If you’re interested in one of those posters behind Spartacus: timeghost.tv/product-category/home-and-office/posters/ And... Despite that this might be a trigger topic for some... try to keep it civil. Our rules of conduct once again: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
So there were camps for people of japanese ascent and segregation, we saw that the US refused to take refugees from europe. So how were people of german/italians ascent treated in the us ? If I remember correctly people of german ascent in quebec had some of their rights removed. On a side note, if some alien civilisation hears about us, I'm convinced they'll name us "stupid" in their language to refer about humans
My Great Grandfather was an Ojibwe Native American. While he was being discharged out at the end of the war the NCO asked what his race was for paperwork. He Said American Indian. The NCO stared at him and took a long at his paperwork then selected "White". The paperwork only had White or "Negro" as ethnicity. He kept the paperwork as a humorous memento.
I think "Colored" in WW1 in the armed forces had a diagonal cut made at the bottom left corner of their personnel file to mark them out, but I don't know about WW2.
@@knghtcmdr People are literally dying at your doorstep to live in your country. It's obviously worth it to them. Maybe show a little respect to those who make sacrifices for your wellbeing.
My father was a captain in the US Army. He led a company of all black Soldiers from basic training to their return from the Pacific campaign in 1945. Their job was building air strips on the islands for the USAAF. He developed mutual respect with his Soldiers and brought them all home alive. In the end he was very proud of his men and all that they accomplished.
Not always the case. Some White officers resented commanding African Americans and viewed it as bad for their careers. There were arguments about whether White officers from Northern or Southern backgrounds were better, but the latter in particular frequently expressed Jim Crow attitudes, although some thought they had a better understanding of Blacks.
@@stevekaczynski3793 the most infamous example of a prejudiced white officer is Edward Almond, who commanded the Buffalo Soldiers Division in Italy. He blamed the soldiers for his non-promotion post war and when MacArthur promoted him to X Corps command in Korea 1950, he never left his prejudices behind, criticising black troop recruitment till his death. Not all white officers in the 92nd Infantry were as prejudiced as him but such a units command structure was based on Jim Crow thinking so it could only have but a negative effect on troop morale, no matter how enlightened a white officer or NCO may be in the attitudes.
@Cam Furey en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Almond It tends to be the colonels and generals that set policy. Also they were more likely to be professionals. Further down the ranks would have been lieutenants and captains who were civilians until war broke out - they probably maintained the attitudes they had in civilian life - a lieutenant from New York might well have had a different attitude to African Americans than a lieutenant from, say, Mississippi.
@@stevekaczynski3793 My father was from West Texas, with family going back in the South to colonial times. You'd be surprised how close most Southerners are with black folks. He told me it was the Northerners, especially from Boston, that expressed dislike for black troops.
On an uplifting note, my uncle's brother was a B-17 pilot and his unit loved the Tuskegee airman. They once saved their unit from a Nazi(boo!) jet fighter attack. After the war, as a history teacher, he invited two of their officers and one enlisted ground crewman to speak before his class on the issues of American citizenship and working together to make a better nation. God rest your soul Uncle Bob.
I live in Northern England and near me happened the Battle of Bamber Bridge in WW2. It occurred due to segregation in the US army. As a background, an African American unit had been posted near by a village and they frequented the local pubs, later on a white contingent set up camp close by as well and demanded the pubs be white only. The pubs refused and actually put up signs saying "Black Troops Only". One day two white military police, went into the pub to arrest a black soldier because they said he was improperly dressed. An argument broke out between the American Military police and the black soldier who was supported by the local British people, British servicewomen and British army officers. The military police left, but got back up and started a fight, by ambushing the black soldiers. This escalated and in the end 1 black soldier was killed, 7 injured and 32 arrested. The news had to be suppressed as it would be an extreme embarrassment. I'd love if you could cover this!
There was a riot in Wellington, New Zealand between US servicemen and New Zealand soldiers & civilians when US servicemen from their South objected to Maori (Indigenous New Zealanders) being served in the same pub that they were drinking in. While we had, and have, our own issues regarding race & ethnicity, some US servicemen couldn't seem to grasp that their segregation rules didn't apply here.
Same happened in Britain. White American soldiers told pub landlords that they shouldn't serve both white and black American soldiers. So the pub landlord put signs up saying that only black GIs were welcome. The conservative right, a bunch of triggered snowflakes, 1941 - Present
And ppl call those racists "heros".. I never bought this "he served, hes hero" romantic BS. One is hero only if proved, its not a piece of clothe that will make difference nor show anything. There are idiots for all actions and opinions, as those racists who wanted to tell ppl from other nation what to do.
My Father was a Tuskegee Airman (and so was my Mother's older brother). Dad's brothers both served, one in the Pacific as a Navy Seabee and the other with the 320th VLA Anti-Aircraft Balloonists at Omaha Beach on D-Day. Thanks very much for for doing this episode.
The small town and county of Darlington, South Carolina produced three Tuskegee Airmen and also one of the airmen captured and executed in the Doolittle Raid
My uncle, a white captain in the US Army during the war, commanded a black Quartermaster Truck company. They came ashore in Normandy at D+3 and we're a part of the famous Red Ball Express supplying Patton's 3rd Army. In December of '44 they were decorated for being the first relief supply column to enter Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. They were actually ahead of Patton's tanks. Later, in Germany they took part in liberating the Dachau concentration camp. Late in 1945 they returned to the US by Liberty ship on a voyage that took over a month due to heavy seas in the North Atlantic. After the war he kept in touch with several of his men and their surviving families until his death at age 78. Unsung heroes all.
Thank you for actually telling the full story and not cherry picking. History is a beautiful and equally disturbing/disgusting thing to study, but it needs to be told in it’s totality. If you study history and it doesn’t disgust you even a little bit, then you’re not truly studying it.
In Italy, some Brazilian veterans say that US soldiers usually felt odd seen Brazilian troops, which was already consisted of mixed groups, interacting without prejudice. Would be amazing if you guys make a video talking about the contributions of the Brazilian armies (Navy, Expeditionary Force, and 1st Fighter Aviation Group) that fought in Italy side by side with troops from US, South Africa, Poland, and other countries.
Verdade. Eu sei que tem racismo no Brasil, mas é muito diferente... quando eu falo pra um colega meu que ele mora num dos países mais entrosados em relação à mistura de raças ele nao acredita, e é pq é formado em História mas nao sabe de muita coisa. Se vc pegar os outros mais miscigenados, em nenhum vc vê o entrosamento de gente de cor de pele e fenotipo diferente como aqui no Brasil. Ele acha que o Brasil é um dos mais racistas do mundo.. ta precisando conhecer mais sobre outros países..
@@pagodebregaeforro2803 Se o maluco for pra várias partes da Europa, ainda é assim até hoje. Em muitos lugares do mundo, as pessoas regulares nunca viram uma pessoa negra, indígena ou asiática na vida inteira. Conheço vários europeus que fazem discurso anti imigrante e usam insultos raciais numa base diária. Eles não têm as pessoas a quem eles estão insultando ao redor, então não evoluem.
👍 i was wondering, because there was a movie i think i remember about the Tuskegee airman. (It's been a while that ti have seen that movie, and it was dubbed)
It was nice to hear a very brief (exceedingly brief) review of racism in the United States military. Even though you (Sparticus) continually throughout the entire presentation incorrectly pronounce the name Tuskegee. It is pronounced Tus KEE ghee(with a hard "G" sound as in "good"). It's a Native American word. Still, to me, it seems good that you even mention the issue at all. Racism in the U.S. has been and probably always will be a very volatile issue, even more so in the military. Many African-Americans are very sensitive and proud regarding their heritage. Some even take this very minor matter of incorrectly pronouncing the name of a highly venerated institution, such as Tuskegee, as an insult or some sort of racial slur. As a word of advice to you, when talking about subjects that are distinctly American; check everything - the words, the facts, the spelling, the pronunciation - everything (especially if you're talking about tribes and H.B.C.U.'s. -- ask your friend Indy about them). L.M. Knight
This channel is so important! Every episode is a clean knockout. This channel continues to Dominate RUclips in history, reigning, undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion of the world!
When the US Air Force still had a presence at Balad Air Base Iraq, the units that rotated in became part of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. This was directly related to the 332nd fighter Wing which were also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Everyone of us took pride in being part of that historical group. In 2007 a number of original Tuskegee Airmen visited us and I had the honor of meeting pilots Lee Archer, Robert Ashby, and mechanic George Watson. Brings tears to my eyes when I think of what they went through, and that they came to visit a war zone after all those years.
Amazing episode! You should definitely do an episode focused on Native American contributions to the war effort. I'm Muskogee, and my grandfather served in the Pacific Theater, and it seems like most native people's in America were sent there as opposed to Europe. I have never been able to find any established documentation of this being a part of some kind of policy of racial segregation though.
Zachary Freeman - Perhaps it was a concerted effort by the U.S War Department, to keep the "Windtalkers" and other associated elements, all in the one "basket", if you know what I mean. ; ) I remember reading a story of, either a "Creek" or a "Blackfoot" name, for moving out of one's own territory, and completing "the 5 Tasks" that made him a "War Chief". No, I do not recall exactly what all 5 of these tasks were, but do recall at least a few. One was to steal an enemies horse, or horses, this he did, alone, by "liberating" a whole German Army Horse Stud ( Horses were VERY important to the German War effort, i.e : - The German Army started the Barbarossa Campain, with over 800.000 horses) and to steal those horses without the enmies knowledge!! Another, was to get a certain number of enemy combatants, to surrender, without actually killing or wounding any of them, he did that, too!! I don't quite remember what the other "tasks were, but what I do know is, NONE were what you might call, "easy" and others were downright crazy!! But, when he came home, with proof of his feats in Battle in the shape of U.S Army Documents to show that he'd completed all 5 of the tasks, the elders of his Tribe acknowleged him to be, the last "War Chief" of the Tribe. And with hopefully, the last one that will ever be needed. P.S:-I'm sure a guy, with a channel named after himself, the "Mark Felton Channel" on youtube (of course!) has a whole episode devoted to him. I highly recommend both the show, and the Channel.
I know when the Americans came to Australia in ww2 they segregated in Brisbane. The whites were on the north side of the river (brisbane cbd, Chermsode and lutwyche) and the rest were on the south side of the river (Southbank, Kingston and Logan.) from my grandmothers recollections. Everyone went to the south side on a Friday and Saturday night even the white soldiers because all the good jazz and swing clubs were on the south side.
I read somewhere that the Tuskegee pilots were kept away from combat for a very long time, because they weren't trusted to do a good job. So they were kept in training. Which meant that when they finally were allowed to actually serve in combat, they were excellent, thanks to their extra time in training. Very good flying skills, shooting skills, and tactical awareness. And the same was apparently true for other black units, like the Black Panthers tank battalion, that included Jackie Robinson in its ranks. And Ruben Rivers, who got a Medal of Honor.
