NEW YORK
New York City during World War II was completely consumed in the war effort and military preparations.As World War II prolonged, one of the first waves of immigration took place in the United States. Particularly, between the years of 1892 and 1954, countless immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island. In the 1940s, however, Ellis Island not only served as a site for the influx of immigrants but also as the location of an internment camp that held innumerable German, Italian, and Japanese U.S. citizens, naturalized citizens, and resident foreigners. In 1945 World War II ended, later that year the camp was closed. In New York City there had been a constant fear of the Blitz crossing the Atlantic. However, even before the Blitz began in England in September 1940, city officials had feared German air attacks in New York. In June 1940, the mayor of New York was asking for 28,000 specially trained volunteers to manually turn off the city lights in the event of a blackout. Before his plea, a fire auxiliary force was already being trained and volunteer spotters were being canvassed.
Moreover, the New York City that emerged from World War II was a complete transformation of the city it had been four years before its involvement in the war. This momentous change was largely due to the war effort, which had raised the city out of the Great Depression it had currently been in and enabled it to rejoice in prosperity.
During the four years that New York participated in the war effort, the explosion in commercial activity, influenced by the war, incited the city’s economic prevalence. By the late 1940s, New York had become the largest manufacturing center in the world. In this warfare period, New York City was also able to become the nation’s largest wholesaling center, the world’s biggest port, and the world’s financial capital. It was, above all, home to the immense corporations that now dominate life around the world. More than ever before, New York was acknowledged as a great international city to which all the ends of the world had come. New York was now the center of the world. As E.B. White once stated "New York is not a state capital or a national capital, but it is by way of becoming the capital of the world."
A year after the war’s end in 1945, New York's central economic position had been reinforced by a new role. A role in the alliance of nations pledged to promote peace, security and international cooperation, in other words a role in the United Nations. In December of the year 1946, the United Nations selected New York as the ideal location for its permanent headquarters.
Following the economic boom at the time was an exciting cultural boom, for new figures and trends began reshaping the city's arts and entertainment. At Carnegie Hall, a young conductor and composer named Leonard Bernstein had dominated the New York Philharmonic and dazzled audiences with his daring interpretations of the classical repertory. His own music was even revolutionizing Broadway musicals in a new show known as "On the Town." Uptown, however, a different music genre was taking shape in the nightclubs of Harlem. Dazzling musicians such as Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk forged a new style of jazz called "Be-bop." Music revolutionized New York’s culture. In the coming few years, it would become obvious that the war had marked another cultural shift, as the center of the art world. The rise of fascism in Europe and the terrible conflict that followed had brought dozens of important modern artists to across the Atlantic in New York; such artists included Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Leger, Wassily Kandinsky, and Piet Mondrian.
As the city boldly stepped into a new postwar era, urban planners proposed remaking the city on a breathtaking scale for New York would begin to take leave of the past as never before and rush into the future.
New York City during World War II was completely consumed in the war effort and military preparations.As World War II prolonged, one of the first waves of immigration took place in the United States. Particularly, between the years of 1892 and 1954, countless immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island. In the 1940s, however, Ellis Island not only served as a site for the influx of immigrants but also as the location of an internment camp that held innumerable German, Italian, and Japanese U.S. citizens, naturalized citizens, and resident foreigners. In 1945 World War II ended, later that year the camp was closed. In New York City there had been a constant fear of the Blitz crossing the Atlantic. However, even before the Blitz began in England in September 1940, city officials had feared German air attacks in New York. In June 1940, the mayor of New York was asking for 28,000 specially trained volunteers to manually turn off the city lights in the event of a blackout. Before his plea, a fire auxiliary force was already being trained and volunteer spotters were being canvassed.
Moreover, the New York City that emerged from World War II was a complete transformation of the city it had been four years before its involvement in the war. This momentous change was largely due to the war effort, which had raised the city out of the Great Depression it had currently been in and enabled it to rejoice in prosperity.
During the four years that New York participated in the war effort, the explosion in commercial activity, influenced by the war, incited the city’s economic prevalence. By the late 1940s, New York had become the largest manufacturing center in the world. In this warfare period, New York City was also able to become the nation’s largest wholesaling center, the world’s biggest port, and the world’s financial capital. It was, above all, home to the immense corporations that now dominate life around the world. More than ever before, New York was acknowledged as a great international city to which all the ends of the world had come. New York was now the center of the world. As E.B. White once stated "New York is not a state capital or a national capital, but it is by way of becoming the capital of the world."
A year after the war’s end in 1945, New York's central economic position had been reinforced by a new role. A role in the alliance of nations pledged to promote peace, security and international cooperation, in other words a role in the United Nations. In December of the year 1946, the United Nations selected New York as the ideal location for its permanent headquarters.
Following the economic boom at the time was an exciting cultural boom, for new figures and trends began reshaping the city's arts and entertainment. At Carnegie Hall, a young conductor and composer named Leonard Bernstein had dominated the New York Philharmonic and dazzled audiences with his daring interpretations of the classical repertory. His own music was even revolutionizing Broadway musicals in a new show known as "On the Town." Uptown, however, a different music genre was taking shape in the nightclubs of Harlem. Dazzling musicians such as Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk forged a new style of jazz called "Be-bop." Music revolutionized New York’s culture. In the coming few years, it would become obvious that the war had marked another cultural shift, as the center of the art world. The rise of fascism in Europe and the terrible conflict that followed had brought dozens of important modern artists to across the Atlantic in New York; such artists included Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Leger, Wassily Kandinsky, and Piet Mondrian.
As the city boldly stepped into a new postwar era, urban planners proposed remaking the city on a breathtaking scale for New York would begin to take leave of the past as never before and rush into the future.