商品簡介
"A breakthrough in international history, A Breath of Freedom shines a penetrating light on the neglected story of African American troops in Europe. H÷hn and Klimke are the first scholars to situate black GIs' experience in the broad context of the twentieth century's wars and achievements. At the same time, the impressive scope of this exhaustively researched work never shortchanges the humanity of the individual soldier."-Brenda Gayle Plummer, author of Rising Wind: Black Americans and U.S. Foreign Affairs, 1935-1960
"This deeply moving book perfectly captures my own experience as a black soldier in the segregated U.S. Army during WWII who took part in the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald. H÷hn and Klimke vividly illustrate the fundamental impact these events had on my own life and on the lives of so many veterans who later became foot soldiers in the black freedom struggle."-Leon Bass, WWII veteran
Even for those of us who were involved in the civil rights movement during the 1960's, A Breath of Freedom is an eye-opener. This book helps increase awareness of the noble contributions of black veterans to our nation: it not only illuminates the irony of their struggle to defeat Nazism in World War II in the face of racial discrimination back home but also highlights their crucial role in advancing the civil rights and liberties that all Americans enjoy today."-Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
Based on an award-winning international research project and photo exhibition, this poignant and beautifully illustrated book examines the experiences of African American GIs in Germany and the unique insights they provide into the civil rights struggle at home and abroad. Thanks in large part to its military occupation of Germany after World War II, America's unresolved civil rights agenda was exposed to worldwide scrutiny as never before. At the same time, the ambitious U.S. efforts to democratize German society after the defeat of Nazism meant that West Germany encountered American ideas of freedom and democracy to a much larger degree than many other countries. As African American GIs became increasingly politicized, they took on a particular significance for the Civil Rights Movement in light of Germany's central role in the Cold War. While the effects of the Civil Rights Movement reverberated across the globe, Germany represents a special case that illuminates a remarkable period in American and world history.
作者簡介
Maria H÷hn is a professor of German history at Vassar College
Martin Klimke is a historian and research fellow at the German Historical Institute, Washington, DC and the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) at Heidelberg University, Germany. H÷hn and Klimke are the recipients of the 2009 NAACP Julius E. Williams Distinguished Community Service Award for their research on the connection between the military service of African GIs abroad and the advancement of civil rights in the U.S.
