Over the weekend, I read an excellent book by Molly Manning, When Books Went to War: the stories that helped us win World War II. It is both a tragic account of a world overtaken by evil and the young men who were forced to confront it, and an inspiring reminder of the power of literature to guide soldiers on the battlefield and defend the freedom of ideas at home.
When Hitler was marching across Europe, humanity was destroyed and violent ideology prevailed. But as governments were falling and body counts were rising, another massacre was also taking place. The New York Times called it a “literary holocaust.” Time magazine called it a “bibliocaust.” The freedom to communicate and exchange ideas, particularly through the printed word, was facing elimination. Manning writes, “Often, the first cultural pillar to be toppled was the library.” In an effort to abolish any piece of art, literature, or culture that was not purely German and approved by the Nazi regime, Hitler’s army burned a remarkable 375 archives, 402 museums, 531 institutes, and 957 libraries in Eastern Europe; and they destroyed half of all books in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and 55 million books in Russia. Such disregard for printed ideas even took root in German universities—the very birthplace of modern, Western education.
While Americans fought valiantly on battlefields across the globe, they also saw the importance of fighting an ideological war against the elimination of knowledge and communication. Americans made a priority of protecting and producing as many books as possible, to salvage ideas and to promote culture. An essay written by a collection of publishers said that for America to claim victory and sustain peace, “all of us will have to know more and think better than our enemies think and know....This is a war of books...and books are our weapons.” The Assistant Secretary of State added, “If authors still may write, if publishers still may print, if universities still may teach, it is because, and only because, many and many men for faith alone are prepared to give their lives, their children’s lives, and all they have, for the defense of that right.”
Manning writes, “As Hitler attempted to strengthen fascism by destroying the written word, librarians would urge Americans to read more.” After seeing what destruction Hitler’s Mein Kampf had wrought, a librarian at the time said, if Hitler’s book was capable of “stirring millions to fight for intolerance and oppression and hate, cannot other books be found to stir other millions to fight against them?”
Manning’s book goes to great lengths in describing how special editions of books were printed for soldiers to carry with them. They would use them to pass the time, to stay positive, to discuss ideas. They would trade them with one another and talk about them and wait anxiously for new ones to be sent. They became book fanatics. The soldiers, emboldened by their books, became the stout symbol of what Hitler was attempting to extinguish. One Army major reported books “made life worth living for our own soldiers and the soldiers of other countries who fought alongside ours,” and inspired “that amazing spirit of American troops.”
The books had a variety of functions. Books not only helped distract men from the horrors they faced, they also proved to be effectively therapeutic. Reading fiction and drama helped soldiers mentally work through the destruction they had witnessed, while improving their morale and reducing psychological breakdowns. “From books,” the author writes, “soldiers extracted courage, hope, determination, a sense of selfhood, and other qualities to fill voids created by war.” One medical officer said that the editions printed for soldiers were the “greatest improvement in Army technique,” next to penicillin. One soldier said that books were so precious that dying men held them to the end, and “To heave one in the garbage can is tantamount to striking your grandmother.”
Soldiers even wrote letters to authors thanking them for their works. In many cases, authors wrote back, bringing untold joy to the men on the front lines. One author received notes that told of how soldiers “connected to a certain character; others felt as though a layer of loneliness and isolation had been stripped away as her prose washed over them.” Another author repeatedly heard from soldiers who appreciated her writing as a great reminder of home and of the simple lives, families, and towns they were fighting for.
Manning’s work also includes fascinating details regarding the way books were printed for soldiers, forcing a break from the tradition of hardcover books, so they could be discreetly and conveniently carried in pockets during travels. She describes how books issued for soldiers changed the publishing industry forever. “In 1939,” she writes, “fewer than 200,000 paperback books were sold in the United States; by 1943, this number had climbed to over 40 million.”
Though I have read one particular book countless times (and even wrote a chapter of my dissertation on it), Manning includes an interesting anecdote of which I was not aware: “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which was written in 1925, was considered a failure during Fitzgerald’s lifetime. But when this book was printed [in an edition for soldiers] in October 1945, it won the hearts of an army of men. Their praise reverberated back home, and The Great Gatsby was rescued from obscurity and has since become an American literary classic." I had no idea the influence soldiers had on some of America’s greatest works.
When Books Went to War is a great history book in its overview of a variety of elements that affected the evolution of WWII in both the European and Pacific theaters. Readers will hear vivid voices and follow influential groups of characters that changed the world through their bravery and fortitude, but also through their passionate respect for language and ideas. This book offers a great opportunity to examine one of the most complex eras of American history through an interesting and invaluable lens, one in which culture and literacy buttresses military might.
Many men were not readers when they first went to war, but the books became so valuable to them that their effect was felt for decades to follow. Soldiers would go on to college and embrace learning. They would be thankful for literature. They would keep books in their homes. They would know the power of printed words forever. Manning’s excellent book offers one of the strongest cases for the importance of reading, writing, and the entire field of English I’ve ever read. I recommend it highly for anyone who dares question the value of the printed word and its place in education and in society at large, as well as for those who simply need some encouragement for what they have believed all along. Ideas have the power to change the world. But if we don’t read about them, how can we know what kind of change may ensue?
