- Introduction
-
Technology, Knowledge, Worldviews
- Early Modern Authority
- Feedback Patterns in 19th-Century Ideologies
- The Railroad & Photography
- Competition in the Development of R&D
- Op-Ed: The Internet and Information
- Op-Ed: Photography, Editing, and the Destabilization of Truth
- Op-Ed: The Effects of Technological Immersion
- Op-Ed: Artificial Intelligence Is a New Kind of Technological Beast
- Technology, Empire, War
-
Technology, Popular Culture, Gender
- Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
- The Trial of Marion Gage
- Nando's
- Women and Magazines in the Nineteenth Century
- Cold War Propaganda and Television
- Reproductive Repression
- Op-Ed: The Theatre Experience in the Age of Streaming
- Op-Ed: Compulsory Sterilization in Women's Prisons
- Op-Ed: The Future of Meat
- Creating Lives
- The Toolbox of Invention
- A&SC Highlights
Post-War Life
After the war, Rudolf returned, and life returned to become more normal. The war had finished, and food became easier to get and cheaper as well. Rudolf and I were now able to feed all of the children. Our living conditions became healthier due to urban improvements in the recovering economy. During the summers, our family was even able to travel and see more of the country. We spent several nice summers camping or fishing.
Going into the 1950’s, Rudolph began to work on more important projects at work, including beginning to work on satellites and missles for the Soviet Union. Rudolf even reported that they would be attempting to send these satellites to space. It was utterly unbelievable that we were going to be sending items into space, and even more unbelievable that we would eventually be attempting to send human beings into space. This was a time of great national pride for us, and particularly my family, as we were able to hear firsthand what was happening to us. As a nation, we saw how far we had come - from a nation of working class people to one would be able to send someone to the moon was deeply inspiring for me.
For the first time in my life after the second World War, my life was not surrounded by
war, death, and political uprisings. After Stalins death, my life became considerably less plagues by fear and death, and my nationalism rose. As I watched the Space Race occur, I saw my nation come together - although the United States beat us by bringing a man to space before we could, that era was marked by strong national pride and an increased work ethic.
Writing this as an older lady, mother, and now grandmother, I see how much of my life was shaped by the politcs surrounding me. I watched my nation change in front of me, and leaders come and go. My childhood and young adulthood was plagued by war and violence. Yet, I was able to live a relatively normal life, and my optimism encouraged me to keep perservering.