The Tuskegee airmen actually complained that segregation kept them from learning useful techniques from experienced White airmen. They may have got more training time but segregation probably diminished its value.
It's great to hear you talk about the Double V campaign, it was one of the more amazing parts of the US domestic war effort, even if its effects during the war were limited, the desegregation of the military was very important for desegregation in civil life. But I do think you missed a trick here, mentioning the Pittsburgh Courier is very important, but saying that it was a prominent black newspaper would've added to its importance
For at least the last two decades, the history channel has been peddling conspiratorial history programs. Considering who the main audience is of those programs, is it any surprise that they don't talk about such things?
Today many people generally assume, that the red army fought as one with no difference made based on ethnic grounds or other social aspects. I would like you to investigate that :)
I think they mentioned it briefly in another episode but a deeper dive into racial minorities in European Armies and how they were treater would be nice
For the most part units were mixed together. Not all Red Army soldiers understood Russian and this had to be taken into account - promotion to NCO rank for example usually depended on having a grasp of Russian, even if your first language was, say, Kazakh. For political reasons some special units of the same ethnic origin were created. For example I believe there was an entire division of Lithuanians formed. They had special insignia and the purpose of creating the unit was to state that Lithuanians wanted to be part of the USSR.
They did a special on this I think. Talked about the requirement of the red army to fully integrate just so it could be a competent fighting force due to having so many ethnicities in it.
Things can get better and they can get worse. Life will often fluctuate between better and worse because that's how random it is. One day you're flying high because everything just clicked and the next you might be putting a loved one in the ground.
It's important to point out that WW2 wasn't between pure evil and pure goodness. Thank you for making this episode! From Florida USA... i.e. a southern state.
From Georgia, always feel tense when my state is mentioned in anything prior to the turn of the century, thankfully that kinda stuff isn't rampant anymore... what was that? Oh.. oh dear
This one hits close to home. My great grandfather served as a private during the war and I hate knowing the fact that he wasn't seen as a 2nd class citizen and it really hurts. The end of the video may be seen as a positive for some but for me its even worse since it took over 50 years for them to be recognized and even today this country is extremely unequal in many ways
I think it was to point out that situation is somewhat improved compared to 40s. Not that it's peachy today but in historical retrospective it is better and that's what Spartacus wanted to say I guess.
If you want to see it in a positive way your great grandfathers service is what allowed for us to get to the much better position we are in today, with problems but a lot better off.
@@rfe8nn2 Yeah. Which is not to say that the struggle is over with. Its just an infusion of positive thought by Sparty I'd say, to offset all the darkness from War on Humanity and general war dealings.
I remember going to the Brazilian Expeditionary Forces (FEB) museum near my house and hearing the stories of the men who served in Italy. They would comment on how shocked the american soldiers were, both black and white to see how the brazilian would mingle as one with no real care for race. Now, Brazil was and is a very racist country but one in with racial lines are so blurred there hasn't really been overt segregation in society that could justify having only colored and non colored batallions.
Thats true, there arent many nations that surpass us on that matter(I think there are none). USA was and still is segregated asf. Here in Brazil is always normal to see blacks and whites together. But we need to crush institutionalized racism, the hidden racism, more political power to the poor and blacks(and women) and less to white richy politicians who perpetually stays with the power and only work for the riches and big shots equality must prevail.
Might as well do an episode about the Navajo code talkers, if we are talking about the various roles ethnic groups played in the Us military during WW2. despite natives only became citizens in 1924 it's worth mentioning that they had no guarantees in terms of voting until 1962 in each state. It's a bit out of context due to the video but it's still a part of the racist standards at that time and should be mentioned.
I expect they will get an episode once their regular episodes get closer to when they were actually deployed. They were a relatively late innovation in the war, and aside from the Philippines, US ground forces have not been much engaged yet.
Benjamin O. Davis wrote an autobiography which I have read and I in my library. Quite good. There was an African Artillery unit trapped in Bastogne, who distinguished themselves, and the US bombers in Italy always tried to get the Tuskegee airman as escort as they NEVER lost a bomber to the Luftwaffe, cheers from Alta California:) Keep up the good work. BTW Spike Lee the filmmaked made a film about the 93rd infantry in Italy, "The Miracle of St. Annas"
The Tuskegee Airmen never losing a bomber they were escorting is a myth. They were good, but that would have been impossible, no fighter unit from any nation ever had a perfect record on that score.
@@gordonhopkins1573 It might depend on how they were lost - to the Luftwaffe or flak? Even the best escort fighters could not do much about flak, and as the Luftwaffe withered late in the war US bomber losses to flak grew proportionately higher.
The Artillery Battalion was the 333rd Artillery Battalion. The Wereth 11 were from that unit. They were also murdered by the Waffen SS. There is a memorial for them in Wereth Belgium.
There was still a Jim Crow infantry division in the Korean War. Undersupplied, and treated as a dumping ground for incompetent officers, they fared badly on the front line.
@SAMUEL NAUMETS A gradual process - the 24th Regiment of the 25th Division was still segregated until it was withdrawn, and I have read of at least one other infantry regiment deployed in Korea having an African American battalion in 1950.
@SAMUEL NAUMETS en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States) An all-black division officered by all whites is the definition of Jim Crow. This does appear to be the last gasp of segregation in the U.S. Army.
Not disliking, but it’s odd hearing this coming from a European white dude whose people killed with sword and disease to put a colony on every continent possible. And not to mention the brits have a white supremacy problem over whites. 😂 the Scott’s and Irish. It’s like hearing a guy in prison for 2000 years telling you how to live a successful long equitable life. 😂 😂
@@live2ride18 I took African American history in college. I was one of three white students while the rest of the class was black. The class was taught by a white woman and the first day of class we discussed why there weren't more POC to teach the history of the western exploitations of non white countries. As a white person, learning this history can be viscerally upsetting. Reading it is hard enough, while teaching year after year must be depressing in it's own way. My class was unable to answer the question I posed but I think I can understand why it's hard. Teaching is a job most people don't want in the first place.
@@loganmurray8810 my mother is a teacher, retired, not the crazy kind. I get it. But my point is put indy or however you spell it the other white guy they have to speak it.
quite surprised you never mentioned the Townsville Mutiny. It's quite an interesting event and would be great to hear about in more detail from someone with greater resources than myself
There was also the battle of brisbane between US Mp's vs african american soldiers and any other allied soldier in the pub. I believe the cause was that the african Americans were not allowed to the northern side of the city there was some good interviews with some of the guys that invited them for beers on the north side and joined them against the Mp troops.
When the first black servicemen arrived at Brisbane the Australian Immigration Dept. refused to let them off the ship until MacArthur intervened. Once onshore they sent them to a camp miles from somewhere.
You ought to read on the Port Chicago Disaster in the San Francisco Bay area. African American troops were loading munitions onto cargo ships when one of the ships exploded thus killing quite a few of them.
Fantastic video as always Spartacus and Time Ghost Crew! Several years ago my dad learned that one of the janitors that he knew at his high school in San Francisco was a tank commander in an all-Black division that saw action in Europe under Patton’s command. They even linked up with a Ukrainian tank division at the Elbe River. Also nice to have an episode end with a smile on Sparty’s face!
As an Australian, I’d like to personally apologise to the African American service personnel and their descendants for the treatment they received from our government while being stationed here in the defence of our country. I find it rather shameful.
There is a a new Dutch movie (the first ever) about the war of indonesian independence on Amazon Prime: "De Oost". Wally recommended, it touches on some of the things Indy spoke about in the Indonesia series. It is controversial under veterans and these families, but it is long overdue that this painfull story is shown to lange audiences in the Netherlands. It is connected to a education program in schools
Traces of US Army segregation remained into the Korean War. The 24th Regiment of the 25th Division for example was African American. Some of the impulse to desegregate was not anti-racist - the reliability of African Americans was doubted, and the Korean War was a conflict in which the North Koreans and later the Chinese frequently found weak spots in their opponents' lines and broke through. Desegregation and mixing Black and White troops together was seen as a way of denying an enemy a potential breakthrough.
@@stevekaczynski3793 I knew that some segregated units continued to exist well into the Korean War. But I didn't know about the practical reasoning for stopping infiltration.
@@Zen-sx5io That was a war where US troops of all races often had doubtful morale - they wondered what they were doing dying for some Asian real estate. There was distrust of African American troops in this climate. In POW camps the Chinese certainly selected African Americans for special attention in trying to get them to cooperate, like reminding them of Jim Crow.
My father was in the 71st Division. They were chasing German units though parts of Austria towards the end of the war. They came into a small town and were almost immediately shelled heavily by German 88s on the hill above the town. They were pinned down. A unit from the 761st Armored Division (Black Panthers) rolled into town and began counterbattery fire on the 88s. The Germans packed up and headed off, and the chase across Austria continued.
"I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice" Theodore Parker. May racism in all its forms, contortions, justifications, excuses and lies, be consigned to history, finally and completely. It is a scourge.
Well done! This is a part of WWII that is often overlooked. I learned, only a year or so ago, that Trinidadian flyers fought in integrated RAF fighter & bomber units. I knew the US Army was deeply segregated as my uncle, a medic, was attached to a segregated combat unit fighting in Italy (the Buffalo Soldiers, 92nd Infantry Div.) He received a write-up in the Pittsburg Courier after he won the Silver Star.
It is certainly true that the history of the USA has been a long march towards realizing the promise of our Constitution, and it's sad how heroes of the past were treated, but today they are widely praised and recognized within the US armed forces. The Tuskegee Airmen specifically are held in extremely high regard by the USAF, which names training squadron barracks after their number, using the planes they flew- most famously the P-51 Mustang- as their symbol. It is good we have finally gotten to this point, and we should be careful looking back to lament getting it wrong for so long without stopping to celebrate we got it right in the end.
Glad the Tuskegee Airmen were mentioned, as well they should have been. Also of note was the 761st Tank Battalion The Black Panthers. A tank unit NOBODY wanted for it was one of the few ALL BLACK tank units in US Army during WWII. Tank units were taking horrendous losses in Europe but still nobody wanted them as replacements. Once Patton found out that this unit was still stateside doing nothing, he immediately ordered it to Europe and integrated into US 3rd Army where it fought with great distinction until wars end. Also to not to be forgotten is the 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment, an ALL BLACK airborne unit of US Army. Another unit NOBODY wanted. This unit never saw combat but was used to fight forest fires in American Northwest areas. They basically trail-blazed the tactics/techniques used to jump into areas of forest fires - tactics/techniques still in use today. Also African American MARINES actually fought on Iwo Jima - something that I recently learned about a few years ago by reading a magazine article about the battle. Knew Black MARINES were on Iwo Jima to off-load landing craft and load the wounded onto the landing craft and to set up cemeteries, but never knew that they had an artillery battalion on the island and also fought off a banzai attack as well. Also, the Port Chicago Disaster in the San Francisco Bay area should not be forgotten as well. Basically African American troops were being used to load munitions onto cargo ships when something suddenly went terribly wrong. A munitions ship exploded thus killing quite a few of those troops. There are plenty more examples of African American service/combat service during the war, but these examples have always stuck with me.
