Nazi Eyes Over Canada

[Jeff Wilson]

Anyone familiar with this CBC-produced show? Welles appeared on the final episode, so I'm curious if anyone knows what sort of propaganda show (I assume) it is.

[O J Radok]

Easy to find out -- order it on audio cassette here:

http://www.scenarioproductions.com/cbc/STAGE_SERIES/4.htm

[Jeff Wilson]

Actually, I found a place I can download it from; I was curious as to what people might know about it. But thanks for the lead.

[Harvey Chartrand]

Pulled off Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Website:
Nazi Eyes on Canada Alternate History

A 5-part wartime series produced to scare Canadians into buying war bonds, this program presented the nightmarish vision of the effects of a Nazi invasion and conquest of Canada. It drew its inspiration from a Nazi agent who traveled across the country in the 30's and sent a report of Canada's strengths, weaknesses, and resources back to his superiors in Berlin. The series employed the likes of Helen Hayes, Vincent Price, and even Orson Welles. Each episode introduced different families living in various parts of the country prior to the arrival of those nazty Nazis and then showed what tragedies befell them during the occupation. Melodramatic, grisly, often racist and very dark, but interesting as a window on wartime attitudes and mass media propaganda.

Nazi Eyes on Canada
A CBC Radio Play starring Orson Welles, Vincent Price, Helen Hayes and others in this full cast production.
By Alan King and Produced by J. Frank Willis
Scenario Productions
http://www.scenarioproductions.com/
ISBN: 1-894003-13-6
A vintage radio play on two audio cassettes
Genre: History, Fantasy

Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - August 6, 2001

In 1942, the end of World War II was still years away. The Allies where sure that they would win the war, but the Axis powers were equally convinced of their own, eventual triumph. In 1942, no one could honestly predict who would be victorious. This fact, perhaps more than anything, makes, and made, Nazi Eyes on Canada such a compelling and unnerving play.

Nazi Eyes on Canada originally aired 1942 on CBC Radio, a component of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This play was a full cast production and featured such notables as Orson Welles, Vincent Price, Helen Hayes, Judith Evelyn, House Jameson, Quentin Reynolds (the noted war correspondent), Katherine Raht, and Lorne Greene. It aired in five parts and was preceded a few weeks previously by an address given by W. L. Mackenzie King. King was the then Prime Minister of Canada and he exhorted his fellow Canadians to throw all of their support and backing into the war effort. He emphasized that this was vital because the conclusion of the conflict was not certain. If the country gave less than its all, there was the possibility that they might actually lose the war! This address has been included in the Scenario Productions edition of Nazi Eyes on Canada.

In 1942, life is Canada was still good. There were war restrictions and many families saw their children enter the Service. Yet, for the most part Canada was untouched by the war when compared to other countries, such as Britain. Nazi Eyes on Canada served, in an undeniable way, to show what might happen if Canadians gave anything but their all to the war effort. If they failed in their mission to stem the Nazi tide, Canada herself might fall under the heel of Nazi domination!

Nazi Eyes on Canada is purportedly based upon reports written by Colin Ross, a Nazi spy who traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada in the 1930's. He wrote, for his masters, a discourse on his observations, and his suggestions on how best to conquer - and control - the peoples of North America. Each of the five chapters in Nazi Eyes on Canada focus on a real Canadian family or individual. Each story shows what their life is 'now', in a free Canada. It then jumps to the future, showing how their lives changed under Nazi domination. Gone are the carefree, hopeful days of yore. Under the grinding heel of the Nazi boot, life has become a living misery. Hope and hopelessness are juxtaposed, clearly showing the horrors that awaited Canadians if Canada were to fall to the Nazi's.

These sketches are not for the faint of heart. The incidences depicted in this play are based on real instances of Nazi aggression. These plays portray a Canada in which young and healthy Canadian women are forced to 'breed' for the Nazi's. A Canada in which slave laborers and concentration camps are part of the landscape. A Canada in which children are taken from their families and turned into automatons that worship only the Nazi state. A Canada in which entire cities can be held accountable for the actions of one person, and if judged guilty, razed to the ground and its inhabitants slaughtered.

Was this a propaganda play? Most defiantly. But it was also a wake up call, a wake up call to the people of Canada to remind them of just how precious their freedoms are, and why it is, and was, so important to fight to preserve them. It should also be a wake up call for the people of today. It is easy to become complacent about ones life. If you are content and happy, why worry about what is happening - over there. The reason is simple, Evil is like a noxious weed. If not cut out by the root as soon as its appears, it will spread and eventually choke out everything that is fine and beautiful - and by then it may be almost impossible to undo the damage.

Nazi Eyes on Canada is a fascinating piece, both from a historical and cultural perspective. Overall, the sound quality of these tapes is excellent. However, there are slight differences in the sound quality from chapter to chapter, but nothing very noticeable. The five 'chapters' of this play are actually self-contained stories that can be listened to individually. However, their full impact is only felt when all the chapters are listened to as a whole. The cast is marvelous, and their performances are heart wrenching in their sincerity. I highly recommend this radio play to anyone interested in WWII, Canadian History, 'what if' scenarios, and just plain, old fashion, quality entertainment. And, oh yeah, don't forget to buy some Victory bonds....

