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.
In February 2017 we became concerned by the then President and his administration’s actions regarding immigrants. Our concerns have deepened. On March 15, 2025, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, stating that an “invasion” by a Venezuelan gang made it necessary. This allowed the administration to treat some immigrants as alien enemies, stripping them of their rights, rounding them up and deporting them to El Salvador. The Alien Enemies Act, designed for wartime use against foreign adversaries, has no place in modern immigration policy. It is time for it’s repeal. Read our statement of condemnation.
What’s New?
Wartime Treatment Study Act—HR 1425 and S 564
Home Events History Internment Camps Real People Resources ContactTo prevent possible future erosion of our civil liberties, the German American Internee Coalition believes the federal government must fully review and acknowledge its wartime civil liberties...
Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park Hosts Enemy Alien Program Presentations
Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, hosted three programs in the Fall of 2015 dealing with the Enemy Alien Control Program of WW II and its impact on civilian families. On September 12, "The WW II Enemy Alien Program and...
Friends of Texas Historical Commission Receive NPS Grant
In June 2015, Friends of the Texas Historical Commission received $16,000 from the National Park Service, which administers the Japanese Confinement Sites Grant Program. They will research and document a fading mural that was painted by an internee in the former...
Tuna Canyon Coalition Receives NPS Grant
In June 2015, the San Fernando Valley Japanese Community Center, Pacoima, California, and the Community Center's Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition received $102,190. from the National Park Service, which administers grants from the Japanese Confinement Sites...
Ft. Meade guard tower. Image from sketch by German internee Paul Lameyer, courtesy of his grandson, Randy Houser.
History