The 92nd Infantry Division, sent to the Italian campaign, was African American with a White commander (Edward Almond, who resented commanding Black soldiers). Its combat performance was mixed - a late-war attack by German and Italian fascist troops drove it back several miles. The 93rd, another segregated division, was sent to the Pacific, mainly New Guinea and Bougainville, but saw relatively little fighting.
At a town in Lancashire called Bamber Bridge (Near Preston), the locals let some black US soldiers in for a drink at a pub, white US soldiers objected and called in the MPs and in the resulting fight, a man died. That goes to show that in parts of the UK, the locals often did not mind the black soldiers and even stood up for them.
Yet it still took 30 years before the UK banned discrimination based on colour. In the 1970s "no blacks" signs could be seen outside SOME working mens clubs and even more outside bedsits. Racism towards Asian shopkeepers was even more "acceptable"/tolerated. Life and history is complicated.
My grandfather was a captain in the US Army who served in North African and fought in Italy. He passed down a lugar pistol that he captured off a German officer that the family still owns. He was once surrounded and was able to lead his platoon to safety. He was awarded a bronze star for his bravery in action. Pretty good for a Oklahoma boy who was conscripted in junior year of college and pronounced AWOL before he knew he was drafted.
Lewis Irwin - What? Townsville in the State of Queensland, Australia? Really? I had no Idea!! I know that there were 10s of thousands of American Service Men and Women stationed down here in Australia, during ww2, but if you're speaking of old "Townsville, Australia mate", then WE (as in Australians) had/lived in a segregated Society, and had "enshrined in the Law of the Land, the White Australia Policy", that meant, in practice, a sort of "Jim Crow" approach to Race Relations in Australia, at the time. Certainly, as it applied to Aboriginal Australians at the time, this meant that any one who was "Aboriginal, or of Aboriginal Stock/Heritage, i.e not "full blooded" [My God, but do I HATE having to use that term, but was the "language of the Day] had to be "assessed to be of 'Good Character' to be allowed of the confines of the "local Mission or Place of Work', i.e usually as what probably would have been the case in the in the Rural/ Regional setting of Townsville, a large Cattle Station (Ranch) were they're "Employed" (albeit, under slave labour style pay and conditions) from which one of these "passes" or "exemptions", might have made all difference between life under Goverment, "TOTAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL", you know, the same "brutal, State Sponsored tyranny and opprestion", that the Allies were meant was the rule, back on the "Home Front". Wonderful!!
@@karlmuller3690 I just found out about it myself from Wikipedia, but apparently the mutiny was entirely within the US Army units stationed there- Black ranks under White officers, kept separate (and in rather less convivial conditions) from the White units, with their MPs dealing quite strictly with even potential infractions. On the day one such incident sparked a wild rumour that the officers were going to murder the Black ranks, sparking a general uprising. Nasty stuff. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsville_mutiny
There's a dirt airstrip in Torrens Creek, not far from where I live in Australia. During WW2, it was used as an airbase for US B-17s and ammo storage. Nowadays, it's an overgrown dirt strip with a sign that reads "This airstrip was constructed by an American Negros unit in World War 2." That single sign was put up many years later by us. It went completely unacknowledged at the time and is still rarely known outside the town. Even though nothing is left, the almost-forgotten story of the dusty airstrip and the brave men who built it is still heard today, but only in the small community there. A shame those men did not see the same service as the others who used the base.
Wedgtetail - Another "Shame" is way the Australian Government treated any, and ALL it's 1st AND 2nd World War, black diggers, when they came back home, too. And that, too mate is a story that's only spoken about when bought up by grieving relations, to Politicians in bloody Canberra, only to have them pay "lip service" to those Men's memories, as well. "Poor fellah, my Country" isn't just a book title, you know!!
I noticed you guys got more downvotes on this video compared to your other videos covering other aspects of WWII, by a pretty significant difference. It means you're hitting hard truths that need to be covered, reminded of. Americans tend to hold up 1940s and 1950s era for the country as a holy era. America is great but it also had some tremendous flaws, even for the era. President Truman had enough about the discrimination in the US military and signed an order in 1948 to end it. Keep up the good work.
Given the racial violence that erupted across the US after the First World War it's fascinating that many African-Americans believed that contributing to and supporting the war effort would eventually lead to equal rights. And oddly enough it did because the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s probably would not have been as impactful without World War II. Thank you for covering this topic guys! I hope you'll also expand on racism in the British Army or racism experienced by Japanese and Hispanic troops in future videos.
One could also argue that the involvement in WW1 made a greater involvement in WW2 possible which led to greater involvement in Korea and Vietnam. But to be honest the USA is far from being racially equal. But it could also be argued that our societies aren't sexually or religiously equal. It always depends on what you compare it with and what the end goal is.
The loyalty of African Americans to America during their struggles for equality is one of the greatest patriotic acts of the 20th century. They had many reasons to turn their back on the rest of the country, and even occasional opportunities to accept foreign aid, but they stayed loyal to their country without giving up their cause. And both America and the world are in a much better place because of it.
The White Australia Policy a blot (hardly adequate) on our national integrity. Now consigned to history it still castes an uncomfortable shadow of the Australian identity. One can only hope we learn from the past and do not repeat the errors/sins.
I still can't wrap my head around this. American GI's SAW the horrors of the concentration and death camps, came home and decided that segregation and lynching weren't a problem.
AFAIK the USA never constructed death camps. Using biological warfare against indeginous people or death marches sure. But the kind of industrial murder/extermination that the Nazis did, they never attempted. Not a high bar to get over but still something.
Your frustration I hear, since it was shockimg stuff of actual institutional racism in the US. Anger is expected. That said, it's a little overstated in your comment. I don't know of anyone historical who both liberated a concentration and then endorsed lynchings. It looks like seeing the horrors of Hitler make it harder to endorse racism, since forces were formally desegregated under Truman. But yes, very sad, tragic, ans infuriating that desegregation did not happen sooner, and that racists are still among us.
This is an absolutely ridiculous conflation. Segregation is no where near comparable to a coordinated genocide that killed millions and there were like 150 lynchings over the course of the entire 20th century (and they were largely condemned).
Wonder what on earth annoyed the 50+ people who have disliked this? Anger about the content? Shame? Disagreement with the state of the US army in the 1940s or upset that the topic is being discussed?
Everything gets down voted on youtube, even cat videos. Hell, the scene from the Dark Knight where the Joker does the "pencil trick" has 350 downvotes, and that scene is amazing. Some people down vote for for the hell of it. The ratio on this video (700 vs 50) is about inline with most youtube videos. Once you start seeing the down votes being greater than 10-15% of total votes something is up.
Well, that has possibly to do with the fact that everything that black people have gone through in America both as slaves and their accomplishments during those difficult times have time and time and time again been shoved into the throats of the current generation that not only did not have anything to do with the past but is forced to tolerate what this new black generation and their white allies on the left has been doing in the form of black lives matter. So people are just tired with all these attention going to one culture just because in the past they have gone through rough times.
@@SaunKrystian Even if I am racist towards black people, I am not the one who is causing any issues. The black lives matter and its racist ideologies towards other cultures is the one who is causing all the issues and the divisions, not me. So the shame is on you for being too blind and stupid for not seeing what is really going on.
@@MaximilienNoal No. They were Sky net made to infiltrate. A self aware computer that was doing stuff opposite to what it should. (thus it had to modify itself while being aware) Dont make stuff up to prove your point.
The only Asian Americans who served in segregated units were ethnic Japanese (or Hawaiian Nisei). A significant number of Korean-Americans and Chinese-Americans served integrated in regular combat units.
8:20 something tells me this is less about australians being reminded about black people existing, and more being reminded about aboriginals existing - and more importantly, aboriginals 'finding out' (as if they didn't already know at the time) that black people overseas had a hell of a lot more rights than they did
the idea of WW2 to be a fight between Good and Evil is completely ridiculous. It was a fight between evil empires. The Allied nations did not give a toss about the jews. Racism was rife everywhere, and before the war, many Europeans, Americans and Australians sympathised with the Nazis. After the war, the British and the French waged brutal campaigns of terror to keep their colonies. All of the nations involved were horribile, it is just that the Germans and the Japanese were worse than the rest.
@Andy Mills I absolutely despise Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan (and Italian fascism), their racial policies and exterminion campaigns were something pretty much historically unprecedented in their brutality and destruction. With all that said, you can't possibly be a good faith interlocutor if you are going to pretend that the European empires and the US were champions of racial equality and national self determination. I could list all the fucked up things they did to their colonial subjects (and to racial minorities in the case of the US), but the list would be too long (this is prior and after World War 2). I mean, Belgium decimated the population of the Congo with their brutal rubber plantation economy (an estimated 10 million people died because of this); The British empire, just after the horrors of the holocaust were revealed to the world, made use of concentration camps in order to quell the Mau Mau uprisings in Kenya (this happened between 1952 and 1960). I could go on and on and on, but you can do your research by yourself.
The Americans were quite shocked when they encountered the non-segregated FEB in Italy, where whites, blacks, japanese and more ethnicities were deployed together. When the 100/442 RCT returned to Italy in 1945 after their deployment in the Rhone Valley and Vosges Mountains, they were assigned as the assault component of the 92nd to improve its combat effectiveness (the 92nd had previously been considered a poor unit fit only for defensive duties, but this is disputed and may have been due to racism on the part of its senior officers). On 1 April 1945, the 92nd began a diversionary attack (the main assault was to occur on the opposite side of the Italian peninsula) and achieved a breakthrough of the Gothic Line, the German final defense line in Italy. Of ten mountain objectives that were before the 100th/442nd, 2 fell within 30 minutes of the start of the operation (0500 on 1 April 1945). 4 more fell by 6 April, a seventh on 8 April, eight and nine on 11 April, and the tenth on 15 April. By 17 April, the Germans had abandoned their defenses and fell back to Monte Nebbione and Aulla. From 19-23 April, the 100th/442nd attacked the defenses at Monte Nebbione, capturing it and Monte Carbolo on the 23rd. Aulla would be captured on 25 April, cutting off the German retreat. Mass surrenders to the 5th and 8th Armies continued until the German surrender in Italy on 2 May, 1945.
