Over the years here at Amazing Stories, it has not been uncommon for us to celebrate Halloween with a “rebroadcast” of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of H. G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds.
We’ve listed other interpretations of the novel that can be found out and about; we’ve put up images from google maps showing the incidents and the travels of the narrator through modern day England and, whenever reasonably justified, we’ve featured Frank R. Paul’s cover illustration for the novel as it appeared on the cover of Amazing Stories August 1927 issue.
However, one bit of historicity eluded me until now.
In the Shaw radio interview with Orson Welles and H. G. Wells (San Antonio CA, 1940 and found here), Herbert George mentions that a certain Mr. Hitler, from Germany, had some things to say about what the reaction to the radio play had to say about the western democracies.
Herr Hitler made his comments at one of his Munich speeches (1938 to be precise), less than a month after the Mercury Theater scared the pee out of America, and this is what he had to say:
“On a side note, let me assure you that the German Volk shall not succumb to a fear of bombs, falling-let us say-from either Mars or the moon.495 We will keep good measure as is the custom of all Germans. But I am determined to ensure the security of the Reich by fortifying it to the last. And I know that the entire German Volk agrees with me on this! No doubt this means sacrifice.”
No, it’s not Halloween now, and no, this is not political commentary on the current US regime and the resemblance it shares with historical events, its just closure. I always wanted to know what der Fuhrer had to say about The War of the Worlds and what the US reaction to the radio play had to say about the impending collapse of the western democracies, a collapse that has been on-going for the past 88 years (and which might actually be taking place right now, but that’s for another post).
On the other hand, that bit about “sacrifice” is kind of relevant these days.
(See what happens when you’re dismissive of science fiction?)
Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.
Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.
