“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II

A member of the “first black tanker group to be used in combat” (264), Charles A. Gates discusses being deployed in Europe. He mentions meeting General Patton, who gave them a pep talk. Gates adds, “Of course, the Negroes whooped because here was a white man tellin’ the Negroes to shoot white people. Well, that really tore us up” (266). As the unit experienced more successes in Europe, however, there was a deliberate effort among the military to stoke racism against blacks in Europe.

On the home front in the United States, Rosemary talks about losing both her first husband and her brother in the war.

Rosemary’s second husband, Joe, discusses fighting in D-Day and how he never used the GI Bill or participated in any veterans’ organizations. He says, “No wars can be just” (276).

An African American teacher, Timuel discusses being drafted and deployed in 1943. While deployed in Britain, Timuel experienced segregation to the point where black regiments were deployed to more impoverished towns. When in Germany, Timuel saw evidence of the Holocaust firsthand and realized that something similar could happen to any group, including African Americans (281).

A Jewish military doctor stationed in Belgium, Dr. Alex Shulman treated a young Jewish victim of the German concentration camps. When asked how she could tend to Germans as well, he answered, “Oh, I started looking at them at first as Germans and Nazis. Then I started looking at them as victims” (287). He also observes, “Americans have never known what war really is” (287).

Frieda Wolff was an American teacher who joined the Red Cross. She describes her experiences being stationed in Europe, which made her oppose all war.