World War II Conscientious Objectors

World War II Conscientious Objectors PDF Author: Jane Kopecky
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780990514015
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Civilian Public Service Camp 135 at Germfask, Michigan was a bubbling cauldron whose story is finally exposed. Here Jane Kopecky reveals the nearly-forgotten story of Camp Germask, where some of the most ardent war-resisters among World War II conscientious objectors were held for 13 months in 1944 and 1945. Opponents of the war and conscription on a variety of religious, pacifist, or political grounds, these recalcitrant dissenters dared imprisonment as they refused to cooperate with rules of the Selective Service. Instead of jail, they ended up in what some of them called the Alcatraz of CO camps and their sympathizers elsewhere in the country called "America's Siberia." In interview transcripts, memoirs, and documents collected by Jane Kopecky, their lives and their relations with their Germfask and other Upper Peninsula neighbors come alive. This book is a great read and a great service to historical understanding."

World War II Conscientious Objectors

World War II Conscientious Objectors PDF Author: Jane Kopecky
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780990514015
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Civilian Public Service Camp 135 at Germfask, Michigan was a bubbling cauldron whose story is finally exposed. Here Jane Kopecky reveals the nearly-forgotten story of Camp Germask, where some of the most ardent war-resisters among World War II conscientious objectors were held for 13 months in 1944 and 1945. Opponents of the war and conscription on a variety of religious, pacifist, or political grounds, these recalcitrant dissenters dared imprisonment as they refused to cooperate with rules of the Selective Service. Instead of jail, they ended up in what some of them called the Alcatraz of CO camps and their sympathizers elsewhere in the country called "America's Siberia." In interview transcripts, memoirs, and documents collected by Jane Kopecky, their lives and their relations with their Germfask and other Upper Peninsula neighbors come alive. This book is a great read and a great service to historical understanding."

A Different Kind of War Story

A Different Kind of War Story PDF Author: Edward M. Arnett
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1469198029
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 129

Get Book Here

Book Description
Summary of A Different kind of War Story- a Quaker conscientious objector in WWII The book carries the writer through his experiences in WWII as a draftee into Civilian Public Service ( CPS ), the official structure for handling conscientious objectors ( COs ) . Among his various assignments to CPS camps and projects are that to the Forest Service Smokejumper unit where he parachuted into remote areas of the Rockies to put out small forest fires before they become big. Also , of special interest is his description of transferring 1, 200 wild horses on a cargo ship to Poland as aid for reestablishing Polish agriculture and some observations on Poland under the Soviet occupation during the early years of the cold war .

Conscientious Objectors and the Second World War

Conscientious Objectors and the Second World War PDF Author: Cynthia Eller
Publisher: Praeger Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
Was pacifism an acceptable response to Hitler's military and moral assault? This volume analyzes the moral and religious arguments justifying an individual's opposition to war while answering this question. Drawing largely on interviews with sixty World War II conscientious objectors, including those who served in military non-combatant or civilian roles and those who were jailed as violators of the Selective Service law, this study provides an oral history of the difficulties encountered as a conscientious objector in the Last Good War, and uses World War II as a case study for examining how people arrive at the moral decisions they act upon. Faced with the moral certainty of the Allied position in World War II, pacifism was clearly an unpopular position at that time. This work provides a thorough description of the political and social history of pacifism prior to and including World War II and describes the wide variety of theological, political, and moral beliefs on which pacifism is grounded. The discussion focuses on the factors that defining the pacifist attitude and actions, and also considers the consequences of those actions. Contrary to generally accepted views, the pacifist's concern with the future ramifications of his or her decisions is affirmed. Careful documentation and an interdisciplinary scope offer oral historians, historians of World War II, World War II conscientious objectors, pacifists, and the general public a solid and scholarly look at pacifism.

Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War

Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War PDF Author: Ann Kramer
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783469374
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Drawing on extensive primary sources, Kramer describes the inter-war peace movement that gave birth to many conscientious objectors” (Military History Monthly). Even today, most histories of the world wars focus on those who fought. Those who refused to do so are often overlooked. It is perhaps only recently that their bravery and extraordinary principles are being recognized. In the First World War, 16,000 men in Britain became the first ever conscientious objectors, and were reviled and brutalized as a result. The conscientious objectors of the Second World War—both men and women—did not experience the same treatment as those earlier COs, but to some extent it was a harder stand to take. It was not easy to refuse to fight in the face of Nazism and Fascism, when large areas of Europe were occupied and when almost the entire British population was organized for total war. Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War: Refusing to Fight tells the stories of these remarkable men and women who bravely took a stand and refused to be conscripted. To bring this fascinating subject to life, Ann Kramer has used extensive prime sources, such as interviews, memoirs, contemporary newspaper accounts, letters, and diaries. Working from these and other sources, she asks who these men and women were who refused conscription and killing, what their reasons were for being conscientious objectors, and how they were treated. The book finishes by exploring their achievements and impact, suggesting that their principles and influence continue to this day. “[Kramer shows] conscientious objectors in all their infinite variety.” —Peace News

We Will Not Fight

We Will Not Fight PDF Author: Will Ellsworth-Jones
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781311486
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
‘Vividly reconstructs the dramatic story of these men whose fortitude kept alive the principle of conscientious objection we now take for granted’ Spectator ‘A fascinating story, thoroughly researched and clearly told’ Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday Book of the Week In June 1916, as his brother Philip was on the way to the Somme, Bert Brocklesby was in prison under sentence of death. He had refused to fight in the First World War. In this thoughtful, compelling and poignant book, Will Ellsworth-Jones tells the remarkable and little-known story of courageous men like Bert Brocklesby, who defied both brutal incomprehension from the military, and white feathers waved at them in the street, to leave a lasting legacy: the freedom to voice unpopular beliefs and to challenge those who decide to take us to war. ‘A fascinating and frightening story of an army very nearly out of control of its political masters’ Francis Beckett, Guardian ‘A moving and grippingly readable book’ Sunday Telegraph

Conscience, Government and War

Conscience, Government and War PDF Author: Rachel Barker
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100045827X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book, first published in 1982, is a systematic and detached analysis of the 60,000 British conscientious objectors in the Second World War, forming an examination of the relationship between the individual and the State in time of war. It sets out to show how the British Government dealt with the challenge that conscientious objectors posed and how far it was able to correct the abuses and injustices that occurred in the First World War. It traces the background of pacifism between the Wars and the introduction of conscription, and gives a detailed account of the functioning of the Conscientious Objectors’ Tribunals and an assessment of their work. It goes on to examine the reactions and attitudes of Tribunal members, employers and the rest of the population, and how these were affected by the Government lead. It recounts the experience of objectors in civilian life and private and public employment, and how they fared in the armed forces and prisons. It also assesses the contributions made by the voluntary organisations who helped conscientious objectors in the war.

Peace was in Their Hearts

Peace was in Their Hearts PDF Author: Richard C. Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description


Dear Dods

Dear Dods PDF Author: Art Bryant
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1438946694
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Art was drafted in early 1943 it was the beginning of four years of service to his country. He first served in a camp for conscientious objectors for seven months, and then was briefly at home, followed by assignment to a Medical Replacement Center in Texas. After three weeks in Pennsylvania preparing for overseas shipment, he was returned to Texas and assigned as company clerk in a unit preparing for overseas duty. Art was then transferred to MAC OCS preparing for his two years of service as an officer. Excerpts from the letters exchanged between Art and wife, Dods, tell the story. It is a powerful story of a unique wartime experience; not as someone remembered it years later, but as the letters were written, in the heat of the moment, as decisions of conscience and character were required. In letters never intended to be read by anyone other than his "Dods", this soldier tells of the struggle he and others experienced seeking to serve conscience and country while conscripted into often conflicting circumstances. At CPS: no real mission except for the limited time actually fighting fires, well fed and comfortable but troubled over the absence of money for our families, restless over a desire to be true to ones' beliefs and a feeling of isolation from our countries crisis. In the army: being pressured not to think, not to ask questions, to do as you are told, learn to hate, to kill. But in both situations forming strong friendships with good people and finding satisfaction in doing his assigned tasks well. The day-by-day relating of events make life at CPS and in the army genuine and real; and also share the love and caring between Art and Dods. About eighty per cent of this story is told through excerpts from these letters. The letters give an authentic view from the inside; written more than sixty years ago by a sensitive and talented writer pouring out his heart as he shares his life with his wife. They tell a poignant and often humorous tale that gives a unique perspective on life in the army with its regimens, rules and pack mentality.

