CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The 40s

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The 40s

We have another War and it's Absurd. Introduction This decade marks the culmination of colonial and imperial greed and the most extravagant

and extensive war ever waged. The atomic age arrives and scares the hell out of everybody and at the end of the war Europe is concerned that it may become a nuclear battlefield in any struggle between the two super powers that emerge, the Soviet Union and the United States. In the war, and in the aftermath, every major country is involved and all the others are affected. Since the war is very much about empires, who has them and who wants them, we and extensive war ever waged. The atomic age arrives and scares the hell out of everybody and at the end of the war Europe is concerned that it may become a nuclear battlefield in any struggle between the two super powers that emerge, the Soviet Union and the United States. In the war, and in the aftermath, every major country is involved and all the others are affected. Since the war is very much about empires, who has them and who wants them, we

Colonial Empires As The War Starts In Asia Japan covets the colonial possessions held by European powers in the Far East. These are the

territories Japan will overrun in the first year of the war (except for India where they barely get to assault the frontiers).

These territories and their European rulers are: FRANCE controls: Indo-China (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam.) NETHERLANDS controls: the oil rich Dutch East Indies (Sumatra, Borneo, half of New Guinea, Java, Celebes) and Dutch Guiana. GREAT BRITAIN (United Kingdom) controls: India, Burma, Ceylon, Somialiland, Nepal and the Malay States, (in addition to the Commonwealth which includes part of New Guinea, Samoa, New Hebrides, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.)

In Africa (North Africa) Germany and Italy both intend to take as much as possible (remember that Italy has already

made a start by conquering Ethiopia). FRANCE controls: Algeria, Morroco, French West Africa, Madagascar and the French Congo. GREAT BRITAIN (United Kingdom) controls: Egypt, Sudan, (in addition to the Commonwealth which included Union of South Africa, Rhodesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Gold Coast and Uganda).

The Middle East Oil is so vital that the colonial powers are not about to let any aggressor come near these

territories. FRANCE controls: Syria and Lebanon GREAT BRITAIN (United Kingdom) controls: Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan and the southern and eastern fringes of Arabia (you know, places like Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Emirates, things like that,) all made accessible by the fact that the Brits own the Suez Canal.

The Pacific Japan does not seem to want to conquer these but they are in harms way as Japan begins her

expansion. GREAT BRITAIN (United Kingdom) controls, through the Commonwealth: Australia, and New Zealand. UNITED STATES has control of the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands and several very small atoll islands like Midway.

The Western Hemisphere There seems to be no danger here from direct aggression by any member of the Axis

(although Argentina is so sympathetic with the Germans that she doesn't join the Allies in declaring war against them until it's almost over in 1945).

FRANCE controls: French Guiana (on the northeast coast of South America) and a number of islands in the Lesser Antilies (all those places the cruise ships visit in the Caribbean). GREAT BRITAIN (United Kingdom) controls, through the Commonwealth: Canada, British

Honduras, British Guiana, Bahamas, Bermuda and the Falklands (those islands down off Argentina).

Europe The Immediate Background - The smaller European nations get the definite impression that another war is brewing and they

do not want to be involved this time. In 1937 Belgium declares neutrality and in 1938 there's the Copenhagen declaration of neutrality which includes: Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania. Unfortunately this does none of the participants any good what-so-ever and they are all (except Sweden) going to be overrun by advancing armies.

Italy and Germany are both suffering from inferiority complexes. Italy had joined the Allies in the last war against Germany and she resents not being regarded as one of the "great powers." Under the sway of Mussolini*, Italy is bent on becoming a modern Roman Empire or, at least, gaining enough prestige to count as a "great power."

Germany is still resentful over how she was treated in the settlement after World War One, and, she also wants a great empire. Under Hitler*, Germany is pursuing the acquisition of what she calls "lebensraum" (living room) where Germans can expand and take over vital resources (like oil, coal and iron ore). Apparently this expansion also includes acquiring great pools of "inferior" people who will be suitable for forced labor in the mines and factories.

This expansion has already begun in Germany's acquisition (Anschluss - indissoluble union) of Austria in March, 1938. In September, 1938, with the reluctant blessing of Great Britain and France, Germany takes a big bite out of Czechoslovakia (which was artificially put together after the last war and has substantial German-speaking minorities in the Sudetenland). Since Poland and Hungary, each grab a piece of Czechoslovakia for themselves, there aren't too many people objecting to this dismemberment of a democratic state.

Hitler is now on a roll. He wants a corridor through Poland to the Baltic port city of Danzig, whose citizens are primarily Germans. By now it is March 1939. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain*, has been taking a lot of flack for letting Germany gobble up the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland. So, Chamberlain* decides that the British will guarantee Poland's independence. This is something of a set-back for Herr Hitler* who now has to come up with a new plan. Much to his surprise, he gets an overture from Stalin*, the Premier of the Soviet Union. This is a real shock since Germany has been planning to invade Russia again (since they were stopped in the First World War). Hitler* and Stalin*, it turns out, both have a strong short-term interest in not fighting each other. They sign a nonaggression pact which includes secret agreements whereby each can take over certain European countries without interference from the other. Hitler* gets western Poland and Stalin* gets eastern Poland, part of Finland and part of Rumania, as well as all three Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia).

