[1940s AH] - Culture without WW2?

This is gonna sound complicated, but basically suppose that Hitler doesn't come to power, or is removed from power or that the Nazis are felled from power in Germany or don't come into power. His gamble in the Saar fails, the Munich Putsch sees him get shot by a policeman, take your pick. In the end, there's no WW2 as we know it.

How different might culture and media in Europe and North America be? Were there film trends in the 1930s that were cut short by the war? Fashion trends introduced as a result of rationing, or suffragist/women's rights that the lack of men at home created? Positive influences on segregation that never come to pass?

Things I've read of regarding fashion include:
  • Nylon and wool were rationed as a result of the war, and silk from Japna was banned for obvious reasons. Rayon (developed in the 1930s) became the most often used material for ladies clothing.
  • Harvey Nicholls invented the jumpsuit as a means of protection against gas attacks.
  • Paris lost it's position as the fashion industry leader during WW2 for obvious reasons, and the capital was basically New York for the duration of the war. Materials like Cotton denim, jersey, gingham and calico were in vogue during the rationing, with both drab and patriotic colorslike air force blue, cadet blue, flag red, black, browns, greens, tan, and gray flannel being quite popular.
  • Hemlines went up, obviously, and restrictions on pleats, trimmings and jacket/trouser lengths were put into place. Zippers were limited as were buttons. A lot of recycling was done of old materials, and winter wear incorporated velveteen and corduroy for cold weather suits and dresses. The hemlines going up created an emphasis on women's legs.
  • Less fabric meant lean styles, with narrow hip lines and a trim over all appearance. Short and boxy was the fashion style of the day, out of necessity.
  • The expense of beauty salons meant women wore their hairs longer, while work in the factories or military results in snoods being a regular apparel.
  • Girdles were basically nowhere because of the need for rubber.
  • Swim suits were redesigned, and fabric reduction led to bare midriffs and 2 piece swim suits.
  • Shoes were heeled lower, while flat shoes were more popular due to the need for safety in factory work. Pants also became more popular and were promoted famous actresses.
  • Tropical prints became more popular after the war ended and influences from Mexico and Latin America grew in terms of colours and brightness.
  • Christian Dior's New Look line was inspired by his time in America during WW2, when he observed American women copying Parisian magazines and trying to have the dresses recreated in the country. The line gained a great deal of infamy for the copious usage of fabric during a period when rationing and the war's effects was still lasting, and it ultimately defined and influenced women's fashion well into the next decade.
https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Fashion-History-Design-Trends-of-the-1040s

Things I can think of regarding films and television:
  • Obviously a lot of period films like Cascablanca wouldn't exist, or would be drastically different.
  • Film producers from Europe like Leni Riefenstahl might be remembered far more kindly.
  • Elements like the Nazis wouldn't exist or be nearly as prevelant as IRL in media.
  • A lot of actors put their careers on hold during the war, and others had died outright.
  • A lot of technology and methodology behind filming might have never been developed or developed later.
  • Mass and government propaganda would be less present.
  • The United States became massively wealthier following WW2, which gave rise to increased purchasing of appliances and increased consumption of advertising and media.
Things I can think of regarding comics:
  • Obviously, comic book superheroes thrived on fighting Nazis and then Commies, so that's affected.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. Anyone else have any ideas?
 
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I was pondering this when I watched Casablanca at the cinema a week or so ago. Where I butterfly away the Second World War so many things I rather like disappear into the dustbin.

Generally I look at the 1930s and let them linger longer, but since I am tinkering with the Great War I have to be cautious with Prohibition, the Depression, and other events that may be different too. But keeping on task I think hemlines stay longer, barely above the ankle, heels remain low, men continue to wear suits and hats, Paris influences fashion in London and New York, trends we know arrive later. Flappers introduced short dresses and trousers for women, they simply linger on the sidelines.

German cinema may be a strong rival to Hollywood, especially if it also becomes the specialist in dubbing films to other languages, leveraging its work in dubbing German, why not also do Polish, Czech, etc.? Fancifully I see Babelsberg becoming the leader in Sci-fi, macabre horror, and those genre that Hollywood mostly played as B-unit films. But I also see some great Film Noir, sweeping Baron Munchhausen farce, and avant garde Caberet films coming out of Germany that challenge the code era Western heavy Hollywood. And I think Germany gets a jump in TV. But I worry about Italian cinema.

The USA would not become dominate in culture and New York would not become its leading edge nor Hollywood quite so global in its reach, you would have other counter weights in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna at minimum. Influences are more diverse and more diffuse. So I think one might see more fusions.
 
