Christmas 1942
As 1942 drew to a close a year of Axis triumphs on all fronts was showing signs of waning. On the Eastern Front the Siege of Leningrad continued, while the German 6th Army was trapped in the blasted ruins of Stalingrad. In the deserts of North Africa, the battle raged on two fronts following the American landings in November along the Vichy French coast.
Santa Claus visits a Luftwaffe unit’s Christmas party
In Germany a dark mood was pervasive despite the holiday season. All eyes were on the surrounded 6th Army at Stalingrad, where German soldiers were spending their holiday freezing and dying in the ruined city on the Volga. The German airbase at Tatsinskaya, hub of the aerial lifeline supporting the trapped army, was visited on Christmas Eve not by Santa Claus, but by Red Army tanks. The tanks had swarmed onto the runways of the base as the Germans desperately attempted to flee, in the end crippling the already struggling airlift. As a result of this, and the calling off of the relief offensive toward the city, meant that the 6th Army was now doomed.
German aircraft lie in pieces on an airfield near Stalingrad
Elsewhere, the Germans were retreating in North Africa as Libya and French Algeria fell to the Allies, and the turncoat Vichy French leader in the theater, Admiral Francois Darlan, was assassinated. On the other side of the world, the British were launching an offensive into Burma, and the bitter campaign for New Guinea continued to grind onward as Australian and American forces slowly pushed the Japanese back through the dense jungles. Nearby on Guadalcanal, the Japanese continued their resistance, although the Emperor was nearing the end of his patience, with orders pending for the evacuation of the island.
Members of a US Army medical unit gather around a Christmas tree made of palm fronts and decorated with bandages. Gifts include ration cans, cigarretes, and a Japanese helmet with a bullet hole
On the homefronts of the belligerent nations, the holiday was still observed, but the appearance of martial imagery permeated every aspect of society, with Santa Claus donning a steel helmet in the ubiquitous holiday ads of the US and military toys becoming by far the most popular. Elsewhere, displays of new weapons and triumphs of industry joined nationalistic imagery for parades and celebrations.
Even the ubiquitous Christmas advertisements had by this point taken on a wartime tone, such as with this helmeted Santa Claus
In his annual radio message to the Empire, King George VI recalled the ever increasing number of families that were separated or broken for the season, while noting that the hopeful message of the holiday remained eternal. He further touched on the increasing presence of US forces in Britain, while above all stressing the victories won late in the year, as well as the strength of the entire commonwealth.
A truck with racks of Owen submachine guns takes part in an Australian Christmas parade
Elsewhere, many were facing the holiday in captivity. Americans of Japanese and German descent found themselves facing the onset of winter within their internment camps, with some, such as Fort Lincoln in Bismarck, ND being particularly bad with the frigid conditions of the northern plains. On the other site, Americans interned at Santo Tomas in the Philippine capitol of Manila still found a way to celebrate despite the squalid conditions they were in, repairing broken toys smuggled in by locals to give to the interned children. In a rare moment of mercy, the Japanese guards even allowed Santa Claus to enter the camp, brining gifts to the children as well as food for a Christmas dinner, a welcome change from the starvation rations that made the usual fare.
Leading Seaman Mccann inspects the galley on a British ship as Captain for the Day
Meanwhile, back at home, another interesting note of 1942 was that for the first time in the United States the artificial Christmas Tree was eclipsing natural models. With the war effort demanding an ever increasing amount of every conceivable resource, not to mention a shortage of men to harvest and transport them. Originally imported from Germany before the war, durin g the conflict domestically produced models appeared along with some from allied nations, making use of artificial straw or even the materiels of toilet brush factories.
Father Christmas visits children at Admiralty House in London
Another sign of the absence of men from the Homefront came in the form of Santa Claus himself, or indeed, herself. In the warring nations it was becoming more and more commonplace for women to don the iconic red suit and beard of Chris Kringle for appearances at shopping centers and community events. Mrs. Clause also made radio broadcasts to children in lieu of her husband. This was not without its detractors, but was generally accepted as a novelty born of the current emergency.
Despite some victories, the year of 1942 had been a difficult one for the Allies, and as the world looked to yet another year of war in 1943 an air of uncertainty reigned for all sides.