Daily Life Prior to World War ll

The year of 1939 brought many surprises and trials among almost every American citizen. About 10 years before this, the Great Depression came about and left many citizens homeless, unemployed, and very desperate. Not only was there a great amount of tribulation in America at this time, but all throughout the world. Nationalism was making its way through Germany which messed with the Versailles Treaty that ended World War l. The Empire of Japan and China had been at war since 1931. Germany, Italy, and Japan were testing the recently found League of Nations with all sorts of invasions and occupations of surrounding countries. The Spanish Civil War came about in 1936. However, most of the pre-war conflict came about from the Nazi Germany. Some of these include: signing a non-aggression treaty with the USSR, invading Czechoslovakia, annexing Austria, and rearming. On the other hand, the United States was trying to improve their relationships with other countries and working hard to avoid “foreign entanglements”. Life was beginning to recover and go back to normal after the traumatic Depression, little did every American citizen know that their daily lives were about to drastically change.

Daily life before World War ll in the United States could stated in one word: simple. It was known to be very peaceful with only the husbands going out to work, and the mothers staying home to care for the children. With the depression just ending, money was very tight, but everyone would make the best of what they had. The children would play with each other with an occasional “Saturday afternoon special” movie.  The libraries and museums were free, so they would spend a good amount of their time there. Whatever time they didn’t spend there they would spend at the park, as that was a very popular place to spend time with your friends and family.

Another factor that played into Americans daily life before/ at the start of the war was the appliances and technology that was introduced. Telephones simply used to communicate became very widespread in 1927, opening up a whole new level of communication for everyone in America. Refrigerators, irons, sewing machines, stoves, and vacuum cleaners were also introduced around this point and time. These inventions put a new outlook on life, and the work ethic of not only parents but the children. However, this sense of work ethic came in handy as the war started to approach.

While life seemed like it was starting to go up, with new technologies being introduced and the depression fading away, American citizens were about to be hit with something very unexpected. Thank goodness to the appliances, and the new work ethic of everyone they were fairly prepared, and in for “quite the ride.”