– December 27, 1947 – NBC World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
December 27, 1947 – A day about weather, and which way the wind was blowing. In Manhattan, what was going down as The Great Blizzard of ’47, New Yorkers were coping with a 35-inch snowfall overnight; stranding much of the city and freezing the rest of it. Meteorologists were quick to point that this storm took honors, knocking the previous record for The Great Blizzard Of ’88 (1888) into the trash heap of history. The only thing moving were the subways, if only the several million denizens of the big city could dig themselves out for long enough to get to them. It was a day to not go anywhere.
As for the wind blowing. It was blowing in Greece, and reports were it was blowing Red. A communist government had set up shop and had announced their debut over a clandestine radio station. It was met with perplexity, since no one was quite sure where the other government had gone. But Moscow was quick to recognize the newly announced provisional government. And eyes were on Greece to see how things would transpire in the coming days.
In Tokyo – Hideki Tojo, the former head of the Japanese government and in custody of the Allies, who were trying him for War Crimes during World War 2, issued a 60,000 word affidavit in which he took unto himself, the responsibility of waging war, and tried to exonerate Emperor Hirohito of all war guilt. Japanese newspapers devoted nearly all their limited space to Tojo’s uncensored statement. They refrained from editorial comment, but the man in the street voiced his opinion; it was one of guarded admiration for a man, regarded 36 hours earlier with hate, contempt or at best, indifference. It was the same Tojo who admitted he lost the war, was responsible for countless Japanese deaths, and then attempted suicide. This was the same Tojo who took blame and didn’t point it elsewhere.
And that’s a small portion of the news this day – as reported by NBC’s World News Roundup for December 27, 1947.
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