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because at mediacom, where bill to keep you ahead. >> mediacom, along with these television companies, so poor c-span to the public service. at trinity washington university since let me tell you about our speaker this evening. this is an assistant professor of global affairs at gennadiy washington university. since 2011, he also served as an assistant director at the new color studies institute. in his primary research in teaching areas, he has done in modern u.s. history and foreign policy. he focused on weapons policies and cold war diplomacy. he also believes making education work sensible to people outside of universities. he works to give public presentations on why ranging topics are throughout american history. there is the rise of the american suburbs, the gilded age, the role prohibition played in an 18 twenties, the history of dining in the united

states, and the 1939 world fair. allen will also be back with us on january 11th. he will discuss kennedy, nixon, and the debate of the jury. we hope you will consider joining us. we are so excited to have allen with us this evening. without any further ado, please join me in welcoming allen -- >> thank you for the generous introduction. i am dr. allen -- i am a professor of global affairs and modern american history at trinity washington tin university here in d.c.. i want to start tonight by giving you a number, 1939. it is one of those years that stand out in world history. it is one of those years that invokes a reaction. it is much like 1776. we have the american revolution. perhaps 1989, the fall of the

berlin wall. even at 9/11. there are just some dates that sear themselves into the historical memory. 1939 hold specialist ignitions. it is the year that world war ii began. -- i sparked a global war that was going to go on for nearly six years. it would result in upwards of 85 million people killed. that starts arms up timber for 1939. much laughs remembered is the fact that that exact same day, the united states president extended a formal invitation for all europe peony shuns to return to the united states in

1940 to continue celebrating the next season of the ongoing new york world fair. his invitation said, quote, the continuing hope of nations must be that there will be increasingly understanding each other. the new york world fair is one of the many channels by which this continuing conception of peace may be known. and claude. on the same september day that the war broke out, beyond going new york riddled's fair saw as d just the previous day. a world not plunged into a catastrophic war. a world of hope for the future. the following day, september 2nd, the new york times headline said that europe's turmoil was reflected at the

fair. they wrote, quote, with bombs bursting over poland yesterday, the impact of general war that seemed to threaten europe finally broke with full force at the world's fair. such a short time ago, it was dedicated with brave speeches and international peace. there was goodwill are. the 1939 world fair was supposed to be a celebration of mankind's progress. it is a glorious vision of the future. literally called the world of tomorrow. with that, that is the means of a teaser, what i want to explore in tonight's presentation is exactly that. how did this fare, full of such promises, how did it collapsed into the fire of world war ii? what vision of the future did

it present? how far of where we? for the next hour or so, i am going to explore this fascinating moment in history. there will be plenty in time at the and for some q&a. feel free to enter it any question box throughout. hang on until the end. really the>> i want to begin bt looking at the world fair, the vision for the future that it presented, but the fact that there was an enormous stake riding on this single event. an event that will be marred by the outbreak of the war. >> let me set the scene. we'll give you this general overview. we are going to come back and fill in some of the gaps. we want to expand our contacts. our story sees us -- we are on april 30th, 1939. it is a muggy sunday afternoon.

the world's fair had its grand opening. over 200,000 people in attendance. it was not an especially exciting moment. the president of the united states was going to be there to officially open the fair. i will show you a news reel from that moment. >> america's world of tomorrow's waiting for its debut. it is showmanship and industry. the exhibit of 58 nations, crowds poured in from subways, train, buses, and cars. for the guests, the moment has come. president roosevelt was with his son john behind him on the right. he speaks in the court of peace. >> i hereby dedicate the world's fair, the new york world's fair of 1939.

i declare it for all of mankind. >> i should've mentioned before it is started that it is an old video clip. the video might be a bit choppy. the audio should come through fine. right from that very moment, there is the world of tomorrow. roosevelt's speech was broadcast in any brand-new invention it was being debuted for the first time at the fair. television. roosevelt's speech launched the very first scheduled television broadcast station in america. nbc, first broadcast station. they breathlessly complained that the presidents address was being beamed from a transmitter

at the very top of the empire state building. -- it could be seen for a whole 25 miles. in reality, only about 1000 people tuned in. there were only about 200 televisions in existence in new york at that time. mainly because this is what a television look like at the time. a five-inch screen, smaller than some of yourself owns today. it was not even technically black and white. it was actually a weird green hue. one person wanted to buy themselves a television. it costed today's equivalent of about $4,000 for that wooden box. this was an incredible thing. we now know that it would really go on to introduce the world to tomorrow.

there is the irony here. it is the one that would continuously haunt the entire world's fair. there was the fire that well days may have been the first broadcast in america, it was not see germany that beat us by three years. the first live television broadcast was the opening ceremony of the 1936 olympics in berlin. that is where hitler featured. an interesting thought experiment and side note. the astrophysicist once considered since this was the first mass tv broadcast sent out on radio waves, that might mean that the first message that aliens and counter, the first transmission from earth would be a picture of hitler. to roosevelt's speech, as

exciting as this moment was, there were some storm clouds doubting. a reporter asked a fair representative, wouldn't a european war completely ruin the fair? representative responded, there will be no war, that is all newspaper talk. europe is excited about this affair. it is all they are talking about, not some war. well, not everyone would have agreed with that statement. the fair was open to all countries. each country was invited to attend and build a pavilion. they would be able to exhibit their culture, their products, their industries. hitler's germany had signed a contract to build pavilion in new york city. there is a lot of division in america about whether or not to let not see germany even attend. two years earlier, an

exposition in paris, the not seize had also been invited. they build a giant an imposing building with swastikas all over it. this was meant to be a bull display of nancy germany's reimagined role within the global community. what they were projecting was that hitler's totalitarian form of rule was good. not just good, but the way of the future. democracies were old, fading, the riffing of the past -- that national socialism -- this was a project to be taken seriously, taken with respect. it could be admired as the image that they want to project. in fact, the organizers in paris had put the not see building on the left of this

image. the building to the soviet union was on the right. it was directly facing off. germany leaned into this idea that national socialism was a welcome idea against the evils of communism. right away, this illustrates one of the major clashes of 1939. the major fears that overshadowed not just a fair, but overshadowed that moment in american life. be>> there is the idea that it was real at the time. maybe we in america where overtaken by these two countries that offered alternative and more modern political systems. to understand the reason why this was a fear, let me go back for a moment. i want to put this fare any contact of its time.