Hitler* does not believe Britain will fight to guarantee Poland's independence and feels free to attack Poland, a great coal-field and labor pool. On September 1, 1939, Hitler* begins his blitzkreig (lightning war) of Poland. This finally gets England and France mad and they Hitler* does not believe Britain will fight to guarantee Poland's independence and feels free to attack Poland, a great coal-field and labor pool. On September 1, 1939, Hitler* begins his blitzkreig (lightning war) of Poland. This finally gets England and France mad and they

Well! The British and French hardly have time to call up some soldiers. The French mobilize five million and the British send two divisions to help (these are called the British Expeditionary Force, or BEF). They don't, however, have any of the big guns in place to undertake the obligatory massive artillery assault one traditionally begins a battle with. Consequently there is a period of very uneasy calm. For about nine months nothing much happens. The Germans call it the sitzkrieg (sitting war) and the British call it the Phony War. Nobody wants to do much of anything. Mussolini* declares Italy a nonbelligerent, Belgium is stubbornly neutral and won't let Allied troops set foot on their soil, the French commander goes into seclusion and won't talk to anybody, and Chamberlain* claims Hitler* has "missed the bus" by not going on eastward in Poland.

As The Decade Progresses As the war starts in Europe some countries are what are called Axis satellites. These are

Finland, Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria. They don't exactly belong to any empire at the moment, but they have all been part of some empire for most of their history and they are sort of on the Axis side without being belligerent. The war escalates drawing more and more countries into active warfare. When the whole thing is resolved in 1945, America is definitely the major "great power" and the Soviet Union is rapidly becoming another. The majority of countries (finally including the United States) are committed to an improved version of the League of Nations. It is now the United Nations* and it will provide an international forum for problems and disputes. The monumental problem in the last part of this decade is how to pick up the pieces of the industralized world and get Asia and Europe on their feet again.

The legacy of the 40's seems to be "responsibility", the Nurenberg trials, War Crimes, The Marshall Plan, Decolonization and the world-wide struggle for independence especially in the East, middle east and Africa. Nobody is really sure that the world (or, at least, humanity) is likely to survive another conflict. The dominant philosophical system is existentialism* , which looks at human choices and acts. Anxiety and guilt are major themes in art, literature, and the theatre.

Theatrical Events In the world of theatre, the decade begins as a continuation of the 30s, with plays that are

warnings about the political and social disaster hidden in the Nazis plan. The work of Brecht* bridges the transition from pre-war to post war as he flees Germany and settles in America for the duration of the conflict. Another, even more major theatrical figure, has already fled Jewish persecution in 1933 and in 1938 came to America for the remainder of his life. This is Max Reinhardt* (1873-1943) who has been Germany's leading director. Now he is a vital influence in the United States, working in New York theatre and in Hollywood. Anyone who stays in Germany is forced to go in for Nazis art, glorifying past German history and happy bourgeois families. The same sort of self-glorification fare also takes over in Russia. Italy tries to continue its normal theatrical path, but, as it becomes a battleground, this falls by the way side and very little theatrical happens. France, decimated in the first war and aprehensive warnings about the political and social disaster hidden in the Nazis plan. The work of Brecht* bridges the transition from pre-war to post war as he flees Germany and settles in America for the duration of the conflict. Another, even more major theatrical figure, has already fled Jewish persecution in 1933 and in 1938 came to America for the remainder of his life. This is Max Reinhardt* (1873-1943) who has been Germany's leading director. Now he is a vital influence in the United States, working in New York theatre and in Hollywood. Anyone who stays in Germany is forced to go in for Nazis art, glorifying past German history and happy bourgeois families. The same sort of self-glorification fare also takes over in Russia. Italy tries to continue its normal theatrical path, but, as it becomes a battleground, this falls by the way side and very little theatrical happens. France, decimated in the first war and aprehensive

The Major style of the 40s is Theatricalism*, developed in Germany by Reinhardt* and in France by Vilar*. This style is busy challenging realism* as the most theatrically meaningful style. Along with epic* (developed in Germany by Piscator* and Brecht*) this style is in revolt against realism. It insists on using the stage in an openly theatrical way, with no pretense that what is happening there is some illusion of "real" life. Theatricalism* will be one of the more popular styles, especially for reviving classics, doing really big spectacle shows and bringing out interesting interpretations of scripts.

