• The National WWII Museum
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Closing Program - "The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm America at War" by A.J. Baime
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center

5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation | 7:00 pm Book Signing

Join us for the closing event of our special exhibition Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy. New York Times bestselling author A.J. Baime will share a dramatic, intimate narrative of how Ford Motor Company went from making automobiles to producing thousands of the airplanes needed for victory in World War II. Reception precedes the presentation; book signing to follow.

In 1941, as Hitler's threat loomed ever larger, President Roosevelt realized he needed weaponry to fight the Nazis—most important, airplanes—and he needed them fast. So he turned to Detroit and the auto industry for help.

Baime's newest book, The Arsenal of Democracy, tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call, centering on Henry Ford and his son Edsel. Critics scoffed—Ford didn't make planes; they made simple cars. Edsel charged ahead, and Ford would apply assembly-line production to the American military's largest, fastest, most destructive bomber; they would build a plant vast in size and ambition; they would bring in tens of thousands of workers from across the country, instantly transforming Detroit from Motor City to the "great arsenal of democracy." And eventually they would help the Allies win the war.

Drawing on exhaustive research from the Ford Archives, the National Archives, and the FDR Library, Baime has crafted an enthralling, character-driven narrative of American innovation that has never been fully told, leaving readers with a vivid new portrait of America—and Detroit—during the war.

For more information call 504-528-1944 x 229.

Date:
Time: 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

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