The Death Knell for Jim Crow: How African-American Soldiers’ Experiences Abroad Impacted the Modern Civil Rights Movement

This paper examines African-American soldiers’ experiences abroad in Europe during the Second World War and the occupation of Germany, and how these experiences affected their fight for Civil Rights on their return to the United States. The paper argues that the experiences of African-American soldiers in Europe, where they were free from Jim Crow Laws and treated with respect and equality by Europeans, created a new consciousness of equality that led to the demand for equal rights at home. The paper challenges traditional historical interpretations of the Civil Rights Movement by emphasizing the Movement’s international aspect. It accomplishes this by linking the return of African Americans from Europe to the development of organizations and actions of individuals who challenged the system of segregation and inequality, creating a foundation for the traditional Civil Rights Movement. This paper relies on a variety of sources, specifically oral histories, diaries, and African-American newspaper and magazine articles, in addition to government documents. These sources were analyzed and used to create a clear narrative describing the experiences of African Americans abroad and the effect of these experiences on their return to the still segregated United States