Nightingale, Robert, author and editor. Camp Letters: 1942—1945. 2011. (A collection of letters between Bruno and Alice Stiller, the author’s grandparents, during Bruno Stiller’s internment.)
Bruno Stiller was imprisoned shortly after the United States entered World War Two. He had left his parents’ home in Germany after the last war to start a new life. For the three years while he was in the American enemy interment camps, his wife Alice wrote him almost daily. Alice ran the family restaurant and took care of their growing family. This is the story of Alice’s love and determination. These letters paint a picture of daily life and tell a story that most Americans have never heard. Thousands of resident Germans and their families were kept in internment camps, sometimes for the duration of the war. Homes, cars, and businesses were taken. It was nearly impossible to appeal the false accusation that sent someone to a prison camp. Worse still is the effect on the family left behind. This story is timely. The issues of immigration and the treatment of civilians in a time of war are still in today’s headlines.