While a few were adamant in wanting to call the Soviets’ bluff, President Truman and his advisors did not want to risk open warfare. It seemed their aim was to starve the people into accepting Soviet policies and government, enlisting their cooperation in driving the Americans, French and British out.Īrguably, this single act, perhaps more than any other, changed the world. On June 22, 1948, diplomatic relations broke down completely and two days later, the Soviets blocked all traffic and supplies, especially food and fuel, coming into Berlin. FRIEND NO MOREīut for the next three years, the Soviet occupation became more obstructionist, devious and aggressive toward Berliners and their Western occupiers alike. Germany’s industrial capacity was systematically destroyed she would never again be allowed to arm for war. From the West came the dictum that the defeated, emaciated Germans should receive no aid, no comfort, no consideration of any kind above the barest of minimums. The Soviets had battered, raped and pillaged their way into Europe’s once-great capital city (already laid waste by Allied bombing) wreaking vengeance for their horrific losses at home. The Allied occupation of Germany and in the eastern zone, Berlin, was a conflicted and troubled affair from the start. De Gaulle achieved his goal and though the French communists remained present, they did not achieve real power. Shortly before that historic meeting of two great armies, the ambitious and headstrong leader of the Free French, General Charles De Gaulle, had forced his way into Paris to prevent France’s communists from establishing a new French government upon liberation from the Nazis. Finally done in by Russia’s brutal winter, it’s no wonder that the Soviets began their inevitable advance toward a brutal victory of their own, culminating at the Elbe River where they celebrated with American troops and then pushed on to Berlin. Millions of Russians – soldiers and civilians – were sacrificed in defense of their homeland as Hitler made his fatal decision to open up the Eastern Front. The Soviets absorbed tremendous, punishing blows from the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. Most of us Baby Boomers are the product of parents who endured the Great Depression, served the country during the Second World War and emerged to benefit from economic conditions that provided unprecedented opportunity for security and advancement.ĭuring the globe’s second great conflagration, the United States and communist Soviet Union worked as allies to defeat the Axis Powers. Probably because I started life in 1954, I’ve had a strong curiosity about what the world was like then, as well as what came before and the connections to what has transpired up to the present day. And, in retrospect, the circumstances swirling around 1952 America – when RED HERRING is set – can be seen as incredibly challenging, and to me, unendingly fascinating. Great comedy derives its greatness from the truth underneath, from characters grappling deliberately with the dire circumstances and challenges in front of them, unaware that what they say and do might be hilarious to the onlooker. We’ve got a terrific cast to deliver the fun, but also the heart. It’s one of those scripts that makes you laugh just reading silently by yourself. Our next offering, RED HERRING by Michael Hollinger, is unmistakably a flat-out comedic riot. Why RED HERRING? By David Cecsarini, Producing Artistic Director
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