it is a neat minutes of the great depression. by the time the fair open in 1839, the united states had been through ten years of economic calamity. a 27% unemployment rate at times. this is a time in american life when families did without. without extra food, without extra shoes, without going to the dentist. it was a time before there was modern medicine or penicillin. that meant that a child or adult could die with a sore throat or simple cut that got infected. this was a time when role most roads in the nation were made of dirt. not even gravel. it was literally just heard that turned completely timeout when it rained. in 1939, fewer than 25% of people living in rural areas

had electricity. the should astonish you. this is 50 years after electricity was commercialized. still, only 25% of people in rural areas in america have it. this is a time when the national emergency council recorded that much of the southern united states was, according to the report, a belt of sickness, misery, and unnecessary death from syphilis, hookworms, milieu new tradition, typhoid fever, and malaria. and quote. it was so underdeveloped that it is more akin to what we recognize today as a third world country. malaria, typhoid fever, man nutrition. there was a growing understanding among the american population -- this drag on and on for a

decade. that seemed to indicate improve that he kind of traffic system was a failure. worse, overlaying that was the democracy. it was a governing system. they could remedy the problem. democracy was old, slow, creaky. it is subject to the whims of the masses on one hand. on the other hand, held hostage by bickering politicians trying to presume their own interests. in contrast, a bold and new political system had arisen. that started in europe in the 1920s. it was this system of fascism. it originates in italy. and then it spreads to germany. the fascist ideology argues that liberal democracies are

doomed. they are past. only 81 party state led by a strong leader in charge of the martial law government did tightly controlled the population. only that government could respond effectively to economic problems. they were actually required to maintain a stable, prosperous, and orderly society. >> the problem, that approach seemed to be working. fascist italy and germany seemed to be doing well and thriving even. the german audubon was opened. a full 20 years before the u.s. interstate -- >> the german economy is in the midst of the cold war

depression. germany -- there were many in the united states throughout the 1930s, including members of the united states government, they pointed to not see germany and thought that perhaps the way out of the great depression was for america to be more like germany. maybe fascism with district-controlled society was not quite your cup of tea. that is okay. there is yet another new alternative to democracy, communism. in the 1930s, the soviet economy was booming. it was rapidly industrializing. so much so that there were russian recruiters working in the united states to recruit out of work americans to move to russia to work. that is where there were more jobs than there were people. tens of thousands of americans

did move to russia in the 1930s. they were in search of better jobs. that is what they thought they had in america. there is a huge number of shantytowns had populated the outskirts of almost every major american city. this was largely before we had learned about the atrocities of the -- these were seen as largely respectable and prosperous european nations. in 1939, capitalism and democracy was under challenge. no one quite knew how things would turn out. maybe the. they superseded monarchy. maybe fascism and communism were the next logical steps in human political development.

they had solved the problems of politics. most americans had experienced these constant streams of obstacles and struggles. there was the accidental fear. what has been right? to some, not see germany was the positive model of the future. to others, to most, they were up in arms in america about allowing the oppressive freedom restricting german state to participate in this fair. they focus on freedom in the future. for one, the mayor of new york city, he never missed an opportunity to hackle hitler. if germany was allowed to attend, the fair also had a building the coal chamber of horrors. there is the brown jordan fanatic.

he is now menacing the peace of the world. -- there are no swastikas at the world's fair. >> despite these classes, it would come to not. the germans would withdraw on their own. they claimed was because of the foreign exchange problem. they did not have enough money. it was a protest and an affront to what they saw as insult against their nation. many were happy that germany withdrew. perhaps they are absent from the peaceful gathering of nations. maybe their absence should be ominous. -- down the road from where the nancy billion was meant to be constructed, it was the pavilion of the independent nation of poland.

we now know in hindsight that just five months after the fair opened, they're not seas would invade and overtake poland. by the end of the world's fair, which runs until the end of 1940, the polish pavilion was draped in black because the country technically no longer existed. it's exhibits were partly sold off by the exiled government to help pay the bills. the soviet union, that other detail or therrien state, they were also a relatively new country at the time. it was only officially recognized by the united states in 1933. just a handful of years earlier. the soviets were granted a prime location at the fair. they built a massive pavilion. the soviets were using the fair to project a positive image of communism. the soviet union is a country which has ended the

exploitation the man of -- 170 million people of different nationalities are united in an equal freedom. >> i had not told you that was the soviet union. you might think that is the united states using that kind of language. except that five months later, the soviets would join with the not seized to invade and destroy poland. italy had a major pavilion. italy was also a fascist government at the time. in fact, it was a lead that essentially invents modern fascism with the italian leader mussolini. he predated hillary by about ten years. i think that you might be getting the theme here. five months later, mussolini sides with hitler.

japan's pavilion was modeled to look like a shinto shrine. it was a religious belief in japan. many americans thought it encouraged and aggressive and military culture. japan had already been at war with china for eight years. they had just, two years earlier in 1937, they committed an atrocity in and king. japanese soldiers murdered 300,000 civilians. in new york, their dedication at the fair read, quote, dedicated to eternal peace and friendship between america and japan. and quote. americans should have already been suspicious about the internal peace and friendship. the u.s. navy fleet was supposed to visit new york city

as a part of the ceremony. that is because of aggressive moves being made by japan and the south china sea. the fleet visit was canceled. the u.s. navy was instead deployed specifically as a show of force against japan. you get the point. one year later, the japanese would launch a massive surprise attack against the united states at pearl harbor. internal peace and friendship, they said. my goodness. if the 1939 world fair was supposed to be this world of tomorrow, this bright vision of the future, yikes. right? they could not have been more dead wrong. world war ii would break until five months into the fair. americans would be dragged into the war just about a year after that.

