Bright images in dark times: Mesmerising colour photographs show resolve of Greatest Generation

Mail Online ^

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They are the images usually only seen in black and white - a fitting hue for the gloom of a 1940s America engaged in World War II and having just experienced the Great Depression.

But these vivid photographs in glorious colour show better than ever what life on the United States home front was really like as war raged in Europe and the Pacific.

From a Californian female aircraft worker focused on checking electrical wiring, to children rolling potatoes into a barrel on a farmyard in Maine - the pictures illustrate the significant role of those not on the battle fields.

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(Didn't want to post the larger photos)

[Former Proud Canadian]

What is the flickr URL?

[6SJ7]

Great pictures. Thanks for the link!

[blam]

We're no longer 'one nation' any more. Everyone and every group has their own plans and agenda and mostly those plans and dreams are to 'overcome' the other group and are willing to kill the whole in the attempt to reach their goals.

Multiculturalism has killed our nation...it will never be the same as those pictures illustrate again.

[RayChuang88]

I believe a lot of these color images are from Kodachrome slides, mostly because of the long shelf life these slides. If I remember correctly, someone here posted a link to a movie of V-J Day on the island of Oahu in the then-Hawaii Territory that was of really good quality, and I believe the 16 mm film was made with the Kodachrome process, too.

[ErnBatavia]

It was kind of depressing watching some of the World War II documentaries these past few days......realizing that this country no longer has the will to win a war; even a little tiny one.

[ErnBatavia]

http://vimeo.com/5645171

[Reagan69]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179235780/in/set-72157603671370361/

I think this is the flickr link

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Thanks for flickr link

[MileHi]

The electrical assemblies inspector is a babe.

[sayuncledave]

If I’m not mistaken, a lot of these are at http://www.shorpy.com, too. They have many great historical photos, among which are some wonderful color ones from WWII.

An example:http://www.shorpy.com/node/10631

[Texas Fossil]

realizing that this country's leaders no longer has have the will to win a war; even a little tiny one.

[China Clipper]

The electrical assemblies inspector is a babe.

Hehe I thought the same thing. They really were some beautiful women in those pictures. What a generation they were indeed!

[Oatka]

One idiot poster there, a prime example of a liberal education:

“But let us not forget, America’s war effort was based on being being a shop front - a profiteering shop front at that. We bought from them until we were bankrupt, then they let us buy on credit in exchange for every single piece of technology we had - including radar and computers. We have since paid back every penny with interest, unlike certain other nations I could mention. It’s why American history is so new, before the profits from the war, there was little there but agriculture. It’s always been my understanding that America never did announce war on Germany, they declared war on Japan, a campaign that saw us go with them hand in hand.”

Surprisingly (they usually don’t) the Mail printed my reply:

Trudi: Hoe many suns does your planet have? Either that, or you are a product of liberal schooling. Maybe both. Just a few examples:
“a profiteering shop front at that.” - also over 400,000 dead (Wikipedia)
“America never did announce war on Germany,” Good God Girl, we didn’t have to. Germany and Italy declared war on US on 12/11/41.
“they declared war on Japan, a campaign that saw us go with them hand in hand.” GGG redux. Didn’t you learn about Japan attacking Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong on 12/7/41? What choice did the UK have, other than to fight back?
Churchill was trying to maneuver Roosevelt into declaring war on Japan if they attacked the UK but not the US. Japanese hubris saved him the trouble.

[Professional Engineer]

Bfl

[Pelham]

Atlantic Magazine has those photos and more at its website:

WWII collections:

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/world-war-ii/

“The Home Front in Color”:

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/08/world-war-ii-the-american-home-front-in-color/100122/

[calex59]

There are at least two documentaries about WWII available through Netflix(and I would imagine other sources as well)that are in color, as opposed to the majority of them shot in b & w. One of them is named(aptly enough)World War II in color and I can't remember the name of the other one.

It makes me sad to watch them and remember my relatives who fought(and some died)for our freedoms and see what this country has become in the last 40 frickin' years. Time to put things right in the USA.

[NYFreeper]

What strikes me most about the pictures is the such nice clothing the women are wearing doing these jobs. Don’t see that today even with women (men too) just walking around in public.

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Yeah, well, my grandfather used to wear slacks & a white or light blue dress shirt just hanging around the house. (short sleeved dress shirt in the summer)

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Thanx