A wave of patriotism and memory swept over Washington D.C. in May, 2004 when the World War II Memorial opened on the National Mall. Paul Williams's collection of photographs "Washington D.C. the World War II Years" was released to coincide with the opening of the Memorial. As does the Memorial, Williams's book recaptures for many Americans the energy and commitment that was brought to bear at a critical moment of our Nation's history. The book consists of about 200 photographs of Washington D.C. showing the response to WW II together with commentary and annotations.
The book is part of the "Images of America Series", a series of books that, as the publisher describes them, "celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country." It is a worthy venture. Paul Williams is a long-time student of the Washington D.C. area who has written 12 books for the series, most of which are about various neighborhoods in the city.
In describing WW II Washington, international, national, and local interests converge. Williams's portrait in images thus includes scenes of international and national leaders but it shows as well the impact of the conflict on the local population -- the many residents who make up the population of our capital city. Williams shows how the City expanded during the War and how the new and former residents responded.
The book is in seven sections and opens with a chapter called "Planning for War." Appropriately, the first image in the chapter is a photo of isolationists protesting against what would soon become American participation in this global conflict. Photos of Marian Anderson's famous concert on the National Mall in 1939, among other photos, help set the backdrop for the Washington D.C. of the war years. A chapter of the book is devoted to the construction of the Pentagon, which was hastily completed during the War. This is followed by a chapter documenting the blackouts, air raid shelters, and efforts to protect the city from attack that ensued with the United States's entry into the War. A fascinating aspect of this story, document briefly here, is the discovery of two German teams who were smuggled into the United States on u-boats to commit sabotage. Eight participants were ultimately discovered, tried in Washington, D.C. and electrocuted in August, 1942.
Chapters 4-6 of the book document the War's local impact as Williams presents photographs of D.C. residents standing in ration lines, collecting scrap and books for the War effort, and planting "victory gardens". A lengthy chapter documents the impact of women in Washington, D.C., both civilian and military, as "government girls" arrived in the city, in many cases to remain, to build new lives and careers while contributing to the war effort. The influx of new residents
strained the city's housing resources as the city's historic townhouses took in new residents and new structures were constructed in haste. There is room in the book for some embarrassing moments, as Williams presents a photograph of patrons of a brothel arrested in a raid and carried away in a paddywagon in 1942. (The brothel kept a list of its distinguished patrons which has never been released. Some things don't change.)
The most impressive portion of the book is its final chapter "VE. VJDay, and the War's Aftermath." This chapter includes photographs of people celebrating the end of the War in Europe and the end of the War with the surrender of Japan. There are scenes of large, joyous crowds, and more intimate photographs of smaller groups of people celebrating the American victory and the return of peace. This book left me with an overriding impression of how Americans of all ages and economic levels, of all races, men and women, were able to put aside their differences and unite under the most stressful times to work for the good of our country. The end of the War, with the celebrations and expressions of thanks that ensued, showed how our country can come together and celebrate its shared values in its diversity. This book illustrates an inspiring period of our Nation's history, at both a national and a local level. It has much to teach us today.
