This Is Not Who We Are: America's Struggle Between Vice and Virtue

>> Zachary Shore: America emerged from World War II as the undisputed superpower. Its enemies were vanquished, its allies were hobbled, and its only rival, the Soviet Union, was reeling from the loss of 20 million citizens. But Americas victory came at a moral cost. During the war, the US committed extremely harsh, some would say cruel, acts against the innocent.

It imprisoned thousands of American citizens solely on the basis of race. It used nuclear weapons against Japanese cities, killing approximately 200,000 civilians. And it imposed a punishing peace on Germany, exacerbating mass starvation. It's understandable that during war, hatred of the enemy would run pretty high. It's understandable and to be expected and yet exactly the opposite occurred.

In my research, I found that the majority of Americans and most top officials favored mercy, not revenge. The most surprising aspect of these vengeful policies is just how little support they actually had. And after the war, the US pursued tremendous humanitarian efforts, which for some may have been an act of atonement.

Let me offer some examples. The war had shattered Europe's ability to produce and distribute food, and famine was threatening total collapse. And Germany was especially hard hit. That's because US treasury secretary Henry Morgenthau had shaped postwar occupation policy which forbid american occupiers from helping the Germans to rebuild.

This intensified the suffering of average Germans and hindered Europe's ability to recover. Germany was the economic engine that drove european growth. And as former president Herbert Hoover said, we can keep Germany in chains, but it will also keep Europe in rags. So Hoover had been blamed for the Great Depression, and he languished in political purgatory since his defeat in 1932.

But after FDR died, President Truman brought Hoover back and named him the food ambassador, responsible for all global humanitarian relief efforts. Hoover had, of course, become famous internationally because of his famine relief work during and after World War I. And back then, the reporters used to say that Mister Hoover knew where every bag of flour in the world was located.

By 1946, it was clear that he still did. Hoover was appalled by the use of the atomic bombs. He was also very uneasy about the Japanese-American internment, although he never spoke out publicly against it. He was, however, adamantly opposed to the occupation policy which was causing so much suffering for average Germans.

In one speech, he told we do not want our flag flying over a nation of Buchenwalds. Now in his 70s, Hoover traveled around the world, surveying exactly how much food was needed and where, and figuring out how to get it there. And when Hoover was asked directly whether America should really be feeding its former enemies, he was unequivocal.

Starving people need our help. It doesn't matter who they are. Hoover inspired Americans to actually eat less and go hungry in order to free up more food for shipment overseas. It was becoming essential because by 1947, the famine situation was dire. Starvation seemed likely to cause societal collapse, heighten the spread of communism, and undo the hard won peace.

But then an American columnist, Drew Pearson, had an idea. He suggested a friendship train that would speed across the country, gathering food donations from average Americans. And amazingly, even after years of wartime rationing, Americans were still eager to give. Now, part of this did seem to have a performative dimension.

People seemed desperate to show the world just how good they really were. Many recognized the cruelty that their country had committed during the war, and they wanted to say, this is not who we are. Whatever their motives, the fact is that american humanitarian relief saved millions from malnutrition, starvation, and death.

It was one of the greatest humanitarian efforts in history. And it happened in part because of compassionate leaders, a humane public, and the willingness to sacrifice for strangers overseas, even the country's former foes. I tell my students that when a country treats others with dignity, decency, and a deep sense of fairness, it not only enhances its own power, it helps to build a better world.

We all know that America has often failed to live up to its ideals, but those ideals remain its greatest source of strength.