A City at War: Chicago tells the story of the most significant events that occurred in Chicagoland during World War II and explores the mutually beneficial relationship between FDR and Chicago mayor Ed Kelly. For the first time, with men away fighting the war, tens of thousands of women found employment in factories making everything from bullets and bombs to ships, tanks and planes. African Americans—including the nation’s first group of African American commissioned Naval officers—and the city’s many other communities worked together like never before to insure the Allied victory. And perhaps the most important event of the entire war took place when the University of Chicago made its contribution to the top-secret Manhattan Project.
Using interviews, rare film footage (including Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley’s tryouts for the All American Girls Baseball League), vintage propaganda movies, period posters and stills, A City at War: Chicago brings to life a vital chapter in American history. A panel discussion moderated by reporter Mike Flannery will follow the screening.