Acts of Conscience

Acts of Conscience PDF Author: Steven J. Taylor
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815651406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 506

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the mid- to late 1940s, a group of young men rattled the psychiatric establishment by beaming a public spotlight on the squalid conditions and brutality in our nation’s mental hospitals and training schools for people with psychiatric and intellectual disabilities. Bringing the abuses to the attention of newspapers and magazines across the country, they led a reform effort to change public attitudes and to improve the training and status of institutional staff. Prominent Americans, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, ACLU founder Roger Baldwin, author Pearl S. Buck, actress Helen Hayes, and African-American activist Mary McLeod Bethune, supported the efforts of the young men. These young men were among the 12,000 World War II conscientious objectors who chose to perform civilian public service as an alternative to fighting in what is widely regarded as America’s "good war." Three thousand of these men volunteered to work at state institutions where they discovered appalling conditions. Acting on conscience a second time, they challenged America’s treatment of its citizens with severe disabilities. Acts of Conscience brings to light the extra-ordinary efforts of these courageous men, drawing upon extensive archival research, interviews, and personal correspondence. The World War II conscientious objectors were not the first to expose public institutions, and they would not be the last. What distinguishes them from reformers of other eras is that their activities have faded from the professional and popular memory. Taylor’s moving account is an indispensable contribution to the historical record.

Here on the Edge

Here on the Edge PDF Author: Steve McQuiddy
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780870716256
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326

Get Book Here

Book Description
Here on the Edge answers the growing interest in a long-neglected element of World War II history: the role of pacifism in what is often called “The Good War.” Steve McQuiddy shares the fascinating story of one conscientious objector camp located on the rain-soaked Oregon Coast, Civilian Public Service (CPS) Camp #56. As home to the Fine Arts Group at Waldport, the camp became a center of activity where artists and writers from across the country focused their work not so much on the current war, but on what kind of society might be possible when the shooting finally stopped. They worked six days a week—planting trees, crushing rock, building roads, and fighting forest fires—in exchange for only room and board. At night, they published books under the imprint of the Untide Press. They produced plays, art, and music—all during their limited non-work hours, with little money and few resources. This influential group included poet William Everson, later known as Brother Antoninus, “the Beat Friar”; violinist Broadus Erle, founder of the New Music Quartet; fine arts printer Adrian Wilson; Kermit Sheets, co-founder of San Francisco's Interplayers theater group; architect Kemper Nomland, Jr.; and internationally renowned sculptor Clayton James. After the war, camp members went on to participate in the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance of the 1950s, which heavily influenced the Beat Generation of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder—who in turn inspired Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, leading the way to the 1960s upheavals epitomized by San Francisco's Summer of Love. As camp members engaged in creative acts, they were plowing ground for the next generation, when a new set of young people, facing a war of their own in Vietnam, would populate the massive peace movements of the 1960s. Twenty years in the making and packed with original research, Here on the Edge is the definitive history of the Fine Arts Group at Waldport, documenting how their actions resonated far beyond the borders of the camp. It will appeal to readers interested in peace studies, World War II history, influences on the 1960s generation, and in the rich social and cultural history of the West Coast.