it became the most deadly war that humanity had ever seen. there was this moment of hope that had turned into a moment of crisis. it was truly terrible. the world's fair was supposed to transcend that. that is why april 1939 was so exciting. the world's fair was designed to leave the current doldrums behind. it was supposed to look to an inspiring new future. the decade of the terrible 1930s, the dirty 30s as it were, they were about to and. of>> a better future in the decade of the 1940s would eventually unfold. the idea that the 1940s would be a dawn of a new era of peace and freedom, it is printed right there on the ticket stub. the designers of this 1939 world very truly trying to project a positive view of the future.

a view of the future that was so far in the future that the westinghouse company even buried a time capsule. this is some fun barge of yeah. the very word time capsule was coined for this event. in fat, they vary two time capsules. they wanted some redundancy. these time capsules who are not set to be open until the year 6939. not to be open for 5000 years. that is how long americans thought this nation would last. that is how far in the future they were looking. if you ask me, that is a severe case of hubris. even the roman empire, the most powerful and longest lasting empire in the history of the world, it lasted about 1000 years. looking forward as a side note,

the area where this time capsule was buried is only about seven feet above sea level. the projection is that in the not too distant future that this will be underwater due to climate change. they did not know that back then. this time capsule was lynn to preserve a record of life in 1938. they put in it what they said where 124 commonly used items. items like tooth powder. >> we call these things edison lights. they had copies of life magazine. they had a mickey mouse watch they. had a gillette safety razor. not having to use a straight razor or slip your neck with it. they had a doll. i will admit that i had to look up what the utah was. it is this creepy thing. it was the hottest children's

toy of the area. they had $1 in spare change. they had and spend estes shingle. why not? of course, they also had the coolest thing of all, cigarettes. give your throat a vacation, says this doctor. they also included a letter from the famous scientist, albert einstein. -- he explained in the letter that he put in this time capsule that in the time in which -- they had learned to fly. we are able to send messages and news without any difficulties. that is over the entire world. what he is talking about --

it was a technology. it was relatively new at the time. in fact, one of the brand-new technologies that was debuted at the fair was a facsimile machine. it could use radio wave to transmit a newspaper to be pointed out in your home. that is kind of amazing. the data transmission would take about 18 minutes per page to print. back then, you don't need a license. just like today. we are scrolling through the phone to read news. back to einstein. more ominously, his letter also wrote some hard truths. he said, quote, people living in different countries kill each other at irregular intervals. for this reason, anyone who

thinks of the future must live in fear and terror. and quote. wow. not exactly an inspiring message for the future. einstein would be proven right. probably sooner than he would have thought. more than most, he probably felt that fear from the future. einstein had already listed down his original german citizenship in protest of hitler. he left germany. he effectively became a refugee. he eventually landed in the united states. two days before the fair opened, hitler would withdraw withdraw from the german and poland nonaggression pact. the storm clouds we continue to gather over europe. i want to step back again to fill in a bit of background. what even is a world's fair?

>> these things were created in the late 1700s. it was meant to be held every five years. it is kind of like the olympics. in fact, the world's fair predates the modern olympics. they only got started around the turn of the 19 hundreds. the world's fair was created in this time where competition in europe was heating up. nations were battling each other for superiority. the french thought that it would be good to have some sort of exhibition where each country could gather and show of how amazing it was. there was all of the culture, the products, everything it had exactly that. this could foster friendly competition. that world's fair circuit last johnston's competitive, if not more competitive than in modern olympics are. the host nation would build huge buildings to host the fair. each country would pot on

elaborate exhibits. hundreds of thousands, millions would attend. these fairs would be talked about throughout the world. they run for two years at a time. in 1939, 44 million people attended. these fairgrounds were so huge that it would often take multiple days. in fact, it was recommended that if you attend the new york world's fair, you spent two weeks to see it all. multiple days. these used to be huge events. they store did -- they fizzled after the 1960s. although, i do admit to being surprised to find out there is literally a world's fair going on right now in dubai. the last one was in 2015 and italy. they are still happening. they are just a shadow of their former selves. back to 1939.

it is the united states turn to host the farragut. and the genesis came back in 1936. that is when he cites location was selected in queens, new york. an area that was a part of a garbage dump. 15 stories tall. the ferry was constructed on top of notorious garbage heaps. that was yet another unintended irony about what the future might bring. in order for the fair to be profitable, they had to get major european nations to attend in a major way. this started off poorly. britain in france agreed to construct small pavilions. only on the condition that the united states paid for them. >> a guy named -- the president of the world's fair corporation, he decided

that he was going to play a little bit dirty. he figured that the path to success, the way to get the big important western european nations to come, they wanted to get in bed with their top rivals. if they could get naji germany or the soviet union to attend in a big way, britain, france, the other western european nations, they would have to step up their game in order to compete. he promised the ussr a very large is very favorable location. if they could show off the soviet union. without haggling over the price, stalin agreed to pay for million dollars for the right to build. that is about $75 million today. >> the trick worked. the very next morning, he got a

call to come to paris to the go she ate for a much bigger french presence. the friends were not gonna let the soviets take all of the glory. cleverly, later cited that before they stopped in paris, he was going to make a little detour to italy. he wanted to sell mussolini on the idea that he could not possibly let those communist outshine the great fascist nation of italy. he arrives in rome. he would later write, quote, as i entered the dictators office, i saw a highly polished floor. at least 200 feet long. that was off in the distance. looking at the sunset through a massive window. it paints a lovely scene.

he continues to use flattery to solve the idea. -- >> but it's just like mussolini's vision for italy. his vision for italy, using the government to build a country back up, it is no different than roosevelt's new deal. it is all the same thing. when mussolini asked for the price after having agreed, whelan was a gambler, he update from the formally and he charged the soviets. the great nation of italy, a low price of just 5 million. france quickly increased their participation as well. ultimately, 62 nations would attend.

this is from the soviets and the italians. this money flooded in. it allowed the fair to expand and prosper. it was not just countries that attended the fair. partly, the fair was a means to help repair the image of capitalism in corporations. they had rightfully gotten a pretty bad rap during the great depression. >> a lot of people blamed big corporations for the economic problems. there was one proposal that said to get the economy juiced, to get people back to work again, the government should pay companies to hire people to build things. let's talk about toasters. build toasters. the government would then take them away and bury them in the landfill. you just have this complete complete production line of construction. it will be garbage. it would keep people employed.