The possibility of German and Italian cinema being far stronger is interesting. I'm largely clueless on both so the possibility of alternative genres being dominant in Europe could be quite cool. 30s lingering on into the 40s and slowly giving way in the 50s kind of works as far as fashion goes, I guess.
 
Eugenics wouldn't have as bad a rap as it does today. Immigration to Europe from former colonies will be much smaller. More ok'd architecture in Europe is preserved. No United Nations and all that comes with it. Attitudes of racial superiority will probably be more mainstream when comparing whites to non-whites. I would need to know if the great depression still happens or not, since that changed a lot. Fashion was certainly affected by the depression. A whole bunch big movies based on WW2 don't exist and neither do comics, so Wonder Woman may not exist, or maybe she does but she looks pretty different since her outfit is a WW2 relic, and Captain America definitely doesn't exist in any form as unlike Wonder Woman, you can't take the war out of him, whereas with Wonder Woman, you just have to leave the Amazon background to keep a recognizable character.
 
It's more acceptable to make jokes about Jewish greed and other negative Jewish stereotypes. Antisemitic conspiracy theories remain mainstream (as far as conspiracy theories go).
 
without WW2 or without the Nazis?

there is the possibility that rather than the socially conservative picture painted by some comments ( which may happen in the USA regardless ) that the sexual revolution etc happens sooner there was a hell of al ot of interesting work going on in Germany in the 20s and 30s about human sexuality and gender identity , a lot of which was destroyed by the Nazis in pushing their hatred of those who would not reproduce to fill the lebensraum ...
 
I feel Europe and the United States would be far more conservative in general.
the US would remain the insular , socially conservative , adolescent as a nation place that those trying to Make America Grate Again seek ... Europe however may continue it;s slide into what the Nazis then and the religious right / trumpites now label 'degeneracy' i.e. a not a nilla monogamous cis/het normative stifling environment of repression.
 
Even without the nazis there was a strong conservative backlash in Europe. Between the social excesses of the 1920s & the later Depression the idea of returning to a 1910 golden age would be strong. i.e.: The reemergence of Klan in 1915 in the US had to do with WASP middle class rebelling against the growth of a immoral society, including the acceptance of Catholicism, Hebrews, and other non protestant religions in the US.
 

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Without WWII would the US have become a right of center government looking inward and in the world stage more like a Canada than an up and coming super power.
 
I would need to know if the great depression still happens or not, since that changed a lot. Fashion was certainly affected by the depression.
Yeah, we'll say the Great Depression happened.

Eugenics being more popular or practiced is an interesting one to consider.
No United Nations is a fair point, though perhaps the League could pick up the slack a bit.
Racism being stronger is a certainity, especially against Jews. Jewish conspiracy theories would be stronger, I would guess.
Captain America and Wonder Woman being very different is a fair shot. I'd throw in the Justice Society in as well in that regard.

without WW2 or without the Nazis?
Without the Nazis, for now. If you want to speculate about some variant of WW2 that up to you I guess? What's this about a sexual revolution in Germany now?

The possibility of Europe going more liberal and expressive to America's more conservative and repressive is interesting.
 
The League of Nations was so impotent and useless, it is likely there would be more international instability in the long run.
 
Musically, the whole genre of rock-and-roll would be delayed or still-born. Without the internal migrations of WW2, American blacks and whites would still be segregated. Most blacks would remain in southern states. They would not exchange musical styles. Hillbilly music would remain confined to a few Appalachian states.
"White folk jazz" played by big dance bands would remain popular.
Without WW2, the Baby Boom would be - at most - a Baby Bump. Millions of teenagers would not mature during the 1960s and 1970s, disappointed by their boring parents and their even more boring music. Teenagers would just listen to much the same main-stream music. No generation-gap. Teenagers would not be recognized as a distinct age-group, just another blurred step in the process of growing-up.
Without the numbers, bohemians, beat nicks and hippies would remain minor fringe groups. The sexual revolution would be still-born. Without all those 1950s-vintage automobiles, North American dating would still be done in public places. Sex outside of marriage would still be frowned upon because - without the buying power - women would not contribute enough billions of dollars to the economy to finance the development of birth-control pills. Women's liberation would be delayed.

Politics would remain conservative with the ocassionally hard-right party enjoying limited success. Communism would remain a minor movement outside of the USSR. Without oppressive communism, Eastern Europeans would have a greater influence: industrially, innovation wise and artistically.
The British Empire would remain largely intact. Dutch would still control dozens of Islands world-wide. France would retain her colonies in Africa and Asia.

Technologically, cruise ships would still dominate passenger travel. Development of long-range aircraft, jet engines, radar, IFR, etc. would all be delayed.
 
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