Hypocrisy in WWII Era U.S. Policy

During World War II, the United States practiced racial discrimination while condemning forms of discrimination in other countries. While the hypocrisy of the U.S. government’s positions internally and abroad may seem obvious to us today, many during the time failed to see how domestic policy was fundamentally unequal in its treatment of minority populations. Both African Americans and Japanese Americans faced intense discrimination, oppression, and violence at home while also facing intense pressure to be patriotic despite their treatment. Additionally, many African Americans and Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military, risking (and often sacrificing) life and limb to promote equality and end racism toward Jews.

During WWII, many Japanese Americans were systematically relocated to internment camps. Without evidence that these individuals posed any threat to national security or held anti-American views, Japanese Americans were uprooted from their communities, required to abandon their lives, and placed in camps which were dirty, regimented, and dehumanizing. As a narrative suggesting Japanese were an “enemy race” developed, all young Japanese men were declared enemy aliens in September of 1942. Despite this declaration and the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans, Japanese Americans were permitted to serve in the military. Japanese service as translators and interpreters (as well as in combat) made them integral to the U.S. war effort. As Japanese citizens rose to the needs of the U.S. military and helped to liberate oppressed communities abroad, they faced the grim reality that they were second-class people, even threats, in the eyes of many Americans.

Similarly, African Americans struggled with segregation and continuing racism in post-Civil War America. Many activists within the black community drew connections between Hitler’s treatment of Jews and American treatment of African Americans. As the U.S. painted its involvement in WWII as in protection of democracy, African Americans sought to draw attention the the reality that they were not permitted full participation in the democratic system, nor were they treated as equal to their white peers. Even within the military, African American soldiers were treated as inferior and were relegated to service and support duties without opportunity for mobility. The black community was able to mobilize and achieve more equality in government work, not only within the military, but also in factories that were part of the industrial war effort; Roosevelt signed an executive order. While the order did not produce significant change initially, it was an important step and as demand for labor grew during the war, African Americans were ultimately afforded more opportunity. African Americans were major contributors to the war effort, both at home and abroad. Despite these efforts, however, and more equal opportunities to serve their country, African Americans were not afforded equal treatment in society. Discrimination in housing, voting, employment, and public services, as well as thorough segregation, were still realities for African Americans. As the war promoted narratives about democracy and liberation, African Americans became increasingly aware of the inequality, discrimination, and abuse they suffered in American society. Many in their communities still suffered from poverty and systemic racism that prohibited black Americans from participating in the democracy and freedom promoted by American propaganda. African Americans correctly discerned that a racist society cannot be equal.