Words At War

Dramatic Interpretations of WWII (1943-1945)

Produced in cooperation with the Council on Books in Wartime the episodes of Words at War were based on literature created during the war by a variety of authors.  Though we are told that they are the real accounts of wartime tales the show was often speculative but based on real events from the war or potential events in the future. A wonderful blend of history and literature and sometimes a sprinkle of wartime propaganda, Words at War is a glimpse of the beliefs and fears of American authors during the last great war. 

In the episode, "What to do about Germany." was written to warn America of falling to the Germans and becoming slaves in the "future" year 1985.  A father gives his son a figurine of the Statue of Liberty, which we were told was destroyed after German took over the world. 

"The Story of the Secret State" recounts events in one man's life during the German Invasion of Poland.  The character life is turned upside-down eventually he joins the Polish Underground that fought the Nazi Invasion.

During the war, Japan launched a sudden attack against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Eight hours later they launched an assault on Hong Kong.  In "Prisoner of the Japs" a female reporter tells her harrowing experience of living in a hotel in Hong Kong during 17 days it took for Japan to occupy the island. 

In "Firm Hands, Silent People" a Yugoslav woman screams but we learn that "she is not being molested, her pain is mental" as she remember the death of her husband at the hands of the Nazis. 

Exciting and descriptive, these dramatic interpretations are told in first person from the fictional authors during WWII.   Each show was to be "a living record of this war and things for which we fought."

For more WWII old time radio shows, see also Dear Adolf, Blitzkrieg, Adolf Hitler Recordings and the WWII Collection.