The Consequences of a Forced Migration: The Return Home of WWII American Veterans

Abstract

The end of the Second World War was a serious problem of rehabilitation, not only for the country but also for the huge mass of veterans returning home after the military conflict. And in order to avoid the unrest and social tension that followed the First World War, the US administration sled firstly by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and secondly by Harry Truman were commissioned to design a specific plan for rehabilitation and reintegration to civilian life of veterans. The Service Readjustment Act of 1944, informally known as the G. I. Bill, was an important law that provided a range of benefits for returning veterans of World War II. This law was passed in June 1944 in the United States, turning further into Public Law 78-346, being available to all veterans who served on active duty during the war years. Maybe it was the most representative and striking measure of the many related ones which were rushed by the US administration. Throughout this article we will focus primarily on the major consequences or repercussions that the adoption of the various measures undertaken had on American society in the late 40s, especially after the return home of the Second World War veterans.