A 70-Year Memory: On the Homefront and Abroad: Christmas 1944

With all the work I've been doing on following the 10th Armored Division through their European campaign on 1944-45 the situation at home hasn't been far from my thoughts. My Dad had just been married in May of 1944 and then shipped out in September. The American homefront was clearly invested in the war- rationing, recycling, extreme and extraordinary commitments and sacrifice were all over the country.

As 1944 was coming to a close there was at first a sense of hope. D-Day had been successful. But by Christmas, as the news began to be reported, a number of days late, of the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes, tensions, fears and uncertainty became very real.  I did a quick search on Christmas 1944 and found a few postcards and posters that were from that era.

 While in the Ardennes, the picture was very, very different. They tried to make the best of the situation, but it was often more of a short break from the constant fighting of the Battle of the Bulge.