In with us or at home watching on our online stream to recognize any world war. Two Veterans Home front or holocaust survivors. So i dont believe we are fortunate have any with us tonight. But for those watching at home, lets give a round of applause. Also, id like to acknowledge and thank our patriots circle members and our charter members for the support you all provide, not just with but with friendship and attendance and making it worthwhile to put these programs on. Id like to recognize dr. Michael, whos in the audience with us. One of our original Board Members of the National World war two museum. Thank you, dr. Carey. As many you know, the museum is nearing the completion of its liberation pavilion, which will open just right across the. One of those six galleries that well be discussing, liberation and the legacies of World War Two is focused on in wartime. Faith sustained. Many americans members abroad as well as those on the home front who were left worrying about their loved ones. The faith in wartime gallery will explore the essential role through personal accounts, artifacts, oral histories as we, through all of our other galleries. And it all to illustrate important topic and reveal the complexity of religious practice during World War Two. Tonights lecture is our annual faith in wartime lecture, which we have hosted since 2014. And this was started to supplement our future liberation pavilion so that we can bring Educational Opportunities to you here and those at home. So we hope you are looking at your websites and paying attention to the upcoming announcements about all thats going to be place with the liberation pavilion. This series would have been possible were it not for Baptist Community ministries. Ecm has been supportive of the museum since before 2014, but theyve been very supportive of the greater new orleans area. Its committed improving the mental physical and Spiritual Health of people and communities in the five parish greater new orleans area. So thanks to bcm for this and for all that theyve done with museum around of applause for our sponsor for the evening. And that gets us to our program for tonight. And we are delighted to have with us dr. Kurt piehler, who will be on his book, a religious history of the american gi in World War Two. Kurt is somebody weve known of known his work, but weve never had him here, despite it his his very related topics which ill tell you about as i read his bio. He is a specialist in u. S. History with an emphasis the 20th century. He received his degree from Drew University and his ph. D. From rutgers. Hes the author of multiple books, including the one well hear about tonight. Also remembering the american way and war two and american soldiers lives series. Held academic positions at baruch City University of new york Drew University and a rutgers. And at rutgers, he was the founding director of the rutgers oral history of World War Two. And over 200 interviews with World War Two veterans. Which is obviously something very near and dear to our museum and its mission as we try to tell the American Experience in World War Two through those who lived it. Dr. Peeler, currently serves as the director of the institute on war two and the Human Experience down the road at Florida State university and interviewing will be our very own executor of director of the jenny craig institute. Dr. Michael bell mike is, a over three decade in service to our country in the us army and then another decade on top of that working in various positions with central command, the joint staff west point faculty, National DefenseUniversity Secretary of state, etc. Etc. He has his ph. D. From the university of maryland and he is excited to talk to dr. Kurt piehler about this wonderful topic. Mike, take it away. Well, thanks, jeremy. So, so the crowd, you know, kurt covers in amazing amount of ground in book, everything from mobilizing the nation for war. Fdr, his role the mobilization of the Chaplain Corps transition things civilians into gis the gis encountering other cultures and faiths around world. And he gets into ethical conduct of war, faith and the world of fight, race military women, casualties is reconciliation with enemies, legacies of wars. I say that because were not going to get all that in the conversation. But some of you may want to have questions about those topics. And there, you know, its all in this amazing book. You know, kurt, maybe you could start out, you know, before we launch into the meat just, give us a sense about how it is you you came to write this book, you know, what got you interested in this topic . And and then were going to launch into the next piece. Yeah its interesting because i was i really cant cant be happy to have been invited to speak here. I knew Stephen Ambrose back in the early nineties. He spent a semester at when i was there on a postdoc. And ill always be indebted to steve. Not only did he endorse my first book, but he had a crucial meeting where the class of 40 to agree to fund. Rutgers oral history archive, which was supposed to be a two year project but is now is will soon have its 30th anniversary. And i took project and i started interviewing World War Two veterans in an initially was just a job that was going to keep me going for two years until i got something permanent but about two months into interviewing these World War Two interviewers, these were two veterans. I realized id given this great gift, not just of having job, but these were incredible stories. And because i had no book in mind, i decided do life course interviews and i interviewed among things was about religion and the two things that struck me at the time i never pursued at the time was i think those are those who came of age in the twenties and thirties lived in a very sectarian period. And