AFTER THE WAR

AFTER THE WAR

The world at the end of World War Two is a very different one from that which preceded it. Much of the world has been devastated by the fighting. This fact is complicated by the growing antagonism between the USSR and America. The total financial cost is estimated at one trillion 154 billion 1945 dollars. In addition, property damage (excluding China where civil war is still going on) is estimated at close to two hundred and thirty-one trillion dollars. The lives of everyone involved have been changed. World wide as many as 92 million people had been mobilized. After the war many of those who remain alive among the 92 million are demobilized and return home or go elsewhere and look for work. In addition to this somewhat orderly mass movement of people there are three other kinds of population movement in Europe at the end of the war:

There are the people who had been forced into Nazi Germany to work are now being resettled in their own countries. Moving in the opposite direction there are the Germans who are now being driven back into their own country from countries they overran and from territories they now have to give up as part of the final surrender. Then there are Russians and Poles who are settling into territories the Soviets annexed or occupied at the end of the war, from which the original inhabitants either fled or were expelled.

All this leaves an incalculable number of people on the move. This endless swarm of refugees will complicate political settlements of territory and will occupy the attention of the United Nations in general and Eleanor Roosevelt* in particular for a considerable time to come.

Not only are people on the move, there are an awful lot of people who died. Loss of life has been without precedent and, in many cases, unknowable, although it must have exceeded 50 million. The Axis (Germany, Japan, and their allies) military dead approach six million. Allied military dead appear to be around one million (again excluding China where statistics aren't available, although General Ho Ying-chin reports 1,250,000 dead). There are a lot more Civilian deaths than military. Russia claims 20 million dead, a large part of which are civilians. Deaths in the Nazi concentration camps (Auchwitz, Dachau, etc). run by Germany exceed ten million and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company claim that somewhere around 1,500,000 civilians were killed in air raids in the European theatre of war. All this doesn't begin to count the millions who died in the Eastern countries where not many records are kept.

Russia picks up an awful lot of territory by the end of the war and communist regimes in Eastern Europe are all supported by Soviet troops, so what comes to be called the "Eastern Bloc" is forming under the military might of the Soviet Union.

After being a battlefield, Europe is a physical and economic wasteland. Industrial and agricultural capacity is less than half what it had been before the war. Railroads are particularly hard hit. The outlook will remain bleak well into 1949.

Asia is also devastated. Having witnessed the Japanese defeating the white, European colonial master, local populations dare to aspire to nationalism and independence. This rising nationalism, as well as internal political conflict, will lead to growing civil warfare (like that which has been going on for years in China between the Communists under Mao Tse-Tung* (or Zedong) and the nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek*). It will also lead to armed attempts to throw off colonial powers. The most devastating of the colonial wars will be fought in Indo China against the French.

Theatre Germany - is divided, but her theatres continue, each under its own regime. Both Germanys

will have state supported theatres, but the West will also have many privately owned ones as well.

In Oslo, Norway, a bunch of young actors start the Studio Theatre*. Their production of Thornton Wilder*'s Our Town* tours all over the country to play before audiences who have never seen a theatre piece. This company specializes in Stanislavski*'s acting method and in doing modern plays.

Britain - Following the war the commercial theatre in England is innocuous at best. Terence Rattigan* (1911-1977,) who had been writing plays since the thirties, is one of the current playwrights, busy churning out drawing room comedies. His best work will come later. The more exciting and innovative work comes from other places. This year the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA) becomes the Arts Council and municipalities begin to allot a percentage of their revenues to support the arts. One of the groups that will get this support is headed by director Joan Littlewood*, who reorganizes the pre-war amateur group, Theatre Union*, known for unconventional productions and experimental plays. The new group is the Theatre Workshop* with Littlewood* as the artistic director. It will tour and finally, in 1953, settle in the Theatre Royal* in Stratford, London. Littlewood's system and her production style are distinctively unique, owing something to both Stanislavski and Brecht.

