Detroit in World War II

by Gregory D. Sumner

A history of everyday life in the Motor City during the Second World War and the contributions its citizens made to the war effort.

When President Roosevelt called for the country to be the great “Arsenal of Democracy,” Detroit helped turn the tide against fascism with its industrial might. Locals were committed to the cause, putting careers and personal ambitions on hold. Factories were retooled from the ground up. Industrialist Henry Ford, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, aviator Charles Lindbergh, legendary boxer Joe Louis, future baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg and the real-life Rosie the Riveters all helped drive the city that was “forging thunderbolts” for the front lines. With a panoramic narrative, author Gregory D. Sumner chronicles the wartime sacrifices, contributions and everyday life of the Motor City.

Genres: Nonfiction

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2015

Reviews

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book about Detroit talks about how things changed from a consumer economy to a war economy. Many women joined the work force (although many lost their jobs after the men returned at the end of the war). The book talks about the housing problem and also about the major racism that was still present at that time, a racism which eventually led to race riots. The worst riot was put down by actual troops with tanks and machine guns.

This was so absurd that 'white' blood was kept separate from 'black' blood in hospitals.

There were police raids to check on draft cards.

The book also talks about everyday life and the importance of movies. It does mention the internment of the Japanese Americans from the West Coast. The black market in goods is discussed as is the importance of sports. The Japanese balloon bombs are covered and finally what happened after the war. There is also a bibliography.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually expected a different subject matter when I selected this book to read. I expected the majority of the book to focus on the details of how the Detroit auto industry transformed itself into manufacturing the planes, tanks and other equipment for WWII. Actually there were only a couple of chapters that detailed this topic. The balance of the book described various aspects of life in Southeast Michigan and how it changed as a result of this war effort. Although my expectation were different, I learned many new things about the area and WWII related matters. This book may not appeal to somebody unfamiliar with Southeast Michigan, but I found it very interesting.

[Mariah Oleszkowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick overview on all aspects of life in Detroit during WWII. One thing I never thought of is that the defense dept asked for maps and vacation photos of people's European vacations. This book provides good insight into everyday life. Also - Bleu used to be a World News Theater. It only showed news reels and was heavily frequented during the war. The Davison was built for the quick transport of military vehicles to the Detroit River

[Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of WWII history and Detroit history, then this book is awesome. It takes a while to read, because each page has so many things that can be googled and makes you go off on tangents of learning. It may only be 150 pages, but I probably read 400 pages of information after doing my own research. Awesome stuff.

[Dawnmarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I learned so much

[John Heggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read.

Nice breezy read, catches what the times were like when everything changed. Does a nice job of touching on the controversies of the day as well.

[Laura Trombley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This quick read is World War II completely from the point of view of Detroit and its people. My parents were children in Detroit at the time of this war and some of what I read, I had heard about from them. Some of it I hadn't heard before and provided talking points to discuss with them and gave the opportunity to share their stories. I have been to Detroit (I was born there.) and to Ypsilanti (2 EMU students) and it was all so relevant. The neatest thing is I borrowed this book from a friend at church. He loaned it to me on the condition that I sign it after I read it. In the cover are the signatures of those who have read it before me.

[Nate Andjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read in WWII Detroit

I really enjoyed this book, being a Michigander myself. I didn't realize the part that Detroit and Michigan played in the war, and help in our Victory. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn about Detroit when it wasn't a byword for corruption.

[Pete Iseppi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was very informative and very entertaining. I helped me to understand what it was like, the good and the bad, Stateside during WWII. I highly recommend this if you have even a slight interest in history

[Jeffrey]

Soft history, based on a combination of oral history and research.