There a segment in a training film "A GI's guide to Britan " that dealt with the English having a less restrictive attitude about race and given the circumstances the American Army while understanding what things were like back home had little time or tolerance for racism
America has not always lived up to the ideals written in our founding documents, we have a checkered past, but if you look at our history with a broad vision you can see a story of a young country constantly changing and trying to live up to those ideals.
Parts of this episode felt like a War Against Humanity episode. Well done and thank you, Spartacus & TG Crew, for shedding light on this important and often overlooked facet of WW2.
I suspect the Cuban's problem was that he had a certain amount of Black ancestry and looked it. Roughly a third of Cubans today have at least some Black ancestry and the proportion was presumably similar in the 1940s. A Cuban of entirely Spanish descent might not have had the same trouble. But without a photo this is impossible to prove.
Years ago when I worked for the Air Force Association I was at their yearly conference and I got to meet some of the members of the Tuskegee airmen and talk to them. I was at a table with them and a bunch of other pilots from WW2, Korea and Vietnam. I just sat there with a dumb smile on my face just listening to everything they said and having a blast. I was sad none of the surviving members of the Doolittle raiders were there but they were invited. I think there were only 4 or 5 of them left at that point. But it was a great honor to talk to the Tuskegee airmen and thank them for their service.
To add to the subject of Native Americans... The war brought many Native Americans off of reservations as the poor development kept many from being able to leave. In the 1930s there was federal efforts to reverse the assimilation effort, some limited rights like hunting and land were given, but not religion or speech which would not be granted until the late 70s. Even the boarding schools which nearly annihilated tribal culture did not close until the 80s. The US could claim to fight for the equality of man yet it took the US four decades after the war (two centuries total) to come to terms with its mistreatment of indigenous people.
The black war industrial workers did very well and this was a serious thing for poor and blue-collar whites, especially in the south. The sight of well-dressed, urbane and assertive black people drove a lot of southern whites nuts- especially in places like New York City when white southerners encountered Harlem.
Interesting subject. My father was a WW 2 vet. from California. He was American born Filipino from California. He served on Adak in Alaska for the army in the Signal Corp. There were Filipino American units in the Army. But they were formed early in the war and my dad was with an all white regiment from Texas. They had never seen a Filipino before and they thought my dad was Native American. They called him Chief. My dad suffered racism in America..but he thought the Army was fair to him.
My great grandfather was Sioux and served on a destroyer in the US Navy. He was present at Pearl Harbor and witnessed the destruction and pain there. I would love to see more videos on minorities, such as Native Americans. I know they served along with whites, but other than that I don’t really know much. Thank you.
The only explicitly racially segregated formations in the US armed forces were “Colored”, which meant African-American, and Japanese. There were Philippine and Puerto-Rican formations that contained only one race, but those were formations raised in the Philippines or Puerto Rico. Many Puerto Rican and Philippine servicemen served integrated in ordinary units, if they enlisted while physically in the US. Similarly, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, and others, all served in un-segregated units with whites. One of the most important cultural transformations in the US during WW2 was that, in the words of one historian, “Italian Americans came to be seen as ‘white’”. This was not actually the case in pre-war America, where many whites viewed Italians as cultural and racial inferiors. But the upheaval of the war and the blurring of class distinctions of the wartime economy seems to have erased this remarkably abruptly.
Probably the most famous and highly decorated Afroamerican officer is Josephine Baker. Well, she is famous in Europe, maybe not in the USA. She revolutionized modern dancing and was the first show biz star with African roots. She was the first black dancer on Broadway, got an offer of the Moulin Rouge in Paris where she conquered the hearts of the old cotinent but then decided to go back to the USA. The racisim struck her so hard, that she moved back to France and took the French citizenship. During the war (the Nazis didn't consider blacksa as a danger as they were too inferior in their eyes and "only" 30,000 were murdered during the holocaust) Josephine Baker used her v.i.p. status for frequent concerts is Spain. By doing so she could act as a courier for the résistance and the British secret service. After the war she was given an officer's rank, became member of the honorary legion and was decorated with the highest medal France has to offer. Only once she returned to the states: To speak at one rally beside Martin Luther King. Dressed in her French uniform and decorated with her medals.
You should also do an episode on Australia and New Zealand racism. Many aboriginals joined the army despite the White Australia policy and many Maoris served in separated battalions in the New Zealand army. Though aboriginals were treated as equals in the army by their fellows, they became non-persons again when they were demobbed.
I served in the US Army from 1977 to 2011. Only a fully integrated armed force, with rank and responsibility granted through merit rather than privilege, could have overcome the threats and propaganda of the USSR emerging victorious at the end of the Cold War. Leadership from the bottom to the top of the DOD was vastly improved by allowing men and women of all races to work and serve to their full potentials.
There was also an African American medium bomber group or squadron, but it encountered even more obstacles, for example a dispute about an officer's club, and never saw action overseas.
My late grandfather was ex military and served for over 40 years in total, and spoke about how early wars were about fighting so our people could have freedom and be free, then went onto how modern warfare wasn't about freedom, but about power, greed and resources. I'm not too sure what he says actually stands true, is there a source out there with time stamps on when wars are about Freedom for their people, and is there time stamps referencing wars that were instigated by power, control, greed and resources. And, if my grandfather is right about modern warfare solely surrounding the latter, then why do modern soldiers make claim that their current service is so we can have a free society, have freedom, sleep peacefully at night when that's not the case?!?!
It's a crying shame there isn't a movie about some of these heroes. The Tuskegee airmen, Vernon Baker and many others deserve to be recognizable household names, like Audie Murphy or Desmond Doss.
1:10 I wouldn't say any of these countries were founded on the 'premiss of racism and exceptionalism'. One could argue that some of them used it when it suited them and thrived on it, but to basically say they're founded on it is just untrue.
The videos states that they were "powers, founded of the premise of racism and exceptionalism". Well, these countries were large colonial empires. If you start such an empire and hold on to it, there has to be a big dose of exceptionalism and racism. ("The white man's burden", etc.)
@@dalstein3708 My point is that these countries became exploitative empires but didn't start out or were founded on racism and exceptionalism originally, which was insinuated in the video.
Am I the last to notice this? But it sure appears that the models in the posters are you guys! I'm sooo slow. Keep up the good work bringing history to life.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
If you’re interested in one of those posters behind Spartacus: timeghost.tv/product-category/home-and-office/posters/
And... Despite that this might be a trigger topic for some... try to keep it civil. Our rules of conduct once again: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
Tuskegee. I love to say that name over and over, it’s a weird habit of mine.
Get woke go broke Unsubbed .
Good riddance
@@r563 What? How is talking about history “woke”? This is something that has happened and must be taught. This isn’t a political issue.
So there were camps for people of japanese ascent and segregation, we saw that the US refused to take refugees from europe. So how were people of german/italians ascent treated in the us ? If I remember correctly people of german ascent in quebec had some of their rights removed.
On a side note, if some alien civilisation hears about us, I'm convinced they'll name us "stupid" in their language to refer about humans
My Great Grandfather was an Ojibwe Native American. While he was being discharged out at the end of the war the NCO asked what his race was for paperwork. He Said American Indian. The NCO stared at him and took a long at his paperwork then selected "White". The paperwork only had White or "Negro" as ethnicity. He kept the paperwork as a humorous memento.
I think "Colored" in WW1 in the armed forces had a diagonal cut made at the bottom left corner of their personnel file to mark them out, but I don't know about WW2.
Your great grandfather made a mistake. This damn country is not worth dying for.
@@knghtcmdr is any country worth dying for?
@@knghtcmdr People are literally dying at your doorstep to live in your country. It's obviously worth it to them. Maybe show a little respect to those who make sacrifices for your wellbeing.
@@luulasmene7786 "Is your house and the safety of those you love worth dying for?" FTFY
My father was a captain in the US Army. He led a company of all black Soldiers from basic training to their return from the Pacific campaign in 1945. Their job was building air strips on the islands for the USAAF.
He developed mutual respect with his Soldiers and brought them all home alive. In the end he was very proud of his men and all that they accomplished.
@GG How did you turn father into grandfather?
Not always the case. Some White officers resented commanding African Americans and viewed it as bad for their careers. There were arguments about whether White officers from Northern or Southern backgrounds were better, but the latter in particular frequently expressed Jim Crow attitudes, although some thought they had a better understanding of Blacks.
@@stevekaczynski3793 the most infamous example of a prejudiced white officer is Edward Almond, who commanded the Buffalo Soldiers Division in Italy. He blamed the soldiers for his non-promotion post war and when MacArthur promoted him to X Corps command in Korea 1950, he never left his prejudices behind, criticising black troop recruitment till his death. Not all white officers in the 92nd Infantry were as prejudiced as him but such a units command structure was based on Jim Crow thinking so it could only have but a negative effect on troop morale, no matter how enlightened a white officer or NCO may be in the attitudes.
@Cam Furey en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Almond
It tends to be the colonels and generals that set policy. Also they were more likely to be professionals. Further down the ranks would have been lieutenants and captains who were civilians until war broke out - they probably maintained the attitudes they had in civilian life - a lieutenant from New York might well have had a different attitude to African Americans than a lieutenant from, say, Mississippi.
@@stevekaczynski3793 My father was from West Texas, with family going back in the South to colonial times. You'd be surprised how close most Southerners are with black folks. He told me it was the Northerners, especially from Boston, that expressed dislike for black troops.
On an uplifting note, my uncle's brother was a B-17 pilot and his unit loved the Tuskegee airman. They once saved their unit from a Nazi(boo!) jet fighter attack. After the war, as a history teacher, he invited two of their officers and one enlisted ground crewman to speak before his class on the issues of American citizenship and working together to make a better nation. God rest your soul Uncle Bob.
shouldn't your uncle's brother be your dad or uncle?
@@musicmaster417 : Probably the uncle is Hank's aunt's husband.
Actually what happened: you watched tuskegee movie and imagine that your uncle's brother was b17 pilot. Lol
I live in Northern England and near me happened the Battle of Bamber Bridge in WW2. It occurred due to segregation in the US army. As a background, an African American unit had been posted near by a village and they frequented the local pubs, later on a white contingent set up camp close by as well and demanded the pubs be white only. The pubs refused and actually put up signs saying "Black Troops Only".
One day two white military police, went into the pub to arrest a black soldier because they said he was improperly dressed. An argument broke out between the American Military police and the black soldier who was supported by the local British people, British servicewomen and British army officers.
The military police left, but got back up and started a fight, by ambushing the black soldiers. This escalated and in the end 1 black soldier was killed, 7 injured and 32 arrested. The news had to be suppressed as it would be an extreme embarrassment. I'd love if you could cover this!
There is history and secret history and of course , lost and forgotten history .
You mean Bamber bridge near Preston, that's where I live. I've never heard about this?
@@benjamindover2601 yeah I only heard about it recently, think it was around last remembrance day.
