Dying for Britain and France, for nothing
'Over one million Africans fought for Britain, France,
Italy and Belgium in World War II, and yet their exploits
have gone unmarked in the annals of metropolitan powers,'
writes New African.
In this article New African looks at a new book, fighting
for Britain-African Soldiers in the Second World War,
written by the British academic and historian, David
Killingray, seeks to change that.
The book is categorical that Africa contributed many men,
and a very few women, to the war; that, however, these men
and women have not been given the attention they deserve in
the historical literature. It also notes African soldiers
fought gallantly and sacrificed their lives to capture
enemy territories. Sadly, they were never allowed to do the
actual capturing, for 'Africans were not supposed to
deprive the Europeans of the honour of capturing enemy
cities.' Discrimination and racism was the order in those
days; one would wonder why the Africans got drafted into
the wars in the first place. Who were these Africans? Of
what substance were they made? New African provides some
insight.