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Page 10 The Skanner Portland February 7, 2018 Maria Höhn, Vassar College For The Conversation ntil the 21st century, the contributions of African American soldiers in World War II barely reg- istered in America’s collective memory of that war. The “tan soldiers,” as the Black press affectionately called them, were also for the most part left out of the tri- umphant narrative of Amer- ica’s “Greatest Generation.” In order to tell their story of helping defeat Nazi Germa- ny in my 2010 book, “Breath of Freedom,” I had to conduct research in more than 40 dif- ferent archives in the U.S. and Germany. When a German TV produc- tion company, together with Smithsonian TV, turned that book into a documentary, the filmmakers searched U.S. me- dia and military archives for two years for footage of Black GIs in the final push into Ger- many and during the occupa- tion of post-war Germany. They watched hundreds of hours of film and discovered less than 10 minutes of foot- age. This despite the fact that among the 16 million U.S. sol- diers who fought in World War II, there were about one million African American sol- diers. They fought in the Pacific, U and they were part of the victo- rious army that liberated Eu- rope from Nazi rule. Black sol- diers were also part of the U.S. Army of occupation in Germa- ny after the war. Still serving in strictly segregated units, they were sent to democratize the Germans and expunge all forms of racism. It was that experience that convinced many of these vet- erans to continue their strug- gle for equality when they returned home to the U.S. They were to become the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement – a movement that changed the face of our na- tion and inspired millions of repressed people across the globe. As a scholar of German his- tory and of the more than 70- year U.S. military presence in Germany, I have marveled at the men and women of that generation. They were willing to fight for democracy abroad, while being denied democratic rights at home in the U.S. Be- cause of their belief in Ameri- ca’s “democratic promise” and their sacrifices on behalf of those ideals, I was born into a free and democratic West Ger- many, just 10 years after that horrific war. Fighting racism at home and abroad By deploying troops abroad as warriors for and emissaries of American democracy, the military literally exported the African American freedom struggle. Beginning in 1933, when Ad- olf Hitler came to power, Afri- can American activists and the Black press used white Amer- ica’s condemnation of Nazi racism to expose and indict the abuses of Jim Crow at home. America’s entry into the war and the struggle against Nazi Germany allowed civil rights activists to significantly step up their rhetoric. Langston Hughes’ 1943 poem, “From Beaumont to De- troit,” addressed to America, eloquently expressed that sen- timent: “You jim crowed me / Before hitler rose to power- / And you are still jim crowing me- / Right now this very hour.” Believing that fighting for American democracy abroad would finally grant Afri- can-Americans full citizen- ship at home, civil rights ac- tivists put pressure on the U.S. government to allow African American soldiers to “fight like men,” side by side with White troops. The military brass, dispro- portionately dominated by white Southern officers, re- fused. They argued that such a step would undermine mili- tary efficiency and negatively PHOTO COURTESY OF NARA Black History African-American GIs of WWII: Fighting for Democracy Abroad and at Home Corporal William E. Thomas and Private First Class Joseph Jackson on Easter morning, 1945. impact the morale of White soldiers. In an integrated mil- itary, Black officers or NCOs might also end up command- ing white troops. Such a chal- lenge to the Jim Crow racial or- der based on white supremacy was seen as unacceptable. The manpower of Black sol- diers was needed in order to win the war, but the military brass got its way; America’s Jim Crow order was to be up- held. African Americans were allowed to train as pilots in the segregated Tuskeegee Airmen. The 92nd Buffalo Soldiers and 93rd Blue Helmets all-Black divisions were activated and sent abroad under the com- mand of white officers. Despite these concessions, 90 percent of Black troops were forced to serve in labor and supply units, rather than the more prestigious combat units. Except for a few short weeks during the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944 when commanders were des- perate for manpower, all U.S. soldiers served in strictly seg- regated units. Even the blood banks were segregated. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com