@@Alex-cw3rz I suppose it makes sense, We brits are much more concerned with class/religion than race. Especially back then.
@@benjamindover2601 I think it's also we hate been told what to do, as well.
And as what always happens if you get to know people, othering reduces.
There was a riot in Wellington, New Zealand between US servicemen and New Zealand soldiers & civilians when US servicemen from their South objected to Maori (Indigenous New Zealanders) being served in the same pub that they were drinking in. While we had, and have, our own issues regarding race & ethnicity, some US servicemen couldn't seem to grasp that their segregation rules didn't apply here.
Same happened in Britain. White American soldiers told pub landlords that they shouldn't serve both white and black American soldiers. So the pub landlord put signs up saying that only black GIs were welcome.
The conservative right, a bunch of triggered snowflakes, 1941 - Present
@@ErwinPommel Conservative right-winger here!🤟🏼
And ppl call those racists "heros".. I never bought this "he served, hes hero" romantic BS. One is hero only if proved, its not a piece of clothe that will make difference nor show anything.
There are idiots for all actions and opinions, as those racists who wanted to tell ppl from other nation what to do.
My Father was a Tuskegee Airman (and so was my Mother's older brother). Dad's brothers both served, one in the Pacific as a Navy Seabee and the other with the 320th VLA Anti-Aircraft Balloonists at Omaha Beach on D-Day. Thanks very much for for doing this episode.
The small town and county of Darlington, South Carolina produced three Tuskegee Airmen and also one of the airmen captured and executed in the Doolittle Raid
Re: segregation in America after the war my dad put it simply. "I didn't volunteer to fight a war for that."
My uncle, a white captain in the US Army during the war, commanded a black Quartermaster Truck company. They came ashore in Normandy at D+3 and we're a part of the famous Red Ball Express supplying Patton's 3rd Army. In December of '44 they were decorated for being the first relief supply column to enter Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. They were actually ahead of Patton's tanks. Later, in Germany they took part in liberating the Dachau concentration camp. Late in 1945 they returned to the US by Liberty ship on a voyage that took over a month due to heavy seas in the North Atlantic. After the war he kept in touch with several of his men and their surviving families until his death at age 78. Unsung heroes all.
12:04 "President Truman wipes out segregation in armed forces" but also "Posse, bent on lynching, searches woods for prey"
I noticed that too!
Also noticed that
Also noteworthy was the protest sign about police brutality. Some things never change.
@@thexalon that's really depressing ☹️
@@profharveyherrera Black people are survivors and we'll keep on fighting
Thank you for actually telling the full story and not cherry picking. History is a beautiful and equally disturbing/disgusting thing to study, but it needs to be told in it’s totality. If you study history and it doesn’t disgust you even a little bit, then you’re not truly studying it.
You're welcome!
In Italy, some Brazilian veterans say that US soldiers usually felt odd seen Brazilian troops, which was already consisted of mixed groups, interacting without prejudice. Would be amazing if you guys make a video talking about the contributions of the Brazilian armies (Navy, Expeditionary Force, and 1st Fighter Aviation Group) that fought in Italy side by side with troops from US, South Africa, Poland, and other countries.
Verdade.
Eu sei que tem racismo no Brasil, mas é muito diferente... quando eu falo pra um colega meu que ele mora num dos países mais entrosados em relação à mistura de raças ele nao acredita, e é pq é formado em História mas nao sabe de muita coisa.
Se vc pegar os outros mais miscigenados, em nenhum vc vê o entrosamento de gente de cor de pele e fenotipo diferente como aqui no Brasil.
Ele acha que o Brasil é um dos mais racistas do mundo.. ta precisando conhecer mais sobre outros países..
@@pagodebregaeforro2803 Se o maluco for pra várias partes da Europa, ainda é assim até hoje. Em muitos lugares do mundo, as pessoas regulares nunca viram uma pessoa negra, indígena ou asiática na vida inteira. Conheço vários europeus que fazem discurso anti imigrante e usam insultos raciais numa base diária. Eles não têm as pessoas a quem eles estão insultando ao redor, então não evoluem.
Tuss-Key-Ghee
Thank You!! ;-)
[and folks from there somtimes just say " 'Skeet " ]
👍 i was wondering, because there was a movie i think i remember about the Tuskegee airman. (It's been a while that ti have seen that movie, and it was dubbed)
It was nice to hear a very brief (exceedingly brief) review of racism in the United States military. Even though you (Sparticus) continually throughout the entire presentation incorrectly pronounce the name Tuskegee. It is pronounced Tus KEE ghee(with a hard "G" sound as in "good"). It's a Native American word. Still, to me, it seems good that you even mention the issue at all. Racism in the U.S. has been and probably always will be a very volatile issue, even more so in the military. Many African-Americans are very sensitive and proud regarding their heritage. Some even take this very minor matter of incorrectly pronouncing the name of a highly venerated institution, such as Tuskegee, as an insult or some sort of racial slur. As a word of advice to you, when talking about subjects that are distinctly American; check everything - the words, the facts, the spelling, the pronunciation - everything (especially if you're talking about tribes and H.B.C.U.'s. -- ask your friend Indy about them). L.M. Knight
He also mispronounced President Obama's first name.
and Colonel Day Vees
This channel is so important! Every episode is a clean knockout. This channel continues to Dominate RUclips in history, reigning, undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion of the world!
@@Infernal460 Bruh, Great War Channel dipped once Indy left
And how they continue to fight RUclipss censorship.
True
Except when he said Tuskegee wrong. 🧐
I'm sorry but I don't see the name "Felton" here.
When the US Air Force still had a presence at Balad Air Base Iraq, the units that rotated in became part of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. This was directly related to the 332nd fighter Wing which were also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Everyone of us took pride in being part of that historical group. In 2007 a number of original Tuskegee Airmen visited us and I had the honor of meeting pilots Lee Archer, Robert Ashby, and mechanic George Watson. Brings tears to my eyes when I think of what they went through, and that they came to visit a war zone after all those years.
The Airmen would make a great subject for a Sabaton song, as would the 442.
Indeed
Very true
I strongly agree
Did no one check this for accuracy before it went out? He doesn't know how to pronounce Tuskegee.
@@slcpunk2740 they have sources in the description. It was only one pronunciation they got wrong.
Amazing episode! You should definitely do an episode focused on Native American contributions to the war effort. I'm Muskogee, and my grandfather served in the Pacific Theater, and it seems like most native people's in America were sent there as opposed to Europe. I have never been able to find any established documentation of this being a part of some kind of policy of racial segregation though.
Zachary Freeman - Perhaps it was a concerted effort by the U.S War Department, to
keep the "Windtalkers" and other associated elements, all in the one "basket", if you
know what I mean. ; )
I remember reading a story of, either a "Creek" or a "Blackfoot" name, for moving out
of one's own territory, and completing "the 5 Tasks" that made him a "War Chief". No,
I do not recall exactly what all 5 of these tasks were, but do recall at least a few. One
was to steal an enemies horse, or horses, this he did, alone, by "liberating" a whole
German Army Horse Stud ( Horses were VERY important to the German War effort,
i.e : - The German Army started the Barbarossa Campain, with over 800.000 horses) and to steal those horses without the enmies knowledge!! Another, was to
get a certain number of enemy combatants, to surrender, without actually killing or
wounding any of them, he did that, too!! I don't quite remember what the other "tasks
were, but what I do know is, NONE were what you might call, "easy" and others were
downright crazy!! But, when he came home, with proof of his feats in Battle in the
shape of U.S Army Documents to show that he'd completed all 5 of the tasks, the
elders of his Tribe acknowleged him to be, the last "War Chief" of the Tribe. And with
hopefully, the last one that will ever be needed.
P.S:-I'm sure a guy, with a channel named after himself, the "Mark Felton Channel" on
youtube (of course!) has a whole episode devoted to him. I highly recommend both
the show, and the Channel.
I know when the Americans came to Australia in ww2 they segregated in Brisbane. The whites were on the north side of the river (brisbane cbd, Chermsode and lutwyche) and the rest were on the south side of the river (Southbank, Kingston and Logan.) from my grandmothers recollections. Everyone went to the south side on a Friday and Saturday night even the white soldiers because all the good jazz and swing clubs were on the south side.
This makes me smile
I read somewhere that the Tuskegee pilots were kept away from combat for a very long time, because they weren't trusted to do a good job. So they were kept in training. Which meant that when they finally were allowed to actually serve in combat, they were excellent, thanks to their extra time in training. Very good flying skills, shooting skills, and tactical awareness. And the same was apparently true for other black units, like the Black Panthers tank battalion, that included Jackie Robinson in its ranks. And Ruben Rivers, who got a Medal of Honor.
The Tuskegee airmen actually complained that segregation kept them from learning useful techniques from experienced White airmen. They may have got more training time but segregation probably diminished its value.
It's great to hear you talk about the Double V campaign, it was one of the more amazing parts of the US domestic war effort, even if its effects during the war were limited, the desegregation of the military was very important for desegregation in civil life. But I do think you missed a trick here, mentioning the Pittsburgh Courier is very important, but saying that it was a prominent black newspaper would've added to its importance
Im glad you brought this up Sparty. The so called "History Channel" vaguely mentions they were segregated units.
For at least the last two decades, the history channel has been peddling conspiratorial history programs. Considering who the main audience is of those programs, is it any surprise that they don't talk about such things?
@@Ken-lv8ej great point, they certainly have a type.
Who watches that garbage anymore?
@@nikolajwinther5955 the kind of people that want to whitewash allied racist policies and attitudes.
@@nikolajwinther5955 People who think "Vikings" is history?
Today many people generally assume, that the red army fought as one with no difference made based on ethnic grounds or other social aspects. I would like you to investigate that :)
I think they mentioned it briefly in another episode but a deeper dive into racial minorities in European Armies and how they were treater would be nice
For the most part units were mixed together. Not all Red Army soldiers understood Russian and this had to be taken into account - promotion to NCO rank for example usually depended on having a grasp of Russian, even if your first language was, say, Kazakh.
For political reasons some special units of the same ethnic origin were created. For example I believe there was an entire division of Lithuanians formed. They had special insignia and the purpose of creating the unit was to state that Lithuanians wanted to be part of the USSR.
They did a special on this I think. Talked about the requirement of the red army to fully integrate just so it could be a competent fighting force due to having so many ethnicities in it.
“Your war, my war, our war!”
Sparty videos normally end en a sad note but this in this one y couldn't stop smiling because things can get better.
Many of us Americans were smiling that same way when he was elected. Sheer joy at how far we have come.
Things can get better and they can get worse. Life will often fluctuate between better and worse because that's how random it is. One day you're flying high because everything just clicked and the next you might be putting a loved one in the ground.
