ABSTRACT
Many men, especially those interviewed during the second half of 1940, had begun to speculate on how their future might be affected by the war. Realizing the evil of World War II, many men felt ashamed to think how they could gain from its spread. Without heavy industry and vulnerable to air attacks, New York received few war contracts. To trace the influence of defense and war on the employment status of the men, two surveys were undertaken, one in July, 1941, the second in July, 1942. In 50 per cent of the cases the men had definitely left the Relief rolls, most of them to work in private industry. It is a tragic paradox that the unemployed men found their salvation in America's entrance into World War II; that their return to work was made possible only because American industry was called upon to produce an ever-increasing volume of death-dealing instruments.
