It Happened in Springfield - 1945

It Happened in Springfield (1945) is a short subject produced by Warner Bros. starring Andrea King as a teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, where a new approach and emphasis on citizenship in a multicultural society was taught during World War II, which came to be called The Springfield Plan.  This included teaching students to identify racist propaganda and to foster democracy.

We referred to the Springfield Plan last week in the Americans All post.  Unfortunately, I was not able to track down a copy of the film It Happened in Springfield, but I'll keep looking.

Also in the cast were Warren Douglas, John Qualen, Charles Drake, William Forrest, and Arthur Hohl.

Short films such as this and the two previous films discussed in this series illustrate the government's concern over the catastrophe of fascism that had caused World War II, and the horrors the Allied armies were discovering about those fascist societies as the war progressed.  We did not want that mental disease to take root here.

The differences between the shameless lies about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, by Traitor Trump and the radical right MAGA fascists -- and the nobler intentions of the wartime Springfield Plan of Springfield, Massachusetts, are stark and rather jolting, but it further illustrates our choice in November.

Vote accordingly.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Movies in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century and Hollywood Fights Fascism and Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

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My new non-fiction book, CHILDREN'S WARTIME ADVENTURE NOVELS - The Silent Generation's Vicarious Experience of World War II -- is now available in eBook here at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and a wide variety of other online shops.

And it is here in eBook, paperback print, and soon, hardcover, from Amazon.

From Cherry Ames, to Meet the Malones, from Dave Dawson to Kitty Carter - Canteen Girl, the Silent Generation spent their childhood immersed in geopolitical events through the prism of their middle grade and young adult books.  From the home front to the battlefield, these books are a window on their world, and influenced their hard-working, conformity-loving generation.