I felt like more people need to know about it, especially with the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Thanks for reading. It’s good that the doc’s now in public domain — so it’s easy to watch.
I watched the video. Very moving. I hope that one soldier was reunited with his sweetheart. Besides the various mental anguish the soldiers were suffering, what struck me most was the clear desegregation and mixing of races. The nurses and doctors were all white, as far as I could tell, but the soldiers engaged with each other freely, regardless of race. Of course, the reality could have been different when the film crew was not there and statistically speaking there must have been segregationist soldiers present. But it was heartwarming to see soldiers just accepting each other as fellow soldiers. I’m glad you shared your post.
Thanks. Great points. It definitely offers a different and much needed perspective. It's a been a while since I've seen it in full — you've inspired me to watch it again.
Youtube recommended another video when the one you posted ended. The title was something like "The Negro Soldier." It was interesting to see the positive light the Army PR people wanted to promote. There was a lot left unsaid. I expect propaganda from those types of films but you'd think it would be a bit more subtle and a bit more aware of the reality of its audience. There was also pretty graphic footage of the horrors of Nazi racial and ethnic purity, implying don't let this happen here. If you think racism is bad in this country, the Nazis are 100's of times worse.
Many WWII soldiers (Americans as well as those from every other participant country) suffered from “combat fatigue.” Remember that the U.S. entered the war quite late in the game. Other armies had been fighting from as early as 1939.
I’m just finishing reading @TimSnyder’s “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin.” In 400 densely-written pages Snyder describes the estimated *14 million* people deliberately murdered by the Soviet Union (mostly before WWII began) and Nazi Germany (during the war.) Ukrainians, Belorusians, Poles, Balts, Jews …. Men, women, children, babies. Most were killed by a gunshot to the head and thrown into pits. Germany’s gas chambers were built and used only much later in the war.
Wars have many horrors and they damage or destroy everyone involved. Hiding that damage or pretending that returning soldiers are just fine, nothing but heroes, is a terrible crime on the part of governments. Let us first avoid war and if it comes anyway do everything possible to help those whom it has harmed.
I felt like more people need to know about it, especially with the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Thanks for reading. It’s good that the doc’s now in public domain — so it’s easy to watch.
I watched the video. Very moving. I hope that one soldier was reunited with his sweetheart. Besides the various mental anguish the soldiers were suffering, what struck me most was the clear desegregation and mixing of races. The nurses and doctors were all white, as far as I could tell, but the soldiers engaged with each other freely, regardless of race. Of course, the reality could have been different when the film crew was not there and statistically speaking there must have been segregationist soldiers present. But it was heartwarming to see soldiers just accepting each other as fellow soldiers. I’m glad you shared your post.
Thanks. Great points. It definitely offers a different and much needed perspective. It's a been a while since I've seen it in full — you've inspired me to watch it again.
Youtube recommended another video when the one you posted ended. The title was something like "The Negro Soldier." It was interesting to see the positive light the Army PR people wanted to promote. There was a lot left unsaid. I expect propaganda from those types of films but you'd think it would be a bit more subtle and a bit more aware of the reality of its audience. There was also pretty graphic footage of the horrors of Nazi racial and ethnic purity, implying don't let this happen here. If you think racism is bad in this country, the Nazis are 100's of times worse.
Oh that’s interesting. I’ll check it out, thanks.
Many WWII soldiers (Americans as well as those from every other participant country) suffered from “combat fatigue.” Remember that the U.S. entered the war quite late in the game. Other armies had been fighting from as early as 1939.
I’m just finishing reading @TimSnyder’s “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin.” In 400 densely-written pages Snyder describes the estimated *14 million* people deliberately murdered by the Soviet Union (mostly before WWII began) and Nazi Germany (during the war.) Ukrainians, Belorusians, Poles, Balts, Jews …. Men, women, children, babies. Most were killed by a gunshot to the head and thrown into pits. Germany’s gas chambers were built and used only much later in the war.
Wars have many horrors and they damage or destroy everyone involved. Hiding that damage or pretending that returning soldiers are just fine, nothing but heroes, is a terrible crime on the part of governments. Let us first avoid war and if it comes anyway do everything possible to help those whom it has harmed.
Amen to all this, thank you. Well put.
Thanks for posting this and brining this issue to light. I’ll watch the film.