"The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human."

-- Adolf Hitler

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Chapter 3 -- "Prisoner of War"


*(SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO WRITE YOUR COMMENT!!!!)

World War II begins in 1939, as we see Vladek Spieglman describe it in Chapter 3.  For today's blog, I want you to do some quick Internet research on the year 1939.  For your comment, write a short ORIGINAL paragraph about something that happened that year.  (By "original," I mean you are not allowed to cut and paste -- aka "plagiarize" -- someone else's comment.  I want the comment in your words.)  Don't feel limited to war information, though you may comment on the war in 1939 if you so choose.  Try taking a look at what was happening in America in popular culture: music, movies, movie stars, books/magazines & radio shows (they were the popular home entertainment back then, as there was no television), fashion, American politics and the economy ... whatever you find interesting!

My 1939 fact:  Did you know that one of the most popular movies of all time, Gone With The Wind, was released in 1939?  Based on the best-selling novel of 1936, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1937, the film's premiere and release was one of America's most anticipated moments of the entire year.  (Since the book was so popular, Americans followed the story as Hollywood cast the stars and filmed the movie.  They couldn't wait to see how the movie turned out!)

INTERESTING FACT:  Another one of America's most famous and popular movies was also released that year.  I'll bet almost everyone in the entire class has seen it once, if not multiple times.  Can you name it?

*NOTE:  No two classmates may post the same "fact" ... I want you all to share different information about 1939.  If someone has already posted what you were going to write about, you'll have to choose another topic.  So, no one else may write about Gone With The Wind as I already did that.  (Repeats on same topic will get a "zero" for this journal grade.)

49 comments:

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  3. In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president, and an American passtime was playing Monopoly, which had just came out in 1935 from the Parker Brothers. Around this time baseball became very popular, with stars like Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. The fashion trends in women were dresses and skirts by American designers, given the Parisian and European designers were getting very expensive except to the very rich. During this time America was in the Great Depression, and some popular books included the Grapes of Wrath, which was about a family in the depression struggling after the Dust Bowl.

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    1. http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html
      ^^^ thats the site i used.;)

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  4. In 1939, many important events occurred. One of which was the invention of Batman. After witnessing the success of Superman in their comics, the company National Publications (later DC Comics) wanted more superheroes in their comics. This led to Bob Kane and Bill Finger creating Batman. After a few adjustments to the character, he made his first appearance in Detective Comics, and later became immensely popular.

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  5. In 1939, Judy Garland released the hit song "Over the Rainbow" appearing in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz".

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    1. Appearing #5 on the US charts, the song is now in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy Garland starred in the "Wizard of Oz" playing the character Dorothy Gale. The song appears as the #1 movie song on the AFI's 100 years.

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  9. In 1939 71 people die in a brush fire in Australia, an earthquake in Chile kills 30,000 people. Also in Spain dictator Francisco Franco conquers Madrid. This ended the Spanish Civil War. Another thing that happened was the independent republic of Czechoslovakia vanished.

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  10. In 1939, Albert Einstein sends a letter to President Roosevelt about using Uranium to create the Atomic Bomb which later led to the Manhattan Project

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  11. In 1939. Al Capone, one of Americas most notoriuos crime leaders, was released from Alcatraz. He was later diagnosed and killed by the deadly STD syphillis. Alcaopne was a major model for all crime related movies and video games of modern time.

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    1. The second time I spelled Al Capone I spelled it wrong and also I probably spelled notorious wrong.

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  12. In 1939 the comic strip "Superman" made its debut in January of 1939. Written and illustrated by Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster the iconic cover page of Superman displayed as a heroic superhero soon became the most popular comic for decades to come. The idea of superman innovated the comic and arts industry resulting in more sales which expanded into new ideas such as movies.Millions of people were amazed inspired by this figure who continuosly saved the comic world who soon became a name known in all households by Superman.

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  13. In April, at the beginning ceremonies of the World Fair FDR is the very first president to be televised and the next day TV sets go on sale.

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  15. In april of 1939, the World's Fair opened in New York. This fair was all about the new ideas of the decade; futurism and optimism, and thus it was called "building the world of tomorrow." It presented new and unseen consumer products, creating an image of a Utopian community. The fair was designed to give Americans hope for the future as WWII dawned closer.

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  16. The dance movement was becoming big in the 1930s. By 1939 one of the most commonly danced dances was the "Jitterbug". In 1939 it was declared as a dance that let you let loose and not be controlled. This is so because most dancers were drunk when they dance the "jitterbug". It got its name because people were drunk and had the jitters. The jitterbug was popluar before 1939 but it made it marks in 1939. There was a certain way to dance and there was even instructions on how a man and a women should move together and dance as one. The "JitterBug" is swing dances.It was characterized by fast foot working, flips, and turns. It was even spread overseas. During World War II it was spread to Europe.

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  20. In 1939 it was the highest point in the country where the Americans had radio sets. 80% of Americans had radio sets.

