Today the nation commemorates the 70th anniversary of VE or Victory in Europe Day. On this date in 1945, Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered in Europe. The Allied Forces victory led to raucous celebrations throughout America. During the war, the USO sponsored social dances in many cities to offer food, recreation, dancing and female companionship to the soldiers and sailors who were about to ship off to war. The most famous of the clubs were the Stage Door Canteen on Broadway in New York and the Hollywood Canteen in Los Angeles. Kansas Public Radio’s Tom Parkinson spoke with Sherrie Tucker, professor of American Studies at the University of Kansas. She recently published a book, Dance Floor Democracy: The Social Geography of Memory at the Hollywood Canteen, which is based on interviews with Americans who visited or volunteered at the famous and glamourous dance hall.
Would you like to win a free copy of Sherrie Tucker's book, Dance Floor Democracy? Just send Tom Parkinson an email at tparkinson@ku.edu next Monday, Tom will draw the lucky winner at random.
