World War II officially began on September 1, 1939 when Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. However, the War of Ideas that Hitler and the Nazis launched had begun much earlier, when he began to censor and destroy literature that did not hold true to the Aryan race. In an attempt to unify the nation of Germany under one ideal, he burned millions of books. While just a short time later, America became unified by a contradictory approach. Instead of everyone being forced to agree to one ideal, they perpetuated the spread of ideas. Americans were encouraged to read diverse literature and to talk about their beliefs. Instead of creating unity, Adolf Hitler’s ban on books created anarchy, death, and treachery. The German Nazi’s war on ideas provided the
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith was an immediate favorite among the servicemen. The story, which illustrates the lives of an impoverished Irish-American family, resonated deeply with many of the men. Servicemen from across America felt that she was in fact recounting their childhood story. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn granted the men a greater sense of community among each other. Bunkmates were no longer strangers, but instead friends experiencing similar hardships and tragedies. Smith’s story reminded servicemen not only of their upbringing, but also of their families back home. The novel reminded them of the cause that they were fighting for: freedom. They were fighting for the freedom of each other and their ideas. Another favorite was Chicken Every Sunday by Rosemary Taylor. It recounted the story of a young girl and her mother’s adventures running a boarding house. Similarly to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Chicken Every Sunday made them feel sentimental for their families back home. But, it also added a different element: humor. The book was filled with zany humor that lifted the men’s spirits dramatically. Finally, the soldiers of World War II rescued The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald from obscurity. It was published in 1925 and was considered a failure by many. However, when it was reprinted as an ASE, it won over the serviceman and became an instant classic on the home front. …show more content…
Armed Service Editions inspired the American people, both those fighting overseas and those fighting on the home front. Despite people’s traditions and beliefs, they became a unified people to fight a common enemy. They did not fight against a militant dictator who wanted to create a vast empire but instead a man who fought the spread of ideas. Adolf Hitler represented the antithesis of what they believed. Americans fought not only against his hate, but also his disrespect for the ideas of others and his want to indoctrinate the German people. Americans at home and overseas fought the idea of a government censoring and killing its people for one ‘superior’ race. While Hitler attempted to win the world by destroying the written word and contradictory ideas, librarians encouraged Americans to read more, which led to successful book drives for the armed forces and eventually the victory of World War
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith was an immediate favorite among the servicemen. The story, which illustrates the lives of an impoverished Irish-American family, resonated deeply with many of the men. Servicemen from across America felt that she was in fact recounting their childhood story. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn granted the men a greater sense of community among each other. Bunkmates were no longer strangers, but instead friends experiencing similar hardships and tragedies. Smith’s story reminded servicemen not only of their upbringing, but also of their families back home. The novel reminded them of the cause that they were fighting for: freedom. They were fighting for the freedom of each other and their ideas. Another favorite was Chicken Every Sunday by Rosemary Taylor. It recounted the story of a young girl and her mother’s adventures running a boarding house. Similarly to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Chicken Every Sunday made them feel sentimental for their families back home. But, it also added a different element: humor. The book was filled with zany humor that lifted the men’s spirits dramatically. Finally, the soldiers of World War II rescued The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald from obscurity. It was published in 1925 and was considered a failure by many. However, when it was reprinted as an ASE, it won over the serviceman and became an instant classic on the home front. …show more content…
Armed Service Editions inspired the American people, both those fighting overseas and those fighting on the home front. Despite people’s traditions and beliefs, they became a unified people to fight a common enemy. They did not fight against a militant dictator who wanted to create a vast empire but instead a man who fought the spread of ideas. Adolf Hitler represented the antithesis of what they believed. Americans fought not only against his hate, but also his disrespect for the ideas of others and his want to indoctrinate the German people. Americans at home and overseas fought the idea of a government censoring and killing its people for one ‘superior’ race. While Hitler attempted to win the world by destroying the written word and contradictory ideas, librarians encouraged Americans to read more, which led to successful book drives for the armed forces and eventually the victory of World War