Prominent theatre artists of this decade include those we will encounter as the period goes on as well as others it is not easy to cover in a particular year. The creative British director, Tyrone Guthrie* (1900-71) has been best known for his festival work in England, but he is experimental and directs in many European countries as well. In the next decades he will work extensively on the North American continent in Canada and the United States, leaving a lasting impression and legacy. In the United States the influential theatrical figures include directors and designers as well as the playwrights we will encounter. When the Group Theatre* disbands in 1940 it's founder and director, Harold Clurman* (1901-80,) moves on to various directing projects as well as writing extensively on his work and the theatre of his period. Elia Kazan* (1909- ) started out as an actor with the Group Theatre* playing the kind of characters he will become famous for directing, the new post-war hero. His first important directing job will be in 1942. We will hear a good deal about the playwrights as the years go by, but we might point forward to two Americans, Arthur Miller* (1915- ) and Tennessee Williams* (1911-83,) who shared a Theatre Guild* National Award in 1937. Since then they have both been writing and having their plays produced. It is not until the 40s that they both get their first real successes. Some of the credit for these successful productions needs to be shared with their directors and set designers. Dominant stage designers in the American theatre this decade are Jo Mielziner* (1901-76) who is a collaborator in all of Williams'* productions and the second play by Miller*,) and Boris Aronson (1898-1980), In this decade the American musical comes of age and reaches unchallenged preeminence. One of the ways to tell the prestige plays is to follow which one gets the yearly Pulitzer Prize* in drama. This is a modest $500.00 award for an American play, preferably original, that deals with American life.

This decade is the heyday of the film industry and its management by omnipotent studios. Smooth sound synchronization and color processes are being perfected and the theatre provides both scripts and the full range of theatrical talent to turn theatrical fare into movies. In this decade working in the film industry is no longer looked down on by theatre folk.

1940 Society - WAR NEWS -

During the period of calm after the fall of Poland, both Britain and Germany make plans to invade neutral Norway (to control the massive output of iron ore from Sweden). On April 9 the British are just climbing on their ships to leave their base in Scotland, the Firth of Forth, when the Germans get off the mark first and slip ashore along the Norwegian coast. The next morning German forces roll into neutral Denmark. The Danes don't resist, the Norwegians do and the Allies help with naval power. The British relief force is too small and too late to help on land and Norway falls to the Germans. The British are not happy with how their government is handling this war and in May (7th) they throw Chamberlain* out and bring Winston Churchill* (May 10th) in as head of a wartime coalition government.

At this same moment in May, the Germans launch a westward "blitzkrieg," over running the other neutral countries in their path, the Netherlands (in 4 days) and Belgium (a few more). On May 13 The Germans launch another prong of their attack through the weakly defended French Ardennes, cross the Meuse River and their forces speed into France. This cuts the Allied armies in two. The Allied forces in the north are busy retreating. On May 27 the British Expeditionary Force in France (as well as large elements of the French army) retreats to the costal pocket at Dunkirk. In a heroic effort, May 29 through June 3, involving the use of every private (as well as public) English boat capable of crossing the English Channel (900 in all,) these forces are partially evacuated (200,000 British and more than 100,000 French, Belgian and Dutch) while the rest are taken prisoner by the Germans. This event effectively removes both the French and the British armies as well as all British armaments from the defense of France. It will take time and the assistance of the United States to rearm Britain.

With the loss of those troops, 370,000 dead or wounded French troops, and ten million refugees on the roads, France is falling apart. The French government high-tails it to Bordeaux, two million people flee Paris, heading southward, and the tag-end of the British Expeditionary Force dashes to Cherbourg where they are boat-lifted out just ahead of General Rommel*'s arrival. The French commander, Marshal P‚tain,* capitulates and France is defeated and divided. The Germans get the northern part and what comes to be known as the Vichy Government, under Marshal P‚tain*, runs the other part of France. The French who escape to England will organize in exile under the stimulation of the former under secretary of state for national defense, Charles de Gaulle*. Operating now as an Axis satellite, Vichy France (1940-42) also includes the North African French Empire of all of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. However, not all of the French countryside is under direct German control and in the south and west there are large areas where resistance grows.

July - Russia, operating under a nonaggression pact with Germany, jumps into Eastern Europe and takes the neutral Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia).

The United States is still, technically, neutral, but President Roosevelt* is getting prepared for the inevitable and is busy building up the armed forces by the first-ever peacetime Selective Service (draft).

Hitler* can't get the British to cooperate on a negotiated peace and so he plans to invade England September 15. First, however, he has to get control of the skies. All of which brings us to the "Battle of Britain" beginning August 12. The German Luftwaffe (air force) attempts to subdue England by constant bombing and knock the RAF (Royal Air Force) out of the English skies at the same time. The battle will continue through December when the Germans finally give it up as a bad job.

In the East, Japan occupies Indo-China in September and Thailand in December. They join their war interests with Italy and Germany by signing the Tripartie Pact, recognizing each other's aspirations and spheres of influence.

Meanwhile Italy, not wanting to be left out of the fun, enters the war on Germany's side and tries to do a little conquering on its own. By and large the Italian attempts end in dismal failure (except for Mussolini*'s 1939 seizure of Albania). In October Italy attacks Greece and her troops are expelled in a week. The Germans decide they will have to help Italy out in making a dent in the Mediterranean. They will do this next year, and Libya, Greece and Yugoslavia will fall to the Axis. Hitler* has now approved the plans for Operation Barbarossa*, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

Theatre In America - Kaufman* and Hart* write The Man Who Came to Dinner*, a farce whose

central character is based on theatre critic Alexander Woollcott and is filled with "insider" jokes. Theatre education is now an accepted part of American university curriculum. The musical scene is sparkling with Cole Porter*'s Panama Hattie*, starring Ethel Merman*, and Rogers and Hart*'s Pal Joey*. The Pulitzer Prize* this year goes to William Saroyan* (1908-

81) for The Time of Your Life*, his fresh and invigorating study of a bunch of characters in a saloon (perhaps the original model for the later television sitcom Cheers*). This year the old Mordkin Ballet becomes the Ballet Theater*. It will provide stimulation and talent for the musical theatre, as well as being one of the foremost international dance companies of the century.