It's important to point out that WW2 wasn't between pure evil and pure goodness. Thank you for making this episode! From Florida USA... i.e. a southern state.
Hello fellow Southerner.
From Georgia, always feel tense when my state is mentioned in anything prior to the turn of the century, thankfully that kinda stuff isn't rampant anymore... what was that? Oh.. oh dear
I hear ya!!
I've got to say this might be the best comment section in RUclips, tons of personal stories. Thanks
You're welcome!
American 442nd soldiers: do a banzai charge
Germans: Visible confusion
Lol
This one hits close to home. My great grandfather served as a private during the war and I hate knowing the fact that he wasn't seen as a 2nd class citizen and it really hurts. The end of the video may be seen as a positive for some but for me its even worse since it took over 50 years for them to be recognized and even today this country is extremely unequal in many ways
I think it was to point out that situation is somewhat improved compared to 40s. Not that it's peachy today but in historical retrospective it is better and that's what Spartacus wanted to say I guess.
If you want to see it in a positive way your great grandfathers service is what allowed for us to get to the much better position we are in today, with problems but a lot better off.
Yes, many think the civil rights movement was a thing of the 1960's but it really got going in the 40's and 50's with Black veterans.
@@debelipacov Sure today we could point to people like Oprah to see how much progress that was made.
@@rfe8nn2 Yeah. Which is not to say that the struggle is over with. Its just an infusion of positive thought by Sparty I'd say, to offset all the darkness from War on Humanity and general war dealings.
Would love to have a special episode about the Tuskagee Airmen
Haven't you had enough about them in your studies in school, in movies and in documentaries already?
@@pedddler : No, never! 🛩️
That's as much of a guarantee to happen as Stalingrad or Iwo Jima.
@@pedddler This is a comprehensive WW2 channel, so it would be natural to have an episode on them.
@@DylanStahl That is true.
8:42 did anyone else also hear an IPhone notification jingle in the background? Psss...Indy, silence your phone!
Rip to their phone lol
That was from the video?
@@Phoenix-ej2sh 🤣
Tusk-EE-GEE. Hard "G". 👍 Great video!!!
I was about to do this too. Likewise, great video!
@@hillbillykoi5534 I love the way the Germans pronounce things some times. It makes me giggle.
True
It’s funny how it kinda triggered a lot of southerners.
@@horatiovanaca1571 True, I can only imagine the thing I mispronounce in return too 😀
I remember going to the Brazilian Expeditionary Forces (FEB) museum near my house and hearing the stories of the men who served in Italy. They would comment on how shocked the american soldiers were, both black and white to see how the brazilian would mingle as one with no real care for race. Now, Brazil was and is a very racist country but one in with racial lines are so blurred there hasn't really been overt segregation in society that could justify having only colored and non colored batallions.
BOPE!
It's good to find another brazuca here!
@@ilnigromante666 tem sempre mais um
Thats true, there arent many nations that surpass us on that matter(I think there are none).
USA was and still is segregated asf.
Here in Brazil is always normal to see blacks and whites together.
But we need to crush institutionalized racism, the hidden racism, more political power to the poor and blacks(and women) and less to white richy politicians who perpetually stays with the power and only work for the riches and big shots equality must prevail.
Might as well do an episode about the Navajo code talkers, if we are talking about the various roles ethnic groups played in the Us military during WW2. despite natives only became citizens in 1924 it's worth mentioning that they had no guarantees in terms of voting until 1962 in each state. It's a bit out of context due to the video but it's still a part of the racist standards at that time and should be mentioned.
I expect they will get an episode once their regular episodes get closer to when they were actually deployed. They were a relatively late innovation in the war, and aside from the Philippines, US ground forces have not been much engaged yet.
So glad you made an episode on this, amazing as always!
I thought the poster's looked familiar then I realized they were of each of you guys. They're really well made
Nice work with the colouring of this tie here. Feels kind of strange to say that given the topic. 3.5/5
Nonetheless a valid point.
Very fair rating
Benjamin O. Davis wrote an autobiography which I have read and I in my library. Quite good. There was an African Artillery unit trapped in Bastogne, who distinguished themselves, and the US bombers in Italy always tried to get the Tuskegee airman as escort as they NEVER lost a bomber to the Luftwaffe, cheers from Alta California:) Keep up the good work. BTW Spike Lee the filmmaked made a film about the 93rd infantry in Italy, "The Miracle of St. Annas"
The Tuskegee Airmen never losing a bomber they were escorting is a myth. They were good, but that would have been impossible, no fighter unit from any nation ever had a perfect record on that score.
@@brucetucker4847 Thank you I stand corrected 25 bombers were lost, cheers www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17908209
@@gordonhopkins1573 It might depend on how they were lost - to the Luftwaffe or flak? Even the best escort fighters could not do much about flak, and as the Luftwaffe withered late in the war US bomber losses to flak grew proportionately higher.
The Artillery Battalion was the 333rd Artillery Battalion. The Wereth 11 were from that unit. They were also murdered by the Waffen SS. There is a memorial for them in Wereth Belgium.
There was still a Jim Crow infantry division in the Korean War. Undersupplied, and treated as a dumping ground for incompetent officers, they fared badly on the front line.
@SAMUEL NAUMETS A gradual process - the 24th Regiment of the 25th Division was still segregated until it was withdrawn, and I have read of at least one other infantry regiment deployed in Korea having an African American battalion in 1950.
@SAMUEL NAUMETS en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)
An all-black division officered by all whites is the definition of Jim Crow. This does appear to be the last gasp of segregation in the U.S. Army.
@@johncoffin9354 A regiment, not a division. The 24th was part of the 25th Division.
Very interesting episode... and VERY well-done!!
Damn people actually disliking this, it's just historical facts guys
Exactly!!!!!
Not disliking, but it’s odd hearing this coming from a European white dude whose people killed with sword and disease to put a colony on every continent possible. And not to mention the brits have a white supremacy problem over whites. 😂 the Scott’s and Irish.
It’s like hearing a guy in prison for 2000 years telling you how to live a successful long equitable life. 😂 😂
@@live2ride18 I took African American history in college. I was one of three white students while the rest of the class was black. The class was taught by a white woman and the first day of class we discussed why there weren't more POC to teach the history of the western exploitations of non white countries. As a white person, learning this history can be viscerally upsetting. Reading it is hard enough, while teaching year after year must be depressing in it's own way. My class was unable to answer the question I posed but I think I can understand why it's hard. Teaching is a job most people don't want in the first place.
@@loganmurray8810 my mother is a teacher, retired, not the crazy kind. I get it. But my point is put indy or however you spell it the other white guy they have to speak it.
@@live2ride18 lol, I miss took you for having a problem with Spartacus for being white. I get it now
quite surprised you never mentioned the Townsville Mutiny. It's quite an interesting event and would be great to hear about in more detail from someone with greater resources than myself
Well now I wanna know it.
Guam, as well. The units from both races were fortunate there were no mutiny charges from that.
There was also the battle of brisbane between US Mp's vs african american soldiers and any other allied soldier in the pub. I believe the cause was that the african Americans were not allowed to the northern side of the city there was some good interviews with some of the guys that invited them for beers on the north side and joined them against the Mp troops.
When the first black servicemen arrived at Brisbane the Australian Immigration Dept. refused to let them off the ship until MacArthur intervened. Once onshore they sent them to a camp miles from somewhere.
You ought to read on the Port Chicago Disaster in the San Francisco Bay area. African American troops were loading munitions onto cargo ships when one of the ships exploded thus killing quite a few of them.
Fantastic video as always Spartacus and Time Ghost Crew! Several years ago my dad learned that one of the janitors that he knew at his high school in San Francisco was a tank commander in an all-Black division that saw action in Europe under Patton’s command. They even linked up with a Ukrainian tank division at the Elbe River. Also nice to have an episode end with a smile on Sparty’s face!
As an Australian, I’d like to personally apologise to the African American service personnel and their descendants for the treatment they received from our government while being stationed here in the defence of our country. I find it rather shameful.
There is a a new Dutch movie (the first ever) about the war of indonesian independence on Amazon Prime: "De Oost". Wally recommended, it touches on some of the things Indy spoke about in the Indonesia series. It is controversial under veterans and these families, but it is long overdue that this painfull story is shown to lange audiences in the Netherlands. It is connected to a education program in schools
12:09
"President Truman wipes out segregation in armed forces"
below
"Posse, Bent on Lynching, Searches Woods for Prey"
ugh.
One is a declaration the other the sad truth of reality.
Traces of US Army segregation remained into the Korean War. The 24th Regiment of the 25th Division for example was African American. Some of the impulse to desegregate was not anti-racist - the reliability of African Americans was doubted, and the Korean War was a conflict in which the North Koreans and later the Chinese frequently found weak spots in their opponents' lines and broke through. Desegregation and mixing Black and White troops together was seen as a way of denying an enemy a potential breakthrough.
@@stevekaczynski3793 I knew that some segregated units continued to exist well into the Korean War. But I didn't know about the practical reasoning for stopping infiltration.
@@Zen-sx5io That was a war where US troops of all races often had doubtful morale - they wondered what they were doing dying for some Asian real estate. There was distrust of African American troops in this climate. In POW camps the Chinese certainly selected African Americans for special attention in trying to get them to cooperate, like reminding them of Jim Crow.
My father was in the 71st Division. They were chasing German units though parts of Austria towards the end of the war. They came into a small town and were almost immediately shelled heavily by German 88s on the hill above the town. They were pinned down. A unit from the 761st Armored Division (Black Panthers) rolled into town and began counterbattery fire on the 88s. The Germans packed up and headed off, and the chase across Austria continued.
No shout-out for the 442nd Infantry? Go for Broke!
Hopefully they will be brought up at some point.
See @7:47 to get a glimpse of the 442nd.
Great episode, Spartacus! Thank you!
"I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice" Theodore Parker.
May racism in all its forms, contortions, justifications, excuses and lies, be consigned to history, finally and completely. It is a scourge.
Well done! This is a part of WWII that is often overlooked. I learned, only a year or so ago, that Trinidadian flyers fought in integrated RAF fighter & bomber units.
I knew the US Army was deeply segregated as my uncle, a medic, was attached to a segregated combat unit fighting in Italy (the Buffalo Soldiers, 92nd Infantry Div.) He received a write-up in the Pittsburg Courier after he won the Silver Star.
It is certainly true that the history of the USA has been a long march towards realizing the promise of our Constitution, and it's sad how heroes of the past were treated, but today they are widely praised and recognized within the US armed forces.
The Tuskegee Airmen specifically are held in extremely high regard by the USAF, which names training squadron barracks after their number, using the planes they flew- most famously the P-51 Mustang- as their symbol. It is good we have finally gotten to this point, and we should be careful looking back to lament getting it wrong for so long without stopping to celebrate we got it right in the end.
