Tilford what you say is so true. For example the firm my mom
worked for during WW2 in NY did not hire Jews or Catholics.
--- In Kresy-Siberia@..., Tilford Bartman <bartmant@e...>
wrote:
Hi,
I'm interested in this question of anti-Semitism in the Anders Army
but
do not know all that much about it at this point.
Personally I'd be rather surprised if Jews in the Anders did not
with
some frequency encounter incidents of anti-semitism during their
service. Both my parents were in the American Army during WW II
and
both of them have a number of personal accounts of anti-semitism in
the
American Army during and after the war. My father worked for the
defense
department after the war, and at one point was denied a promotion
simply
because the commanding officer was determined that a Jew would not
hold
the position in question as long as he could help it. My father had
to
wait until this officer was reassigned to gain the position.
First, to me it's a question of weather the goals and objectives of
the
Anders Army included ones that could be considered anti-semitic. I
think
the answer to that is no. The Anders Army was not an "anti semitic
army"!
Second, were Jews subjected to a high level of abuse that was
tolerated
or encouraged by the officer corps? I haven't seen anything yet
from
Jewish sources that would indicate this.
Were there policies or attitudes in the Anders Army that
discriminated
toward Jews regarding things such as promotion?
Admittedly based on very limited knowledge right now I'm inclined
to
think that anti-semitism within Anders Army was pretty much on a
par
with what existed in other allied armies where Jews served. This is
not
to minimize or trivialize it. My mother served in the US Women's
Army
Corps. She insists that when she enlisted in basic training Jewish
women
were intentionally concentrated in particular units, and therefore
sort
of semi segregated.
I think you have to look at this issue in historical context, and
not
just from a 21 century concept of human rights and political
correctness.
If anyone has anymore information on this issue I'd be happy to
hear it.
Tilford Bartman
