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Building The Peace, a discussion from the NBC Radio program America United regarding the postwar period and how it was going to impact the world economy as well as the political atmosphere and what role our State Department was playing in it.
Even though the War in Europe was weeks, if not days away from coming to a conclusion and the end of the War in Asia was still months off, the concerns over life after War were actively being discussed, and had been for some time.
It was clear, without question, that Nazi Germany was heading for defeat – and what the Allies would be inheriting would be mass devastation, destruction and an economy nonexistent.
One of the questions raised was that of the refugees coming to the U.S., and the potential flood of former high-ranking Nazis, sneaking in under the radar and taking refuge on this side of the Atlantic in order plot the possibilities of a return to power. A disclosure an an alleged series of plans to orchestrate World War 3 was apparently unearthed and was drawing attention be the State Department. It was speculated that Germany realized it had lost the war as early as 1943 and began laying the groundwork for a return to power and a hope to achieve world domination through a third world war.
One of the interesting disclosures was how Germany was planning on raising money to fund this “return to power” – how some of it had to do with companies doing business overseas as well as selling the vast collection of stolen art. There was also speculation that many German companies had sent valuable technicians to safer areas in order to retrieve them at the proper time, or to ensure these technicians went to work for Allied companies in order to sabotage Allied arms and weapons manufacturing.
But the rest of the program was given over to plans the State Department had for the reconstruction; working in conjunction with the newly formed United Nations, which was set to have it’s first meeting within a few days. There may have been movements underfoot to disrupt the process of reconstruction, but the immediate need was more crucial.
To get a better idea of what was in store for peace and the Postwar period, here is that discussion by members of the State Department for the America United Program from April 7, 1945.
