Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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was in close contact with Allied Head- quarters. As the underground struggled on- ward, the British began dropping them guns, food, and ammunition. It even- tually became so important as a source of information about German move- ments, that a map of France was kept at Allied Headquarters in London with red dots indicating where patriots were trained, supplied, and ready for the signal of D-Day. Credit must be given to the French people who risked everything to keep their liberty. They fought for four long hard years while being hunted and living without adequate food and shelter. Their valor will always be an inspiration to freedom-loving people. Joan of Arc's answer to one of her judges as to whether or not she hated the enemy is significant of France's unconquerable spirit: I don 't know, she said, but I know they shall be turned out of France except those who shall die there. - HUMOR IN WORLD WAR II By Chester Bowen UMOR is a great thing. W'ar, the most harsh and abominable busi- ness in the world, cannot eradicate it. Although the whole world has been engaged in war, effecting great con- flagrations in some places, unprece- dented sacrifices and grief in others, and the devastation of some of man's greatest achievements, still humor has managed to survive. Perhaps it is not amiss to ask why it has been able to survive amidst all these adverse condi- tions. It may be that people deem it necessary as a means of escape in such tragic times or perhaps it is so much a part of the nature of some people that even the horrors of war are not sufficient to repress it. Although some morose cynics may think it unpatriotic to laugh while such calamity is present in the world, most people feel the same as Bennett Cerf, the nationally known humorist, who says, We will die if We must, sacrifice everything, but surely and nobody will begrudge us a hearty laugh or two in the doingfl And thanks to the fact that most people agree with him, humor has played an important part in raising morale during the war and in that way helping the war eiortg for it is a known psychological fact that people will work more willingly and accomplish more when their morale is high.

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llEKlll?lE!lllllllllllll!lllll-Ill!!! In one instance, five Maquis, dressed in French Army uniforms, stole four wagons of food and supplies which were waiting to be shipped into Ger- many. The German sentries thought the disguised Maquis were following German orders. The members of the Corps Francs or Shock Troops, an active division of the freedom-loving Maquis were equal to the British and American comman- dos in their hard, reckless courage, their stamina, and their indifference to death. The Corps made various attacks on the German positions a11d supply houses. The most important deeds of the guerrillas was to keep General Patton constantly informed of the exact position of each German column and to protect his flank, thus enabling him to make his speedy drive. Another very important contribution to final victory was the clandestine press. Sickened by the Paris and Vichy newspapers, the underground publications became honest, bold, and strong. They were banners of hope for the conquered people. All of the sixty papers in occupied territory were printed at the risk of death, distributed by stealth, and read under the threat of imprisonment. One clandestine news- paper was printed at night. During the day, the shop printed a German- approved editio11. The first leader in tl1e literature against the oppressor was Andre Simeon, who printed the ' ' Valmy. Through the help of -a distant relative who worked in an office of a building occupied by Germans, Simeon mimeo- graphed his first issue. He eventually added others to his staff of the t'Valmy,' and acquired a printing press which he l1id in a cave. The Valmy had a circulation of 500,000 a week. Considering that each copy was read by twenty persons, the paper did a great deal to stir up tl1e people against the Nazis and to encourage them to look forward to an eventual day of liberation. In spite of the closing of universities, including the University of Sorbonne, the clandestine press printed works of authors and poets in hiding. The Voice of France in chains speaks in Paul E'luard's Armes de la Douleurf' To a desolate country, this literature gave strength and courage to tl1e resistance groups. . The quotation from the New York Times Magazine, to intensify and ren- der more efficient the fight for libera- tion from the enemy and from traitors by immediate action and by preparing a national insurrection, to defend the interests of France and the Empire, and to concentrate forces of resistance with a view to the creation of a Fourth Republic and.. a just societyf' clearly explains why the people began uniting and fusing all active parts of the un- derground into a National Council of Resistance of sixteen members, which 'represented all parts of France tllld

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ll-IIIKIKKKKIRIIISKKKKKKUCEKUIIIII-lil-K Humor has been very much alive, l10t only here, but all over the world during the war. Naturally most of it has arisen out of the situations of war. We find interesting diferences, how- ever, among the various countries as to the types and targets of war humor. For instance, the Americans and the British have the admirable quality of being able to laugh at themselves while the Russians used the enemy as the chief target. The Germans often ridi- culed themselves but most of their self- ridicule was unintentional and the oc- cupied countries, of course, used the Germans as targets for their satire. Americans usually tell jokes satir- izing the home front, conditions in the service, or draft boards and selec- tees. The British do this also but their humor is more polite than ours. A11 example of our humor concern- ing our home front is the following. It satirizes the first-aid courses taken by many people during the early days of the war. At a crowded Broadway first night early in the season, a member of the audience was suddenly overcome by the heat, and fell to the floor of the lobby in a dead faint. 'Step aside, cried a stout lady officiously. I am a first-aid student and I know how to give him artificial respiration. ' ' Her husband blanched with fear and pulled her by the arm. For Heaven 's sakesf' he implored, Hdonit do that to a sick man. C The British have a more courteous way of exhibiting such humor. Here is an example of ho wa Briton satir- ized the rising costs of hotel rooms in America. A young officer of the British Mer- chant Marine had put into port at New York. Members of the British Mer- chant Marine are provided with very little pocket money for shore leave and this oificer was no exception. Never- theless, he decided to put up at a famous Park Avenue hotel. When he registered, he neglected to inquire what the daily room rate would be. On the morning of his departure he was pre- sented with his bill. He gazed at it a moment and then sought the cashier. Am I correct, he asked, 'tin as- suming that suggestions from your pa- trons are welcome? They certainly are, said the cash- ier. Hasn,t everything been going satisfactorily ? I' ' Everything has been fine, agreed the officer, but I have noticed that you have a sign posted in all your rooms which reads, 'Have you left auything?' May I suggest that you alter the phraseology of the signs a bit so that they read, 'Have you any- thing left?' Army cooking has been the butt of many jokes connected with Army life. Ilere is an example of one of these. Outside the mess hall of Fort Devens a private approached an officer and saluted. Looking very disgusted hc said, Lieutenant, I have a complaint