The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1945-10-06

concentration camps where thelr
brothers. wives and children were
put 10 death by the Nazls. This is
an unforglvable act OF cruelty on
the part of our soldiers. These sol
diers did not get their dislike for
Jews since they have been in Ger
many America has much anti
Jewish feeling that has been taken
into Germany by our soldiers. EVIL
IDENTIFY our generals have not tried
to curb the antl-JeWlsh feeling
of our soldiers very much. Ger
tainly Eisenhower could see to II
that we live up to our democratic
utterances. He has not done 1t.
The treatment of the Jews in
Germany shows deeply the fas-
cist ideas have rooted themselves
In the thinking Of many people
in the world. Indicated I'm the
treatment of the Jews is the fact
that Hitler lost the physical war
but may have won for long
time to come the spiritual war
or the theological war. We must
ask ourselves how much of what
Hitler did do wO practice and
call by another name. Many
people have kidded themselves
into believing that the very fact
of our soldiers getting contact
outside the borders of the United
States that these soldiers would
develop understanding and there
fore tolerance for people who are
different from themselves.
1T DOES NOT follow that men
who go to war come out Of war
with less hatred Of race and rell-
gion. The very nature of war makes
this impossible. Men are taught to
hate and kill in war. They arc
taught TO hate and kill on a basis
of race and nationality. We nave
developed a scheme of attrlbutlnS
the causes of wars to races and
nationalities. OF course this is false.
But our soldiers learn to live this
way IN war.
Negro leadership In the United
States has been making to some
extent the error of believing that
the fighting and dying together
of American soldiers will con-
tribute to the dissolution of the
practice Of race prejudice In this
country. Nothing of the kind will
he true. To be sure there will be
isolated cases of soldiers who
have changed their attitudes on
race because Of their experiences
In the war.
GENERALLY, war intensifieS
whatever bias one has War Gre
ates an unusual amount Of fear on
the part of soldiers. This fear has
10 be released when the war Is
over, because during war fear IN
the breast of soldier is suppressed.
When the soldier is home or off
duty he becomes ashamed of his
fear while he was in battle. The
soldier releases his penta up fear
by feeling violently toward persons
and events. Sometimes the soldier
will commit acts of aggression that
appear 10 be heroic deeds TO him.
self. but an outside observer can
easily sec that the soldier is trying
TO overcome guilt about former
fears.
The average American soldier
had a great many fears related to
hn IN
These fears cannot be acted upon
by the soldier directly while in
the army. Now. do not mean that
there is not race discrimination in
the army. There is lot Of il. The
individual soldier cannot act on
his particular race feeling. The inn
possible of this is obvious.
When the war Is over, how
ever. soldiers are free to act out
their individual fears. They will
act on them too.
RACE HATRED is tied up with
our economic system. Men nave
fears about being able to make a
living and these fears are indeed
real. The returning soldier viii use
his fear of race to compete for
Jobs. houses and position. The very
fact that soldiers have been TO war
will make il easier TO use their race
hatreds TO survive in our economic
system
We in America must now take
warning that the war did not teach
men TO love one another II any
thing is true. men have been given
a basis for further hating one an
other Their fears have been itensi-
fed 20 an alarming degree. We will
have TO work hard against race
hatred in the coming years. We
viii have 10 use education, gov
ernmcnt. and all of our economic
processes. We can overcome race
prejudice in the world, but we will
have 10 overcome il by positive
means. II will not be downed of its
own accord.
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