In France, one of the best actors of our time, Jean-Louis Barrault* (1910- ) becomes a member of the Com‚die Fran‡aise* (the prestigious first theatre of France). He has studied and worked with the great French theatrical figures of the period between the wars, Charles Dullin*, Antonin Artaud* and was a student of the mime teacher Etienne Decroux*. He will dominate the French theatre, especially in international tours, for the next several decades. Also this year Andr‚ Barsacq* takes over the Atelier* theater. His company will become one of the most important and innovative between now and his death in 1973.

In Britain at the height of the Blitz only one theatre remains open in London. The premier theatre group, the Old Vic*, retreats to the provinces. Unlike other European countries, Great Britain has never subsidized the English theatre. However, now it is important for Britain to keep up the spirits of the English people and one of the ways they do this is to put up money to send theatre companies on tour (since their London theatres are bombed-out wrecks). The government also establishes the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA*) this year to distribute financial aid. (After the war, in 1945, CEMA* will become the Arts Council* and municipalities will begin to allot a percentage of their revenues to support the arts). These subsidies give the English theatre a real boost and lead to a boom in regional theatre. In 1940s the British parliament will approve the establishment of a National Theatre, along the lines of the Com‚die Fran‡aise*, from the Old Vic company. It will be housed in a new theatre building, but the implementation of this is delayed until the early 1960's. Meanwhile the intended National Theatre company continues as the Old Vic* company, which currently includes Laurence Olivier*, Tyrone Guthrie*, Ralph Richardson*, and John Burrell*. The Old Vic* revives the national tradition of outstanding classical productions and rapidly becomes the most admired theatre company in the world.

1941 Society - WAR NEWS - Some European nations actually manage to remain neutral, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey

and Switzerland. Through these countries refugees, spies and clandestine commerce will flow freely. The classic movie, Casablanca*, will immortalize this strange neutrality.

In May the German-Italian campaigns overrun the Balkans. German occupation of Yugoslavia and Greece begins.

On June 22, breaking the pact with Stalin* (who was happily still shipping oil and grain to Hitler*,) 150 divisions, three million German troops, attack Russia as Operation Barbarossa* gets underway. They march through the Ukraine to the Caucasus and through White Russia and the Baltic Republics to the gates of Moscow and Leningrad. [Unfortunately for the Soviet Union, Stalin* spent the 1930s purging the Red Army's high command of anybody with any gumption or intelligence. This makes running a war rather a chancy business.] Hitler* is pursuing what he regards as his true mission in life, his eastward war of conquest and extermination. His big aim is to have a German population of 250 million running the whole stretch of European real estate from the Atlantic to the Urals (those Russian mountains). Meanwhile, in the East, Japan is marching through Thailand. In December the Russians learn that they are in no immanent danger from Japanese attack (the Japanese have other plans for the immediate future). and move their eastern troops to their western front to counterattack the Germans.

On December 7th Japan attacks America by bombing the Pacific Fleet at anchor in Hawaii's Pearl Harbor (not to mention attacking the Philippines, Hong Kong and Malaya, the major world source of rubber). The U.S. declares war on the Axis Powers, Italy, Germany and Japan. With France defeated, the allies are now "the big three," Great Britain, America and Russia.

Theatre Lillian Hellman* (1905-84) continues to fulfill her earlier promise as a playwright of stature

in her prophetic play about the likelihood of the war coming to America, Watch On The Rhine*. On the musical stage there is the exciting Lady In the Dark* with the libretto by Maxwell Anderson*, lyrics by Ira Gershwin*, music by Kurt Weill* and starring Gertrude Lawrence* (1898-1952). The plot includes psychoanalysis and dreams. All this spectacular talent helps the musical rise to new heights of sophistication. The Pulitzer Prize* this year goes to Robert E. Sherwood* for his drama, There Shall Be No Night* One of the most famous movies of all times comes out this year, Citizen Kane*, created by Orson Welles*. It's

a showcase for a lot of technical innovations which will be copied and adapted for a long time.

In England, Noel Coward* (1899-1973) is busy doing one of his most popular plays, Blithe Spirit*, to keep up his besieged countrymen's spirits.

