German American internment

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German American Internment refers to the detention of people of German ancestry in the United States during World War II. Many of the detainees were American citizens.[1]

Under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, over 11,000 Germans and German Americans were selectively detained and interned at the start of World War II. In addition, over 4,500 ethnic Germans were brought to the U.S. from Latin America and detained. In many cases, the families of the internees were allowed to remain together at internment camps throughout the U.S. In others, families and even children were forced to fend for themselves. Limited due process was allowed for those arrested and detained.

Legislation was introduced in the United States Congress in 2001 to create an independent commission to review government policies on European "enemy" ethnic groups during the war.[1] An organization, the German American Internee Coalition, exists to publicize the "internment, repatriation and exchange of civilians of German ethnicity" during the war, and to seek U.S. government review and acknowledgement of civil rights violations involved.[2]

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[edit] External links

German American Internee Coalition - site includes detailed history, maps, oral accounts, and external links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Karen E. Ebel (2003-02-24). WWII Violations of German American Civil Liberties by the US Government. Retrieved on 2007-08-08. “Pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act of 1798 (50 USC 21-24), which remains in effect today, the US may apprehend, intern and otherwise restrict the freedom of "alien enemies" upon declaration of war or actual, attempted or threatened invasion by a foreign nation. During WWII, the US Government interned at least 11,000 persons of German ancestry. By law, only "enemy aliens" could be interned. However, with governmental approval, their family members frequently joined them in the camps. Many such "voluntarily" interned spouses and children were American citizens...On August 3, 2001, Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced S. 1356, The European Americans and Refugees Wartime Treatment Study Act in the US Senate, joined by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Joseph Lieberman. This bill would create a much-needed independent commission to review US government policies directed against European "enemy" ethnic groups during WWII in the US and Latin America.”
  2. ^ German American Internee Coalition. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.

[edit] References

  • The Prison Called Hohenasperg: An American boy betrayed by his Government during World War II,by Arthur D. Jacobs, Universal Publishers, Parkland, FL 1999, ISBN 1-58112-832-0
  • We Were Not the Enemy: Remembering the United States Latin-American Civilian Internment Program of World War II by Heidi Gurcke Donald, iUniverse 2007 ISBN 0-595-39333-0
  • Enemies: World War II Alien Internment by John Christgau, Authors Choice Press 2001 ISBN 0595179150
  • Fear Itself: Inside the FBI Roundup of German Americans during World War II: The Past as Prologue by Stephen Fox, iUniverse 2005 ISBN 978-0-595-35168-8
  • Where the Clouds Meet the Water by Contag, Kimberly E. and James A. Grabowska, follows the historical journey of the German Ecuadorian widower, Ernst Contag, and his four young children from their home in the South American Andes to Nazi Germany in 1942. Inkwater Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59299-073-8