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World War II, global military conflict that, in terms of lives lost and material destruction, was the most devastating war in human history. It began in 1939 as a European conflict between Germany and an Anglo-French coalition but eventually widened to include most of the nations of the world. It ended in 1945, leaving a new world order dominated by the United States and the USSR. More than any previous war, World War II involved the commitment of nations' entire human and economic resources, the blurring of the distinction between combatant and noncombatant, and the expansion of the battlefield to include all of the enemy's territory. The most important determinants of its outcome were industrial capacity and personnel. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rocket and the atomic bomb. In the main, however, the war was fought with the same or improved weapons of the types used in World War I. The greatest advances were in aircraft and tanks. “For African Americans, World War II was a fight on two fronts. It was a struggle to prevail over the nation’s external enemies and a battle against a familiar home-grown foe: bigotry” (Allen). When World War II began in Europe in 1939, blacks demanded better treatment than they had experienced during World War I. Black newspaper editors insisted during 1939 and 1940 that black support for this war effort would depend on fair treatment. They demanded that black soldiers be trained in all military roles and that black civilians have equal opportunities to work in war industries at home. African Americans were some of the quickest and most energetic to condemn the risings of fascism in Europe. They instantly understood the risks Nazism and its Aryan doctrines imposed on the world. Some had read Hitler’s Mein Kampf and had taken offense to its unfavorable comments toward blacks. It was also claimed that in 1936 Hitler had refused to treat African American Olympic stars Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalf with common decency in Berlin. Also the knockout of the black idol Joe Louis in 1936 by Max Schmeling had fueled some bitter emotions toward Nazism and it was fueled once again when Louis exacted his complete revenge in 1938. At the beginning of the war Afri... ... middle of paper ... ...seat at the back of the bus. Robinson refused. “He was arrested and court-martialed for “disrespectful” conduct and disobeying orders, he was acquitted, but the incident prevented him from going overseas with the 761st” (Allen). Robinson would go on to become the first black baseball player to integrate the major leagues. “The World War II experience was a watershed for African Americans. Jim Crow remained intact, but the ideological bases of white supremacy and colonialism were undermined by the horrors of the Holocaust” (Earle 87). The war experience gave about one million blacks the opportunity to fight racism in Europe and Asia, a fact that black veterans would remember during the struggle against racism at home after the war. Perhaps just as important, almost ten times that many white Americans witnessed the patriotic service of black Americans. Many of them would object to the continued denial of civil rights to the men and women beside whom they had fought. After World War II the momentum for racial change continued. Black soldiers returned home with determination to have full civil rights. President Harry Truman ordered the final desegregation of the armed forces in 1948.
After the end of World War II, the United States went through many changes. Most of the changes were for the better, but some had an adverse effect on certain population centers. Many programs, agencies and policies were created to transform American society and government.
During and after the Great War blacks and left the rural South of Jim Crow Laws, lynching’s, and oppressive economic conditions also known as the Great Migration. “On a political front, participation in WW1 did little to directly advance the equal rights of African Americans.” (National Archives)
James Baldwin uncovers a few misconceptions in his essay, ?Notes of a Native Son?, about the discrimination that occurred with in the American Armed Forces during World War II. These misconceptions were not unintentional?the government, to look more political, created these perceptions. The government treated the African Americans unfairly and segregation and discrimination were still not uncommon. Not only were African-Americans rarely let into the army but once in the army they were not given the same opportunities as the other soldiers. This was not only unfair to the African-American soldiers who were willing to put their lives on the line for their country but also for all American citizens who lost their lives in World War II.
The technological advances since WW1 introduced such things as the atomic bomb and new and improved sea and air warfare. The atom bomb was a big part of WW2 as people could be killed from a bomb from a long distance. This bomb also covered a long area killing more people and people of the area bombed could still be feeling the effects in the form of cancer. New air warfare such as fighter jets were introduced in WW2. These planes carried deadly bombs and could take out a large number of people. New sea warfare was introduced, such ships as the corvette were popular, and the corvette was mostly used for shipping ammunition to Europe from North America. Also, submarines proved deadly as they were out of radar and carried deadly bombs such as the torpedo.
The question at hand: “Would the African-Americans support for the war effort, on the battlefields of Europe and throughout many factories in the United States mean improvement in the status of the Negro as an American citizen?”
