Summer of 1940 News

The summer of 1940 was a volatile time. Americans were beginning to feel the heat from the war in Europe, Britain was preparing for an invasion, and most of the Continent was under Nazi control. While many Americans were hoping that this was just another European war, the memories of the Great War (World War 1) were just too fresh.

The Columbia Broadcasting System provided up-to-date information devoted to specifically devoted to the war in Europe. Larry LeSueur, a pioneer in broadcast journalism, provided news from London. In the summer of 1940, the whole world expected Germany to launch an invasion of Britain. While there was not an invasion by the German Army, LeSueur was perfectly positioned to cover the Battle of Britain, also known as the Blitz (July-October 1940).  CBS also had correspondents in Berlin, William Shirer, and in Rome, Cecil Brown.

The news from that tense summer is a wealth of information, bringing to life the fear of invasion in England, the signs of the coming conflict  with Japan and just how much of the world this war touched. News from occupied Europe and stand-alone Britain helped make American understand that this is, indeed, a small world.

For additional news commentary, see also:

• America Looks Abroad
• CBS World News Today
• CBS News Around the World (AM Edition)
• Edward R. Murrow
• Gabriel Heatter
• HV Kaltenborn Edits the News
• Elmer Davis and the News
• Keys to the Capitol
• Monitor
• NBC National Hour
• Robert Arden News Commentary
• Summer of 1940 News Broadcasts
• Today in Europe
• War Telescope
• For additional WWII news coverage, see disk volume 1-4 of WWII Collection.

For full day broadcasts, see also:

• Complete Broadcast, 1939 (Nazi Invasion of Poland)
• Complete Broadcast, 1941 (Attack on Pearl Harbor)
• Complete Broadcast, 1944 (D-Day Allies Invade Normandy) CBS
• Complete Broadcast, 1944 (D-Day 1944 Broadcast) NBC Coverage
• WEAF 12-Hour Broadcast, (August 10 1945 after atomic bombing of Nagasaki)