Another stimulating movement beginning this year is the Young Vic*, founded as part of the Old Vic* Drama School. The school is under the direction of Michael Saint-Denis* who operates on the principles of the great French director, Copeau*. Both schools will be abandoned by 1952 under financial problems but by then they will have brought new and stimulating ideas into the British theatre. The Old Vic* (tapped to be the future National Theatre) is currently under the direction of Laurence Olivier*, Ralph Richardson* and John Burrell*. It will spend the next decade being the best of all the English companies and the best-known company in the English-speaking world.

In the United States - the Pulitzer Prize* this year goes to a delightful comedy about an invisible six-foot tall rabbit that will become a favorite revival in communities all over the country, Mary Chase*'s Harvey*. A new playwright appears on the commercial scene this year when Tennessee Williams* has his first Broadway success with Glass Menagerie*. The designer, Jo Mielziner* (1901-76,) has been one of the leading stage designers since he designed for the Lunt's production of Molnar's The Guardsman* in 1924. His work will dominate the American theatre for the next two decades, as will that of Williams. The play is directed by Eddie Dowling* and Margo Jones* (1913-55). Margo Jones* has been bringing Williams* along as a playwright ever since she directed one of his early plays at the Cleveland Playhouse* in 1943. This year she starts an experimental theatre in Dallas, Texas to encourage the work of new playwrights and do experimental productions of classics. The latest musical comedy by Oscar Hammerstein II* and Richard Rogers* comes out this year. It is Carousel*, based on the Balkan play Liliom* by Moln r. The plot includes the death of the hero and just goes to show that musical comedies are loosing the purely comic touch. Serious seems to be OK, too.

In Japan the view is that American theatre should be seriously entertained. the Haiyuza (Actor's Theatre*) of Japan is founded with a main company and several smaller studios (to get experimentation off the ground quickly). They will introduce many western authors to Japanese authors. American companies will tour Japan extensively with such playwrights as Williams* and, of course, with all the major musicals.

Almost all the theatre in France is to be found in Paris. After the war this begins to change. One of the most fruitful events will be the dramatic festivals funded by both national and local authorities.

In Brazil an Afro-Brazilian named Abdias do Nascimento* forms the Black Experimental Theatre*. The object is to find and present productions that reflect the black experience. It is also designed, as are most experimental theatres, to encourage new playwrights and find a way of expressing and passing on this segment of society's culture. Considering that half the population of Brazil is black, it seems like a worthwhile venture.

1946 Society - FRANCE - The wartime Cabinet headed by the Free French leader Charles DeGaulle breaks

up, DeGaulle "withdraws", and a succession of weak governments follow. In regard to the French Colonial Empire, some more forward-looking politicians advocate the establishment of a "French Union", similar but different from the British Commonwealth. But the majority of the government seem to have learned nothing about the changing world and insist on pursuing the same old colonial attitudes and behavior. French problems begin immediately. The French weren't there among the Allied forces driving the Japanese out of Indochina, so, it's not surprising that after the Chinese and British forces leave and the French try to reimpose their rule by force, open warfare follows with the local population. It won't end until the crushing defeat of the French forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. However, Asia is only a minor problem compared with the great bulk of the French empire which was in Africa. Here, too, the old-fashioned imperialist administrators use force to try to put down independence movements. The struggles in Africa will totally absorb the French in the next decade and bring it to the brink of civil war.

UNITED STATES - The Republicans gain control of Congress and frustrate Truman's domestic agenda. The housing situation is critical, what with all these discharged veterans starting families and not finding any houses to move into. This year a clever construction man (named Levit) who spent the war making military things in the Seabees (the Navy construction arm) starts building affordable housing in large quantities in a converted potato field in New York. It will be called Levittown and become the model for endless tract housing in innumerable suburbs all over the country. This will gradually change American society (which has been essentially small-town,) into a homogeneous suburbia defined by its television counterparts, its narrow age range and its standing as parents of the "baby boom."

