In the time leading up to and during World War II Cincinnati became a microcosm of the United States and the major divide therein. The nation was divided into two main camps: those who wished to go to war and those who were avidly against it. Now, those who were against war were not usually in this position for a moral reason, but rather an economic motive. The Great Depression was still fresh in their minds and they knew that fighting in a war would put the United States in a financially dangerous situation. On the other hand, some people wished to make the world safe for democracy by taking down any fascist or communist governments. For years these two groups battled on every political level, until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This tragic event that killed more than 2,300 Americans pulled the United States and shoved people towards a common goal whether they liked it or not.
Across the world in the City of Berlin a nationalistic feeling that had not been seen since before the first world war was raging. In 1936 Berlin hosted the Summer Olympics, proving that they were once again a country that was not to be trifled with. As the century came to a close, life seemed to reach a normal pace in Berlin. One account from a teenage girl by the name of Brigitte Eicke states that signs of the war were almost completely unseen, except for the disappearance of Jews which happened on a fairly regular basis. The city was unified, the people were prosperous: everything seemed to be moving in the right direction and it was, for the most part. But as Allied forces moved in on the German defense, the suburbs around the city began to fall which ultimately lead to the bloody capture of Berlin. Once Germany dissolved, it was divided up into four quadrants between the Allied Powers, and Berlin, being the capital, was divided in the same fashion.
The Cincinnati chapter of the America First Committee (an anti-war/isolationist group) at long last joined the conflict that the Fight for Freedom Committee (a pro-war group, whose national head, Henry Wise Hobson, was a Cincinnati native) had supported from the beginning. From the raising of one and half billion dollars in bond sales, victory gardens being planted, or even preparations for an air-raid being made, Cincinnati’s unified nationalistic drive could be felt in every action. This declaration of war took a divided city and made it whole by sheer determination to protect the land on which they stood.
These two cities sped into the Second World War like trains heading toward the other’s station. The same war that brought a sense of nationalism inflaming the pride of Berlin incited humility in Cincinnati. The same war that depleted Cincinnati of all luxuries raised Berlin up to a place of comfort. Until one day, the same war that brought Cincinnati together tore Berlin apart. As these trains headed into the station for the last time, Berlin’s tattered Nazi flag blew in the wind as feeble and weak as the nation it once represented while Cincinnati proudly sported the stars and stripes reunited and ready to face another day.
Works Cited
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By the Time the Red Army Reached Berlin These Forces Had Markedly Increased on Both Sides. The Fear of the Russians in Berlin Was Such That Both Young and Old Were Put into the Front Line. Nazi Propaganda Had Demonised the Russians and Many Berliners Saw. “The Battle for Berlin – History Learning Site.” History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2016. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-and-eastern-europe/the-battle-for-berlin/>.
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Winkler, Allan M. “The Queen City and World War II.” Queen City Heritage (1991): n. pag. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. <http://library.cincymuseum.org/topics/w/files/wwii/qch-v49-n1-que-003.pdf>.
The fall of Berlin.
Cincinnati coming together.