Epic Theatre*

This theatrical form began with a German left-wing experimenter, Erwin Piscator* (1893- 1966) doing what, in the 1920s, was called "agitprop" (propaganda theatre designed to agitate the masses into political action). Staging techniques such as projections (of slides, photographs, cartoons and explanatory captions,) musical numbers, loudspeakers, were trademarks of this type theatre since it was designed to stir the audience to action. Piscator* wanted to come up with a theatre that was technological, political and epic (here the term "epic" is the opposite of "narrative" and means a bunch of loosely constructed scenes put together sort of like a musical revue, very much like the cabaret shows of the time). One of the main things Epic Theatre* is supposed to do is teach lessons gained from history so that audiences will learn the reasons why the current world is doing what it's doing. Brecht* worked with Piscator* and developed his own, more complex ideas about Epic Theatre*. Brecht* used ideas from the Chinese opera, Japanese Noh drama, chronicle history plays, English music-hall routines, and modern films in putting together all aspects of his Epic Theatre*. He will become the most influential theatrical figure of his time, especially through his theoretical writings about Epic which cover 40 years. Essentially Brecht* wants to use the stage as a platform where he can represent the historical process concerning those political and social issues he's interested in. He wants to debate these issues in an episodic and narrative way, paying no attention to the Aristotelian* notions about plot, time and place. Brecht* gets his episodic effects from a series of loosely-knit scenes which are complete in themselves and are juxtaposed (put side by side) so they contrast with each other. He has the music, scenery, acting, lighting and scenery changes, each stand out on their own and make their own statement (about the issues being debated) by their juxtaposition with the other elements. [Much of this is very similar to what Meyerhold* is doing in Russia where his work is known as "grotesque*.] The emphasis in Brecht *'s plays is on the dialectical* contradictions, the chain of conflicts in human affairs and how they can be synthesized or reconciled (his favorite subjects are economic injustice, human exploitation, class conflicts and power struggles). Consequently, Brecht* develops his actors in a specific epic acting* style where the actor is narrating the actions of the character (like being an eyewitness to a traffic accident). This means that the actor presents the audience with two characters, the actor and the character they play. Brecht* is very firm about not letting the audience identify with the characters or letting the actors do it either. Each of Brecht*'s characters is a distinct social type (this sort of thing goes back to the morality plays of the middle ages) as well as an individual. One of the ways of doing this kind of acting is to create what Brecht* terms the gest* (or gestic). In this idea, the actor's words follow the gest* (which is the object being dealt with, followed by the character's attitude toward the object). The whole point of this in to prevent the audience from empathizing with the character. This alienation* (Verfremdungseffekt) effect is so that the audience will see things from a new angle, in which they will be able to think and learn, rather than just be entertained. The scenery, too, is designed to alienate the audience and prevent them from being sucked into identifying with the place. Bits and pieces of scenery are used as needed and projections on a white screen on stage make their own statements. The costumes and properties are also designed to make statements of their own. Only what is needed shows up on the stage, as opposed to the traditional, realistic," show it the way it would be if you were there," style.

The musicians who play the songs are also put on the stage where the audience can see them, instead of being hidden in an orchestra pit. The songs, too, are designed to interrupt the flow of scenes and comment on them instead of rising out of the action (as they do in musical comedy). The same is true of the relation of the music to the lyrics, they fight each other instead of fitting nicely together. The Epic* style of production is even more influential on The musicians who play the songs are also put on the stage where the audience can see them, instead of being hidden in an orchestra pit. The songs, too, are designed to interrupt the flow of scenes and comment on them instead of rising out of the action (as they do in musical comedy). The same is true of the relation of the music to the lyrics, they fight each other instead of fitting nicely together. The Epic* style of production is even more influential on

Bertolt Brecht*'s Mother Courage and Her Children* is produced this year in Zurich (Switzerland). Since Switzerland is neutral, it is full of refugees, spies and people making money. It is an ideal place for this play with its materialistic view of the stupidity of war as seen in the period of the Thirty Years' War (the early seventeenth century). Like many of Brecht*'s plays, this one is based on somebody else's work (in this case Hans Jakob Grimmelshauen's 1699 novel, Simplicissimus*. It has music by Paul Dessau*. The plot follows the title character, Anna Fierling, a canteen wagon owner (she's called "Mother Courage" because she's always braving enemy fire to save her goods). She's traipsing around central Europe with her three children (all by different fathers,) the brave Eilif, honest Swiss Cheese and the sensitive, mute girl, Kathrin. Each of the children embody characteristics valued in wartime but deadly to those who have them. Eilif gets conscripted by the Swedish Protestant Army where he is decorated for his skill at plundering but during peacetime he's killed for doing the same thing. Honest Swiss cheese is made into an army paymaster where

he is killed trying to protect his regiment's funds from the enemy. Kathrin survives the longest but dies in a heroic effort to save the children of a town from a Catholic attack. Mother Courage is a battlefield herself, trying to save her children but unwilling to loose money doing it, cursing war and making her living from it. By the end of the play, never learning from experience, she pursues her profits dragging her wagon alone. The dates of Brecht*'s plays are very fuzzy since he is always tinkering with them and they are not necessarily produced when they are written. His major works are:

Ball* 1918 Drums in the Night* 1922 In the Jungle of the Cities* 1923 The Threepenny Opera* 1928 A Man's A Man* 1928 The Private Life of the Master Race Galileo* 1938-1939 1935-1938 Mother Courage* 1938-1939 The Good Woman of Setzuan* 1938-1940 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui* Herr Puntila* 1940-1940 1941 The Caucasian Chalk Circle* 1943-1945

1942 Society - WAR NEWS - The term United Nations* is used officially on January 1, when 26 nations fighting the Axis*

join in the declaration by the United Nations* pledging to continue the joint war effort and not make peace separately.

