Overview
- Description
- On August 3, 1940 Igor Sikorsky was interviewed by Dr. Henry B. Hazard of the U.S. Department of Justice about his inventions and their use in defending democracy. Sikorsky admits his flying machines have been used to destroy humanity. The industrial designer blames the misuse on the human "ill will." He urges Americans to think of the airplane as a defender of human progress and unity -- not warfare. Sikorsky believes aviation can only reach its full potential in America, where scientists and inventors freely develop ideas without fear or coercion. He adds, “It takes a naturalized citizen from a less happy country to appreciate what freedom means”. The inventor shares his immigration story with Dr. Hazard. Sikorsky shares his vision for aviation.The program ends with the announcement of the Alien Registration Act of 1940.
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was born on May 25, 1889 in Kiev to physician parents. It is rumored his mother’s love for the work of Leonardo da Vinci sparked his interest in flying machines and industrial design. The aspiring industrial designer entered Kiev Polytechnic Institute, where he conceived his first helicopter, in 1906. Sikorsky continued to work on fixed wing planes in Europe. In 1913, he became internationally known when he designed and operated the first four-engine plane. The passenger plane was later converted to a bomber during WWI. Sikorsky immigrated to America in 1919 after he learned he may be on a “hit list”. The inventor taught Russian immigrants math and other sciences until he could find work. Within a few years he started the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corp on a friend's chicken farm in Long Island, New York. From 1924 to 1930, he launched several successful aircrafts, flyboats and the first international aircraft. In 1939, Sikorsky revisited and perfected his concept of the single-rotor helicopter. His invention was able to fly, hover and tackle all aspects of torque and lift. Sikorsky went on to create aircrafts that were used for leisure, life-saving missions and war. - Date
-
Broadcast:
1940 August 03
- Format
- WAV
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Genre/Form
- Radio broadcasts.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- This archival media can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations.
- Copyright
- NBC Universal
- Conditions on Use
- Contact NBC Universal at www.nbcuniarchives.com for permission to duplicate and use this film or sound recording.
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- In process
- Recorded Sound Provenance
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of these sound recordings from the Library of Congress in March 2018.
- Recorded Sound Notes
- More information about Igor Sikorsky:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Igor-Sikorsky
https://www.biography.com/people/igor-sikorsky-9483585
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/aerospace-defense/igor-sikorsky-aviation-pioneer
https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/27/archives/igor-sikorsky-helicopter-pioneer-dies-igor-sikorsky-aviation.html
http://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/igor-sikorsky
More information about I’M AN AMERICAN:
https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/historians-mailbox/im-american
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557338355/im-an-american-radio-show-promoted-inclusion-before-world-war-ii - Recorded Sound Source
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 07:27:19
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn620772
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Also in "I'm An American" NBC radio broadcasts
I’M AN AMERICAN premiered in 1940 on the eve of WWII. The NBC radio broadcast was spearheaded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Labor to foster a “deeper consciousness of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and more tolerance for fellow american of all birthplaces”. The weekly program featured distinguished foreign-born citizens discussing their naturalization process, the meaning of “democracy” and reminding all Americans of the value/privilege of U.S. citizenship. Sound recordings of I’M AN AMERICAN are available from the NBC Radio Collection in the Library of Congress.
Date: 1940-1944
I'm An American -- Anton Lang
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I'm An American -- Guy Lombardo
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I'm An American -- Ludwig Bemelmans
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I'm An American -- Hans Kindler
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I'm An American -- Luise Rainer
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I'm An American -- Charles Pergler
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I'm An American -- Gaetono Salvemini
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I'm An American -- Paul Muni
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I'm An American -- Béla Schick
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I'm An American -- Leopold Stokowski
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I'm An American -- Attilio Piccirilli
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I'm An American -- Louis Adamic
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I'm An American -- Konrad Bercovici
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I'm An American -- Emil Ludwig
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I'm An American -- Walter Damrosch
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I'm An American -- Guiseppe Bellanca
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I'm An American -- Thomas Mann
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 2
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 3
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 4
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I'm An American Day 1943 part 1
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I'm An American Day 1943 part 2
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I'm An American Day 1943 part 3
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I'm An American Day -- Christmas in Freedom
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I'm An American -- Walter Huston
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I'm An American -- Robert Zuppke
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I'm An American -- Efrem Zimbalist
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I'm An American -- Daniel Tobin
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I'm An American -- Edith Kempthorne
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I'm An American -- Pitirim Sorokin
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I'm An American Day 1942 part 1
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I'm An American -- Vilhjálmur Stefánsson
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I'm An American -- César Saerchinger
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I'm An American -- Ferdinand Schumann-Heink
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I'm An American -- Frank Kingdon
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I'm An American -- Richard Waring
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I'm An American -- William Schlamm
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I'm An American -- Max Lerner
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I'm An American -- Fortune Gallo
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I'm An American -- Fred Perry
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I'm An American -- Raymond Loewy
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- The Dangerous Days
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- I'm An American Day
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- Fiorello LaGuardia
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I'm An American Day 1941 -- One Nation Indivisible
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I'm An American -- Henry Morgenthau Sr
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I'm An American -- Kurt Weill
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I'm An American -- Franz Werfel
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I'm An American -- Frank Capra
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I'm An American -- Xavier Cugat
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I'm An American -- Anton Carlson
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I'm An American -- Johannes Steele
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I'm An American -- Yolanda Mero-Irion
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I'm An American -- Jean Hersholt
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I'm An American -- Rabbi Stephen Wise
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I'm An American -- Gregory Zilboorg
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