May 26, 1945 – The San Francisco Peace Conference.
enlarge Credit: United Nations Photo Edward Stitinius (L) and Tom Connolly (C) and nervous aide (R). Harbinger of things to come . Click here to view this media This day in 1945 the San Francisco Peace conference was getting underway, laying the groundwork for what would become the United Nations Charter. With war still going on in the Pacific, delegates from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America met to establish a means of working together as a Post-War world was coming into view. But even then, even as the war was continuing, suspicions were raised over the future relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Was all this euphoria going to last? Some didn’t think so. And even Assistant Secretary of State Archibald MacLeish made mention of it in this broadcast, part of a radio series devoted to the San Francisco Conference and our Foreign Policy. Archibald MacLeish (Asst. Sec. of State): “Political events in Europe are regarded in some quarters not only as denying the promise of San Francisco but as qualifying the hope that the continuing collaboration between the great powers, upon which San Francisco is based, can continue. Certain commentators have even spoken openly of an inevitable conflict of interest between the Russians and ourselves, and have debated the question whether Russia, our present ally in this war, is our enemy or our friend. A curious debate, one would think, with our soldiers living side by side in conquered Germany and our common dead but freshly buried.” Interesting when you consider the Cold War became a reality not that long after these suspicions were cast. Interesting too, when you consider many members of the State Department at the time, including Alger Hiss, were hounded out of the State Department and labeled Communist operatives, triggering the Witch Hunts and Red Scare that permeated our National psyche for the better part of four decades. But it all started out so optimistically. Here is “Report From San Francisco – Part 5″ as broadcast on May 26, 1945.
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May 26, 1945 – The San Francisco Peace Conference.
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on May 26, 2011. Filed under