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  22. In 1939, the song "If I Only Had A Brain" by Harold Arlen (music) and E.Y. Harburg (lyrics), was released with the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz". Originally written by the duo as "I'm Hanging On To You" for the 1937 Broadway musical "Hooray For What," the song was ultimately dropped from that show, and when the duo was later hired to do the song fo Oz, Harburg simply wrote new lyrics to the song. The song became a famous hit even today (explained in the GE Scarecrow Superbowl commercial).

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  23. In 1939 Albert Einstien wrote a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt talking about the innovation of the Atomic Bomb. This advancement involved the use of uranium. After this idea was made public in the scientific community. This caused the creation of the group The Manhattan Project. The new versions of the Atomic Bomb were called Little Boy and Fat Boy.

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  24. In 1939 Adolf Hitler ordered a commission of a new Navy. This navy was to be completed in 1944. It was also capable of destroying the Royal British Fleet. This was called Plan Z. Also, on September 6th South Africa joined the fight against Germany. How interesting.

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  25. On November 6, 1939, a radio show called Hedda Hopper's Hollywood debuts on radio. The host was Hedda Hopper, an important Hollywood gossip columnist and actress. The show aired 3 times a week for 15 minutes.It was popular and Hopper became a very powerful person in Hollywood. The show ran until 1951.

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  27. The year 1939 was considered one of the last years of the "Golden Age of Radio." The Golden Age of Radio was a period of time between the beginning of commercial broadcasting and somewhere between the late 1960's. The first commercial broadcast was in the year 1921. Some of the most popular songs in 1939 were "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland, "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller and "God Bless America" by Kate Smith.

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  28. In 1939, Jazz trumpeteer Louis Armstrong had the fifth most popular song. "When the Saints Go Marching In" is an adaptation of an Gospel Hymn. It is a popular song for Jazz bands to play.

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  29. In 1939 it was the highest point in American history where people had radio set. The percentage was 80%. Americans love to laugh, some radio shows were Jack Benny, Fred Allen, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Amos and Andy. Everyone loved to listen to the radio, there were no limits to listen to the radio so the young and the old listened to it.

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  30. Fashion in the 1930s, particularly 1939, was very modest and clean-cut. Women mostly wore dresses, excpet the spectator suit was becoming very popular. Men wore suits most of the time, and they even made leisure suits for a more laid-back look. The cycle suit was also popular for taking a bike ride.

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  31. The first food stamp program started in 1939 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many people were unemployed and malnourished because of the Great Depression. The food stamp program assisted about four million people before it ended in 1943(it was later revived in the 1960's).

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  32. In 1939, the NFL Championship game was held on December 10, 1939 at Wisconsin State Fair Park near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the seventh NFL championship game played. The Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants to win their fifth title. The score was 27-0. Also, the New York Giants defeated the Pro All-Stars 13-10 in the first Pro Bowl, at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, January 15, 1939. In 1939 the first NFL game was televised. This was big because they'd been playing football for a while.

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  33. 1939 was the last year that there was a grasshopper outbreak in the Great Plains. The grasshopper devoured any type of crop that wasn't destoyed because there was a drought in the 1930's. The grasshoppers even ate clothes that were hanging outside! Not only was the crops destroyed in the Great Plains but the soil was exposed and then was eroded.

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  34. February 10, 1939, the Japanese occupied the island of Hainan, giving the Japanese more control over the southern Chinese coast.

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  35. Prices in 1939 were extremely low compared to prices today. In 1939, gas cost 10 cents a gallon. A loaf of bread cost 8 cents, a new car cost $700, and the average cost of a house was $3,800. The American economy was on its way out of the Great Depression, but the unemployment rate was still pretty high.

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  36. In 1939, sports was a very big deal at that time. One of the biggest events of that time was in the sport of boxing. On January 25th, Joe Louis KOs John Henry in the first round for the world heavyweight title.

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  37. In the the year 1939, a new car is marketed from the Packard Motor Car Company. The refrigerator compressor runs off the engine which released the cooled air from the back of the car. This new car contains air conditioning and was offered for only $274. In March 1939, a new professional basketball team called The Rens, become the first black basketball team to win a Worlds Championship. Langston Hughes sets up The New Negro Theater in Los Angeles. "Way Down South" is the name of his first film in which he co-writes the screenplay.

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  38. 1939 included an eventful oscars. In 1939, Walt Disney got an honorary Oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – he got one regular full-sized and seven miniature statuettes. Disney also held the record for most Oscar nominations (48), won (22) and honorary given (4). Also in the 1939 Oscars, Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to receive an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress playing the maid Mammy in Gone with the Winds (1939). Gone with wind came out in 1939 and is one of the most popular movies and book to date.

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  39. Football Player, Boxer, and Actor John Amos was born in 1939. He was a football player for the Colorado State Rams before becoming a Golden Gloves boxing champion. After switching football teams a number of times, he began his role the dad, James Evans, in Good Times from 1974-1976. He also appeared in Roots as Kunte Kinte and guest starred on many other popular tv shows such as Martin and the Cosby Show.

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  40. Larry Clinton. had a large influence on music in the late 1930's and 1940's. Between 1937 and 1941 he had his own band. He played many different instuments like the trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and vibraphone.
    The number one pop song of 1939 was Deep Purple, recorded by Larry Clinton. This song was popular with Babe Ruth, who played it at his birthday.

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