The War in Europe and D-Day

The War's Voices:

Broadcast and Commercial Recordings of Speeches and Interviews of World War II-era Personalities.

Winning the Home Front:

War-related Entertainment, Propaganda, and Ads Targeting World War II-era Radio Listeners.

G.I. Jive:

Popular and Topical Songs of World War II.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boys:

USO Shows, Armed Forces Radio, V-Discs, and Other Morale Efforts Targeting the Military.

We Interrupt This Program:

War Reports, News Flashes, and Informational Programs Regarding World War II.

Now Hear This:

World War II-era Broadcast and Recording Technology.

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The War's Voices

Though radio had become a fixture in American homes by the 1930s, this simple medium was revolutionized by World War II. For the first time, the voices, stories, and dramas from distant shores were as close as the glowing dial in the living room, and as routine as the local news. From London to Moscow to Normandy, firsthand reports and short-wave broadcasts offered a front-row seat to the world's stage, and forever changed the way news would be gathered, broadcast, and experienced.

The seven radio broadcasts presented here come from original studio transcription disc recordings in the Arthur B. Church - KMBC Radio Collection in the Marr Sound Archives.

Broadcast #1
For many listeners during World War II, Edward R. Murrow was the voice of the war, and his clear, colorful prose made them eyewitnesses to the unfolding drama. Hired by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1935, Murrow was the network's London-based European Bureau director two years later. As war gripped the continent, Murrow provided first-person dispatches that were striking for their calm reflection and unruffled poetry. Utilizing short-wave broadcasts direct from battlefronts, eyewitness recordings, and a crack team of reporters, Murrow helped build Columbia's foreign news service into a powerhouse, and revolutionized broadcast journalism. In this report from August 1944, Murrow reflects on Londoners' stoic responses to Nazi buzz bomb attacks, which he off-handedly refers to as "doodle-bugs."
                               Read a Text Transcription of This Radio Broadcast

Broadcast #2
Just as he had used radio and his pioneering fireside chats to combat fear itself during the Great Depression a decade earlier, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the medium to rally the nation during World War II. In this broadcast from June 6, 1944, as details of D-Day continued to trickle in, Roosevelt eloquently expresses Americans' hopes and fears in this invasion prayer, which both comforted listeners and prepared them for the difficult months ahead.  Read a Text Transcription

Broadcast #3
In the early days of World War II, Allied victory was anything but assured, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had the unenviable task of inspiring a nation under siege, wanting for materiel, and essentially facing the Axis powers alone. As a result, Churchill's speeches were both more fiery and more florid than those of his American counterpart. However, his stirring oratory resonated throughout the Commonwealth, as well as across the Atlantic. Seizing the opportunity to build on victory, this speech from November 29, 1942, commemorates the recent Allied victories in North Africa.

Broadcast #4
Often picked up for American broadcast, speeches of world leaders served to reinforce the global notion of the Allied cause. In sharp contrast to Churchill's swagger, the wartime speeches of England's King George VI embodied notions of hope and stoic resolve, sentiments that his subjects were eager to embrace. In this 1943 Christmas message, the King seeks, "for a few moments on this Christmas Day," to unite his empire, if only over the airwaves.

Broadcast #5
For its "Man of the Year" in 1942, Time magazine chose Soviet Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Stalin (Churchill and Roosevelt received the honors in 1940 and 1941, respectively). Following his army's improbable victories against Germany in 1941 and again in '42, Stalin earned his position as a revered Allied leader. Whether due to admiration or curiosity, Stalin, which the article described as "an imponderable, soberly persistent Asiatic," also became a household name, thanks in no small part to the power of radio. In this speech from April 1945, with commentary by Edward R. Murrow, Stalin addresses his army on the eve of allied victory.

Broadcast #6
If President Roosevelt articulated the nation's wartime resolve, his wife Eleanor expressed its warmth and hope. A champion of reform; defender of women's rights, racial equality, and social justice; and a popular speaker wherever she appeared, Eleanor's populist efforts and outspoken notoriety spawned national Eleanor Roosevelt Clubs, a legacy of public service, and an investigation by the FBI. In this March 1943 speech to Girl Scout leaders, Ms. Roosevelt extols the virtues of scouting, explaining how its skills have benefits in wartime as well as in peacetime.  Read a Text Transcription

Broadcast #7
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934, Harry S. Truman was a loyal supporter of Roosevelt's domestic as well as foreign policies, a champion of fiscal responsibility, and an advocate of military preparedness. As a second-term senator, Truman chaired the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, which investigated military contracts. The committee became known as the Truman Committee, and earned him the nickname, the "Billion-Dollar Watchdog." On September 4, 1942, with America less than a year into the war, the Missouri Senator was back in Kansas City, where he stopped by the KMBC studios to transcribe this message in support of the war effort.

Text by Scott O'Kelley, Marr Sound Archives
Digital Audio by Scott Middleton, Marr Sound Archives

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