From the Annals of WWII Detroit

[Lowell]

A shameful event in Detroit history begins 77 Years ago as the 1943 Detroit Riot explodes. It would not be until the 22nd when The NY Times first reported as a top page one headline.



These pictures appeared in the article's continuation.


Captions clockwise from top left "Crowd pursues Negro Across Woodward Avenue" - "Gathering at Woodward and Stimson [MLK today] broken up by Tear Gas" - "Woman Passenger climbs out a trolley as mob swarms aboard seeking Negroes" - "Gov. Harry Kelly orders out the National Guard" - "A rioter in Custody of police is attacked by another rioter."

[Lowell]

The headline on the 20th featured labor unrest in the coalfields, that along with other strikes, including the Packard hate strike, were part of the widespread labor turmoil of the summer of 1943.

[Lowell]

Earlier in June the "Zoot Suit Riots" occurred in Los Angeles where wartime fabric shortage was used as an excuse to take out wrath on Latino Angelinos. It was spun into an enemy plot to divide America.

American servicemen and white Angelenos attacked and stripped children, teenagers, and youths who wore zoot suits, ostensibly because they considered the outfits, which were made of much fabric, to be unpatriotic during World War II. Rationing of fabric and certain foods was required at the time for the war effort. While most of the violence was directed toward Mexican American youth, African American, Italian American, and Filipino American youths who were wearing zoot suits were also attacked, as well as a small minority of white teenagers.

[Lowell]

When you think about it during and after WW2 the US was the only country in the world that had the manufacturing capacity and capability to pretty much supply the world with armaments.

It was not quality and very little technicality advanced in comparison to the likes of Germany but the sheer numbers produced,there was not a corner in the world left that was not using US equipment.

Possibly America's greatest contributions were not the glamorous weapons, but the mundane, and perhaps most important, contributions of food and trucks. 152,000 of the latter [a huge proportion built in Detroit] went to the USSR helping to transform the Red Army into a highly-effective mobile force.

In the interwar years Detroit's Albert Kahn had guided the construction of over 400 plants in the USSR, building the industrial backbone of the Soviet Union, including the famous Stalingrad tractor/tank plant inside of which, arguably, the tide of war turns.

[Lowell]

Classic WWII ad...

[Ray1936]

Classic WWII ad...
Attachment 40401

Link no workee, Lowell.

[Lowell]

Link no workee, Lowell.

Thanks. Fixed. And mom got the call.

Also fixed posts #27 and #28 that were likewise not displaying the Coal strike and Zoot Suit article images.

[Jimaz]

Classic WWII ad...

There's so much to unpack from that simple photo.

A "candlestick" rotary-dial phone with three coin slots at the top. The significance of "between 7 and 10 P.M." Why that particular time range? Time zones near and far?! We may never know.

It's a time capsule from before it became uncool to respect any common sacrifice.

[Lowell]

June 1943. Crops are plowed under due to lack of labor to harvest. Look familiar?

[Lowell]

Amid widespread strikes in critical industries FDR threatens to raise the draft age to 65 and draft older strikers.

[lpg]

Several years ago my wife and I visited the Air and Space museum in Washington, DC. We saw the nose of the Enola Gay on display. There was a group of Japanese looking at the plane and commenting on it. Some of the comments were the U.S. was wrong to use the bomb. I made the comment to my wife and was overheard by them that I make no apology that my father did not die in the planned invasion of Japan. He had survived the campaigns in New Guinea, Philippines and was on Okinawa awaiting orders. The tourists just walked away without saying anything.

[Lowell]

Early reports disputes rumors that Detroit Riot was triggered my influx of southern newcomers. The "research" seems very shoddy however.

[DeLemur]

The mess that older generations left behind in Detroit is ugly. There was more than enough wealth here for everyone to work and grow into the city. I can't help but wonder how Detroit would have been without the two race riots, the white only FHA loans, building of 375, and the racial covenants.

Early reports disputes rumors that Detroit Riot was triggered my influx of southern newcomers. The "research" seems very shoddy however.

[Lowell]

Regardless of the war, unions remained militant. Days after the Detroit Riot and the recent passage by a no strike bill over FDR's veto came this strike at Highland Park Chrysler. This was triggered by a seemingly insignificant issue--the disciplining of the a steward.

[p69rrh51]

Possibly America's greatest contributions were not the glamorous weapons, but the mundane, and perhaps most important, contributions of food and trucks. 152,000 of the latter [a huge proportion built in Detroit] went to the USSR helping to transform the Red Army into a highly-effective mobile force.

In the interwar years Detroit's Albert Kahn had guided the construction of over 400 plants in the USSR, building the industrial backbone of the Soviet Union, including the famous Stalingrad tractor/tank plant inside of which, arguably, the tide of war turns.

Lowell, 521 factories. Adolph Hitler never knew the man most responsible for his demise was a Jew from Detroit. That man never fired a weapon in anger and passed away approximately 2.5 years before the war ended.

[Lowell]

German-American Detroit bar owner Max Stephan made a big national splash when he was caught sheltering a German POW who had escaped from a Canadian POW camp and made his way to Detroit. Stephan was a doofus who foolishly paraded the prisoner around showing him off.

Not surprisingly he was caught, convicted and sentenced to be hanged at Milan prison [so much for Michigan's ban on executions] until FDR commuted the sentence.

[wilderness]

lowell,
According to the Wiki page, there was an execution at Milan in 1938.
Was unable to locate a list [[sure one exists somewhere) of infamous prisoners. Knew somebody that was a guard there for a time and he said Joe Valachi was there for a while.

[Lowell]

A lot of the mythology of the WWII years was of united national purpose and unity but, as seen from the strikes above and the Detroit Riot, there was widespread dissent and disagreement on many fronts, just as there is now amid the pandemic. And somehow our great ship of state plowed on through the stormy waters.

Exemplified by the Detroit Riot a lot of racial animus existed, much of it driven by the mass migration of workers from the south of all races to the northern defense industry cites stressing housing shortages, working traditions and other covenants. Fears of a Chicago riot was rife and a March on Washington to protest Negro discrimination nearly occurred as this July 1943 article describes.

[Hornwrecker]

I found this site while searching for something else, which is usually the case. It covers the work done by auto mfgs [[and others) for WWII:

http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/index.htm

[Lowell]

I found this site while searching for something else, which is usually the case. It covers the work done by auto mfgs [[and others) for WWII:

http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/index.htm

Wow. What a find. Incredible depth and images.

[Lowell]

It seemed everybody had a cigarette or pipe dangling from the corners of their mouths in WWII. Makes me wonder if more died in the end from war or tobacco. If so Camels can claim the most if this ad claim is true.

[MikeM]

Dad started in basic training. Camels. Two and a half packs a day. No filter. 1940-1985. Lived until 2001.

[1953]

The news clipping above that interviews the sociologist, Ramsey, says that people told him they had good jobs and had not been discriminated against...so, what did they tell him was the reason they were involved in the rioting?

[Ray1936]

Y'know, I'm a bit curious. Born in 1936, my brother and uncles were all in WW II. [[Pop was a WW I veteran). How many of DetroitYes posters were even alive during this 1939 - 1946 period?

[mikefmich]

I hope you keep going with this Lowell, I'm enjoying it a lot.