Glad the Tuskegee Airmen were mentioned, as well they should have been. Also of note was the 761st Tank Battalion The Black Panthers. A tank unit NOBODY wanted for it was one of the few ALL BLACK tank units in US Army during WWII. Tank units were taking horrendous losses in Europe but still nobody wanted them as replacements. Once Patton found out that this unit was still stateside doing nothing, he immediately ordered it to Europe and integrated into US 3rd Army where it fought with great distinction until wars end.
Also to not to be forgotten is the 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment, an ALL BLACK airborne unit of US Army. Another unit NOBODY wanted. This unit never saw combat but was used to fight forest fires in American Northwest areas. They basically trail-blazed the tactics/techniques used to jump into areas of forest fires - tactics/techniques still in use today.
Also African American MARINES actually fought on Iwo Jima - something that I recently learned about a few years ago by reading a magazine article about the battle. Knew Black MARINES were on Iwo Jima to off-load landing craft and load the wounded onto the landing craft and to set up cemeteries, but never knew that they had an artillery battalion on the island and also fought off a banzai attack as well.
Also, the Port Chicago Disaster in the San Francisco Bay area should not be forgotten as well. Basically African American troops were being used to load munitions onto cargo ships when something suddenly went terribly wrong. A munitions ship exploded thus killing quite a few of those troops.
There are plenty more examples of African American service/combat service during the war, but these examples have always stuck with me.
good job on a tough subject.
The 92nd Infantry Division, sent to the Italian campaign, was African American with a White commander (Edward Almond, who resented commanding Black soldiers). Its combat performance was mixed - a late-war attack by German and Italian fascist troops drove it back several miles. The 93rd, another segregated division, was sent to the Pacific, mainly New Guinea and Bougainville, but saw relatively little fighting.
At a town in Lancashire called Bamber Bridge (Near Preston), the locals let some black US soldiers in for a drink at a pub, white US soldiers objected and called in the MPs and in the resulting fight, a man died.
That goes to show that in parts of the UK, the locals often did not mind the black soldiers and even stood up for them.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bamber_Bridge
I wouldnt get too high on your moral horse. The British Indian army was segregated: British officers and Indian NCOs and enlisted men.
@@gordonglover6912 Damn! RUclips let you send a link!?
Damn I didn’t know that!
Yet it still took 30 years before the UK banned discrimination based on colour. In the 1970s "no blacks" signs could be seen outside SOME working mens clubs and even more outside bedsits. Racism towards Asian shopkeepers was even more "acceptable"/tolerated. Life and history is complicated.
My grandfather was a captain in the US Army who served in North African and fought in Italy. He passed down a lugar pistol that he captured off a German officer that the family still owns. He was once surrounded and was able to lead his platoon to safety. He was awarded a bronze star for his bravery in action. Pretty good for a Oklahoma boy who was conscripted in junior year of college and pronounced AWOL before he knew he was drafted.
@Christian Thanks for sharing your grandfather's story, very interesting!
Fitting time to look at this issue- 3 days from now shall be the 79th Anniversary of the Townsville mutiny.
Lewis Irwin - What? Townsville in the State of Queensland, Australia? Really? I had
no Idea!! I know that there were 10s of thousands of American Service Men and
Women stationed down here in Australia, during ww2, but if you're speaking of old
"Townsville, Australia mate", then WE (as in Australians) had/lived in a segregated
Society, and had "enshrined in the Law of the Land, the White Australia Policy", that
meant, in practice, a sort of "Jim Crow" approach to Race Relations in Australia, at
the time.
Certainly, as it applied to Aboriginal Australians at the time, this meant that any
one who was "Aboriginal, or of Aboriginal Stock/Heritage, i.e not "full blooded"
[My God, but do I HATE having to use that term, but was the "language of the Day]
had to be "assessed to be of 'Good Character' to be allowed of the confines of the
"local Mission or Place of Work', i.e usually as what probably would have been the
case in the in the Rural/ Regional setting of Townsville, a large Cattle Station (Ranch) were they're "Employed" (albeit, under slave labour style pay and conditions)
from which one of these "passes" or "exemptions", might have made all difference
between life under Goverment, "TOTAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL", you know, the same "brutal, State Sponsored tyranny and opprestion", that the Allies were meant
was the rule, back on the "Home Front". Wonderful!!
@@karlmuller3690 I just found out about it myself from Wikipedia, but apparently the mutiny was entirely within the US Army units stationed there- Black ranks under White officers, kept separate (and in rather less convivial conditions) from the White units, with their MPs dealing quite strictly with even potential infractions. On the day one such incident sparked a wild rumour that the officers were going to murder the Black ranks, sparking a general uprising. Nasty stuff. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsville_mutiny
this is the one LBJ looked at and said "doesn't look like anything to me" right?
There's a dirt airstrip in Torrens Creek, not far from where I live in Australia. During WW2, it was used as an airbase for US B-17s and ammo storage. Nowadays, it's an overgrown dirt strip with a sign that reads "This airstrip was constructed by an American Negros unit in World War 2." That single sign was put up many years later by us. It went completely unacknowledged at the time and is still rarely known outside the town.
Even though nothing is left, the almost-forgotten story of the dusty airstrip and the brave men who built it is still heard today, but only in the small community there. A shame those men did not see the same service as the others who used the base.
Wedgtetail - Another "Shame" is way the Australian Government treated any, and
ALL it's 1st AND 2nd World War, black diggers, when they came back home, too.
And that, too mate is a story that's only spoken about when bought up by grieving
relations, to Politicians in bloody Canberra, only to have them pay "lip service" to
those Men's memories, as well. "Poor fellah, my Country" isn't just a book title, you
know!!
I noticed you guys got more downvotes on this video compared to your other videos covering other aspects of WWII, by a pretty significant difference.
It means you're hitting hard truths that need to be covered, reminded of. Americans tend to hold up 1940s and 1950s era for the country as a holy era. America is great but it also had some tremendous flaws, even for the era.
President Truman had enough about the discrimination in the US military and signed an order in 1948 to end it.
Keep up the good work.
Indeed. Seems like they managed to trigger quite a few right-wing snowflakes, which is always beautiful to see.
The fact that thr Tuskegee Airmen where honored only in 2007 is shameful. It illustrates the Long way the US had and has to go
Given the racial violence that erupted across the US after the First World War it's fascinating that many African-Americans believed that contributing to and supporting the war effort would eventually lead to equal rights. And oddly enough it did because the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s probably would not have been as impactful without World War II. Thank you for covering this topic guys! I hope you'll also expand on racism in the British Army or racism experienced by Japanese and Hispanic troops in future videos.
One could also argue that the involvement in WW1 made a greater involvement in WW2 possible which led to greater involvement in Korea and Vietnam.
But to be honest the USA is far from being racially equal. But it could also be argued that our societies aren't sexually or religiously equal.
It always depends on what you compare it with and what the end goal is.
The loyalty of African Americans to America during their struggles for equality is one of the greatest patriotic acts of the 20th century. They had many reasons to turn their back on the rest of the country, and even occasional opportunities to accept foreign aid, but they stayed loyal to their country without giving up their cause. And both America and the world are in a much better place because of it.
The White Australia Policy a blot (hardly adequate) on our national integrity. Now consigned to history it still castes an uncomfortable shadow of the Australian identity. One can only hope we learn from the past and do not repeat the errors/sins.
I still can't wrap my head around this. American GI's SAW the horrors of the concentration and death camps, came home and decided that segregation and lynching weren't a problem.
AFAIK the USA never constructed death camps. Using biological warfare against indeginous people or death marches sure. But the kind of industrial murder/extermination that the Nazis did, they never attempted. Not a high bar to get over but still something.
Well, jews are kinda white...
Your frustration I hear, since it was shockimg stuff of actual institutional racism in the US. Anger is expected. That said, it's a little overstated in your comment. I don't know of anyone historical who both liberated a concentration and then endorsed lynchings. It looks like seeing the horrors of Hitler make it harder to endorse racism, since forces were formally desegregated under Truman. But yes, very sad, tragic, ans infuriating that desegregation did not happen sooner, and that racists are still among us.
This is an absolutely ridiculous conflation. Segregation is no where near comparable to a coordinated genocide that killed millions and there were like 150 lynchings over the course of the entire 20th century (and they were largely condemned).
@@user-sr1pp7sv9q Found the racist...
Wonder what on earth annoyed the 50+ people who have disliked this? Anger about the content? Shame? Disagreement with the state of the US army in the 1940s or upset that the topic is being discussed?
Everything gets down voted on youtube, even cat videos. Hell, the scene from the Dark Knight where the Joker does the "pencil trick" has 350 downvotes, and that scene is amazing. Some people down vote for for the hell of it. The ratio on this video (700 vs 50) is about inline with most youtube videos. Once you start seeing the down votes being greater than 10-15% of total votes something is up.
@@romitkumar6272 Guess I got here later after it was cleaned up then.
My grandfather serve in tank division durning batlle of Kursk, Operation Bagration and batlle of Berlin. Proud 🇷🇺❤️He was 18-22 during the war
I wonder why the views are so down for this video....I think its one of your most inspirational. And its Tus - Keee - gheee
Well, that has possibly to do with the fact that everything that black people have gone through in America both as slaves and their accomplishments during those difficult times have time and time and time again been shoved into the throats of the current generation that not only did not have anything to do with the past but is forced to tolerate what this new black generation and their white allies on the left has been doing in the form of black lives matter. So people are just tired with all these attention going to one culture just because in the past they have gone through rough times.
@@pedddler ...veiled racist dog whistling. Shame on you.
@@SaunKrystian Even if I am racist towards black people, I am not the one who is causing any issues. The black lives matter and its racist ideologies towards other cultures is the one who is causing all the issues and the divisions, not me. So the shame is on you for being too blind and stupid for not seeing what is really going on.
@@pedddler fuckoff back to whatever dark corner you slithered out of
“It’s in your nature to destroy each other” - T-800
I really was not expecting a terminator reference
Funny it was a movie about terminators fighting each other. I hate ironic terminators.
@@Paciat Terminators were human made in the movie, so back to square 1.
@@Alex-cw3rz Quotes kinda ubiquitous for this whole World War II channel
@@MaximilienNoal No. They were Sky net made to infiltrate. A self aware computer that was doing stuff opposite to what it should. (thus it had to modify itself while being aware)
Dont make stuff up to prove your point.
The only Asian Americans who served in segregated units were ethnic Japanese (or Hawaiian Nisei). A significant number of Korean-Americans and Chinese-Americans served integrated in regular combat units.
the Movie Red Tails is about Tuskegee Airmen.
It has them as characters, but it's not about them. The Tuskegee Airman, some what follows the history.