ASIA MINOR - The Turks are having a very hard time living up to their views on peace since they are being seriously threatened by the Soviets (the so-called "Battle of Azerbaijan" includes a large concentration of Russian troops in the Balkan area, demands for military bases on the Straits (the Bosporus) and canceling the Russian-Turkish Friendship Treaty). The ASIA MINOR - The Turks are having a very hard time living up to their views on peace since they are being seriously threatened by the Soviets (the so-called "Battle of Azerbaijan" includes a large concentration of Russian troops in the Balkan area, demands for military bases on the Straits (the Bosporus) and canceling the Russian-Turkish Friendship Treaty). The

ARGENTINA - Juan Domingo Per¢n* is elected president and his wife, Mar¡a Eva Duarte de Per¢n* makes government leadership a partnership affair. She establishes offices in the Ministry of Labor and forms the Eva de Peron Welfare Foundation which enables her to take over the field of social welfare. She will bring Argentine women into public life.

Theatre The French Ministry of Arts and Letters begins subsidizing new productions and theatrical

companies and institutes an annual competition for best production and direction and encouraging decentralization. They also reorganize the state theatres, combining the management of the Od‚on* and the Com‚die Fran‡aise* and of the two opera houses. New regulations reducing outside commitments to film and other productions are imposed. This drives many of the leading members of the Com‚die Fran‡aise* to quit. Jean-Louis Barrault* resigns from the Com‚die Fran‡aise* and, with his wife, the actress Madeleine Renaud*, form

a joint company. They embark on a very successful production career that will include everything from Greek plays to the latest Absurdist* scripts. The playwright, Armand Salacrou*, comes out with Nights of Wrath*. In Austria, the Salzburg Festival* is reopened.

In Great Britain, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon is reorganized under Barry Jackson* ('46-'48) into the Stratford Festival Company* . It is enlivened by new young directors: Peter Brook*, Paul Scofield*, Anthony Quayle* (director of company '48- '56) and Glen Bryan Shaw* (from '53). Novel innovations become the norm with outstanding actors appearing often: Gielgud*, Olivier*, Redgrave*, Peggy Ashcroft*. Between 1946 (beginning this year with Christopher Fry*'s A Phoenix Too Frequent *) and 1955 (when the "kitchen sink" style of drama begins to be popular,) the poetic drama of Christopher Fry* and T.S. Eliot will create a brief stir in both England and America. Fry* will be widely produced in America.

In America one of the greatest playwrights of the century comes out of his twelve year retirement and permits one of his new plays to be produced. Eugene O'Neill*'s The Iceman Cometh* enjoys a long Broadway run despite its extraordinary length. It will go on to international productions, too. Lillian Hellman* comes out with her satiric comedy, Another Part of the Forest* . One of the most enduring comedies comes out this year, Garson Kanin*'s Born Yesterday*. The education of the stock "dumb blond" character of "Billie Dawn" (played magnificently by Judy Holiday*,) takes place in the midst of the political corruption and greed of Washington. This play will be revived many times and made into a very popular movie. The Pulitzer Prize* this year goes to a play about the political process, State of the Union* by Russel Crouse* and Howard Lindsay*. The New York City Ballet* is founded by the internationally renowned choreographer George Balanchine* (1904-83 founder of the School of American Ballet) and Lincoln Kirstein* (1907- dance and theater executive and writer). The best musical is Irving Berlin*'s Annie Get Your Gun* with a dandy title role for Ethel Merman*. This year Eva Le Gallienne* (1899- , who has been running The Civic Repertory* since 1926), Margaret Webster* (1905-72, an actress with an outstanding reputation for directing Shakespeare*, see 1943) and Cheryl Crawford* (1902- actress, director and Theatre Guild* and Group Theatre* founder) get together and form the American Repertory Theatre*. It will be active for two years.

In Europe the festival at Salzburg (Austria) reopens this year. It will resume its world famous position.

1947 Society - The Truman Doctrine* is hammered out this year as a tough stand on the part of the west to

prevent communist domination of Turkey and Greece. One of the most significant events this year is the beginning of the Marshall Plan* which is designed to ensure the economic recovery of Western Europe. (There seems no point in repeating the mistakes of the last war and letting Europe fester in economic ruin). The Republican congress finds it very difficult to come up with the money for this, but General Marshall's* reputation sways them into coming on board Truman's plan. On August 15 India and Pakistan become independent countries and members of the Commonwealth, as Great Britain finally lets go of her Indian Empire. In February Britain announces that it will hand over the Palestine problem to the U.N.. In November the U.N. proposes a partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states with the city of Jerusalem under international control. The Zionists (the Jewish side) accept and the Arabs reject it and the Arabs prepare for war. In December the British declare they will pull out in May. Things here will go from bad to worse.

