Magic at War

The second part of this blog about Nivelli, a German Jewish magician, continues the story of his journey through The Holocaust, and how he used magic to survive in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp...   Magic for survival   When Nivelli arrived at the  Auschwitz II-Birkenau  ‘family camp’ he was  tattooed wi th the number #A1676. In this inhumane and impersonal environment, the Nazi guards - and even the inmates themselves - referred to each other by their numbers; such was the degeneration of life there. But, among the several thousands Jews and other   untermensch  [Nazi term: sub-humans, such as Romani people and homosexuals] in the family camp, Nivelli had an identify beyond a number. “When the S.S.  [abbreviation for Schutzstaffel, Nazi paramilitary organisation]  found out that I was ‘Nivelli, the Magician’ whom many had seen in leading theatres throughout Germany, they sought me out and commanded that I entertain ...

Back in June 1942, General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), joined the Society of American Magicians.  Founded in 1902, the society is the oldest magic club in the world. MacArthur was one of only  five U.S. Army officers to rise to the rank of General of the Army.  At the time, he was based in Australia. A few months earlier he'd led the defence of the Philippines, earning a Medal of Honor for his role in resisting the Japanese invasion.    General Douglas MacArthur (Source: Genii - The Conjurors' Magazine, July 1942)  Amid the chaos and challenges of war, joining a magic club, wouldn’t appear to be a priority for this hugely capable leader of men. In fact, MacArthur wasn’t a magician, in the normal sense of the term. He didn't do card tricks or appear on stage with box illusions.   Behind this story was a gathering, on 15 June 1942, of the Southern California Assembly of the Society of American Magicians. Meeting for one of its regular evenings in Holl...

Wars aren't cheap. Put aside the human sacrifice and the social, environmental and political upheaval, there's also the financial cost. For America - and for many other nations - World War Two was their costliest war. The total bill was almost US$5 trillion (adjusted for today's prices). And, given that the U.S. didn't join the war until December 1941, this money covered just the 3 years and 9 months of their involvement. Great Britain and other nations endured six years of war. While the government might wish to hire a load of magicians to make money appear, that wouldn't work in reality. But, many magicians were employed to make money during the war. Here's how... One way that modern governments finance war, is by putting additional money into circulation. In effect, printing money ('magic money'?). But, putting lots of money into an economy will drive up inflation. To compensate for this, governments sell debt securities, known as war bonds. The funct...