To the People of the United States

• Jean Hersholt: doctor

To the People of the United States is an American short documentary by Arthur Lubin from the year 1943. The film was commissioned by the United States Public Health Service and should U.S. soldiers warn of syphilis.

Action

The film begins with a Boeing B -17 crew on the ground, the relay can not take off because the pilot is sick. One sees then the soldiers from behind as he talks to a doctor about his guilt. The doctor promises him that he will fly again. But the soldiers are heard rumors that he could never fly again. The doctor does this off as quackery and says that the infection could be stopped early enough.

After the pilot has left the room, the doctor addresses the audience directly. First, he explains the spread of syphilis in the United States. In a hospital of the U.S. Army, the viewer is informed that syphilis spread like a bush fire and trigger either a foreign organization or sabotage more absenteeism than the disease.

The doctor then reveals that the social stigma that is associated with syphilis, and says that this is the main reason that you can so rarely test for the pathogen his blood. In Scandinavia, where the doctor is coming from, on the other hand, people would be much more open and it would be normal to get tested his blood regularly. He then points to from the chart that in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, compared with New York, syphilis is much less common. The film ends with an appeal to get tested.

Background

The film was nominated for the 1944 Academy Award for Best Short Documentary.