for example, talked about confrontation with antisemites. They talked about mandatory chaplains, else always remember my stepfather. My stepfather mothers story growing up in new jersey in the twenties and thirties and how the klan was burned across near his house because they were the first catholic family in the town. But when i interviewed these these World War Two era veterans and and and those on the home front, the wartime experience gi after gi, i talked about a about an army particularly that was very accommodating to religious pluralism. Fast forward a number of years later, i was going to do this audacious book project, the american to nazi germany and started doing research on the book. And i got a generous grant to do it to go to the fdr library to use their collections and i, i said, let me pull stuff first about religion. I dont know something intrigued me and when i found my topic, i just, i abandoned that other project. But it was a series of led of documents to Franklin Roosevelts russia, china green. So every year, roosevelt would be asked to give roosevelt hashanah greetings, the jewish new year holiday greetings and. I read these and id worked once in a Congressional Office as an intern, so i knew this is very much stock in trade of what politicians do. But i also found these readings very poignant, as you read them from 33 to 44 because you can see the courts of worsening relations abroad and the war. And i thought is really remarkable that american could count on the present united states, give them greetings on and on, on russia, china. That made me very intrigued about and roosevelt and i and i came to the topic, let me do the religious history of the american g. I. So. So, you know, one of the things, kurt does, i think. Well is as weve seen the different perspective. So, you know, youre expecting to hear this story about the jewish experience, but youre also covering heres fdr, his views and policy making, and then how that policy is implemented in a bureaucracy, organizational cultures, you know, different denominations, asians. And so, you know its its quite expertly done but what he weaves is really this notion of religious tolerance and pluralism is and which is a legacy of World War Two is not an accident that this actually becomes a very conscious choice by. And you know these brotherhood de pieces and then one of the things we feature in liberation one is fdr four freedoms and particular the freedom of religion piece that is so powerful and so could you talk a little bit about how that fdr role because, thats something you wouldnt necessarily if youre thinking of a war in society book, you know, to really look at the president in his role and how elemental that is. Yeah. One of the things that struck me and i have to say i fell completely in love with franklin roosevelt. And when i began to understand my stepfather so loved roosevelt because he one thing thats very clear is religion was very important to him. He was very difficult to pin down. But there was a consensus that really that religious faith really inspired him, but also his rhetoric way before World War Two. I mean he gives an address to the National Council of christians and , a National Radio address on their behalf. And he says, we enriched by religious pluralism that we each group has something to offer to the American Public and we benefit from that. And he also said the struggle shouldnt be different religions, the real struggle is between those who have faith and those who do not. Hes very akin to to the nazis denial in the midthirties of religious and also of the soviet unions abandonment of religion. He thought religion was really important to a liberal democratic society. But i also was really impressed that that roosevelt really practiced what he preached. He had incredibly diverse administer nation in terms of his appointments. He had scores of catholics and served with him. But also in an era where theres real estate quotas, where there was often a certain set want to socialize with. He would have the rosenman live with him in the executive mansion in york when he was governor of new york. The romans would regularly visit him. The white house. He was close personal friends. The morgenthau so so to him, i mean. Rosenman, i think said it best about roosevelt and working roosevelt in his belief in religious pluralism. And he said, i initially took a job with roosevelt just just because it was a job, but i absolutely fell in love with the guy because among the things he didnt care about your background it didnt matter to him in that whether you could do the job. And he had this this this incredibly diverse set of people. And i think that sort of the military much embodies that. Roosevelt he envisioned theres a real effort to promote both promote the free exercise of religion, but also to promote religious pluralism and and to really appreciate the differences among american gis, you know, of the things i think you do very well is is emphasize roosevelt wanted the chaplaincy the Chaplain Corps to really exercise his freedom of religion there but also to respect the religious differences and their religious views of each of the chaplains. Well, and this kind of tri faith pluralism of protestants, catholics and together in idea. And so you know, well talk about the limits of that in a minute. But really, its interesting as a very deliberate piece of policy. And then how roosevelt then implements it going forward, moving that. So the next one that i think i think kurt does amazingly well in this book is challenged this common view out there that the gis didnt know what they were fighting against, what theyre fighting for and, that, you know, that theyre just fighting for their comrades. And they really didnt understand what the war was about. And you