Every citizen a soldier: the campaign for universal military training after World War II

The history of the African American military experience in World War II tends to revolve around two central questions: How did World War II and American racism shape the black experience in the American military? And how did black GIs reshape the parameters of their wartime experiences? From the mid-1920s through the Great Depression years of the 1930s, military planners evaluated the performance of black soldiers in World War I while trying to ascertain their presence in future wars. However, quite often their discussions about African American servicemen in the military establishment were deeply moored in the traditions, customs, and practices of American racism, racist stereotypes, and innuendo. Simultaneously, African American leaders and their allies waged a relentless battle to secure the future presence of the uniformed men and women who would serve in the nation’s military. Through their exercise of voting rights, threats of protest demonstration, litigation, and White House lobbying from 1939 through 1942, civil rights advocates and their affiliates managed to obtain some minor concessions from the military establishment. But the military’s stubborn adherence to a policy barring black and white soldiers from serving in the same units continued through the rest of the war. Between 1943 and 1945, black GIs faced white officer hostility, civilian antagonism, and military police brutality while undergoing military training throughout the country. Similarly, African American servicewomen faced systemic racism and sexism in the military during the period. Throughout various stages of the American war effort, black civil rights groups, the press, and their allies mounted the opening salvoes in the battle to protect and defend the wellbeing of black soldiers in uniform. While serving on the battlefields of World War II, fighting African American GIs became foot soldiers in the wider struggles against tyranny abroad. After returning home in 1945, black World War II-era activists such as Daisy Lampkin and Ruby Hurley, and ex-servicemen and women, laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement.

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An Attempt to use the MMPI as a Predictor of Failure in Military Training

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.121.5.553 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 121 (564) ◽

pp. 553-557 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

John P. Callan

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Military Service ◽

Military Training ◽

Active Duty ◽

Continuous Observation ◽

World War ◽

Prolonged Observation ◽

Psychiatric Screening

During World War II psychiatric screening to exclude ineffective soldiers from active duty consisted of interviews of three to six minutes duration. These interviews were described as successful by Bloomberg and Hyde (1), and by Leavitt (2). But six years later Bloomberg admitted that induction screening had proved ineffective, and suggested continuous observation for the first six months of military service to separate those who would adjust from those who would not (3). This concept of prolonged observation was supported by the wartime findings of Egan et al. (4) and Aita (5). Egan's group examined the records of 2,054 men who had been psychiatrically rejected on the basis of a short interview, but who later served; 79.4 per cent rendered satisfactory service. Aita's five-year follow-up showed that of 100 soldiers considered borderline on interview 21 per cent failed to render satisfactory service and of 100 considered satisfactory 5 per cent failed. If the questionable risk hundred had been rejected the Army would have lost 49 average and 30 outstanding soldiers. It seemed, therefore, more profitable for the Army to risk retaining ineffectives than to attempt to weed them out completely on the basis of brief psychiatric interviews.

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Die Abteilungen für Luftfahrt an deutschen Universitäten unter dem NS-Regime

STADION ◽

10.5771/0172-4029-2020-1-61 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 61-85

Author(s):

Alexander Priebe

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Military Training ◽

World War ◽

Universities And Colleges ◽

Aviation Training ◽

War Effort ◽

Training And Research ◽

Aeronautical Engineering ◽

The Military ◽

Scientific Fields

On 17 November 1934, the Reich Education Ministry (REM) issued a decree on the “cultivation of aviation in schools and universities”. It aimed at “ensuring the next generation of aviation professionals in the practical, aeronautical, technical, and scientific fields”, the importance of which, according to the REM, “had even increased with the resurgence of the German Luftwaffe”. Hence, universities and colleges of physical education were deemed responsible for further civil and - increasingly - military training and research in aviation, whereas research in aeronautical engineering was carried out at technical universities, under the enforced auspices of the Reich Ministry of Aviation. From 1934 onwards, aviation training would be coordinated by departments of aviation, which were also responsible for the gliding training of students and, above all, sports instructors. The recast decree of 30 December 1939 would expand and enforce training and research defined as “essential for the war effort”. This crucial development, which essentially bolstered the military strategy of the Nazis before and during World War II, i.e., the so-called “Blitzkrieg”, is presented in a detailed overview, based on recently discovered archival sources.

