World War II. I asked her about the time leading up to the war, fears/concerns at the time war broke out, women in the workforce, rationing... well, you get the idea...
News wasn't as "available" in the 1940s as it is today. They were aware that there was trouble in Germany, but that was a long way away and didn't seem to have any real impact on day to day life. George's Emily was the most aware and concerned about what was happening there as her father still had family in Germany; in the area that would come to be behind the Iron Curtain. News of the conditions in Hitler's Germany came through radio broadcasts, newspapers or newsreels at the occasional movie. A friend of Grace's who came to America in 1956 told her that her father had gotten out just in time before war broke out and she remembered the fear; the need to make sure shades were all pulled at night because they never knew who or when they might be being watched.
Grace learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941) as she went out to the barn and ran into Ray, standing in the barn door. He had been listening to the radio while doing his chores and told her about the attack. It came as a shock to everyone. Ray's friend, Ralph Randall was home on leave from the Army at the time and Ray needed to drive him back to camp that evening. It was a snowy evening and Grace wanted to ride along, but she was told she couldn't go. At this point, no one knew what was really going to happen or what wartime America would look like, but Monday morning, life went on like usual. Parents went to work; kids went to school and life went on.
By January, 1942, however, every phase of life began to change in the United States to support the war effort. The country changed manufacturing, rationing began, women went to work and men went to war. Five young men who went to school with Grace, quit school to join the war effort. One never came back home. For months, it was unknown if Ray would be drafted; finally getting his deferral after he and Grandpa Zielke went to the draft board between his wedding and wedding reception on September 11. Austin's brother was serving and Austin's mother, who was on the draft board, thought Austin would go as well. He was on 24-hour call to have to go in all through the Korean War. He went through two physicals; his father sold all the cattle in preparation for Austin being called up and when Austin was finally released from call, he had to go to work for another farmer! Fortunately, none of the Zielke or Staffeldt men were called to serve, but worked in other areas to support the country and the war effort. That luck held true for the next generation of Zielke men as well and none were drafted to go to Korea or Viet Nam!
Chrysler Manufactured Tanks
Through the "War Production Board" in January, 1942, President Roosevelt directed manufacturing plants all over America to begin manufacturing equipment and materials to be used in war or to support the war effort. In 1941, three million automobiles were manufactured in the United States. Through the entire course of the war, only 139 cars rolled off the assembly lines. Automakers instead were used to manufacture guns, trucks, tanks and aircraft engines. Shipyards turned out fleets of aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, submarines and other vessels.
WWII Ducks were designed to travel on water from
ships to land where they could travel at speeds up
to 50 mph.
Many surviving "Ducks" have been repurposed and
are used for sightseeing tours in port cities today.
The Lionel (Toy Train) Company produced compasses and other items for warships. Ford Motor Company produced B-24 Liberator bombers and Alcoa Aluminum produced airplanes. Even an upholstery nail manufacturer converted to producing cartridge clips for Springfield rifles.
The purpose of the
War Production Board "was to convert the factories of peacetime industries
into manufacturing plants for weapons and military equipment for the
fight. The second goal was to conserve materials like metal, which soldiers,
sailors and Marines would need for the fight in such things as guns, ordnance,
tanks, ships, aircraft, tactical vehicles and so on. Other items considered
essential for war included petroleum products, rubber, paper and plastic. That
meant strict rationing for civilians, such as limiting vehicle usage and the
purchase of luxury items."
By the end of the war, the US was responsible for half of the allies industrial production due to factories in the UK and the Soviet Union being bombed.
"Rosie the Riveter" was an earned nickname.
World War II opened the door for
the feminist/women's lib movement of the future as women took on essential jobs
for the war effort enabling more men to be available to go to war. While not
all women took on traditional manufacturing roles, they did fill other vital roles
like sewing parachutes and assembling medical equipment. Grace worked for a
time in the War Bond Office in Chicago, across from Union Station. She
remembers that just like delays during our pandemic, there were delays in getting war
bonds in a timely manner and she spent days and weeks, hour after hour, retyping the
same letter to people who had contacted the office wondering where their bonds
were. She had to take the Civil Service exam prior to being hired and she
provided rides to two friends who also worked there. They would drive to Aurora
where they would catch the train to take them into Chicago. Sometimes after
work, they would walk somewhere to get some dinner as they felt safe walking in
Chicago and taking the train home late at night in those days. When her friends
quit, Grace found it necessary to quit as well, because her gas rations were
reduced. Unfortunately, when she quit, she was prohibited from getting another
job anywhere for thirty days.
From the War Bond Office, Grace went to work for International Harvester doing secretarial work. She initially worked in an accounting office, balancing the books and eventually transitioned into billing, to which she was better suited. As other manufacturing plants, International Harvester transitioned to contribute to the war efforts, limiting the production of tractors, making it almost like a lottery to get one!
Ration Stamps
Pictures on stamps indicate what
the stamps could be used to purchase. Aunt Grace recalls that sugar and flour
rations were the most challenging for the family. As they lived on a farm, they
were able to raise/preserve most of their own food, but they used a lot of
flour and sugar. One good part of those days was that people worked together
and shared their ration stamps. What one might be short on, another may have an
excess.
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| Sample pages from Ration Book Note "If you don't need it, DON'T BUY IT!" |
You needed to register to receive your ration stamps. Other items that were rationed were cars, tires, gas, fuel oil, coal, firewood, nylon, silk, shoes, meat, dairy, dried fruit, jam/jelly, lard, shortening and oil. For all other items, if you could find them and you had the money, you could buy them. Spam made its debut in the war days, although Grace said that they never had it. (Ray and Mary Ellen had it!) Rather, Grace remembers that Grandma always had canned salmon on hand and a typical Sunday meal was canned salmon with bread and canned peaches or cherries for dessert. The trick to finding items that weren't rationed was that since manufacturing was aimed at the war effort, usual household items were scarce. Clothing was scarce, although pea coats were pretty easy to come by; they were mass produced for use by the Navy. Aunt Grace recalls being on "the list" to receive a refrigerator for a loooong time. The refrigerator never did come in! As during the Depression, Americans learned to do without.
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| VE Day: May 8, 1945 |
Finally, the end of the war was in sight. VE day on May 8th ended the war with Germany. Aunt Grace remembers that day more clearly than VJ Day when the war with Japan ended on 2 September 1945. VE Day was more memorable because they attended a special celebration at the Paramount Theater in Aurora to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. There were no big celebrations in Aurora or Oswego as the soldiers came home, but imagine how special Armistice Day/Veteran's Day would be two months later as they celebrated the end of World War I with their newest war heroes back on American soil; when they could truly say that they had all come back because "it's over, over there!"
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