The Holocaust

There are a number theories and opinions that drove the German population to the rationalization of Anti-Semitism and belligerent actions against other countries. One ideology behind Nazism reflects National Socialism, where there is a single race that dominates one territory and that must remain pure untainted by other inferior groupsin order to thrive. Thus, the Aryan race was deemed the elite race in Germany, and a campaign was sparked by anti-Jew and anti-Slav propagandists to purify society. As the Slavs were a part of an elite class in large cities, the Germans aimed to pull down and make uninhabitable cities like Warsaw, Leningrad and Moscow so their inferiority could be assured. The Nuremberg Laws, which encouraged maltreatment of Jews, served as prerequisites for solving the issue of impure races in Germany and expanding the Aryan empire to the Ural Mtns. of Russia. The unequal treatment of Jews/impure races in Germany during World War II reflects the theories that fueled attempts to create a pure, Aryan race. It wasnt until 1941, after the decision to invade the Soviet Union, that the Final Solution to annihilate all Jews was created. German officers/leaders sparked feelings of hatred towards Jews, as they considered the Jews to be belligerent and impure of blood, two qualities that would prevent Germany from expanding eastward and creating an ideal Aryan empire. Some laws were created to keep Jewish children out of school in case of overcrowding, while others prevented Jewish people from getting jobs or marring anyone who was Aryan. The capture and euthanizing of Jewish children was especially important to the Germans, for the children represented posterity, the future of the Aryan empire. The foreign reaction to the maltreatment of the Jews is seemingly inadequate in regards to the level of social crimes that were left alone in Germany by Allied forces. It wasnt until 1944 that the Allies took forceful action against Jewish persecution with the creation of the War Refugee Board. In January 1944, the War Refugee Board was established to save the victims of the Nazis, and it made a number of attempts to rescue persecuted Jews. However, though the Allies were bombing local populations in Germany, they refused to bomb the railway lines leading to nearby death camps. Had the Allies devoted more time to saving the victims of Nazi persecution sooner, one can only wonder how many more lives would have been saved.

Internment Camps
Though they seem similar, the internment of Japanese residents in America differed from relocation. Executive order 9066, issued on February 19, 1942, allowed the Secretary of War and the military commander to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as [they] may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave. This order provided for the relocation of Japanese evacuees to community-like centers where they could work and live in ordinary American neighborhoods, and it was enforced by the War Relocation Authority. Internment, on the other hand, was established as a part of the Enemy Alien Act of 1798 and was enforced after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by the Justice Department. This act allowed

the American government to legally confine residents who were descended from a country with which America was at war. So, though they had similar aims to keep national security, relocation and internment had different legal bases. Internment was, without a doubt, supported by American government officials, and it was propagandized throughout the nation. In a poll of 15 state governors (west of Mississippi) regarding migration of evacuees on behalf of national defense, nine replied No Japanese wantedexcept in concentration camps. Not only did the government officials want to evacuate the Japanese, but they also considered it necessary for such military decisions to occur in order to assure American security. The reasoning behind the favor that the government had towards internment can be summed up in the phrase considerations of national security come first. As an effect, propaganda posters and the popularization of derogatory names like Japs spread the idea that it was just for the military to relocate and detain Japanese residents. While government officials felt that internment was a positive institution of national security, the Japanese felt the negative impact of legal confinement. Though they did not realize it, Americans were creating camps like those of the Nazis, and they were discriminating against the Japanese in the same way the Germans persecuted Jewish people. More than 110,000 Japanese residents were moved to internment camps, where there was inadequate medical care, meagerly-portioned meals, and extreme temperatures during the summer and winter seasons. Some internees died of poor health and emotional stress, but all of them felt the impact of discrimination. In an anonymously written poem, one internee said: Loyalty we know, and patriotism we feel, To sacrifice our utmost was our ideal, To fight for our country, and die, perhaps; but we're here because we happen to be Japs. We all love life, and our country best, Our misfortune to be here in the west, To keep us penned behind that damned fence, is someone's notion of national defense!

Women and the Home Front During World War II

Without a doubt, the role of American women changed during World War II, as there was an increased opportunity for women to find their role in the war. It set a precedent for future years and it enabled women to acquire a better sense of their abilities and their role in society. During WWII programs such as the Womens Army Corps (WAC) allowed American women to become directly and individually involved in the war effort. The WAC was designed to make women a part of the war by training them in specialized positions that were not in direct combat but were still crucial to American armies. In the 1940s, there were many doubts about training

programs like the WAC, and women were not expected to take such a strong role in the war; however, women had very important jobs that involved tracking and supplying resources that were crucial to the military sector, sending messages to army generals, and plotting the locations and movements of troops. During World War II, over 150,000 women were enlisted in the WAC, and a total of 657 were given medals and accolades for various services provided to the troops. Regardless of the increased involvement of women in the war, the general public still had not changed its opinions regarding what the true role of women were in society. Upon hearing about the enlistment of women in the Army, one male officer wrote that women's probable jobs would include those of hostess, librarians, canteen clerks, cooks and waitresses, chauffeurs, messengers, and strolling minstrels. Many people were skeptical that women could play the role of the strong, vigorous female reflected in propaganda posters featuring Rosie the Riveter. The messages sent out to the public via newsreels and public speeches of Eleanor Roosevelt prove that the changing the role of women during the 1940s was evident, but constrained. During World War II, the Office of War Information (OWI) promoted the nursing corps by producing newsreels that were sent out to the public as advertisements. Ironically, OWI did a better job of undermining the role of women in the war than it did strengthening their image in the public light. These newsreels emphasized a "lack of dedication" towards the war effort by focusing on the leisure activities of the nurses, their attention to beauty, and their ineptness at adjusting to the hurried pace war demanded. Next to the newsreels of burly, active army men, the women were made out to be petty, feminine, and fitting images of their gender stereotype. Many of the newsreels that were released showed army women applying makeup, modeling the newest uniform styles, and taking part in touristy activities. So, even though women had extended the social boundaries of the time by becoming more respected for their work, the public remained unaware of their great accomplishments in the war and held little respect for them.

Army man digging a trench

Women riding in a car for leisure

Nurse applying makeup

Despite the great social leaps women made during WWII, it was considered not likely that they would be accepted by society as strong, capable figures in the economy after the war. In August 1944, Eleanor Roosevelt answered a number of questions regarding what the role of women would be after the war. When asked if women would keep their jobs after the war, she commented it all boils down to economic necessity. Married women usually keep their jobs only when they have real need for money at home. This, of course, does not mean that women who take up some kind of work as a career will not stay in that work if they like it, whether they are married or single. Though her response gives some hope that women could keep their jobs, it reflects the doubt that women will be considered necessary to the economy. She claims that women will begin to get good educations and pursue careers only if it is considered

economically crucial. In another portion of the questioning, Eleanor Roosevelt says, An evergrowing number of young women in every walk of life are taking jobs as they finish school or college, but the main job of the average woman in our country still is to marry and have a home and children. Thus, the role of the typical American woman was considered to be naturally domestic, while the woman who took the mans role in the economy was considered an anomaly.