ARGENTINA - Mar¡a Eva Duarte de Per¢n* manages to get woman suffrage this year. Enrollment of veterans in American colleges reaches its peak this year (they attend on the GI

Bill of 1944 which provides all veterans with financial aid for going to college). There are over 1 million veterans among some 2.5 million students attending college. This changes colleges and universities beyond recognition. Most of these GIs are older than the typical college student, have no interest in the "typical" social agenda of fraternities, football and parties and are seriously pursuing their studies in order to achieve a better career. The GIs also go to school with new families. Temporary college housing (mostly surplus army Quonset huts) for married students goes up all over.

Theatre International theatre understanding is promoted by the United Nations. This year UNESCO

(United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) founds the International Theatre Institute* (ITI*). The ITI* will embark on a number of useful and productive activities including encouraging the development of theatre throughout the world in places where there haven't been hardly any.

A new producing unit in the United States is the Actors Studio*. It is founded by Robert Lewis, Elia Kazan and Cheryl Crawford* to give selected actors a place to refine and develop the Stanislavski* system. Next year Robert Lewis will resign and Lee Strasberg* will become the leading force. Under his influence of actors are taught to hunt for the "inner truth" as the basis for good acting.

ANTA* (American National Theatre Academy, which was founded to stimulate theatre outside New York) never has much in the way of funds, but becomes the main American center for collecting and exchanging information about theatre. It is active in encouraging the decentralization of American theatre. This year more of that decentralization begins when ANTA* (American National Theatre Academy, which was founded to stimulate theatre outside New York) never has much in the way of funds, but becomes the main American center for collecting and exchanging information about theatre. It is active in encouraging the decentralization of American theatre. This year more of that decentralization begins when

A new playwright appears on the Broadway scene this year as Arthur Miller* , (1915- ) has his first real success with All My Sons*. The theme of responsibility for one's actions will become the major preoccupation of Miller. This time the plot revolves around a father who does a little wartime profiteering and how this affects his children. No play is selected for the Pulitzer Prize* from last year's season.

Eugene O'Neill*'s A Moon For the Misbegotten* opens this year on Broadway. Musical comedy this year includes Alan Jay Lerner* and Frederick Loewe* memorable

Brigadoon*. In October, Bertolt Brecht* is subpoenaed to testify before the House Committee on Un-

American Activities* (they are busy looking under beds for Commies and Pinkos). They want to know about "Communist infiltration" of the film industry. Brecht* testifies and the next day leaves the United States, heading for home (Berlin). Soon, Bertolt Brecht* is back home in the Communist sector of Berlin with his theories being celebrated throughout Germany, and later, the world.

In Britain, Terence Rattigan* is finally coming out with more serious work. This year it is The Winslow Boy*, based on a true story of a father's attempt to clear his son of a charge of petty theft. This will be among Rattigan*'s best work and will be popular in the commercial theatre in England and America for the next twenty years. Laurence Olivier* at the Old Vic* produces a new interpretation of Hamlet* based on the Freudian analysis of the central character done by the psychiatrist Ernest Jones*. This year the Edinburgh Festival* starts up (in Scotland,) doing music, dance, art, theatre and opera. They invite important performing groups from all over the world which really promotes international exchange of theatre forms and ideas.