building the stuff that got thrown out. it was the government's responsibility to keep production floating in a matter what. all of that waste does not matter. as one of the company is profiting. one public relations firm said, quote, the lack of confidence must be overcome in the public eye. major businesses were welcomed to open exhibits as well. in fact, this is one of the various times with mailing being clever about how to make money, he licensed the logo of the world's fair to corporations to print on jackets, mugs, whatever they wanted. this was pretty atypical at a time. it was the sort of corporate branding. it was not really a thing until the world's fair. he would brag about how much money was pouring in from these licensing deals that companies wanted to get in on.

they one of the excitement and to sell their products. none more so, none were more welcome to open exhibits then general motors. the general. they spent $7 million. today's equivalent of about 100 and $32 million. they build an incredible pavilion. it was a temporary one. 132 million for two years before they tore down. this was an astonishing in sweeping building. it rose ten stories tall. people waited for up to three hours to see the massive futuristic direct monday had billed. that is where they would fly over it in these chairs. looking down at the world of 1960. this is what they were depicting for the world of tomorrow. this is a world that might seem

rather familiar to us today. they had skyscrapers. they had 14 lanes on super highways. they were called express motor ways. narrators explained that by using these curved ramps, cars could take orders at 50 miles an hour. >> that was astonishing. the top speed, the top speed, flat out and pedal to the floor, it was 45 miles an hour. this would go around the corner at 50. you don't need to stop at the intersection to turn. in fact, that car of 1960 would have a radio activated beam projected from the front bumper. it would keep it following a safe distance behind the car ahead. that is what we have today with those automated cruise controls.

yet again, keep this in mind. this is a time when most rows were dirt or gravel. cars kept out at 45 miles an hour. most of these guys capers in that exhibit had landing pad on their roofs for flying cars. that was a pretty shocking thing. not even helicopters existed yet. the first successful helicopter flight would not come until six months after the fair opened. another similar exhibit -- this was the centerpiece of the fair. rejected the future. they had an exhibit called democracy -- democracy city. they're trying to play against communists and fascists. it depicted a future where people would live outside the city centers in these rural

neighborhoods. they called them pleasantville's. by using those new express motor ways and private automobiles, it would allow a man quick and easy access to his job in a city. he would also have the ability to live outside of the city center in a private single family home. he can live in quiet comfort. they are describing an american suburb eight years before the first suburb appears in america. there is also the idea that it would be normal for people to drive their own private cars to work. this was at a time when only one in five americans actually old car. most people walk to work. they took public transit. across the fair, there were displays of state-of-the-art high speed railway trains.

there were modern airplanes. there were new ocean liners. ford, the ford motor company, they had brand-new sedans. fair goers could drive them themselves on the so-called roads of tomorrow. that's part of the exhibit. get in a car and drive around. shocking. the majority of people in 1939 had never driven a car before. only one in five old one. at the fair, there were cars you could not drive. they were dram as you could go through. they also had what they call the world's longest electric stairway. it was just an escalator. people lined up to ride to the top. they then wanted to write it back down again. most glorious thing of all was a giant robot that they had on display. that is a key feature.

they could smoke cigarettes. this is a robot they called electoral. >> i present the robot man. electrode, come here. >> here he comes, ladies and gentlemen, he is walking up to keep you under his own power. all right. will you tell your story? please? >> who, me? >> yes, you. >> okay. ladies and gentlemen, i would be very glad to tell my story. i am a smart fellow. i have a very fine brain.

>> the most remarkable thing for -- >> i want him on my football team. >> i know you enjoy these. you want to get the most pleasure out of this. here you are. do you got that? hold on to it. >> you may now smoke this cigarette. go on. you like me. -- >> he is only two years old. just learning. >> that clip is from a promotional film. they are the company that built electrode. they put it out. people were mesmerized by the

futuristic technologies that were on display here. even a carrier corporation built and a glue to show aloft their brand-new technology. air conditioning. humans, with a touch of a button, they could cool them solved down on the hot summer day. that was astonishing. it was not until the 1970s one residential air conditioning start to become commonplace in american homes. in fact, in light of all of these new technologies, the narrator at the general motors motors exhibit said, quote, does it stream strange, fantastic, an unbelievable? remember, this is the year of the 1960s. and quote. a fantastic future, a world of tomorrow.

the at&t corporation, the phone company, they had even built and put on display to first device that could synthesize the sound of the human voice. the first computerized voice. listen to it here. >> will you have it say, greetings. >> greetings. >> well you have him repeat that in a high voice? now in his best faith? >> the new yorker magazine described the exhibit the best. they called it creepy. it is. depending on how you see it, there was a whole section of the fair that was devoted to kind of creepy things. it was not just countries or corporations on display. there was also an adult

entertainment section. adult in every sense of the word. there were nude shows, an exhibit called, and i quote, oscar the obscene octopus. it was a rubber octopus. it used its tentacles to slowly strip the bathing suits off a female swimmers. w>> there was also an exhibit called miracle town. it feature the world's greatest little people. 125 resident images lived in this little mini town. you could walk through and see it. russia, as a part of their exhibit, they did not do creepy american things. russia did not do little either. they went big. they sent a replica of a subway station in moscow. why a subway station?

not only was this just built, it was one of the most modern metro systems in the world. it was also meant to highlight that their communist system of government was truly for the people. instead of letting capitalist profits go to the wealthy or creating frivolous things like a fake human speech generator, in communism, all of that excess money, all the profits go back to the people in the form of public investments. investments like excellent and beautiful public transit systems. this picture here is a subway station in moscow. it looks like a cathedral. it was meant to. they thought the people in our society should be inspired by public works. let's compare. there is new york's subway.

