1950

1950 - We were leaving the war decade behind, or so we thought. Little did we know that this was to be a decade of new conflicts not on the scale of those that had come before but in their way as grim as those we had gone through, above all it was the new threat of nuclear conflict that hung above the world like a sword of Damocles. Harry Truman announced the development of the Hydrogen Bomb and in response Albert Einstein warned the global community about the threat of nuclear weapons and pleads for the peaceful coexistence of nations.

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Earliest memories

In December 1950 I turned three, it from this time period that I have some of my earliest memories. So far back it is difficult to know what are actually memories or maybe imagination. I remember a large bath tub, or at least I remember the cast iron legs with what I suppose must have been scroll work. I remember crawling under the bath, so I must have been very young.

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1950 heralded the start of many changes which would affect the world in the coming decades. In South Africa the Group Areas Act was passed. From this time on the so called differences between the population groups were highlighted and soon after, the forced removals began. As a young boy I remember playing with little Cape Coloured boys and catching frogs in the nearby river. Soon this would be a thing of the past.
Great changes were underway in other parts of the world. In the west there was the threat of the red menace. People were moving to the suburbs, the depression brought on by the war was lifting.

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Recovery of Seoul

In England and most countries in Europe the bomb damage was still visible but a feeling of hope was in the air. Elsewhere dark clouds were on the horizon, in June Kim Il-Sung’s communist North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea sparking a war which would last till 1953. In September General Douglas MacArthur landed with 10,000 marines and moved to push back the North Koreans to their own territory. The United States made the fateful decision to send a $15,000,000 aid package to assist the French in Vietnam. Together with the aid package came American military advisors, the US involvement in Vietnam had begun.
The red scare raged through the United States with Senator Joe McCarthy claiming to have a list of 205 “communists” in state employ.

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Joe McCarthy

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There is generally a feeling that the world is becoming a better place, in the US families crowd around the TV at night. General Motors announces its best year ever and cars are becoming a vital part of the family. With the demand for cars at an all-time high Britain pushes up production thus helping to end the recession brought on by the war. Silly putty comes on the market, Bob Hope first appears on TV. This is the time of the nuclear family, a simpler time in many ways but as with all change it came with a price.

Top 30 hits of 1950

Musically 1950 saw the beginnings of the change that would have a great influence on modern western music. From the African American musical experience came a new sound, the musical genres of R & B, Gospel, Country and Western and pop mixed and from these early days a new music, Rock & Roll would burst forth upon the world.

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Republic of South Africa Flag

In South Africa 1950 would be an important year. This was when the Amendment to the Immorality Act of 1927 was passed. The Immorality Act originally prohibited sexual relations between Europeans (whites ) and Natives (Africans). The amendment forbade sexual relations between whites and all other non-white racial groups, Indians Coloureds and blacks. I shall get into more on this matter in subsequent articles. This year Nelson Mandela became leader of the African National Congress Youth League, in Fietas, Johannesburg, the Indian Congress initiated the “Decade of Defiance and the Communist Party of South Africa is banned. Many Acts of parliament come into being, they will have a major impact on the country in the coming years. The most important are: The Immorality Act, the Group Areas Act, The Suppression of Communism Act and the Separate Representation of Voters Bill.

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This was the future that awaited me, being white it had no initial ill effect but as I grew and begun to understand what was happening I must admit to not having much of an opinion. We all were subject to the indoctrination of our peers and our elders, with perfect 20/20 hindsight I can see what had happened but at the time, this was our normal.

For previous years see:

https://steemit.com/year1947/@petruska13/from-the-summer-of-love-to-the-winter-of-our-discontent

https://steemit.com/year1948/@petruska13/1948-a-tumultuous-year-for-south-africa-and-the-world

https://steemit.com/year1949/@petruska13/1949-south-africa-and-the-world-berlin-china-apartheid-and-the-first-commercial-computer

Thank you for reading my article

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