With the war in Europe coming to a close within days, and war in the Pacific with another four months to go, the sudden death of Franklin Roosevelt was a tragic shock that reverberated all over the world and left many wondering what was going to happen, now that Harry Truman, FDR’s vice-President and second in command was in charge.
It was most likely not the eventual ending of the war that concerned people, it was how things were going to change in the aftermath? How was Foreign Policy going to be affected by the tragedy? Were the plans FDR had put into motion be continued? How was the issue of Postwar reconstruction going to happen? Would The United Nations, which was in the formation stages continue as intended or would it dramatically change?
What about the Soviet Union? How was Communism going to help or impede the postwar world? What about the promised independence movements of those countries that were still colonies, who had aided in the war effort under the proviso of achieving self-determination?
Many tough questions with no easy answers – we were about to face a new era wrapped with uncertainty. And we were certainly not prepared to deal with the far-reaching affects of the Atomic Bombing of Japan, which America had no clue about until early August.
All programming on Radio was pre-empted, given over to solemn observances. By April 14th we were slowly looking ahead to the future, since there was war going on – we were still mourning, still processing but there was no stopping.
And so many of the programs running on radio during this time were discussions – remembrances of FDR but also questions about the future. One of those programs was NBC’s University Of The Air, which ran a special program dealing with America without Roosevelt and America transitioning over to eventual peace and Americas Foreign Policy under Harry Truman. Four members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House Of Representatives.
Here is that program as it was broadcast on Saturday, April 14, 1945.
