African Americans Case
African Americans were poorly treated previous to the war, they suffered intense segregation and discrimination in the South of America, and even though the North was less segregating, black people also suffered there, with discrimination from people with traditional values much like the South. However, World War Two (WW2) showed a turning point from the sufferings by highlighting the problems with racism, and other changes of attitude.
There is some evidence that life for African American people improved in and after the war. When America entered the war in 1941 many troops were transported to allied countries, such as countries in Europe. This was the first instance where there was no formal segregation; they were treated like heroes by society, much like white troops. This would be one of the first experiences of equality they had. This accentuated how different the views were abroad, causing Black people to exercise their right to the same equality they experienced abroad, at home. Additionally, America fought in this war was fought for 4 main reasons; freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Although Roosevelt did not explain explicitly, it was assumed that this applied to all races. Black soldiers were struck with the contradiction that they were fighting for freedom yet not experiencing it at home, and therefore they started to wear a double V on their uniform. This was to symbolise their desire for victory overseas and victory at home. This displayed to people in many countries that Black people were not happy with their treatment.
Most importantly, WW2 was fought to stop the actions of Hitler. His invasions of countries distressed other countries, such as Britain and France. America is allied with Britain and France and therefore became involved in the war. Later in Hitler’s dictatorship he began to exterminate certain races and minorities within Germany, Poland and other countries. This was the result of undeniable racism, and the extreme case of it actually convinced many Americans to be against all forms of it, including racism towards Black people. The death of 6 million Jewish people and other victims of Hitler’s purification of Germany was more than enough to scare people into action. This is not just action of Black people fearing the same would happen to them, but also of all ethnic minorities. This was the first highlighted abuse of power that resulted in racism and many who despised the treatment of Hitler against Jews, despised America’s treatment of Black people.
The courage shown by Black soldiers within America’s Army was enough to change the opinion of many white soldiers. The following source displays this well: “when I heard about it I said I would be damned if I’d wear the same shoulder patch they did. After that day when we saw how they fought I changed my mind. They’re just like any of the other boys to us”. With more and more people starting