The Interpreter

by Alice Kaplan

No story of World War II is more triumphant than the liberation of France, made famous in countless photos of Parisians waving American flags and kissing GIs as columns of troops paraded down the Champs Élysées. But one of the least-known stories from that era is also one of the ugliest chapters in the history of Jim Crow. In The Interpreter , celebrated author Alice Kaplan recovers this story both as eyewitnesses first saw it, and as it still haunts us today.

The American Army executed 70 of its own soldiers between 1943 and 1946—almost all of them black, in an army that was overwhelmingly white. Through the French interpreter Louis Guilloux’s eyes, Kaplan narrates two different one of a white officer, one of a black soldier, both accused of murder. Both were court-martialed in the same room, yet the outcomes could not have been more different.

Kaplan’s insight into character and setting creates an indelible portrait of war, race relations, and the dangers of capital punishment. 

“A nuanced historical account that resonates with today’s controversies over race and capital punishment.” Publishers Weekly

“American racism could become deadly for black soldiers on the front. The Interpreter reminds us of this sad component of a heroic chapter in American military history.” Los Angeles Times

“With elegance and lucidity, Kaplan revisits these two trials and reveals an appallingly separate and unequal wartime U.S. military justice system.” Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Kaplan has produced a compelling look at the racial disparities as they were played out…She explores both cases in considerable and vivid detail.” Sacramento Bee

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, 20th Century, Historical, American History, World War II

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2005

Reviews

[Dennis McClure · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has a flamboyant cover. The Army executed 70 of its own in Europe! Most of them black. That fact is significant.

But the book retreats immediately into pedantic legal arguments. Point taken, Mme Kaplan. But it's certainly not as open and shut as the cover proposes

[Leah Tams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 3.5 for me, but rounding up to 4. Journalism mixed with some historical archival research and basic literary analysis. The comparison case studies provided a solid juxtaposition. I was hoping for a few more case studies of other individuals to help build and flesh out the argument.

[Michael Romo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the title of this book says it all. An important book.

[Elizabeth Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a paper, very helpful

[Dave Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

In WWII, nearly all the soldiers executed for crimes they committed were black--although only 15% of the Army was black. Why was this?

This carefully researched book centers on the story told by a Frenchman who served as an interpreter for the Army judicial system in France. The story follows two accused soldiers through their crimes, trials and subsequent punishment.

The story is carefully researched, and filled with citations, so I was confident in its accuracy. Reading it, I get the idea that unwrapping the unfairness that black people experience in our society is a very complex undertaking, illustrated by the multiple ways that all aspects of the judicial system worked against our black soldiers.

Because of the careful journalism of this book, the story isn't the page-turner that a little fiction could have done for it. However, I measure a book by how much I think about it after I've read it, and this book has occupied my thoughts for several days since reading it.

One conclusion that I've reached after reading this book is how something can be terribly unfair while appearing to be constructed to be quite fair. I think that does happen in other areas of our society as well.

I recommend reading this book as part of your education on American society and how it has evolved...and how it hasn't.

[Wavelength · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Interpreter is the re-telling of Louis Guilloux’s novel, OK, Joe. Louis Guilloux’s story was far more interesting. He served as a translator for the US Army during the aftermath of D-Day. The translator whose sole job is to translate between languages, not to judge, not to protest, not to attempt to change opinions was a witness to the inequities in the US Army and ultimately America in the 1940s. What he witnessed, what he was impotent to change, lodged in his soul. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the same way about Kaplan’s re-telling and her choice of defendants to make her case against the racist Army of World War II. To me, The Interpreter missed the nuances of Guilloux's story and seemed more like Kaplan had an axe to grind. By Kaplan’s own admission “The system in which James Hendricks was tried was about to be reformed…1946 the Vanderbilt Commission… decried the use of legally inexperienced officers to defend soldiers. In 1969, the protection was strengthened further…” The biggest tragedy was the lack of experienced counsel for James Hendricks and that rape remained punishable by death until 1977.

My favorite sentence was Guilloux’s comment about himself, “I am a drinker of streets.”

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was a very interesting read, but it felt lacking. It was formatted along the lines of "Introduction to Story, Story, How I Researched Story". All of those parts were extremely interesting, but as soon as the story was over, I was half expecting and half hoping for a really big and deep conclusion. The epilogue could have been converted into a part of the story, rather than existing as a separate section, which, I think, would have helped with my feeling of incompleteness.

However, all of this aside, the story itself was very interesting. I knew very little about black soldiers during World War II (although, points for me, I did know that the army was still segregated) so it was a nice learning experience to read it. However, shocking as the stories may have been, it was not surprising that the Jim Crow laws and prejudices crossed the Atlantic with the army. I'd say that reading it was somewhat like a depressing confirmation of things I'd assumed/suspected.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about the American occupation of France (something that I don't know a great deal about) and the trial of two soldiers (black and white) accused of murder and the exception of the black soldier. In the end, Kaplan never fully engaged me/convinced me with her argument (which I'm still trying to figure out). Kaplan seems like a talented biographer and there is part of me that wonders if she would have been better served by focusing on EITHER Hendricks or Whittington and trying to use events in their respective careers to better press home her argument.... whatever it may have been....

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Strong storyteller with interesting perspective
-Ignores the racisms that were pervasive around the world at that time, focusing only on the Interpreter's perspective that was gained 20+ years after the war.
-Take the case comparison with a grain of salt--instead focus on the comparison of treatment of the trials and the extreme difference in outcomes.

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. Good read. Not necessarily good history, but engaging as a look into military justice and language.