Much of the history of the federal community mental health centers program can be traced to events that occurred during and just after World War II. During the war, there developed a great emphasis on acute treatment in the setting of the war zone itself. After the war, there arose a great public concern about the problem of mental illness and our national efforts to deal with the problem. Together, these two sets of circumstances paved the way for the efforts of the federal government to reshape the delivery of mental health services throughout the nation. (35 pp.)