Chapter 4: World War II Begins

This time frame coincides with the beginning of World War II, which was September 1, 1939. Everyone was caught up in the goings on in Europe, and what Hitler was doing to Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. We were too young to have any political leanings, but we tried to keep abreast of the latest news from Europe through papers and radio. It was common knowledge that the Shah (Reza Shah) had German leanings. He did admire German technology [and] German industrial superiority so much so that he had them build the only main cross-country railroad (from the Persian Gulf in the south to the Caspian Sea in the north). The railroad itself, as well as the train station in Tehran, was considered to be the most modern and the best among all of the middle eastern countries for that time in history. All fire engines and fire stations, in most major cities were German-made (Buzing-Nag fire engines). Zundapp motorcycles, German cars, German Industrial machines, radios, cameras, binoculars, lenses, etc. This fact is important to note at this time, because it has bearing on the political turn of events during the following year,1940.

In the summer of 1940 the Allied forces (the United States, England, and the Soviet Union) occupied Iran in order to help Stalin who was in dire straits. Hitler's army was advancing rapidly into the Soviet Union, past Ukrania and almost into the Caucasus territory. This fact, coupled with Reza Shah's pro-German attitude, was the cause for the unilateral decision by the Allied forces to occupy Iran, exile the Shah to Mauritious Island near Africa, and put his son Mohammad Reza on the throne. He was only 21(?) years old at the time. The Crown-Prince had already prepared him for the Royal protocol and the ins and outs of the Regal chores. He had good exposure to several languages and was very fluent in French and English. He had also spent many years in Switzerland as a student. He was athletic, played soccer, skied well, and was proficient in tennis as well. Yet, he was very young and inexperienced in ruling the country singlehandedly in the absense of his father. Therefore he was generally looked upon as a puppet king in the beginning, something that he overcame some years later after the end of WW II when allied forces left Iran.

The main purpose of this occupation was to be able to help the Soviet Union with arms and other war material (known as the Lend -Lease Program) in order to stop the phenomenal advance of the German army into the Soviet Union. This was accomplished, of course, due to the constant flow of material (24 hours a day) by way of Trans -Iranian railroad and truck convoys, from Persian Gulf all the way to the Soviet border, day in and day out until the end of war. These events coincide with my early teenage years (13-14) and we were all caught up in the excitement of the war activities, not really understanding the political and sociological ramifications of it on our personal lives. In September of 1939, having graduated from elementary school, I started my seventh grade in a French school called Lycee Franco-Persan (literally, it means French and Persian high school) a secondary school, where all subjects were taught in the French language, the only exception being the Persian literature class. This change was very exciting for me, since I excelled in the French language and enjoyed a sort of a teacher's pet status. (I was the teacher's helper in several classes.) This was mainly due to the fact that I was familiar to both languages, not due to [any] superior intellect.

Alas, this was a short-lived bliss for at the end of the year, the prevailing political circumstances caused the closure of this school, and I did register in a Persian school of Zarathustrian origin called Firooz-Bahram. Zarathustra (Zartosht, as the Persians called him) was the ancient Persian Prophet whose religious dictum was: Good thoughts, Good words, Good deeds. This three-thousand year old religion was the official religion of the Mighty Persian Empire during the rule of such great kings as Shapur, Artaxerxes (Ardashire), and Shapur II. It lasted until the seventh century A.D. when Arabs invaded Iran and imposed their Islamic religion on them. Zoroastrianism (Zarathustrian) religion was the only monotheistic religion even before Judaism. They also believed all life emanated from the sun, therefore, they always kept a mantle of eternal fire in all their temples as an Icon representing the sun. Because of this particular belief and custom they have always been called fire worshippers and derided cynically. They believed in Ahura Mazda, representing good[ness] and kind[ness], or God, and Ahriman representing evil or Satan. After the Arab invasion and the imposition of the new religion (Islam), many Iranians of the Zarathustrian belief migrated to other countries, however most of them went to India, where even now there is a big contingent of them in the Punjab area. Come to think of it , I believe the great American music conductor Zubin Mehta and his father Mehli Mehta (also a famous conductor and violonist) are of the same religious persuasion.

HOME    |    Table of Contents    |     < Previous Chapter    |    Next Chapter >