International House Berkeley

Conclusion I n some ways, it is hard to imagine that the years following the cataclysm of World War II would have been exceptionally buoyant ones. Yet, the twenty interviews of this book testify to the incredible resilience of the postwar Golden Agers and to their effervescent appreciation of life. Having survived the horror or at least the anxiety of the war, the survivors' gratitude was palpable. From their first moments at I-House, the postwar students extended a friendly hand to strangers and compatriots alike. Regardless of whether the newcomer spoke the same language or was of the same race, the response was the same—to join in, be it for an invitation to play a game of tennis, take a swim at Lake Anza, or simply to sit down for an impromptu cup of coffee. In the words of one interviewee: "It was such a unique time, with men coming back from the war, and the country moving toward peaceful times. It gave the Golden Agers such a bond to have gone through hard times." The shared trauma of the war welded together the cohort in an enthusiastic determination to make a better future. At the time, the promise of a new world of coexistence was heralded by the founding of the United Nations in 1945. Some of the students were involved in the April 1945 UN Conference on International Organization in San Francisco and had first-hand experience of these exciting new developments. Further afield, the newly-attained independence of India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and post- colonial African nations, as well as the creation of Israel, all pointed to a world of new beginnings. The I-Housers retained this optimism despite the mounting international tensions of the fifties. To some, the increasing Cold-War polarization of the world was worrisome, heightened by the Korean War of 1950-53. These international tensions had domestic ramifications, such as McCarthyism (which peaked from 1950-53), fallout shelters, and the new "Duck and Cover" classes in elementary schools. Yet for the Golden Agers, the fresh winds of postwar optimism were stronger. For the majority, it was time to enjoy peace and the vibrant new economy, with the promise of jobs and affordable cars and homes. As one interviewee suggested, perhaps one of the reasons that the Golden Agers managed to resist the shadow cast by postwar tensions was the triumph of cross- cultural amity over enmity they witnessed at I-House. There were remarkable marriages: "A man from India marrying a girl from Arizona; a Norwegian 105

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