it was built by the government, for the lowest bidder. it looks like a dingy basement. soviet communism show that their system was better. this is where society -- motto some guy can buy himself a sports car or gold weighted back scratcher. new yorkers often have no choice. dimly lit and water leaking dingy basement for their subway in new york. this challenge to western democracy and capitalism was real. it was on display. some of the people who sought where dignitaries from around the world. they arrived in new york to participate. this is the procession of the

motorcade for england's king george. he sailed over to attend the fair. on a day when the british king arrived, 1 million new or schoolchildren were given the day off to go and watch the procession. >> ultimately, we, with the benefit of our hindsight, we know how things turned out. this fair, it's vision for tomorrow, it was outdated before it even began. in september, 1938, a year before the fair opened, british prime minister had gone before the world. they met with hitler. he said this afterwards -- >> this morning, i had another talk with the german chancellor, hitler. the paper bears his name upon it, as well as mine it.

the settlement of the czechoslovakian province, which has -- it is, in my view, totally the prelude to a larger settlement in which all of europe may find peace. >> it is peace for our time, declares chamberlain. he has talked to hitler. we saved czechoslovakia from not see aggression. we see peace and prosperity for europe ahead. hitler's man, we can work with him. before the fair even opened, one month later, one year later, both checklist evac yeah and austria were under naughty

control. he violated his agreement. he lied to the british prime minister and the world. before the fares and, belgium, denmark, france, the netherlands, others, nearly half of the european nations would be added to the list of having been crushed by not see aggression. after the mattie takeover, they lead the charge to a $600,000 to help finish the pavilion. that is despite the fact the germans demanded that it be shut down. the country was under their control now. ultimately, the outbreak of war was cast over the entire affair. when the 1940s season rolled around, it runs through the spring, summer, and fall of 1939. shut down for the winter. reopen for a second year. when that second year came around, ten european countries

would not return. those who had worked at the polish pavilion, the first country to fall under the aggression, they did not go back to europe at the end of 1939. why voluntarily returned to a country under the sea occupation? a few of the staff open up a polish restaurant in new york city. they had nowhere else to go. they had no hope for the future. the most notable nation not to return was the soviet union. they order that their massive pavilion be torn down. it should be created up and shipped back to russia. that left a gaping hole in the fairgrounds. in his place, the americans opened of a big open space call the american commons. it was dedicated to the perpetuation of american ideals. the american ideal might have been real for americans. the fear was even more real.

in boston, the dome of the state house, which was this beautiful gold color, they painted it gray to make it harder for not see bombers to spot if they were ever to attach the united states. the fear is real. after 1940, as the season opened with the british, they were the last european country to really hold out against the nancy's. lyndon was bombed nightly during the blitz. that british pavilion in new york became a crowd favorite. packed with people wanting to show support and learn about britain. in their exhibit, they had displayed an original magna carta from the ear 12:15. that is the first time had ever left england. with the outbreak of war, the

government decided that it was probably safer to leave the magna carta in the united states should england fall to not cease. it would stay in the united states at fort knox until 1947. probably just as well. it was also in the british pavilion where a timebomb was discovered. planted in a back room next to denazify ag. the police had managed to get this bomb out of the building that was still full of tourists. they carried it outside. they started to work on it. it killed people. the only evidence was the flag planted in the british pavilion. >> despite the concerns of the

organizers, the idea that they did not want this to happen, it was their glory's vision of the future. instead, the buildings and exhibits were dismantled. 40 million tons of steel were sent to be melted down and made into tanks. sent to fuel the war effort. this world of tomorrow literally ended up in the war. that grand edition of the world of tomorrow seemed to collapse into the ashy that it was originally built on. it will still remain. there is this iconic year that stands out in world history. even if the memory of the fair itself --

it is mostly receded into the background. for those of you who want to learn more about the 1939 world's fair, this is a great book. this is the twilight at the world of tomorrow. do you credit, this is above that i have drawn information from to help build out this top. i will wrap up my portion there. the floor is open for questions. we can continue the conversation. we can pull out any things you might want expanded upon. more fascinating things about this world of tomorrow. the world of 1939. thank you for watching. i'm going to turn the mic back over to heather. she is going to moderate q&a. >> thank you. like allen said, please feel free to continue the questions in a community box on your screen. >> we already have quite a few. i will dive right in if you are all set. >> absolutely. let's go for it. >> i am going to go back to the beginning of your top. you had mentioned that there

were a lot of americans who went to the soviet union search of a better life. someone is curious, do we know what became of those folks? did they have to come back? did they stay there? do we have any information about what happened with them? >> we do. yes. there were huge numbers who went over in the depths of the great depression. the soviet recruited people who work in the automotive industry, the steel industry, these were into industries that they wanted to build up rapidly. there were many books on this. there were memoirs of people who went over. at first, they loved it. they were astonished. this was a country on the move. it is building rapidly. it is industrializing. there is work to be done. the soviet people, that first generation, they seemed happy, proud, patriotic. they were producing for the future. it was good money compared to what they could make in the

united states. the living accommodations were great. the soviets wanted this partly as a propaganda effort. they gave them great apartments and many privileges. what is most interesting is that there were thousands of african americans who were recruited to go to the soviet union. the soviets were pitching their idea. it was not the political or economic project. it was also his sole project. the soviet union, one of their things was to eliminate inequality. they welcomed african americans. they were heavily discriminate against back home. welcome them to the soviet union. it is equal here. we are color blind. we don't care what the color of your skin's. the most fascinating memoirs are from african americans. there was a book called black on red. he talked about how he talked

about his great life in the soviet union at first. in fact, there is this one story beetles among the white americans who came over and worked in his factory. they brought their racism with them. they jumped him and beat him up. he fought them off. the police were called. the police came and interviewed him. he was cowering. in america, if you fight a white man, you are going to prison. there is no justice for people of color in america in the 1930s. he was shocked to see that these russian police officers treated him with respect. they questioned him, they arrested the americans who had committed this crime. they deported them back to america. they made this guy like a national hero. at first, life was great. and then it wasn't. by the late 1930s, as the soviets get more repressive -- there are specifically the outbreak of world war ii. there was a lot of suspicion