Before Jackie Robinson played professional baseball, he was in the army. He was a lieutenant at Camp Hood in Texas. At the time, African American soldiers were treated badly and the armed forces were still segregated. In 1944, when he refused to move to the back of the bus, the military police were called. They called him racial slurs and he “threatened ‘to break in two’ anyone, whatever their rank or status, who employed that word” (Vernon, Prologue Magazine). He was
World War Warfare was one of the greatest examples of technological advancement and strategic challenge, with the introduction of inventions such as the aircraft and the tank the battlefield transformed from attrition as scene in the early years of the war to decisive by the end of the war.
World War II opened up several opportunities for African American men during and after the war. First of all, the blacks were able to join the military, the Navy and the Army Air Corps’ (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The African Americans were allowed to join the military because they were needed, but they would be trained separately and put in separate groups then the white men because America was still prejudice. (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The same went for the African Americans that joined the Navy, only they were given the menial jobs instead of the huge jobs (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). African Americans that joined the Army Air Corps’ were also segregated (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The Army Air Corps’ African American also known as the Tuskegee Airmen were sent to the blacks university in Tuskegee for their training (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). They became one of the most well known groups of flyers during World War II th...
The Great War, now known as World War II, devastated Europe, leaving political and economic instability in Germany to aid the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. World War II began when Hitler invaded Poland on the 17 September 1939. The war lasted from 1939 to 1945 and directly involved over 100 million people. With an estimated death toll of 75 million, World War II was the deadliest conflict in history. Although there can be no definite turning point, many historians consider the Battle of Stalingrad to be the greatest and most significant battle in the war.
Those studying the experience of African Americans in World War II consistently ask one central question: “Was World War II a turning point for African Americans?” In elaboration, does World War II symbolize a prolongation of policies of segregation and discrimination both on the home front and the war front, or does it represent the start of the Civil Rights Movement that brought racial equality? The data points to the war experience being a transition leading to the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s. World War II presented several new opportunities for African Americans to participate in the war effort and thereby begin to earn an equal place in American society and politics. From the beginning of the war, the black media urged fighting
World War 2 was a very historic and dangerous moment in time that costed millions of lives. This global war began when Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Nazi Germany at the time had major goals that needed to be met, like having complete world order, and wiping out every single race other than a pure Aryan bloodline. In order to reach this goal, Nazi Germany tried to take over countries, and they also committed mass genocide to the Jewish people.
In the article, “The Second World War in U. S. History and Memory” by Mark A. Stoler, the author addresses the differences between history and the memory of the war. The author discusses how historical hindsight of World War II drastically transformed the United Stated. Yet, during that time Americans misunderstood those transformations which resulted in them failing to comprehend what actually occurred was that their memory of the war diverged sharply from historical reality (Stoler, 2001). According to the author, not only did the United States emerge as a “Powerhouse” after its involvement in the war but also it served as a catalyst for an economical boost. In addition, the war also played a major role in the domestic struggle against racism, even though segregation still existed in the armed forces, and the black civil rights movement. The U.S. involvement in the war also served as a gateway for women to enter the workforce causing the war to become a watershed in women’s history. Yet, Americans dismissed domestic progress and focused more on o...
World War II was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind.
While we all would agree that racism is immoral and has no place in a modern society, that was not the case in the U.S. in the 1940s. At the time African Americans were treated as second-class citizens, it was made near-impossible for them to vote, and they were discriminated in many ways including in education, socially and in employment. It was a time in which segregation and racism perforated the laws and society, a time in which African Americans were “separate but equal,” segregation was legal and in full force. Apartheid was also everywhere from the books to in society. Blacks were not truly seen as equal as they were seen the the lesser of the two and it very much felt that way. Blacks were oppressed in many ways including having unreachable requirements to vote, such regulations included literacy tests, poll taxes, and elaborate registration systems, but it only started there.
World War 2 was one of the most deadliest war in our world 's history having as many as sixty million civilians that lost their lives during this war.It impacted a lot of countries as a matter of fact it impacted the whole world.It also damaged the countries involved greatly, and let the downfall of western european countries as world powers, leaving it to the soviet union and the united states. The war started in 1939 and ended in 1945 also, economic changes occurred to big countries such as Germany, Great Britain, United States, Japan, Russia, and France, (Darman, 20). World War 2 was undoubtedly one of the most important events in history not only for what happened throughout the six years of war but also the aftermath of the war. Beyond