When Hitler was marching across Europe, humanity was destroyed and violent ideology prevailed. But as governments were falling and body counts were rising, another massacre was also taking place. The New York Times called it a “literary holocaust.” Time magazine called it a “bibliocaust.” The freedom to communicate and exchange ideas, particularly through the printed word, was facing elimination. Manning writes, “Often, the first cultural pillar to be toppled was the library.” In an effort to abolish any piece of art, literature, or culture that was not purely German and approved by the Nazi regime, Hitler’s army burned a remarkable 375 archives, 402 museums, 531 institutes, and 957 libraries in Eastern Europe; and they destroyed half of all books in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and 55 million books in Russia. Such disregard for printed ideas even took root in German universities—the very birthplace of modern, Western education.
While Americans fought valiantly on battlefields across the globe, they also saw the importance of fighting an ideological war against the elimination of knowledge and communication. Americans made a priority of protecting and producing as many books as possible, to salvage ideas and to promote culture. An essay written by a collection of publishers said that for America to claim victory and sustain peace, “all of us will have to know more and think better than our enemies think and know....This is a war of books...and books are our weapons.” The Assistant Secretary of State added, “If authors still may write, if publishers still may print, if universities still may teach, it is because, and only because, many and many men for faith alone are prepared to give their lives, their children’s lives, and all they have, for the defense of that right.”
Manning writes, “As Hitler attempted to strengthen fascism by destroying the written word, librarians would urge Americans to read more.” After seeing what destruction Hitler’s Mein Kampf had wrought, a librarian at the time said, if Hitler’s book was capable of “stirring millions to fight for intolerance and oppression and hate, cannot other books be found to stir other millions to fight against them?”
Manning’s book goes to great lengths in describing how special editions of books were printed for soldiers to carry with them. They would use them to pass the time, to stay positive, to discuss ideas. They would trade them with one another and talk about them and wait anxiously for new ones to be sent. They became book fanatics. The soldiers, emboldened by their books, became the stout symbol of what Hitler was attempting to extinguish. One Army major reported books “made life worth living for our own soldiers and the soldiers of other countries who fought alongside ours,” and inspired “that amazing spirit of American troops.”
The books had a variety of functions. Books not only helped distract men from the horrors they faced, they also proved to be effectively therapeutic. Reading fiction and drama helped soldiers mentally work through the destruction they had witnessed, while improving their morale and reducing psychological breakdowns. “From books,” the author writes, “soldiers extracted courage, hope, determination, a sense of selfhood, and other qualities to fill voids created by war.” One medical officer said that the editions printed for soldiers were the “greatest improvement in Army technique,” next to penicillin. One soldier said that books were so precious that dying men held them to the end, and “To heave one in the garbage can is tantamount to striking your grandmother.”
Soldiers even wrote letters to authors thanking them for their works. In many cases, authors wrote back, bringing untold joy to the men on the front lines. One author received notes that told of how soldiers “connected to a certain character; others felt as though a layer of loneliness and isolation had been stripped away as her prose washed over them.” Another author repeatedly heard from soldiers who appreciated her writing as a great reminder of home and of the simple lives, families, and towns they were fighting for.
Manning’s work also includes fascinating details regarding the way books were printed for soldiers, forcing a break from the tradition of hardcover books, so they could be discreetly and conveniently carried in pockets during travels. She describes how books issued for soldiers changed the publishing industry forever. “In 1939,” she writes, “fewer than 200,000 paperback books were sold in the United States; by 1943, this number had climbed to over 40 million.”
Though I have read one particular book countless times (and even wrote a chapter of my dissertation on it), Manning includes an interesting anecdote of which I was not aware: “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which was written in 1925, was considered a failure during Fitzgerald’s lifetime. But when this book was printed [in an edition for soldiers] in October 1945, it won the hearts of an army of men. Their praise reverberated back home, and The Great Gatsby was rescued from obscurity and has since become an American literary classic." I had no idea the influence soldiers had on some of America’s greatest works.
When Books Went to War is a great history book in its overview of a variety of elements that affected the evolution of WWII in both the European and Pacific theaters. Readers will hear vivid voices and follow influential groups of characters that changed the world through their bravery and fortitude, but also through their passionate respect for language and ideas. This book offers a great opportunity to examine one of the most complex eras of American history through an interesting and invaluable lens, one in which culture and literacy buttresses military might.
Many men were not readers when they first went to war, but the books became so valuable to them that their effect was felt for decades to follow. Soldiers would go on to college and embrace learning. They would be thankful for literature. They would keep books in their homes. They would know the power of printed words forever. Manning’s excellent book offers one of the strongest cases for the importance of reading, writing, and the entire field of English I’ve ever read. I recommend it highly for anyone who dares question the value of the printed word and its place in education and in society at large, as well as for those who simply need some encouragement for what they have believed all along. Ideas have the power to change the world. But if we don’t read about them, how can we know what kind of change may ensue?