cast on these people. a lot of them have left. those initial rose colored glasses, they realize that life in a dictatorship is now it looks like on the surface. it is not all of that great. a lot of them were kicked out at the start of world war ii. there were many others. there was the author of black on red. he meets a russian woman. he gets married, has kids. he has a wonderful life. as wonderful as you can understand honest russia. it shows the poll of communism in those early days. they learn about the atrocities. this does not really work as a system. it was really alluring to a lot of americans who were out of work. they are impoverished, desperate at the time. they're starting a new life going to russia. that was a thing. >> great. thank you. okay, you obviously mentioned

that the ferry was in queens on a dump site. someone is curious, was this the same location that you used for the 1964 fair? >> it was. yes. we have this former dump site. it was cleaned up for the 1939 fair. all of those buildings were torn down except for one. my understanding is that they made it into a park between those years. in 1964, when the fair came back to the united states, they held it in the same location. they had the same theme. instead of the world of tomorrow, it was futurama. begin pretty to this future world. general motors came into this exhibit. the big thing of the 1964 fair that have one was obsessed about space travel. that was the hot new technology. we had not yet gone to the moon. we had only just gone to space. we are roaming the outer bounds

of the atmosphere. yes, it is the same location in both of those fairs. to be honest, some of you who might live here today, arnold became of it after. i don't actually know. >> we will come back to a couple of things that you touched on in that answer. before i move on, someone wanted to know if you are able to talk about the federal art projects involved with the site. >> wow. not really. i can only speak about their involvement in the site. that is part of the new deal. their funding it. there is a civilian conservation core. 100,000 people.

on the east coast, one of the big projects, you would have been to the blue ridge parkway. those are billed under the new deal projects. there are cabins up there. they're built by roosevelt. part of the, you know, we often focus on the infrastructure building. that is a made to make work. to help out of work artists, the government pays artists to go out and do all kinds of things. they want to be poetry, to set up classes in communities, to teach our, to do big murals and paintings around the country. to go out and document stories and musicians. they pay artists. that is leading up to the fair. there are a bunch of art installations. there is a building dedicated to artistic pursuits. i cannot get specifically into the involvement. piece by piece in the world fair. i don't know.

>> great context. thank you. >> okay. a couple of people are curious about the international exposition of 1939. do we know if there's any connection between the two of them? >> there are competing rules fares the year. there is the opening clip of roosevelt giving his speech. the world fair. he pauses, the new york world's fair is open. there are concurrent fairs. i don't know the specifics. there are rules affairs that are the big events every four or five years. there are also the world expos. they are on off years. the 1937 pairs of that i depicted there was an expo. the 1939 was the world fair. for whatever reason, there is no connection in terms of it. it is not like the same

organization that runs new york also runs san francisco. they bid for and got an expo same year as the for world's fair. there was this sort of intercoastal competition. that is from the corporation that runs new york. unconnected to the one that runs san francisco, that is what i understand. >> wonderful. thank you. other than the company exhibits, to the u.s. as a country have an exhibit? >> the u.s. had their pavilion. the big round building that there was an image of, they're putting the democracy city in it. that is meant to be the centerpiece of the fair. that is the u.s. contribution. the u.s. also exhibits a bunch of h technologies in a bunch of different expo buildings.

there are televisions, light mobs. these things are on display at the u.s. contributions. what the countries bring our cultural displays, feats of science and technology, and products that their country excels at making. for example, the soviets, their feet of science and technology was that they had just recently conquered the arctic. they had been doing these expeditions up to the arctic circle. they had flights and people going up there. they had put a big arctic display up. they had polar bears, these planes. it was a wild display of the archaic. that was their technological feat. the u.s. does have a number of other exhibits. their centerpiece is the big tower that they put up as a visual thing. it is like the olympics. host country is supposed to show off. you need to build these big things. that is what they build. in fact, one other site, it was

supposed to be engineered so that it looks like it was floating on this fountain that was blasting up under it. that would have been really cool. they could not make engineering work. it just sat there above. >> okay. speaking of that, you had mentioned that they had rockets and spaced off in 64. someone was curious if there was any aeronautical exhibits of planes or rockets at the 39 world fair? >> yes. there were. air travel. lots of exhibits about that. they are showing off modern aircraft. that is rather than by playing. that's what we mostly had in 18 twenties. aircraft, sure. the big exhibit that people were most in tragedian were trains. they had a whole show about it.

the name of it is that my mind. they are showing you the evolution of railway travel. it is from the old wild west. there are these modern and sleek bullet trains. they even had a high-speed steam powered train. it is running between both moore and new york. it brought people up to the fair. it is these modern trains that are still seeing steam powered. general motors did have it on display. the newest technologies. there is a diesel electric train. that's what we used today. i should put a picture up. it looks like a modern train. this is a freight train engine. the trains are big. it is the cars, the automobiles, the highways. people are just fascinated. a little on space travel. a little bit on rockets. rocketry was sort of seen as being amateur child's play through 1920. it was not big yet. big after world war ii.

again, hitler overshadowed the world fair. rocketry can work. that work is a weapon. it is a really effective weapon. the u.s. devote enormous funding to developing the atomic bomb as our superweapon. hitler put funding into developing rocket engines. you could cabin with it and launch it at london. less about space travel. that is not become a thing until the 1950s. we get fascinated with it. we don't know about the space, h g wells, the world the world's. less so back then. >> great. thank you. okay. someone wants to know, who are some of the now fame is architects were commission in the pavilions? is there someone that stands out? is it more of a household name? >> no idea.

that is for someone interested in architecture. that is beyond the realm of what i know. if we are looking at road fares in general, the 18 hundreds, i think it was 1893 chicago world's fair. there was a bigger amount of hoopla over the fact that women had designed with the buildings. that was in the 1800s. yeah. i don't know about the architecture specifically. they typically bring in these architects. they built these brick grandiose designs. architecturally, one of the problems was, how do you build buildings? the gm building was ten stories tall. looked amazing. they built it cheaply. you're gonna terry down in just two years. these buildings are really flimsy. we are not going to do this. billings will blow over in the

wind. the round building was in a heavy storm. parts ripped off of it during a heavy storm. they were stuck on the outside. you need this to last more than two years. i don't know who actually build them. >> not to worry. i know that you mentioned attendance surging at the uk pavilion. was the intense in 1940 versus 1939? get as many people come? >> the attendance of these things, like everything, they were wild. we get 60 to 80 million people attending the fair. they ended up getting this. i do not broke down every year. 25 million.

