“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II

A teenager at the time of World War II, Nancy recalls how her family employed a Japanese American woman named Mae who was sent to an internment camp. Still, she and her family celebrated the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although she later questioned the decision. Overall, Nancy suggests that World War II was a more innocent and less skeptical time for the American public.

Paul Edwards worked for the Red Cross during World War II. After the war, he remained in Europe, working with refugees and observing the growing tensions of the Cold War, such as the communist revolt in Greece. Paul remarks that the Cold War has eroded the unity that World War II engendered, particularly because the war’s prosperity gave rise to a middle class with less compassion for the poor.