Final answer:
Civil rights activists believed the war against Germany and Italy could aid African Americans by highlighting the fight against racial intolerance, aligned with the Double V Campaign for victory against enemies abroad and racial inequality at home.
Step-by-step explanation:
Civil rights activists felt that the war against Nazi Germany and fascist Italy in the 1940s would help African Americans at home because it was partly a fight against racial intolerance. The Double V Campaign, spearheaded by the Pittsburgh Courier, called for victory against the enemies abroad and against racial inequality in the United States. The efforts of civil rights leaders and organizations like the NAACP and the Congress of Racial Equality, as well as the imperative to fill jobs left vacant by those departing for military service, culminated in Executive Order 8802, which prohibited racial discrimination in the defense industry. This principled stand during World War II set the stage for later civil rights advancements.
African Americans saw the war as an opportunity not only to support the Allied victory but also to contest the racial injustices they faced at home. The hypocrisy of fighting for freedom abroad while enduring segregation and discrimination at home galvanized the African American community to seek a 'double victory'—victory against fascism abroad and against racial injustice at home. Their contribution to the war effort and the emerging civil rights movement during and after World War II were instrumental in fostering the fight for equal rights in post-war America.