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 […]
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 […]
Recently a 1942 list of internees held in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, was made available to our organization by Martin Huwart, who contacted us about uncovering the internment history of his great-uncle. With the help of independent researcher Satu Haase-Webb, a number of documents were found and shared with GAIC. The men listed here were all being held […]
Have you ever wondered what daily life was like for internees held in a WWII internment camp in the U.S.? Caitlin T. Dietze’s thesis, “Daily Life at Crystal City Internment Camp 1942-1945” (2016), was recently published on-line by the University of New Orleans. She relates the experiences of Crystal City Internment Camp residents through oral histories […]
The headstones from four internee graves were photographed by Werner Ulrich, a former internee, at the Edgewood Cemetery, Crystal City, Texas. He found no others. All of these internee families were from Latin America. (An earlier article mis-identified the cemetery as Benito Juarez.) The Schuster Medina family Ludwig Schuster Medina was born and died on June 16, 1945. His […]
Crystal City, Texas Internment Camp list of deaths—from information provided by Carmen Sanchez Diaz and Jose F. Cazares, residents of Crystal City, Texas. List courtesy of Werner Ulrich, a former internee. (2016)
This 1947 letter to an internee held at Crystal City, TX, offers a thirty day parole from the Camp to prepare to depart the United States.