8:20 something tells me this is less about australians being reminded about black people existing, and more being reminded about aboriginals existing - and more importantly, aboriginals 'finding out' (as if they didn't already know at the time) that black people overseas had a hell of a lot more rights than they did
the idea of WW2 to be a fight between Good and Evil is completely ridiculous. It was a fight between evil empires. The Allied nations did not give a toss about the jews. Racism was rife everywhere, and before the war, many Europeans, Americans and Australians sympathised with the Nazis. After the war, the British and the French waged brutal campaigns of terror to keep their colonies. All of the nations involved were horribile, it is just that the Germans and the Japanese were worse than the rest.
@Andy Mills haven t you watched the video?
@Andy Mills I absolutely despise Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan (and Italian fascism), their racial policies and exterminion campaigns were something pretty much historically unprecedented in their brutality and destruction.
With all that said, you can't possibly be a good faith interlocutor if you are going to pretend that the European empires and the US were champions of racial equality and national self determination. I could list all the fucked up things they did to their colonial subjects (and to racial minorities in the case of the US), but the list would be too long (this is prior and after World War 2). I mean, Belgium decimated the population of the Congo with their brutal rubber plantation economy (an estimated 10 million people died because of this); The British empire, just after the horrors of the holocaust were revealed to the world, made use of concentration camps in order to quell the Mau Mau uprisings in Kenya (this happened between 1952 and 1960).
I could go on and on and on, but you can do your research by yourself.
You nailed that Sparty! A very nuanced presentation.
The Americans were quite shocked when they encountered the non-segregated FEB in Italy, where whites, blacks, japanese and more ethnicities were deployed together. When the 100/442 RCT returned to Italy in 1945 after their deployment in the Rhone Valley and Vosges Mountains, they were assigned as the assault component of the 92nd to improve its combat effectiveness (the 92nd had previously been considered a poor unit fit only for defensive duties, but this is disputed and may have been due to racism on the part of its senior officers). On 1 April 1945, the 92nd began a diversionary attack (the main assault was to occur on the opposite side of the Italian peninsula) and achieved a breakthrough of the Gothic Line, the German final defense line in Italy. Of ten mountain objectives that were before the 100th/442nd, 2 fell within 30 minutes of the start of the operation (0500 on 1 April 1945). 4 more fell by 6 April, a seventh on 8 April, eight and nine on 11 April, and the tenth on 15 April. By 17 April, the Germans had abandoned their defenses and fell back to Monte Nebbione and Aulla. From 19-23 April, the 100th/442nd attacked the defenses at Monte Nebbione, capturing it and Monte Carbolo on the 23rd. Aulla would be captured on 25 April, cutting off the German retreat. Mass surrenders to the 5th and 8th Armies continued until the German surrender in Italy on 2 May, 1945.
Note the other headlines after Truman desegregates the Armed Forces... " Posse, Bent On Lynching Searches Woods For Prey" 12:09
I noticed that as well.
@@jonathanrorabaugh1533 On the other hand the heading suggests the newspaper disapproves, for example referring to them as "prey".
There a segment in a training film "A GI's guide to Britan " that dealt with the English having a less restrictive attitude about race and given the circumstances the American Army while understanding what things were like back home had little time or tolerance for racism
Can you do the Indian front of ww2
Lol
That's Burma isn't it?
@@martijn9568 Japanese are pretty much as the Indian border by now I suppose
@@iDeathMaximuMII They and the Indian nationalist army are creeping closer.
@Anmol Thind Indy Nidal will cover that eventually as the Axis aligned forces rampaged across Burma.
Tus KEE ghee... It has a hard G as in "get" rather than the "g" in "giant".
America has not always lived up to the ideals written in our founding documents, we have a checkered past, but if you look at our history with a broad vision you can see a story of a young country constantly changing and trying to live up to those ideals.
I wish you can create episodes relating condecorations medals and awards in all uniforms of the armed forces involved in WW2.
442nd combat team i think would be a good special. They were Japanese american unit and one of the most decorated. There motto was go for broke
Parts of this episode felt like a War Against Humanity episode. Well done and thank you, Spartacus & TG Crew, for shedding light on this important and often overlooked facet of WW2.
I suspect the Cuban's problem was that he had a certain amount of Black ancestry and looked it. Roughly a third of Cubans today have at least some Black ancestry and the proportion was presumably similar in the 1940s. A Cuban of entirely Spanish descent might not have had the same trouble. But without a photo this is impossible to prove.
Years ago when I worked for the Air Force Association I was at their yearly conference and I got to meet some of the members of the Tuskegee airmen and talk to them. I was at a table with them and a bunch of other pilots from WW2, Korea and Vietnam. I just sat there with a dumb smile on my face just listening to everything they said and having a blast. I was sad none of the surviving members of the Doolittle raiders were there but they were invited. I think there were only 4 or 5 of them left at that point. But it was a great honor to talk to the Tuskegee airmen and thank them for their service.
To add to the subject of Native Americans... The war brought many Native Americans off of reservations as the poor development kept many from being able to leave. In the 1930s there was federal efforts to reverse the assimilation effort, some limited rights like hunting and land were given, but not religion or speech which would not be granted until the late 70s. Even the boarding schools which nearly annihilated tribal culture did not close until the 80s. The US could claim to fight for the equality of man yet it took the US four decades after the war (two centuries total) to come to terms with its mistreatment of indigenous people.
The black war industrial workers did very well and this was a serious thing for poor and blue-collar whites, especially in the south. The sight of well-dressed, urbane and assertive black people drove a lot of southern whites nuts- especially in places like New York City when white southerners encountered Harlem.
Interesting subject. My father was a WW 2 vet. from California. He was American born Filipino from California. He served on Adak in Alaska for the army in the Signal Corp. There were Filipino American units in the Army. But they were formed early in the war and my dad was with an all white regiment from Texas. They had never seen a Filipino before and they thought my dad was Native American. They called him Chief. My dad suffered racism in America..but he thought the Army was fair to him.
My great grandfather was Sioux and served on a destroyer in the US Navy. He was present at Pearl Harbor and witnessed the destruction and pain there.
I would love to see more videos on minorities, such as Native Americans. I know they served along with whites, but other than that I don’t really know much.
Thank you.
The only explicitly racially segregated formations in the US armed forces were “Colored”, which meant African-American, and Japanese. There were Philippine and Puerto-Rican formations that contained only one race, but those were formations raised in the Philippines or Puerto Rico. Many Puerto Rican and Philippine servicemen served integrated in ordinary units, if they enlisted while physically in the US. Similarly, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, and others, all served in un-segregated units with whites.
One of the most important cultural transformations in the US during WW2 was that, in the words of one historian, “Italian Americans came to be seen as ‘white’”. This was not actually the case in pre-war America, where many whites viewed Italians as cultural and racial inferiors. But the upheaval of the war and the blurring of class distinctions of the wartime economy seems to have erased this remarkably abruptly.
Thanks for letting you know About your grandfather and we will try to dig more about it in the future. Hope you keep with us Josh.
Probably the most famous and highly decorated Afroamerican officer is Josephine Baker. Well, she is famous in Europe, maybe not in the USA. She revolutionized modern dancing and was the first show biz star with African roots. She was the first black dancer on Broadway, got an offer of the Moulin Rouge in Paris where she conquered the hearts of the old cotinent but then decided to go back to the USA. The racisim struck her so hard, that she moved back to France and took the French citizenship.
During the war (the Nazis didn't consider blacksa as a danger as they were too inferior in their eyes and "only" 30,000 were murdered during the holocaust) Josephine Baker used her v.i.p. status for frequent concerts is Spain. By doing so she could act as a courier for the résistance and the British secret service. After the war she was given an officer's rank, became member of the honorary legion and was decorated with the highest medal France has to offer.
Only once she returned to the states: To speak at one rally beside Martin Luther King. Dressed in her French uniform and decorated with her medals.
it is pronounced tusk - key - gee
Outstanding series. One caveat. It’s Tuss-KEE-Gee, with a hard ‘G’ Thanks.
Oh damn, glad your covering this
Me too
Same, it's subject never or rarely touched when I watch WW2 doca
You should also do an episode on Australia and New Zealand racism. Many aboriginals joined the army despite the White Australia policy and many Maoris served in separated battalions in the New Zealand army. Though aboriginals were treated as equals in the army by their fellows, they became non-persons again when they were demobbed.
The dislike ratio on this video makes me really sad
Over 5000 likes to less than 300 dislikes is a good ratio
I served in the US Army from 1977 to 2011. Only a fully integrated armed force, with rank and responsibility granted through merit rather than privilege, could have overcome the threats and propaganda of the USSR emerging victorious at the end of the Cold War. Leadership from the bottom to the top of the DOD was vastly improved by allowing men and women of all races to work and serve to their full potentials.
The all black 332nd Fighter Group, otherwise known as the Red Tails, earned the distinction of never losing an escorted bomber.
There was also an African American medium bomber group or squadron, but it encountered even more obstacles, for example a dispute about an officer's club, and never saw action overseas.
My late grandfather was ex military and served for over 40 years in total, and spoke about how early wars were about fighting so our people could have freedom and be free, then went onto how modern warfare wasn't about freedom, but about power, greed and resources. I'm not too sure what he says actually stands true, is there a source out there with time stamps on when wars are about Freedom for their people, and is there time stamps referencing wars that were instigated by power, control, greed and resources. And, if my grandfather is right about modern warfare solely surrounding the latter, then why do modern soldiers make claim that their current service is so we can have a free society, have freedom, sleep peacefully at night when that's not the case?!?!
My Grandfather served in Italy during the war . So proud of him ❤
Cool! My great grandfather fought in the Pacific.
@@CatsEyethePsycho salute to your Great Grandfather ❤
@@jamespierce6777 Yours too!❤️
It's a crying shame there isn't a movie about some of these heroes. The Tuskegee airmen, Vernon Baker and many others deserve to be recognizable household names, like Audie Murphy or Desmond Doss.
If I'm not wrong, there is one named Red Tails, Google it
@@profharveyherrera It’s an overdramatized POS movie was the too many historical and technical inaccuracies to count, they deserved something better.
There was one
@@Barabel22 I agree!
1:10 I wouldn't say any of these countries were founded on the 'premiss of racism and exceptionalism'. One could argue that some of them used it when it suited them and thrived on it, but to basically say they're founded on it is just untrue.
The videos states that they were "powers, founded of the premise of racism and exceptionalism".
Well, these countries were large colonial empires. If you start such an empire and hold on to it, there has to be a big dose of exceptionalism and racism. ("The white man's burden", etc.)
@@dalstein3708 My point is that these countries became exploitative empires but didn't start out or were founded on racism and exceptionalism originally, which was insinuated in the video.
Am I the last to notice this? But it sure appears that the models in the posters are you guys! I'm sooo slow. Keep up the good work bringing history to life.
Thanks, David!
Very good special, congratulations!