In France, subsidized regional dramatic centers are established, twelve in all between now and 1960. Each region has a home theatre where they produce their shows and then tour. The first ones to open are the Dramatic Center of the East in Strasbourg and at St. Etienne. This year the Festival at Avignon* begins and one of the major theatrical leaders, Jean Vilar* (1912- 1971) is hired to organize it. The most influential event (eventually, but not immediately) this year is in Paris, a production, directed by Louis Jouvet*, of The Maids* by Jean Genˆt*. This playwright is writing in prison (where he spends most of his life for a variety of crimes, petty and otherwise). He will be regarded as one of the absurdists*, seeing theatre as an act of revolt against society. He conceives of plays as masquerade and ceremony where the characters act out their secret desires under the mask they present to the world. He wrote another play last year but it won't be produced until 1949. Like other French writers, many of his plays are short, what we call "one-acts." The major playwrights of the prewar years are still dominating the stage. Jean Anouilh* comes out with his Invitation to the Chateau*.

In Italy a director named Giorgio Strehler* is one of the founders this year of the Piccolo Theatre* of Milan. This group will become world famous and tour all over. They specialize in In Italy a director named Giorgio Strehler* is one of the founders this year of the Piccolo Theatre* of Milan. This group will become world famous and tour all over. They specialize in

a while. The New Hero Begins To Show Up In the United States - Director Elia Kazan* brings Tennessee Williams*' A Streetcar Named

Desire* to the stage. With Jo Mielziner* designing sets that use realistic features in expressionistic settings, and the influence of actors trained at the Actors Studio*, the theatre moves beyond any single style and blends styles to suit each production. This play wins the Pulitzer Prize* next year (they get handed out after the fact). In this play the post-war hero makes his first significant appearance. The hero, "Stanley," is rude, unrefined, brutish, working class and, obviously, the person in charge of the current world. We will see endless variations of this dominant hero throughout the forties and fifties before he changes into the next hero down the line. Since the bulk of the plays in which he appears come out in the 50s, we'll look more carefully at this hero in the next decade.

1948 Society Truman wins reelection (much to everybody's surprise). The "Cold War" begins with the

Soviets overwhelming the democratic attempt at government in what will be called the Czechoslovakian coup. In April the Berlin Blockade begins as the East Germans (supported by the Soviets) deny any road or rail access from anywhere into West Berlin (which, as a result of the four-party occupation of Germany, is an island in the middle of the Soviet zone). Truman heads arrangements for the Berlin air-lift so that necessary supplies can reach those living in the western sectors of the city. The blockade will continue into September of next year. The whole American posture regarding Europe and the Soviets is known as the "Truman Doctrine."

The United States is busy trying to rebuild western Europe so it can stand on its own again. The means to do this is the Marshall plan (See above, 1947). Since it will cost a bundle, Truman gets the universally respected General George Marshall to sell the price tag to the Republican congress. Part of this economic recovery includes setting up the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (O.E.E.C)..

Fighting breaks out in Palestine as the British mandate draws to a close. On May 14 Jewish leaders gather in Tel Aviv to hear David Ben-Gurion* (the first Prime Minister) read a declaration proclaiming the establishment of the state of Israel, much to the chagrin of a lot of Arabs. Both the United States and the Soviet Union recognize the new state immediately. However, the next morning the Arab invasion is on as the neighboring state of the Arab League (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt) starts trying to push the Jews back into the sea. The U.N. mediator arranges truces, fighting goes on until finally, at the end of the year (December 29) the U.N. orders a cease-fire

There are a total of 48 television stations in all of America at this time. In ten years there will

be ten times that number. Theatre

In France this year Sartre*'s play Dirty Hands* argues that to participate in political action means one's hands will get dirty, but nonparticipation means other people will make the decisions for you. That criminal playwright, Jean Genˆt*, is due to be sentenced to life imprisonment (after 10 convictions for theft in France this is automatic). But, a group of prominent writers and artists, led by Sartre*, submit a petition on his behalf to the president of France. Genˆt* is granted a pardon. Henry de Montherlant* comes out with his most characteristic work, The Master of Santiago*. Full of complex psychology and simple external action, it centers on rejection of mediocrity and emphasizes sacrifice. The French dramatic festivals are increasing in number. This year the one in Aix-en-Provence begins.

In Britain, Rattigan* comes out with another popular work, an evening of two short plays. One of them, The Browning Version* is a study of a repressed schoolmaster played with outstanding success by Eric Portman* (1903-1969).

