Hitler's visit to Rome, May 1938

A group of Italian school girls, escorted by nuns, followed by a group of young boys in uniform. Uniformed men with feathered hats march down the street. Women in native costume. A panning shot shows a huge building surrounded by Nazi flags and a crowd of spectators behind a barricade. Uniformed young girls march down the street. Uniformed boys, some with rifles and some playing drums. Long shot of men on motorcycles as they perform some kind of routine on a large field. More marching men on the streets of Rome, followed by Hitler's motorcade. Hitler is briefly visible, as is Goebbels, who is riding in a car with Benito Mussolini. More shots of the parade and spectators; lots of Nazi flags are visible. May 1, 1938 letter: "Here, as well as all along the route, from Boulogna down, Italian and German flags are flying everywhere -- The fascist emblem and swastika are everywhere and "Heil Duce" and "viva le Fuehrer" are painted large on every side." May 1938 letter: "Rome is full of Hitler. The stores are closed, the streets are extravagantly decorated with German and Italian flags and emblems." May 3 diary entry: "Rome...the whole city ablaze with banners and emblems of Italy and Germany. May 4 diary entry: "...go down to Quirinale, which is on our street, right after breakfast and wait among a mass of people behind a double line of caberiniere [sic] to see Hitler and Mussolini drive out to-gether." Ross Allen Baker was born on November 13, 1886, in Greencastle, Indiana, to Philip S. and Luemma Allen Baker. His father was a chemistry professor at DePauw University. Ross received a BA in chemistry from DePauw and a PhD in 1914 from the University of Wisconsin. He married Helen Fredericka Porter on December 30, 1914. The couple had five sons: Philip, Porter, Frederick, Stanley, and Raymond. He held various teaching positions throughout the US and in England. He was a national counselor for the Boy Scouts of American and helped write the merit badge booklet. During World War I (1914-1918), Ross served in the Chemical Warfare Service specializing in the use of mustard gas. He later became active in efforts to have nations ban the use of biological and chemical weapons in the League of Nations, and later in the United Nations. He was active in several professional associations. In 1928, he was a US delegate for an International Union of Chemistry meeting at the League of Nations and, in 1938, a US delegate to the International Congress of Chemistry in Rome, Italy. In 1937, Ross held a position as professor of chemistry at the City University of New York. During the 1930s, there had been technological advances in optics and photography in European universities and American scientists sought to emulate this work. Ross received a sabbatical leave to take courses in microchemistry at the University of Vienna. Ross, his wife, and three of their five sons lived in Vienna from early 1937 until May 1938; summers were spent in travel. In May 1938, the family accompanied Ross to Rome and also witnessed public events for the summit meeting of Hitler and Mussolini. They travelled the rest of the summer and then returned to the US. Ross retired from San Diego State. He passed away, age 92, in 1978 in San Diego, Ca.