About Us
The German American Internee Coalition (“GAIC”) was formed in 2005 by and for German American and Latin American citizens and legal residents who were interned by the United States during World War II. We are former internees, or their families and friends. We come from all walks of life and from countries around the world. We would like you to know our story. GAIC is a nonprofit corporation registered with the New Hampshire Department of Charitable Trusts.
Our Mission Statement & Goals
GAIC is dedicated to making public the little known United States World War II policies that led to internment, repatriation and exchange of civilians of German ethnicity, both in the United States and Latin America.
- We will educate the general public about the U.S. government’s detention and internment of over 11,000 German American and Latin American citizens and residents during World War II.
- We will reach out to former internees, their families and supporters. We will gather their stories, share information, and support their efforts to make their stories known.
- We will seek full U.S. government review and acknowledgment of the civil rights violations endured by the German American and Latin American communities.
- We will work collaboratively with other internee groups who have similar purposes. As we work toward these goals, we also hope that our efforts result in better protection of the civil liberties of future vulnerable ethnic groups.
The German American Internee Coalition formed in 2005 to educate the public about our experiences, after United States officials declared U.S. and Latin American civilians of German background “enemy aliens” during WWII.
Feared collectively because of our German ethnicity, our civil liberties were abused by the U.S. government. Similar indiscriminate presumptions should not be made today. Ethnicity, religion, nationality or appearance is not enough to declare whole groups of people unwelcome in the United States. February 2017
What’s New?
“Only the Oaks Remain” exhibit in San Francisco
"Only the Oaks Remain: The story of Tuna Canyon Detention Station" in WW II, is on display from June 9, 2018-January 31, 2019, at 640 Old Mason Street, Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129. Sponsored by the National Japanese American Historical Society, the exhibit...
Ft. Lincoln, ND Civil Liberties Justice Center One Step Closer
The United Tribes Technical College, whose campus encompasses the former Fort Lincoln Internment Camp near Bismarck, North Dakota, has completed a Condition and Feasibility Assessment that provides recommendations to rehabilitate a former hospital and the hospital...
Santa Barbara Historical Museum to host two exhibits about internment
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is hosting two exhibits on WW II detention and internment in the area. Only the Oaks Remain: the Story of Tuna Canyon Detention Station and The Detention & Internment of Santa Barbarans During WWII opened February 1, 2018 at 136...
Good Neighbor Renditions and the Enemy Alien: the Latin American Civilian Internees of World War II and the Integrity of the Good Neighbor Policy
"Good Neighbor Renditions and the Enemy Alien: the Latin American Civilian Internees of World War II and the Integrity of the Good Neighbor Policy," a University of Colorado, Boulder honors undergraduate thesis by Casey VanSise, "...uses the case of WW II “renditions”...
Ft. Meade guard tower. Image from sketch by German internee Paul Lameyer, courtesy of his grandson, Randy Houser.
History
