Toys in Wartime
World War II altered nearly every facet of daily life for millions of people. Suddenly, they couldn’t get grocery items they wanted. Fabric for clothing was restricted by law. Civilians were conscripted for wartime jobs. Household items became unavailable as manufacturers switched their plants to the production of war materials.
Home life drastically changed. Besides the movement of millions of adults, the war temporarily displaced thousands of children. In Hawai’i martial law went into effect immediately after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Civilians were sometimes ordered to evacuate within minutes. In London, children were put on trains and relocated to homes in the countryside, often with strangers. With so much upheaval, toys were definitely among the items lost in the shuffle.
Children’s Life in War
In spite of all the turmoil—perhaps because of it—people went to great lengths to find ways to honor children’s celebrations. If no gifts were possible, special foods might be the memory-makers. Jewel-toned gelatin could set in sterilized egg shells to make vibrant party desserts, much like today’s Jell-O® jigglers. Or mock marzipan animal shapes might adorn a simple cake.
Folk & Improvised Toys
Sometimes when toys could not be purchased, they could be made. Lanterns from colored paper, airplanes from scrap tin, crocheted or knitted animals, wooden horses and carts, and anything else the imagination could foster. In Britain, the Nursery School Association published a pamphlet, Improvised Toys for Nurseries and Refugee Camps, especially to help provide for children’s need for toys. As Alex Langlands writes, “in the face of the horrors and trauma of war, such as losing a relative or a sudden evacuation to a strange place, a toy could help restore ‘the creative art of playing.’”
Childhood Memories of War
Following are a few childhood recollections of play on the morning of December 7, 1941 in Hawai’i. The mixture of play amid the reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor seems almost surreal. In every memory, play and imagination were part of the processing of traumatic events.
From Harry Jefferson:
“The rest of the day we all stayed close to home. I guess I played soldier or aviator with my toy guns and planes. My father broke out his rifle and pearl-handled Colt 45 pistol, just in case. His weapons were real.”
From Christopher “Kit” Smith:
“Soon after the attack, my dad…got a call at our Kahala home to report to his work place downtown…My response to this excitement—or at least the only one I can recall—was to sit down with crayons and draw pictures of Japanese planes being shot down.
From Charley Cooke:
“So many things happened after the 7th. We had to carry gas masks with us at all times, had bomb shelters dug in the front yard and had to have an identification card with finger prints on us at all times…As a sub-teen it was an exciting time for me. Playing war with my friends, being able to identify most of the airplanes we saw, and being taken into Pearl Harbor to see some of the big ships were such a treat…Memory begins to fade regarding most of the war years as we were put on a routine schedule and, with martial law in effect, we were limited as to what we could do and where we could go.”
From Virginia Crippen Claire:
“Sunday morning, December 7th, after breakfast, the kids that lived near me and I were all playing outside in the quadrangle between the civilian housing. Some airplanes flew overhead and the pilots dipped their airplanes’ wings in order to wave at us as we played. The airplanes looked funny to us because they had big red circles on the sides…Within just a few minutes, Army personnel came to all our doors, telling the men to report to work and the women and children to prepare for Army trucks to come pick them up. About 20 minutes later, the trucks arrived and the women and children were taken to a hillside…children became restless and started chasing each other all over the place. At one point, as I was running from a playmate, I stumbled over a rock and fell flat on my face. It was at that exact time that some heavy shelling took place. My mother went into hysterics, certain that I had been shot dead. Another mother ran over and picked me up, skinned knees and all, and returned me to my mother, with the assurance that I was not seriously injured. Needless to say, that ended the children’s play on the hillside.”
Toys as Therapy
Simple games like checkers or cards could be carried to a bomb shelter, to help pass the time. Toys such as the Junior Nurse Sewing Set encouraged playing together and helped children understand some of the things they were seeing in the adult world around them. Even games such as marbles or dodgeball were a way to physically deal with stress and help with sleep in fearful times.
More than the toys or games themselves, the most important goals were to help children maintain some sense of normalcy and to give them happy memories. Not even a war spanning the globe was able to stop the love that went into guarding the life of the next generation.
References
Bowles, John B. and Eric C. Gross, Ed. The Day Our World Changed: December 7, 1941 Punahou ’52 Remembers Pearl Harbor. North Liberty, IA: Ice Cube Press, 2004.
Ginn, Peter, Ruth Goodman and Alex Langlands. Wartime Farm: Rediscovering the Skills and Spirit of World War II. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2012.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6