WORLD WAR II

CHARACTERSRadio announcer, broadcastingfrom New YorkEdward R. Murrow, on American reportercovering Europe for CBS RadioSounds 1-5, people making the soundsdescribed in capitalized italicsNarrators A-F

The radio announcer is a fictional character.Edward R. Murrow was a reai person, and hislines in this play are excerpts from actualbroadcasts.

WORDS TO KNOW• shrapnel [n]: metal bomb frag-

ments scattered by an explosion

• World War II [n]: a worldwideconflict fought mainly in Europe,Asia, and Africa from 1939 to 1945

Narrator A: On September 1, 1939,Nazi Germany invaded Poland.Within days, Europe was engulfedin World War II. One year into thefighting, Germany launched a seriesof aerial bombing attacks aimed atcivilians [nonmilitary people] inBritish cities, including London.What Germans called Blitzkrieg—"lightning war"—became knownaround the world as the Blitz. Foreight months, Germany poundedBritain with 18,000 tons of bombs,killing more than 43,000 people.Narrator B: In the days before TV,people got their news from news-papers, radios, and short moviescalled newsreels. CountlessAmericans came to rely on radiobroadcaster Edward R. Murrow totell them what was happening in

London—and why it mattered tothem in the United States.

SCENE 1Narrator C: Many Americans firsthear of the Blitz in a radio reporton September 8, 1940.Radio announcer: Yesterday eve-ning, the skies over London werefilled by German airpower—350bombers and 600 fighter planes. Bythe time the raid was over, the cityhad suffered 843 bomb strikes. EdMurrow is standing by in London—Britain's capital and symbolic heart.Tell us, Ed—what did you see?Edward R. Murrow: Yesterdayafternoon, white puffballs of anti-aircraft fire began to appear againsta steel-blue sky. The first flight ofGerman bombers was coming upthe river to start the 12-hour attack

2 0 OECEMBER 10 &1?, 2012/JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC

London firefightersstruggle to put outblazes caused by aGerman air raid.

against London. In about fiveminutes, we could hear the hollowgrunt of the bombs. Huge pear-shaped bursts of flame would riseup into the smoke and disappear.The world was upside down.

SCENE 2Narrator D: Night after night,bombs pound the city. Londonerstake shelter in basements, intrenches dug in parks, or in theUnderground [the city's subwaysystem]. Day after day, brave Britsemerge to smoky skies andsmashed buildings to go about theirbusiness as normally as possible.Narrator E: Murrow roams the city,talking with people and reportingon events. He broadcasts storieseven in the middle of deadly airraids. His steady, determined voice

and the background sounds drawlisteners into the drama and perilof life in war-torn London. OnSeptember 22, two weeks after hisfirst Blitz broadcast . . .Radio announcer: Let's go now toEdward R. Murrow in London. Areyou there, Ed? Come in, Ed Murrow!Murrow: I am standing on a rooftoplooking out over London. Off to myleft, far away in the distance, I cansee just that faint, red, angry snapof anti-aircraft bursts against thesteel-blue sky. I was up here earlierthis afternoon, and looking out overthese housetops, looking all the wayto the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.I saw many flags, flying from staffs.No one ordered these people to putout the flags. They simply feel likeflying the Union Jack [British flag]above their roofs. No one told themto do it, and no flag up there waswhite [for surrender].Sound 1: THE DRONING HUM OFAPPROACHING PLANESMurrow: In a few minutes, theremay be a bit of shrapnel aroundhere. The German planes arecoming in, moving a litde closer allthe while. Earlier this evening—Sound 2: EXPLOSIONSMurrow: Again, those areexplosions overhead. Earher this

evening, we heard a number ofbombs go sliding and slitheringacross, to fall several blocks away.Sound 3: A DISTANT BOOMMurrow: Just overhead now, theburst of the anti-aircraft ñre.Sound 4: THE SNAP AND BOOMOF ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS, CLOSERMurrow: And the searchlights noware flashing almost directlyoverhead. Now you'll hear twobursts a little nearer in a moment.Sound 5: LOUDER, MUCH CLOSERBURSTS OF GUNFIREMurrow: There they are: that hard,stony sound.Radio announcer: Thanks for yourcourageous reporting, Ed. Keep itcoming—and please stay safe.

EPILOGUENarrator F: Despite the death anddestruction, the British refused tosurrender. London not only survivedthe Bhtz, it also became a symbol ofdefiance against Germany. Murrow'sbroadcasts helped shift AmericanpubUc opinion from "Let's stay outof Europe's war" to "Let's supportthe fight against Hitler." The U.S.joined the war after Japan bombedU.S. Navy ships at Pearl Harbor,Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

—Kathy Wilmore

DECEMBER 10 & 1?, 2012 /JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC 2 1