have a great piece in there about, you know, George Marshall was very concerned about this topic early in the war that you guys dont understand and, you know, they launched this why we fight series but theyll actually go out and survey a control group that havent seen why we fight. And an amazing i mean, its really staggering. Ive got him here just so we dont put her on the spot. 70 believe that germany or japan were seeking world domination, 82 believe that if hitler wanted to persecute and minorities and that 75 believe that hitler would shut down the churches. And this is the group did not see why we fight which which really i thought incredible piece about the motivation in there so you know what but how did you find that insight and you know what do you what do you think of that . Do you think this was representative . Is this kind of a skewed survey . No, i think the surveys fairly and i think i think and i think we have this trope its an important one. I think comradeship is an important glue to sustain, but i dont think thats the only explanation. And i was struck how a story thats the story they used the samuel stove four volumes the american project the army actually had people do social survey of soldiers what they thought and soldiers said to them the contrary comradeship was in fact very important. But number one was prayer. A above even comradeship, but even more is when they gone into ideological motivation. I was sort of stunned that that a majority of gi said to when surveyed that we have even gone to the war against hitler to stop the persecution in europe and this this is way before the full realization of the holocaust occurred. And i think theres lot of real evidence that the americans knew what was at stake because when interviewed gis about being taken prisoner or, about the experience, you know, or their reaction to it, a number of them talk about telling their jewish comrade to throw away dog tax or willingness to exchange dog dog every note everyone knew the nature of the nazi if they were captured, if were captured. Yeah, yeah. Not to throw away their dog it out but theres a big theres a big i mean theres one pilot he three sets of dog tags he had he wore his jewish dog tags. But when he was flying in north germany had a protestant dog tag and he had and was in south germany, he had a catholic tag. He ended up getting shot down in in southern germany. He was sent to a catholic hospital. He said treatment was first rate and they were they were they humans first in german setters. So you know, its interesting that this so for survey that course referred to, you know, 55 of those surveyed thought the service was detrimental. I hate to see that, but theres army officer. But what was fascinating, though, 60, 60 said their service increased their faith and only 18 cited a weakening of their religious faith because of wartime service. Really an interesting kind of set of facts there. I thought that was it really does of challenge some of those common ideas. Yeah i mean one of the things i think what i one of the big surprises in doing this study was we think of theres a lot literature on the civil war and religion and i read some of it, but ive often thought weve overstated the religious study of the civil war soldier. This was the that gave us the name hookers for prostitutes and we should we should not overdo do the religiosity the civil war soldier. And i think we underestimate the religious of the World War Two soldier. But even more stunning from a policy perspective, we had never put as much resources. The chaplaincy and religion promoting, religion as World War Two. When you consider, for example, when the Confederate Army went to the field in 1861, half of the units didnt have chaplains. Theres really a very unprofessional Chaplaincy Corps until the war, one era. But we we we end up appointing an unprovoked shooting and appointing an unprocessed and commissioning an unprecedented number of clergy as chaplains. And theyre all volunteers. And we also strive to it representative of of of the religious diversity and racial diversity of the of the country. We build chapels for the first time in a systematic basis on army bases. And we issue a government expense scriptures for four catholic, protestant and. So we recognize this diversity and we provide this. So i think in some ways its not surprising. And also those well, there are only two true groups of true volunteers in the World War Two military. There are women because they cant be drafted and, theyre chaplains. If you were a cleric, you were automatically for service. So every chaplain wants to be there. And i think this really reflective most are really quite in their job. No, i think thats important piece. And the will encounter the chaplains from the Training Camps all the way through you know in some cases you know the cemetery said you know of the chaplain 327 are killed wounded or missing in this and i thought was interesting youre treatment of the chaplains become prisoners of war of japan. You know they have a much higher mortality than the american soldiers who are prisoners. Japan, which is already about percent. You know. So so, you know, the ministry continue even in those camps. So if you have a second, maybe give us a sense of first, you know what is the role of the chaplains in this. As the militarys put together new chapels are built. You know i occurred i was my wife and i were in one of these temporary World War Two chapels up in fort by one of these soldiers who after the became a jesuit, you know, so, you know, his own faith had been increased in that. And so it was the last act of duty world two chaplain. So, you know his book certainly resonates, you know what did the everyday soldiers have contact with these chaplains and how did how did that out . S