The German plan in the East is changing. The idea now is to ease up on Moscow and drive south to those lovely oil fields in the Caucasus. This will require seizing Stalingrad at the northern edge of this route. Meanwhile the African campaign is to sweep across Egypt and capture the Suez Canal and the oil fields of the Middle East. Sounds good, but achieving it is something else. There is the problem of manpower, despite pressing allies for help. Hungarians, Finns, Rumanians, Slovakians and Italians are formed up in small divisions but they aren't very good and there isn't enough military equipment, like tanks and artillery, for instance.

Japan attacks Indonesia in January and Burma in March and by April they control the oil-rich Dutch colonies. By now they have taken New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Wake, Guam and the Gilberts. They are threatening the Indian frontier. In most places the local populations are Japan attacks Indonesia in January and Burma in March and by April they control the oil-rich Dutch colonies. By now they have taken New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Wake, Guam and the Gilberts. They are threatening the Indian frontier. In most places the local populations are

be. In May the Japanese have a setback in the first-ever sea battle between air-craft carriers. The

location is in the Coral Sea and both sides sustain losses. In June the Japanese attempt to take Midway Island and the tide turns as U.S. forces turn back

the Japanese in the Battle of Midway. This marks the end of Japanese offensive moves. From here on out they will be on the defensive. Bitter island-hopping battles now begin (the battle for Guadalcanal begins in August and drags on through January 1943,) as the Pacific Allied forces begin slowly pushing the Japanese back toward their home islands.

General Dwight David Eisenhower* (1890-1969) becomes chief of army operations in Washington and then U.S. commander of the European theater of operations.

September '42 - February '43 - After a number of winter counter thrusts. The Russians stop the German advance at Stalingrad. They begin to drive the Germans back at the cost of great casualties and with the help of British and American Lend-Lease. November 19 the Soviet pincer movement starts to trap the Germans attacking Stalingrad. In four days the trap is closed and a quarter of a million German troops are trapped, with all their armor and artillery. The army won't surrender until February '43 when only 90,000 Germans remain alive. Also in November, Operation Torch gets under way with huge landings of Anglo-American forces in Algeria and Morocco (despite nominal objections from Vichy France). The North-African campaign will drag on into May '43.

This year marks the turning point of the war with Germany as the Allies invade North Africa and prevent any seizure of the Suez Canal or oil fields.

Theatre In the United States: Elia Kazan* directs Thornton Wilder*'s The Skin of Our Teeth*. This

comedy looks at mankind's hairbreadth escapes from disaster throughout the ages. The plot device that Wilder uses to span such an enormous time frame consists in following the Antrbus' household (husband, wife, three children, maid and dog) through their precarious history in Excelsior, New Jersey from the age of the dinosaurs to the present. It wins a Pulitzer Prize* next year and becomes a perennial favorite. No play is selected from last year's season for this year's prize. This year sees the musical By Jupiter*, the last collaboration of Richard Rogers * (1902-79) and Lorenz Hart* (1895-1943). Hart dies this year and Rogers moves on to a new and spectacularly fruitful association with Oscar Hammerstein II* (1895- 1960).

In France a well-known novelist, Henry de Montherlant* (1896-1972,) turns playwright and has his first produced work done at the Com‚die Fran‡aise* by Jean-Louis Barrault*. Its success leads him to continue as a playwright.

This year Bertolt Brecht* comes to the United States with friends and family to sit out the war. He will stay into late 1947.

In Athens, Greece Karlous Koun founds the Art Theatre* to produce avant-garde plays. They will do plays of Williams, Beckett and Gen‚t for the next seventeen years.

1943 Society - WAR NEWS - General Dwight David Eisenhower* is now supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary

Force. Allied forces invade Sicily in July, pushing quickly across to make the jump to the Italian mainland (at Salerno). On the 21st of July the Italians depose Mussolini* and try to pull Italy out of the war. The negotiations are botched and the Germans rush in to rescue Mussolini* and take over Italian strong points. In the Pacific, Guadalcanal is finally taken by the Americans in January, and the "Big Three" get together for a strategy meeting this month in Casablanca (yes, the same location as the movie). Stalin*, Churchill* and Roosevelt* have their first strategy meeting and all agree that unconditional surrender of each of the Axis powers is the primary objective. The Teheran Conference* (held at, where else?, at Teheran, Iran) brings together the Allied powers again, Roosevelt*, Churchill* and Stalin*, to agree on the Allied plans for the war against Germany, the "second front," and postwar cooperation in the United Nations*.

Theatre In the United States, New York City turns the Mecca Temple on 55th Street into the City

Center* where opera, musical comedy, ballet, and drama are played for limited engagements at moderate prices. The theatrical event of the year is the opening of the musical Oklahoma!*. Based on Lynn Riggs*' play, Green Grow the Lilacs*, Oscar Hammerstein II* does the book and lyrics and Richard Rogers*, the music in the first collaboration of this new team. The innovative choreography of Agnes DeMille* sets new dance standards for the musical comedy and this landmark production will come to be regarded as the real beginning of the world-famous modern American musical. Another landmark event is the production of Shakespeare*'s Othello* directed by Margaret Webster* (1905-72). She plays Emilia to Paul Robeson*'s Othello. This play will break all records for a play by Shakespeare* on Broadway.

