Existing comment:
World War II:
The Second World War began in 1939, and the United States entered the war in 1941 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. At its end in 1945, it was clear that no war had ever before covered so much of the globe, co-opted the industrial power of so many countries, or created so much destruction. Through it all, Shakespeare's presence reminded people of home, culture, and everything they were fighting for.
The Office of War Information used a photograph of a woman working at the Republic Drill and Tool Company to invite women to enter the war industry. Their captain was "Maybe it isn't Shakespeare, but it makes sense to the employees of this... plant who are manufacturing thousands of drills each day for use in all war production industries."
The American military hired actor Maurice Evans to produce entertainments for the troops in the Pacific campaign, leading to his popular "G.I. Hamlet." Joe Coogan, one of the original soldier actors, remembered the audience's weak response at its opening in Hawaii. But after they were reminded "that they were to show respect for Shakespeare and for Hamlet, who happened to be... an officer in the United States Army... future audiences were much more enthusiastic."
In the midst of war, President Franklin Roosevelt -- like Abraham Lincoln -- took the time to think of Shakespeare. He presented a set of plays from his family to the Folger Library in 1943. |