Research

Scope and Content Note

This series contains correspondence between the War Council's Executive Secretary and various officers of local war councils generated as a result of the Executive Secretary's role as coordinator of all War Council activities. These letters were not the result of any regular contact between local organizations and the Executive Secretary, but were exchanged as issues that required the Executive Secretary's attention arose.

These files contain correspondence from all three men who held the Executive Secretary's position during the course of the war: Thomas L. J. Corcoran, Charles A. Winding, and Harold H. Schaff.

Topics discussed cover the spectrum of home front issues with which the War Council was involved including: child care; civil defense; civilian mobilization; food preservation; labor issues; physical fitness; rationing; recreation; transportation; war nutrition; and victory gardens.

The series also contains or documents: 1) discussions concerning the curtailment of civilian protection activities near the war's end, procedural issues, questions about the federal government's role in operations, and personnel changes; 2) frank reviews on many local war council administrations' programs; 3) copies of form letters sent by the Executive Secretary to all the local War Councils concerning rationing, pre-induction of soldiers, and labor issues; 4) lists of names and addresses of local war council members; 5) infrequently, activity reports of local war councils; and 6) municipalities' news bulletins, copies of resolutions, correspondence, resignations, or clippings about events and activities.