In France: Anouilh*'s Antigone* is produced by Barsacq*. The modern adaptation of the Greek play presents a woman's defiance of tyranny, especially meaningful to a France suffering under the German occupation. It's written to foment resistance without letting the Germans know that's what it's doing. Philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre* (1905- 1980) brings his existentialist ideas to the stage with The Flies*, another very modern adaptation of a Greek play. This one deals with the Orestes story (from Aeschylus*' trilogy on this hero). You may notice that the French are very big on taking old Greek plays and redoing them for contemporary purposes. They are quite good at this.

Jean-Louis Barrault* directs a highly theatrical production of Paul Claudel *'s The Satin Slipper* at the Com‚die Fran‡aise*. This production makes his reputation as a theatricalist* director and a major force in the French theatre. It also rescues Claudel*'s work from the shelf where it had been considered unproducable. The Theatre of the Absurd* will take its name from the essay of Albert Camus* that comes out this year. In "The Myth of Sisyphus"* Camus* claims that the human condition is absurd because of the gap between a person's hopes and the irrational universe in which he lives.

1944 Society - WAR NEWS -

General Eisenhower* is made general of the army (a five-star general) and gets busy coordinating and directing the Allied invasion of Europe. In January the Allies finally get started on additional Italian landings, this time at Anzio. The Italian campaign will drag on. As the Soviets advance there is renewed urgency in the Nazis' policy of annihilation of the Jews. Mass-extermination methods begin to be widely used. In June the Allied forces finally make it across the English Channel on what is designated D-day*. Operation Overlord is the largest amphibious landing (and landing force, naval support, etc). ever attempted. After a slow start on the beach areas the Allied forces are off and running across France. Also in June massive bombing raids on Japan begin. In October the big Pacific battle is for Leyte Gulf. Meanwhile, it's election time in the United States and Roosevelt* has little difficulty in running for an unprecedented fourth term. After all, nobody wants to change commander-in- chiefs in the middle of a war.

Theatre In the United States the memorable Theatre Guild* production of Othello* continues, starring

the magnificent Afro-American actor Paul Robeson* (1898-1976). After his early (1924) performance in Eugene O'Neill*'s All God's Chillun Got Wings* his exceptional singing talent was recognized and he spent a lot of time on the concert stage. After the war he'll have trouble with the "commie" hunters because of his liberal views. He will, however, be known as the greatest Afro-American actor of his time. Lillian Hellman*'s latest play, The Searching Wind*, goes on this year. There are years when the selection committee doesn't think there is

a play good enough for the Pulitzer Prize*. This year is one of them. Modern dance is progressing very nicely as can be seen this year when Martha Graham* (1894-) produces her Appalachian Spring*. This year Leonard Bernstein* (1918-90) comes out with his musical, On the Town* . One of the important things about this musical is the choreography of Jerome Robbins*. Dance is being used, more and more, to tell the story, reveal the characters and illuminate the ideas.

Existentialism* In France, Jean-Paul Sartre* (1905-1980) brings out what will become his best-known, and

most often produced existentialist* play, No Exit*. Albert Camus* (1913-1960) also comes out with his first existentialist* play, Cross-Purposes*.

For these existentialists* the only remedy to the gap between one's hopes and the irrational universe into which one is born is to search for a set of standards (without any objective basis) that will allow him or her to bring order out of chaos. The object of this search is to permit each person to become an authentic, responsible being capable of genuine engagement with others. This is necessary because, (they argue,) unthinking conformity and the refusal to make choices turns people into robots and makes such things as the Nazis atrocities possible. These two existentialists* argue about such notions as "engagement" but between them they lay the philosophical groundwork for the theatrical Absurdist* movement that will blossom in the next decade.

Existentialism* really rings a bell with all kinds of people. After the war, people will troop to Paris in the thousands to study under Sartre* and to argue existential ideas with each other. It helps them cope with the unbelievable events and conditions of the war and its aftermath. Philosophically there are other branches of existentialism (which has been a going concern since before the first war. Christian Existentialism is best represented by Gabriel Marcel*

(who also writes plays, but these are not as well known out side France, although his philosophical writings are better known among professionals). There are also some Germans who are sort-of into this philosophical area, Karl Jaspers* (1883- ) and Martin Buber* (1878- , Jewish).

