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When Jews Were GIs: World War II and the Remaking of American Jewry
Fathom
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| Seminar Introduction |
 | | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, George Grantham Bain Collection |
World War II marked a turning point for American Jews. After the war, many American Jews moved to the suburbs, entered the professions, achieved a secure, middle-class status, acquired political clout, and became accepted as Americans by their fellow citizens. The formidable prewar barriers of anti-Semitic discrimination and prejudice appeared to melt away.
In this seminar, Deborah Dash Moore explores the dynamics of this postwar portrait. She examines how it happened that after a devastating world war in which Jews sustained many times more deaths than Americans, American Jews emerged with the resilience and optimism to press their specifically Jewish claims on the world. Moore gives voice to the American Jews on the home front and in military service during the war who experienced anti-Semitism and witnessed the transformation of American sentiment firsthand. As Moore demonstrates, this generation, who fought anti-Semitism to go to war, returned home ready and able to transform American Jewry.
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| Learning Objectives |
- Identify the anti-Semitic barriers encountered by Jews attempting to enlist in WWII.
- Describe the ways in which public sentiment regarding Jews changed after the war.
- Recognize how the atrocities of the death camps fueled Jewish empowerment back home.
- Recount the ways in which the generation who went to war helped to transform American Jewish collective identity.
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| Sessions |
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| Credits |
Copyright 2002 Regents of the University of Michigan.
The seminar is an adaptation of the David W. Belin Lecture in American Jewish Affairs, delivered by Deborah Dash Moore to the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan.
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| Technical Requirements |
To appreciate this seminar experience, it is critical that you have the appropriate software, plug-ins, and network connections. Please take the time to download the latest versions of the plug-ins mentioned below if you do not already have them. Browser: Netscape versions 4.x up to 4.76, or Internet Explorer versions 4.x or later. Your browser must be JavaScript-enabled and must be set to accept cookies.
Network Connection: The recommended minimum connection is 56Kbps with a throughput of 34Kbps or more. A faster connection is encouraged to take better advantage of the media elements in the seminar.
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