The Homefront: Washington's Role in World War II

by Katherine Raney

As the country’s capital, Washington, D.C. has always played a significant role in national decisions. In particular, the city becomes a focal point during wartime because of the central locations of policy- and decision-makers, who are making choices that affect the nation and the world. During World War II, Washington became a whirlwind of military and civilian support activity as the nation began to fight a war on two fronts. The city built an intricate web to support itself from the pressure the country forced on the district.

In order to keep its own identity amid a worldwide crisis, Washington City sought to create places for its own use. These places were area of support: for the military, civilians, foreigners or country as a whole. By creating a supportive environment of these groups, the city was able to become a benevolent bystander to the decisions being made on its very own streets.

In my tour, which in order to be feasible would require an automobile or helicopter, I chose sites that may not have had an obvious wartime function. Some of these places, like the National Cathedral or the Library of Congress played a role for Washington citizens. They both provided a moral boost through exhibits and sermons, allowing Washingtonians a much-needed break from the war. To some extent, they also serve these purposes today.

I chose other sites based on their direct importance to the president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a resident of the city for nearly twenty years. Roosevelt took advantage of properties in the city but also in Fairfax County, Virginia, like Bush Hill and Mount Vernon. By harnessing homes other than his own to use for important informants or heads of states, Roosevelt spread out the city's importance during wartime to the suburbs. Like the other properties, both of the home returned to their pre-war status as a private residence and museum property after 1945; their national importance to the war was significant but ephemeral.

Even still, some of the properties in Washington that were obvious in their military necessity served different purposes in wartime. The Pentagon, for example, was built in approximately two years to house War Department workers with the idea and possible intent that after the war, it would be turned into a warehouse of sorts. Central Union Mission was important to the military as well, housing soldiers without anywhere else to do. Now, the mission serves all kinds of Washingtonians and has also changed locations. The Pentagon is the only building on this tour that remotely maintained its wartime purpose.

All these sites contributed in some way to the war effort -- whether or not they helped natives of the city, temporary transplants or fleeting visitors. From the recruiting efforts of the National Cathedral to the unique occupant of Bush Hill, each place had a distinct purpose that mattered in the scheme of things. I was struck by most of the sites' quick transition back to normalcy after the war. Most of the sites now lack any of their wartime history -- some have moved and some gloss over their role in national history as a form of duty. The 1940s were a different time and with a nation nearly whole-heartedly behind an international conflict, Washington had little choice but to oblige its citizens and support the country in which it resided.