OH+Questions

Topic ** - Life on the Home Front as a Minor **Interview subject** - Joyce Raffel
 * Oral History Questions

1. How did the war affect you specifically then and now? 2. How did the war affect your family? 3. What was the mood of America during WWII? 4. What was your economic status? How did this affect you? 5. How did the media cover WWII? 6. What was your opinion of the president Franklin Delano Roosevelt? 7. What was your family's opinion of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt? 8. When we declared war what was our initial reaction after we declared war? What was yours and your family's?

1. During WWII, I attended a high school that was used by the military in the afternoon and evening. As a result, my classes started around 7:00 AM. I had to travel over an hour by subway to reach school on time. That meant leaving home before six every day. The up side was that I had a long afternoon at home, spent on homework. Now I realize that the war matured me and others of my generation. We accepted responsibility and did not expect life to be easy. 2. In 1939, my family purchased its first automobile. We had hoped to travel during vacations but could not because gas was rationed and in very short supply. Most of the gasoline was for the military. Also rationed were sugar, butter and other foods. 3. There was strong support for WWII. The people supported the war effort, bought bonds, did volunteer work and felt a strong sense of pride in this country and what it stood for. 4. We were a middle class family just starting to experience a little prosperity after the Depression years. The war brought employment and jobs, but there was a shortage of workers. My sister and I frequently helped my Father in his mail-order business. 5. WWII was covered by all the media. Newspapers and radio were the dispensers of news, but communication was not instantaneous, as it is today. Newsreels in the movie theaters showed action days and weeks later. There was no TV, no internet. My favorite news commentator was Walter Winchell and my favorite columnist was Ernie Pyle. 6/7 FDR was everyone's hero. We all listened to his Fireside Chats every Sunday night. Now I realize that he should have turned over the Presidency sooner. During his last term, his poor health impaired his negotiating and decision making. I still believe he was a great leader. 8. I was stunned by the attack on Pearl Harbor and felt that we had to "get even" by going to war. I was glad that America would finally help the Allied countries in Europe overcome Hitler. Many members of my Father's family were still in Europe. The Holocaust really happened and was a terrible commentary on humanity.