The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
presents an author talk and signing with
Judith Sumner author of
PLANTS GO TO WAR: A BOTANICAL HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II
Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Henry A. Wallace Center at the
FDR Presidential Library and Home
HYDE PARK, NY -- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum presents an author talk and signing with
Judith Sumner author of
PLANTS GO TO WAR: A BOTANICAL HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II on Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. The program will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home.
This is a free public event but registration is required.
Synopsis:
As the first botanical history of World War II,
PLANTS GO TO WAR examines military history from the perspective of plant science. From victory gardens to drugs, timber, rubber, and fibers, plants supplied materials with key roles in victory. Vegetables provided the wartime diet both in North America and Europe, where vitamin-rich carrots, cabbages, and potatoes nourished millions. Chicle and cacao provided the chewing gum and chocolate bars in military rations. In England and Germany, herbs replaced pharmaceutical drugs; feverbark was in demand to treat malaria, and penicillin culture used a growth medium made from corn. Rubber was needed for gas masks and barrage balloons, while cotton and hemp provided clothing, canvas, and rope. Timber was used to manufacture Mosquito bombers, and wood gasification and coal replaced petroleum in European vehicles.
Lebensraum, the Nazi desire for agricultural land, drove Germans eastward; troops weaponized conifers with shell bursts that caused splintering. Ironically, the Nazis condemned non-native plants, but adopted useful Asian soybeans and Mediterranean herbs. Jungle warfare and camouflage required botanical knowledge, and survival manuals detailed edible plants on Pacific islands. A few trees survived the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and survive today as a symbol of rebirth after vast destruction. PLANTS GO TO WAR documents the connections between World War II and the plant kingdom.
Judith Sumner is a botanist and author with particular interest in the historical uses of plants. She is a frequent lecturer for audiences of all kinds and has taught for many years at colleges and botanical gardens. She lives in Worcester, Massachusetts.