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The Transferability of Military-Provided Occupational Training in the Post-Draft Era

ILR Review ◽

10.1177/001979398904200205 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 230-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Stephen L. Mangum ◽

David E. Ball

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Vietnam Veterans ◽

Military Training ◽

World War ◽

Civilian Life ◽

Occupational Training ◽

Transfer Of Skills ◽

Civilian Employment ◽

Using Data ◽

Service Employment

Several studies have examined how military-provided training affects post-service employment experience, but this study is the first to investigate that relationship for young men and women who enlisted in the “all-volunteer” era that began in 1974. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey—Youth Cohort, the authors find that the transfer of skills to civilian employment was as high for military training as for civilian training (45–50 percent), once employer-provided training is excluded from consideration. Furthermore, within two years of their return to civilian life, those who received military training had higher earnings than those who received training in the civilian sector—a finding that contrasts with the results of studies of Vietnam veterans, but agrees with the results found for veterans of World War II and the Korean Conflict.

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MEMOIRS OF MEMBERS OF UKRAINIAN MILITARY FORMATIONS IN THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING THE DAILY LIVES OF SOLDIERS OF WORLD WAR II

Sums'ka Starovyna (Ancient Sumy Land) ◽

10.21272/starovyna.2020.58.4 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 35-47

Author(s):

O. V. Vovk

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Daily Life ◽

Military Training ◽

Local Population ◽

Armed Forces ◽

World War ◽

Secondary Importance ◽

Daily Lives ◽

German Armed Forces

The article deals with how the memoirs highlight the peculiarities of everyday life of Ukrainian servicemen who were members of Ukrainian military formations in the German armed forces during the Second World War. Ukrainian combatants published a large number of memoirs, which highlighted the reasons that led them to combine their own destiny with service to a foreign country, described the social and construction conditions in which they found themselves, relations between soldiers, the attitude of Germans to Ukrainians, hopes for future Ukrainian revival. . These memoirs are an important source for studying the daily lives of soldiers during World War II. Although the issue of everyday life of Ukrainian soldiers was considered in the works of researchers, it is of secondary importance. Because of this, there is a problem of a more detailed study of the daily life of soldiers who found themselves in various formations of the German armed forces during World War II, and whose activities were not criminalized by the international community. Significant factual material on this issue provides an analysis of the memories of Ukrainian combatants. The publication provides a critical analysis of the memoirs of P. Hrytsak, M. Kalba, V. Ketsun, R. Kolisnyk, T. Krochak, R. Lazurko, K. Malyi, I. Nahaievskyi, E. Pobihushchyi and others. It was found that the memoirs cover in detail the domestic aspects of the service (military training, leisure, material support, cultural life, morale and mood of the soldiers), relations with the German personnel of the units. The authors’ memoirs contain numerous descriptions of the daily life of soldiers during military training, redeployment and participation in hostilities. Eyewitnesses described the soldiers’ equipment, the content of the instructors’ lectures and talks, the arrangement and plan of the camp, the relations between the Ukrainians and the relations with the Germans, and the peculiarities of the soldiers’ leisure. It is important to describe the transformation of the mood of the Ukrainian soldiers of the Division “Galicia”. These sentiments transformed from optimistic to a complete loss of confidence and growing dislike for German uniforms. Studies of this historical issue indicate that the authors of the memoirs describe the predominantly superior attitude of German personnel towards Ukrainians. It is investigated how the memoirs provide information about relations with the local population in the areas where the Ukrainian units were located. The publication highlights how the memoirs characterize the role of the church and priests in the life of Ukrainian units, which consisted not only in the religious and spiritual care of soldiers, but also in everyday life.

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Environmental Problems of redevelopment and revitalization of the former military training area Ralsko

Geografie ◽

10.37040/geografie1999104010046 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 104 (1) ◽

pp. 46-53

Author(s):

Zbyněk Ryšlavý

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Military Training ◽

Hazardous Materials ◽

Environmental Problems ◽

World War ◽

Environmental Damages ◽

The World ◽

The Military ◽

Training Area

The former military area Ralsko was created after the World War II on the territory formerly populated by Germans. The area was poor with negligible industry only. It was intended to serve as a training ground for cooperation between infantry troops and various armored vehicles in varied landscapes. Soviet Army used the area since 1968. As a result, the military use of Ralsko became more intensive and some areas were used beyond the possible limits. As there were great numbers of soldiers and hazardous materials were handled without care, serious environmental damages occurred. Much money has been spent by the Czechoslovak/Czech state in order to reduce contamination and to treat environmental impacts. The former military area should be revitalized carefully so that our descendants would find this area pleasant and enjoying.

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