1945 Society - WAR NEWS - In February and March the Allied forces in the Pacific are spending a lot of blood taking Iwo

Jima. They go on to take Okinawa in April. The Yalta Conference* (held, of course, at Yalta in the Russian Crimea) brings Roosevelt*, Churchill* and Stalin* together again to hammer out more detailed nitty-gritty decisions about the end of the conflict with Germany. This is a very, very, secret conference and there will be long and heated arguments over what is agreed upon here. Basically the "Big Three" arrange a four-power occupation of Germany (they include France in this deal). This occupation plan allows Russian armies to sweep over much of Germany even though the British and American forces could do the job more easily. This will lead to a very peculiar division of Berlin. They also plan the conference to found the United Nations*. The criteria for a country or state to be invited to participate in the founding is that they must have declared war on the Axis. This brings countries like Argentina and Turkey into the declaration of war business. The Soviet Union agrees to enter the war against Japan after Germany is defeated, in return for occupation rights in some Asian real estate she covets. The Big Three also hammer out a guarantee of representative government for Poland (since Russia invaded Poland before going to war with Germany, this seems a necessary safeguard for the poor Poles). April 12th - Roosevelt* dies and the Vice President, Harry Truman* (1884-1972,) (president 1945-53) becomes the 33rd president of the United States. He takes over the closing days of the war. April 25th the Red Army and the Americans meet on the Elbe River in Germany. In April there is the official and formal founding of the United Nations*. The U.N. Charter is drawn up in a conference at San Francisco. It is to provide a forum of international opinion and consensus to solve disputes and address problems. The object is to prevent a future would war three. Trygve Lie* is the first Secretary General over the 50 founding member countries.

May 8th - Germany is finally defeated and accepts unconditional surrender. In July there is the Potsdam Conference* (held at Potsdam, Germany) to clarify and

implement those agreements the "Big Three" just made at Yalta. Now the participants are Truman*, Churchill* and Stalin*, but Attlee* takes over as Prime Minister when Churchill* loses the election. The occupation zones in Germany, plans for reordering the German economy and institutions and establishing a Council of Foreign Ministers to handle the peace settlements are the main agenda. They also issue an ultimatum to Japan, which falls on deaf ears. The problems dividing Russia from the western powers begins to show up.

The war in the Pacific goes on. Despite continuing defeat and loss of territory, the Japanese intend to fight to the last drop of blood. This does not look good in terms of the projected million casualties it may take to finish the war in the conventional way. President Truman* makes the decision to use the weapon developed over the past four years, the Atomic bomb, known as the A-bomb. August 6th - The United States drops the first A-Bomb on Hiroshima. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to impress the Japanese sufficiently and so it is followed on August 9th by another A-bomb drop on Nagasaki. Hirohito, the Divine Emperor, finally gets The war in the Pacific goes on. Despite continuing defeat and loss of territory, the Japanese intend to fight to the last drop of blood. This does not look good in terms of the projected million casualties it may take to finish the war in the conventional way. President Truman* makes the decision to use the weapon developed over the past four years, the Atomic bomb, known as the A-bomb. August 6th - The United States drops the first A-Bomb on Hiroshima. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to impress the Japanese sufficiently and so it is followed on August 9th by another A-bomb drop on Nagasaki. Hirohito, the Divine Emperor, finally gets

September 2nd - Japan finally signs their unconditional surrender. By now everyone has learned of the death camps, medical experiments, and other atrocities

perpetrated by the Germans and Japanese. As a result, an International Tribunal begins the War Crime Trials in Nurenberg, Nov. 20, 1945.

General Eisenhower* gets to come home from Europe and is made army chief of staff (1945- 48).

Theatre This year Brecht* comes out with The Caucasian Chalk Circle* (1943-1945). This play takes

place in and around a war-torn Caucasian village (in a Soviet Georgia part of the Caucus mountain range in 1945). The members of two villages, helped by an expert from the state reconstruction commission in the capital, are having a dispute over ownership of the valley and what to do with it. The chalk circle of the title refers to a test (drawn from a 14th century Chinese play) like King Solomon's sword test in the Bible. The test is to determine ownership, as in who is the mother. It also serves as a model of practical socialist wisdom on how to settle disputes of ownership. The child should go to the mother who takes best care of it and the valley should go to the people can make it the most useful. There are two stories, one inside the other. The first concerns the dispute between the villages over the valley. The second is sandwiched inside and is introduced by a singer-narrator who tells the tale of the chalk circle test of the serving girl, Grusha, and the Governor's wife, Natella, over a child, Michael, before Judge Azdak. Now we get to find out why the trial comes about. It seems that when a revolt takes place the child is left in the care of Grusha so that the Governor and his wife can escape. All Grusha's efforts to feed and shelter the child put her own life at risk and she will be branded a thief for rescuing the child unless she can produce a "father" for him. The soldiers eventually capture her and she is brought before the judge.

The play takes a brief excursion into the background of the judge who started out as a village scribe but is turned into a judge by a bunch of drunken soldiers who hung the previous judge. He is called Azdak and he is corrupt, licentious and couldn't care less about the law that is designed for the rich. He's also something of a Robin Hood character who brings generosity and wisdom to the task of dealing with human complaints. Now we get back to the trial in which the child is placed inside a circle drawn with chalk and the two women are told to pull him out. His biological mother pulls but Grusha refuses to because she doesn't want to tear the child apart. Of course she gets the child. Now we go back to the first plot and the narrator points out the lesson of the test to the villagers (from the first scene). The play is a good example of the dialectical* process of taking opposing ideas and synthesizing or reconciling them. This shows up here in how Grusha's concern for her own survival and her concern for the child (which start out being almost mutually exclusive concerns) become synthesized into one concern and the contradictions are resolved.