Television and Nazism at the 1939 World's Fair.

In 1939, the iconic car maker General Motors used its exhibit, Futurama, to go much further than suggesting the future. "I have seen the future" was the message made into personal pins for the five million visitors who wandered through Futurama, amazed at the many futuristic vehicles and modes of transportation. The advertising people behind "I Have Seen the Future" would have been horrified if they had known what was coming.

1939 World Fair Postcard from the 1939 New York World's Fair. Courtesy of New York Public Library.

"But it is a star of friendship, a star of progress for humanity, a star of greater happiness and less hardship, a star of international goodwill, and, above all, a star of peace." Excerpt from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech at the opening of the New York World's Fair, April 30, 1939.

Great Depression

The 1930s saw the world struggle with one of the most consequential events in modern history: the Great Depression. Its economic devastation changed many societies' social, cultural, and geopolitical trajectories. The hardships were such that few noticed that another evil was starting to grow and spread. This evil would be far worse. Before the good in the world stopped it, over 75 million people would have lost their lives. There were signs of impending doom throughout the decade. No one, however, stopped the monster. The 1939 New York World's Fair was arguably the last chance.