that is a second here. . one of the things they tried was because they had rejected 60 million people. they wanted to make good on their financial promises. the attendance never hit anywhere near what they thought it would. right at the end of season one, certainly season two, they lowered the price. it did bring in some more people. it kind of fizzled a little bit. the problem with lowering the price is that a pre-sold some of the season passes at a higher price. people wanted refunds. they think they are getting ripped off. attendance wise, this became a calamity. they expected 1 million people on opening day. they got 200,000. 44 million overall. that is nothing to sneeze at. it is not the 60 million they needed. in overall attendance, it was

not a flop, 44 million is not a flop, but it did not reach the level that they had hoped for. inside of the fair, there was all kinds of competition. whose exhibit is gonna be the best? in season two, the british exhibit became really popular. that was right after the invasion of poland. the poland exhibit became really popular. overall, the number one exhibit was the general motors exhibit. wait three hours to get into it. the average of about 30,000 people a day. there is this display about the 1960s -- general motors takes the cake as being the best attended fair. not>> great, thank you. so, someone did ask if i was a financial success. from your answer, i'm assuming it wasn't? >> it was not.

it wasn't a complete bust, but like the olympics, it's very rare that these things make money. the corporation had poured a bunch of money with the promise of paying it back at certain interest rates, then started trying to convince the people. often it was corporations who got the seed funding in their first. and when it was clear they weren't going to get paid back but pennies on the dollars, they tried to use it as a pr thing. like, yes, i support the fair because it's a good civic project. but financially, it was not profitable. >> what was the public reaction or opinion to the fair? >> that's a good question, because it kind of ties and with the lack of profitability. in that one of the public's reactions was that it was too expensive. this is in the midst of the great depression, ticket prices they thought were too high. but the biggest complaint where that the food prices inside the

fair where way too high. so it's funny today, there are complaining that a hamburger cost a dime, that was too much money. so, while people were fascinated by this, people cry during the gm exhibit, it was really overwhelming in a way. people were attracted to the technologies and all that. but, you know, it's still the midst of the great depression and people complained about the price and of the food so much that the ticket sales, the price, was cut. and the fair had to promise that later that year they would have cheaper food options available inside the fair. that it wouldn't be such a money grab. so, people were cheap, if you read the media counts they are complaining a lot about the price of the fair. partly, not to say was underwhelming, but partly the reason they never had the attendance targets they had hoped was it just didn't

generate the buzz that people had hoped. and we will never know if that was because the war breaks out and people aren't willing, people are pulling back on their spending and willing to go have this fun, celebratory thing. it's hard to say. >> it's funny, it hasn't changed much, right? you go to disney world and food still costs that. >> our beer at the stadium or something. >> we will always complain about the price of food. anyhow, someone else wanted to know, could new york or some other u.s. metropolis make a latter day world's fair or expo a financial success? where has the magic of everyday electronic technologies and permanent exhibitions like disney world step caught render world fares and expose pass a? >> no and yes, i think is the answer there. but part of the reason these things fizzle is they are enormously expensive.

they almost never turn a profit, they take all these resources to build. and what, really, it's become is that companies don't need this anymore. we don't really do, this we don't need a huge exposition to show off how great we are and get all these countries together. i think partly it's become so planted by the olympics, which we have the same complaints about. it's too expensive, countries elizabeth shove money on it and you're left with all this infrastructure you can't use afterwards. the thing is just torn down. i think that's a big part of it, i think also now on major countries that is just not these huge swath of open land available in the cities anymore. which is where they used to build. in philadelphia they built into the middle of the city, in new york it's just on long island. but space, these places are huge fares, unbelievably huge.

i think that's one of the things, and the person who asked that question is right. maybe we've gotten jaded or i can't even think of a technology now that excites me, from what i read, i wasn't around in the 1960s, but the way that the space race excited people. the way that electronics excited people, robots excited people in that way. now, it's like the most exciting thing is virtual reality end of the metaverse. which is entirely lame if you ask me. i'm not going to go to the world's fair to put on goggles and look around and see a fake world around me. i think that, and mainly the fact that we have less time, life is more busy. and there is such a plethora of entertainment options that i'm not going to spend two weeks going to a world's fair to walk around for the day, to see things that i already see. that's on one hand, and as i'm talking to through i think even now that it used to be exciting

in an era before mass advertising and commercialization, which comes up really after the 1950s, it was exciting to go to the fair and go to a corporate exhibit and see general motors cars. these things are just giant advertising platforms, but that was cool. to see all the new things on offer. so, yeah, we've lost our sense of childlike hope for the future in that way. and we just know meijer selves with the endless entertainment available. the personal note here is i-two, when i started researching world's fare a number of years ago, kind of surprised to see that they are still going on. even with that, one of the things i study a lot and love research of is food. the 2015 world fair in italy revolved around food. as a researcher on the topic, i didn't even know that thing was going on. i might have gone to it but i

just didn't know. did know that right now there's one going on. it's lost it's a lower, i'm not sure this thing will ever come back in a big way that inspires people like it used to. >> speaking of food, we got in a question or to surrounding food from the fares. first of, all hounded food displays represent the future of food preparation and consumption, if they did at all? >> that's a good question. i don't know off the top of my head that i recall if they represented the food voucher of food production. consumption. from what i've come across, there is no futuristic space foods available at the time. especially then, it was essentially most of the countries would, in their pavilions, have cafeterias that highlighted their own national dishes. trying to think of an example. wish i had flip through my nose to think of an example of a food that was on display that you could go to a cafeteria and

eat. the thing i do know is the problem was, often, eating at the national cafeterias was more expensive than eating at the fairgrounds outside the pavilions. people complained about that to. it's more of we're coming to show you our, quote unquote, foreign foods. if i'm delighted coming it's not a foreign threat to me, but we're putting on our national dish is. the ferry did make a big show out of saying that they are going to offer cheaper hot dogs and hamburgers to the masses. but i can't think of any food corporation that put on a new display, it was really the big corporate giants like general motors and could he retires that setup, it is firestone tires at set up an actual factory to show you have a tire was made. of course, they called it the tire of tomorrow. but yet working factory, which i guess is cool to look at.