This full-cast audio production of Nazi Eyes on Canada can be ordered directly from Scenario Productions.
831 Glencairn Ave., Suite 276
Toronto, On M6B 2A4 - Canada
Or toll-free at: 1-877-625-5379

[Jeff Wilson]

Thanks for posting that, Harvey. I've listened to the episodes with Vincent Price and Welles, and the scripts are about as subtle as a baseball bat to the skull. Enjoyable, but way over the top. My favorite moment comes in the Price episode, where Price pushes a visiting Japanese general into a stone crusher. The Japanese general, after being told that the machine could crush so many thousands of pounds a minute, remarks "Honorable machine crushes stones the way Japanese army crush Canada." All that was missing after Price killed the general was a Schwartzenegger-esque quip.

I'll have a more detailed review once I've listened to them all the way through again.

[Jeff Wilson]

My more detailed review/summary of Nazi Eyes on Canada:

I can only imagine what listeners of the time thought of Nazi Eyes on Canada; doubtless some were appalled, some frightened, and others cynically amused at the tactics used by the producers to sell as many war bonds as possible. In listening to these shows now, one can't imagine that they were entertaining. Filled with tales of Nazi and Japanese atrocities upon the defenseless citizenry, the stories function as the bluntest scare tactics possible to get people to loosen their purse strings.

Looking back, these shows have some value, both as entertainment (although limited in that regard) and as primary documents of the war years. Still, when programs like Welles' own Hello Americans and Ceiling Unlimited made propaganda, dare I say it, fun and entertaining, one wonders why people would have willingly listened to these programs. I can't believe people were gullible enough to be swayed by the most basic of caricatures and stereotypes that these shows use, but perhaps some were, especially when Hollywood stars like Welles, Helen Hayes and Vincent Price participated.

In the Price episode, Price plays Maxwell, the manager of an operation installing engines in Japanese ships. Maxwell is accompanied by Colonel Hadaka. Hadaka informs Maxwell that he will be expected to install one engine a day. Maxwell responds that this is impossible, he doesn't have the materials or the workers to do such a thing. The materials will be provided, and slave labor will provide the workers. It will be up to Maxwell to train them.

At that moment, Maxwell's wife Holly enters. Hadaka, the yellow devil, makes his lust for Holly apparent with a drooling comment of "Oohhh, so lovely, Mrs. Maxwell!" Holly tells Maxwell that she is being assigned to the Civil Staff of the Japanese, this essentially meaning, as we discover, that she is to be Hadaka's concubine. Maxwell, appalled, asks for a moment to say goodbye to his wife. Hadaka agrees. Maxwell then tells Holly that she is to kill herself rather than be give in to the plans of the Japanese if he doesn't show up in the morning. Holly agrees, and then leaves.

Hadaka then informs Maxwell that several Japanese brass will be visiting the next day. Maxwell must make sure all is in tip-top shape, or it will go badly for him. The two men come up to a stone crushing machine. Maxwell explains its impressive capabilities, to which Hadaka responds "Honorable machine crush rocks like Japanese empire crushed Canada. So sorry for unhappy simile." Maxwell, at his moment of truth, responds in turn "You may as well go out with a wisecrack. Over you go, my little friend!" He has thrown the lecherous Hadaka into the stone crusher.

The next morning, Maxwell's deadline for showing up to escape with Holly before the Japanese arrive to take her into slavery, comes, and it becomes apparent that he isn't coming. Holly will have to kill herself. Thankfully, we are subjected to a war bonds pitch rather than Holly's death, and from there, the announcer thanks the actors, who briefly chat with the real life Maxwells, who give a war bond pitch of their own.

In the Welles-starring episode "Alameda," Welles plays only the role of narrator. To his credit, he delivers a performance somber in tone and delivery, and free of histrionics or hamminess. The story starts with the ending: newspaper editor Sam Dornan, having led the underground resistance to Nazi rule, has been captured in 1949 and is being taken to his trial. Welles comes in, and chats briefly with Dornan. Dornan and Welles talk about the small town Dornan hails from, Alameda, in Saskatchewan. We meet the other senior men of the town, all jovial, good-hearted men who only want to sell more war bonds. The town has already tripled its quota of war bond sales, but they decide that everyone can buy still more, so they head out to rustle up more business.

We flash ahead to the end of the war. The Allies have lost, and Canada now lives under the jackboot of the Nazis. In Alameda, the German given control over the area tells the mayor and town clerk that they will be allowed to retain their offices if they do what he tells them. The first demand he makes is the whereabouts of Sam Dornan, who has continued to publish his paper, denouncing the Nazis and leading the battle cry for rebellion. The Canadians refuse. The German tells them that one by one, the townspeople will be killed until Dornan is surrendered. They still refuse, and eventually, the threats become reality. Dornan, having spearheaded a revolt that included burning all grain supplies, remains free.

Eventually, the Nazis bring in more troops and artillery and crush the rebellion once and for all. Dornan is turned in by a fellow citizen. We come again to the ending heard earlier. The show then follows the pattern of the previous shows, as the announcer thanks Welles for his work. Welles then gives an earnest appeal to buy more war bonds. He asks the audience "Have you planned on personal self-denial, to the point where your conscience is clear?" There is nothing else but victory, he finishes.

In the end, these shows stand as commercials for the war effort, like any number of other shows of the time. The manner in which the shows get their message across, however, makes them uneasy listening, and not something I'd heartily recommend searching out, unless you're interested in the genre or alternate history.