“Detailed official” lists of people of German ethnicity ordered interned—include name, date and location of birth, address when taken, next of kin and their address, occupation, and place of internment as of a specific date. Most of these internees were from the U.S., but some Hawaiian and Latin American residents are included. (These are not […]
On October 24-25, 1945, Ft. Lincoln was inspected by Dr. Rudolph Fischer, Swiss Legation representative, and Van Arsdale Turner, Department of State. Activated in 1942 as an internment camp for civilians of Japanese ethnicity, it later became exclusively a camp for German American and Latin American civilians until February 1945. At the time of this report, the facilities […]
Three Stringtown, Oklahoma, Alien Internment Camp inspection reports are now online. The first, written by Max Habicht, representing the Swiss Legation in charge of German interests, and Whitney Young, Department of State, described a visit from 25-28 June 1942, shortly after the facility opened. They were highly critical. “The appearance and atmosphere of this camp are […]
On 26 July 1943, Captain Antonio R. Martin, Spanish Vice-Consul at San Francisco, CA, James E. Henderson, representing the Department of State, and A. S. Hudson, Acting District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, San Francisco, CA, visited Sharp Park, CA Alien Detention Camp for an inspection of the facilities. Their findings are summarized here, including a typical […]
Internment camps in the U.S. were periodically inspected by representatives of neutral nations or organizations, to see that facilities were adequate and internees were treated appropriately. In 3 December 1943, Alfred Cardinaux, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, visited the facilities at Ellis Island, following up on a prior visit of 12 […]
On July 15, 1942, the S.S. Drottningholm left Pier F, Jersey City, New Jersey bound for Gothenburg, Sweden, where internees were sent on to Germany and Italy, to be exchanged for U.S. citizens. The German American Internee Coalition recently received a number of documents about this particular voyage, thanks to Shelby and Stephen Concepcion, cousins who found […]
Thanks to Martin Huwart, who contacted GAIC about finding records of his great-uncle, interned in the U.S. from Haiti. He, with the help of independent researcher Satu Haase-Webb, found and shared with us a number of documents and photographs about Camp Kenedy, Texas, one of the two internment camps his great-uncle was in. (Camp Kenedy […]
Yes. In a Feb 1943 letter exchange between Jewish internees being held at Camp Kenedy, Texas and W. Bruppacher, Department of German Interests, Legation of Switzerland, charged with camp inspection and oversight of internees of German ethnicity, they express concerns about finances, censorship, and the difficulties of living “close to our worst enemies.” NARA RG 59, State Dept, Special […]
George Marshall Memo, 12 Dec 1942 Box 71, Subject Files, 1939-1954, Box 7; Accession Job No. N3-59-87-15, Records of the Special War Problems Division, Department of State, NA (?) — shipping of Latin Americans/exchange with Axis nations
Department of State memo, Aug 1942, Cordell Hull to FDR Franklin D. Roosevelt Library’s Digital Collections, Series 2:Confidential File, Box 9, State Department, 1941-1942—discusses continued repatriation of enemy aliens in U.S. and Latin America in exchange for citizens held behind enemy lines