1940s Homefront During WWll

For many years, the United States stayed out of the war in Europe where Hitler's Germany was defeating country after country on the continent, and exterminating millions of people based on their ethnic background. Americans did not want to enter another war. But on December 7, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, an important naval base in Hawaii. In that attack, the United states lost over 20 naval ships including 8 aircraft carriers, plus 300 airplanes and more than 2400 people. The next day, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Three days later, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. America entered World War ll.

That one moment, 7:53am on a quiet morning in Hawaii, changed everything at home in the entire United States. These resources will highlight what life was like on the homefront (in the U.S.) during WWll while our soldiers fought the war in Europe and in the Pacific against Japan.

Every person in America felt that they could play a small part in victory. Using less gasoline, collecting scrap metal, growing gardens, buying war bonds, working to build tanks and airplanes all played a big part in what we called "the war effort."

Jon Meacham's Podcast: Hope Through History - Episode 2 - Winston Churchill and WWll

Quote about Victory Gardens:

Kelly Holthus remembers that it was hard to find fresh produce, and it was a way for individuals to do their part on the home front. "It was a great moral thing," he says. "And for young people like me, it was, you know, I could do my part. I was a part of the effort!" From Wessels Living History Farm

Images from the Internment Camps

Fiction and Biography Books about Japanese Internment in the RLMS Library