but it would be neat if they had food factories. but even then, the mechanization of food really hits in the 1950s and after world war ii. that's another thing that i can't give specifics on. >> someone excitedly put into the q&a the belgian waffle, maybe that was one. >> one of the technologies they displayed with an electric waffle iron. so, yeah, you can use the iron to make waffles, that might have been exciting. you could do this in your own home! so, that is a food product on display. >> someone else said that you always hear about how the ice cream cone was invented for or at the chicago world's fair. are there any innovations that were created at the 1939 new york world's fair? something that wasn't on display necessarily but came out of it anyway? >> specifically in terms of

food, not that i'm aware of. it is often worlds fares that launched new food innovations. that is cream, the hamburger was launched, allegedly, one of the many origin stories, was launched at the 1904 fair. where they wanted to take a beef patty and put it between two pieces of bread so you could walk around while munching on it. the hamburger before that was really popular in the u.s.. i can tell you one of the things the organizers wanted to do but didn't of. as a marketing thing, they wanted to make hot dogs and hot dog buns in the shape of that trial on, the try sided tower around the brown building. that was the area where they were going to do that as a marketing thing. maybe that would've been cool, maybe hot dogs would be triangle shapes today if that had taken off. but what comes out of the fair not on the food side, certainly television, skyrocket's and takes off after the 1950s.

the new modern automobiles, definitely the highway system that they put on display there. it takes 20 years but becomes, now, ubiquitous, it's how we drive around today on these clover leaf interchanges in these super highways. even with radar guided cars with collision avoidance and all that. so, yeah, there are some things that have stuck around that come out of the world's fair. >> all right. so, i think we have time for maybe two more questions. then i'm going to ask you one question after that that is not necessarily content related, but someone noticed something in your backyard that they wanted me to touch on. you probably know what it is. >> i think i can guess. >> someone wanted to know, how many structures and buildings built for the fair are still standing today? i know you alluded to not being sure, so if you don't know, let me know. because we have a few people that overheard in about this. >> yeah, one. there is one building that

remained, and it was constructed with the intention that it would remain after the fair. i think it's a government building today. they kept one, maybe the threat relates back to the president asked about architecture. it was the infamous robert moses, the highway builder of new york city, who had a hand in designing this fair. he wanted after the fair was overdue turned it into a big park, much like central park. which i understand parts of horror, even to this day. almost all the buildings save for that one central one were torn down and scrapped, which was pretty common in the context of worlds fairs. you keep one centerpiece and the rest gets thrown in the trash. in this, case melted down and made into bullets and tanks. some of the countries dismantle their pavilions, they are made to be easily taken apart, and they ship them back home.

famously, russia, as i mentioned, ships there is back home. i'm going to get this mixed up weather as 1937 or 39, but they always tended to, at the peak of the tower of their buildings, put a huge bronze statue of a man and woman charging into the future. in communist glory. that element is now in a part in moscow, actually anna fairgrounds in moscow. so, some countries keep pieces of them. most famously, the eiffel tower in paris was the centerpiece of their 1889 world fair. it too was meant to be torn down after the fair, they left it up and now it is the icon of paris. so, good for them. there's nothing really iconic that stayed behind about the affair in new york. >> great, thank you. it looks like we have a few new yorkers in the audience, because they mention it is now flushing meadow park. anyone who's a new york and wants to go and imagine what it

might have looked like back then, you should definitely do that. >> there we go, i knew part of it at least was turned into a park. there we go, go for a jog. >> final content question. you showed a bunch of different technologies and you might've alluded to the answer to this a little bit. but out of the technologies that were shown at the fair, which was the most successful and which was the least successful? now that we have hindsight. >> the television, i think, is the most successful. of course, it dominates our life today. it wasn't invented at the fair, as i mentioned it wasn't even debut technically at the, fair did not cvs to that. but this ability to transmit images and news and everything stalls out because of world war ii. then by the 1950s, it's just rocketing. certainly the television. the least successful, i think,

the notion of flying cars. it's something they talked about the 1930s, certainly play up in the 1950s. that this idea is just around the corner. talk now about how there is flying cars right around the corner, companies are developing them, and it's not going to happen. starting in 1939 they're talking about building buildings with landing pads for everyone's private flying car. so, the flying part of the car didn't work out. the radar, the ability for a car to track the car ahead of it and speed up and slow down, cars have that now. it's still relatively recent. so, that took 80, 90 years to come to fruition. but certainly the highway system is, as i mentioned earlier, the idea of the suburbs. but you live outside the city and commute and in your private car. that vision worked part of, me as i did this research, i kind

of wish they had kept some of these exhibits. i wish the gm and the paris sphere, they put it in a museum so today we could go back and look at it rather than just seeing it a pictures and reading about it. see what they thought the future would be. because i think if you went through the gm exhibit, today it would look a lot like today minus the flying cars. >> fair enough. so, now, the non content questions. someone is curious if you use the typewriter in the rotary phone behind you. >> yes, the typewriter, it works, it's a 1926. the rotary phone, no. it works, i would assume, haven't used it in years. but yeah, the phone was my father's. the typewriter, i don't know where that wind came, from i have a number of typewriters. the phone no, but the typewriter yes. like i'm stuck in 1930, nine i'm a consummate historian. it is a tory letters to friends and families. so, it's functional.

>> awesome. well, thank you so much. that is all the time we have for today. so, thank you to our audience for joining us and for your great questions, and thank you allen for another exciting and fascinating presentation. >> >> if you're enjoying american history tv, sign up for a newsletter using the qr code on the screen to receive the weekly schedule of upcoming programs like lectures in history, the presidency and more. sign up for the american history tv newsletter today and be sure to watch american history tv every saturday or anytime online at c-span.org slash history. >> middle and high school students, it's your time to shine! you are invited to participate of this here is c-span student cam documentary competition. in light of the upcoming midterm elections, picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress. we asked this his competitors, what is your top priority and why?

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