1949 Society East and West Germany are officially created out of the two spheres of power held by those

forces that conquered Germany. The "cold war" continues with the communist blockade of West Berlin. In response to this increasingly militant Soviet behavior the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is formed by the western powers to present a united western military presence.

The Israeli War of Independence is finally over early this year in a series of armistice agreements. Israel ends up with 21 percent more territory than it would have had under the original partition. The Arabs seem to have engaged in a self-defeating military exercise. Not to worry, there will be a lot more wars here over this sticky problem.

If things weren't bad enough in Europe, Mao Tse-Tung* (or Zedong) sets up the People's Republic of China which puts a real crimp in Chiang Kai-shek*'s plans for post-war China and he takes his people over the water to the island of Taiwan (or Formosa) to set up a government in exile (much to the chagrin of the native population). This China business will continue to be really sticky since, technically, there are now two Chinas with only one seat on the U.N. Security Council.

Theatre In the United States Arthur Miller* comes out with what will be his best-known play, Death

of a Salesman*. The refusal of the title character (Willy Lowman) to take responsibility for his choices and his failures, affects every member of his family. This one wins the Pulitzer Prize* this year. Jo Mielziner*s' set design for this show will be very influential.

Only 59 new productions reach Broadway this year. Costs have risen and ticket prices with them, leaving fewer people able to afford to go to the theatre. Most plays lean toward broad appeal to protect the backer's investment so innovation is scarce. This will drive experimental and avant-garde theatre "off" Broadway, where, the League of Off-Broadway Theatres* is formed this year. And, speaking of "off" Broadway, out in Texas Nina Vance* moves the Alley Theatre* (Houston, remember?) from that old dance studio to an old factory which she converts into an arena theatre. It opens with a production of Lillian Hellman*'s classic, The

Children's Hour*. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, the first resident professional theatre in the United States, the Cleveland Play House* (became professional in the 1920s,) adds a third theatre, the Euclid-77th Street (seating 567) to its original two (the Drury, seating 515, and the Brooks, seating 160). Another musical comedy by Oscar Hammerstein II* and Richard Rogers* comes out this year. South Pacific* is based on the stories of James Michner and will

be incredibly popular for many, many years. In France, Another of the early absurdists*, Eugene Ionesco* (1912- ,) writes an "anti-play",

The Bald Soprano*, which will be performed next year. He's rebelling against conventional drama, but will remain largely unrecognized until 1953 when Anouilh* will publish an article praising his play, Victims of Duty*. The other French Absurdist*, Jean Genˆt* has his one-act play, Deathwatch* produced this year.

In Germany, Brecht*'s Mother Courage* is put on in Berlin with the famous actress, Helene Wiegel* (his wife) in the lead. This production will become internationally famous. It encourages the East German government to come up with a subsidy to form a permanent company called the Berliner Ensemble* (in East Berlin). For the first time much of Brecht*'s work, written while he was in exile, will get put on the stage. He will also get to put into practice all those theories about acting, staging and directing he's been going on about all these years. Fortunately for his theories and his plays his wife is appointed director of the company.

In England, There is a strong movement to bring poetry back into the theatre and this year T. S Eliot* (1888- ) comes out with his play, The Cocktail Party* . It will have considerable success in the English-speaking world, providing a highly literate alternative in plays structured around ritual and dealing with individual responsibility and personal choice. Another poetic dramatist who will have more commercial success, Christopher Fry* (1907- ) makes a considerable mark this year with his comedy The Lady's Not For Burning*.

Afterword The Forties contain so much international political and social action that there is not much

room for a lot of activity in the arts. However, the major themes of the coming decades begin here although it will take many years for all of them to flower. The post-war hero (rough, tough, blue-collar, lower-class, inarticulate but sensitive) is just beginning to be explored. Existentialism* and its resulting genre, Theatre of the Absurd*, is about to bloom. The poetic and the expressionistic realism of Miller and Williams are about to take off. In other words, the stage is set for the next big burst of creativity that has been so long repressed by war and other such urgent concerns. Despite the rise in creativity there is a decline in quantity (in America) as the new medium of television is about to explode over the land.

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