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Executive Order 8985–Censorship

Establishing Office of Censorship December 19, 1941 Statement: All Americans abhor censorship, just as they abhor war. But the experience of this and of all other Nations has demonstrated that some degree of censorship is essential in wartime, and we are at war. The...

National Day of Rememberance

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Home Events History Internment Camps Real People Resources ContactThe first federal legislation to pass which specifically mentioned the internment of German Americans and Latin Americans was introduced by Rep. Mike Honda as House Resolution 56. It passed in March...

Las Posesiones

Alvarado Quesada, Carlos. Las Posesiones. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial Uruk, April 2012. (a novel) Las Posesiones takes place at a time following the entry of the United States in World War II, when governments of several Latin American countries, including Costa...

Enemies: WW II Alien Internment

Christgau, John. Enemies: WW II Alien Internment.  University of Nebraska Press, October 2009 (republication). Read a review. John Christgau's Website Buy Online

Where Clouds Meet the Water

Contag, Kimberly and James Grabowska. Where Clouds Meet the Water. Inkwater Press, 2004. Where the Clouds Meet the Water follows the historical journey of the German Ecuadorian widower, Ernst Contag, and his four young children from their home in the South American...

The Japanese Thread: A Life in the U.S. Foreign Service

Emmerson, John K. The Japanese Thread: A Life in the U.S. Foreign Service. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1978. (section on Peru and internment/deportation program-focus is Japanese, but Germans in Peru had similar experiences)   Buy Online

Guerra Mundial: Lista Negra en Ecuador

Estrada, Jenny. II Guerra Mundial: Lista Negra en Ecuador. Poligráfica,Guayaquil, 2006. (Available through author: ) Guerra Mundial: Lista Negra en Ecuador, authored by the Guayaquil historian Jenny Estrada Ruiz, was translated into Dutch and...

Pawns in a Triangle of Hate

Gardiner, C. Harvey. Pawns in a Triangle of Hate. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1981. A factual account of the Peruvian Japanese interned in America during World War II View/Buy Online

The German Americans and WWII: An Ethnic Experience

Holian, Timothy J. The German Americans and WWII: An Ethnic Experience. Peter Lang Publishing, New York, 1998. The German-Americans and World War II: An Ethnic Experience is a unique study of America's largest ethnic group during one of its most difficult periods....

Sing to Me, Papa

Irvine, Patricia. Sing to Me, Papa. Xlibris Corporation, 2000. (historical fiction) Gretchen Mueller´s chronicle begins in the present in her Southern California garden with her granddaughter, Megan, and flashes back to Chicago in the late thirties. The Muellers are a...

From the Heart’s Closet–A Young Girl’s World War II Story

Krauter, Anneliese Wiegand. From the Heart’s Closet--A Young Girl’s World War II Story. Schatzi Press McCordsville, IN 2005. After fifty years of silence, Anneliese Krauter has finally told the true story of her family's experience as German-Americans in the US during...

VANISHED: German American Internment, 1941-48

Luick-Thrams. Michael and staff, VANISHED: German American Internment, 1941-48, (TRACES manual, issued to accompany St. Paul exhibit) TRACES. org 2005. "The U.S. Government interned some 15,000 German American civilians immediately following the bombing of Pearl...

A Resilient Elite: German Costa Ricans and the Second World War.

Meissner, Carlos. A Resilient Elite: German Costa Ricans and the Second World War. Two volumes. PhD thesis, University of York, 2010. (Available as a PDF through the author at )

Camp Letters: 1942—1945

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...

The Misplaced American

Potter, Ursula Vogt. The Misplaced American. 1stbooks Library (now Authorhouse), 2003. (a family memoir) On December 9,1941, Karl Vogt, a German national residing in the United States, was abruptly taken from his home near Plaza, Washington by agents of the F.B.I. and...

German-Americans in the World Wars

Tolzmann, Don H., ed. German-Americans in the World Wars. München: K.G. Saur. The World War Two Experience: The Internment of German-Americans, vol. 4, 1995. Representing one-fourth of the population, German-Americans constitute the largest ethnic element, according...

The Informers

Vásquez, Juan Gabriel. The Informers. Riverhead, 2009. (historical fiction) From the author of The Sound of Things Falling, a "brilliant new novel" (New York Times Book Review) and one of the most buzzed about books of the year! "One of the most original new voices of...

Loyalty on Trial: One American’s Battle With the F.B.I.

Wolter/Masters, Loyalty on Trial: One American’s Battle With the F.B.I., iUniverse 2004. Loyalty On Trial reveals that Arthur Wolter was accused of being the "power behind the throne" of an organization targeted by J. Edgar Hoover during WWII as subversive and...

Story Preservation Initiative

Story Preservation Initiative—who's mission "is to create and make available to the general public a diverse collection of oral histories of people who have exhibited a talent, passion, commitment, or way of living that has served to enrich the human experience. The...

Zum Nazi verdammt

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German language documentary available online.  Zum Nazi verdammt. Das Schicksal deutschstämmiger US-Familien im 2. Weltkrieg, die in amerikanischen Lagern interniert wurden. Documentation directed by Michaela Kirst for Tangram Films, Deutschland, Bayr. Rundfunk, 2007,...

Heitmann Story

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"Untrue and Unjust Accusations"1 As told by John Heitmann, Ph.D -- Son History and past memories, especially recent past memories, were rarely topics of family conversation when I was growing up during the 1950s and 1960s. World War II, in particular, was off limits...

Neupert Story

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The Neupert Family Story My father and mother, George Neupert and Emma Hoechner Neupert, were both born in Germany. My father and his sister emigrated to the United States in 1928, and my dad brought my mother over the following year. My parents were married in June,...

Reseneder Story

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The Reseneder Family Internment Story My mother, Charlotte Reseneder Dimmling, her sister, Othilia “Tilly” Reseneder Busse and my grandparents were interned in Crystal City from 1942 until December 1945, seven months after the war in Europe ended. How they got there...

Scheibe Story

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On the 8th of November, 2002, my brother (Egon Scheibe Jr.) and I (Erika Scheibe Seus) went on a journey to Crystal City, Texas. This was a journey we needed to make. Our parents, Grete Scheibe, now 89, and our deceased father Egon Sr. were internees at a camp there...

Schneider Story

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A Mother Interned, A Family Left Behind Gertrude Anna Schneider, an interned German immigrant Paul Schneider, an excluded naturalized German America citizen As told to eldest daughter, Vilma Schneider Ralston in March 1983 Gertrude Anna Schneider, began life in...

Voester Story

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The Voester Family Story As told by Kurt Voester (son) Being a German “enemy alien” at the beginning of WW II was not a desirable position to be in. Here is the story of what happened to a San Francisco family in which the immigrant German parents were long time...

Proclamation 2655

Presidential Proclamation -- Removal of Alien Enemies -- No. 2655 July 14, 1945 WHEREAS it is provided by Section 21 of Title 50 of the United States Code [11 F. C. A., tit. 50, § 21] as follows: "Whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any...

Proclamation 2527

Presidential Proclamation -- Alien Enemies -- Italians WHEREAS it is provided by Section 21 of Title 50 of the United States Code [11 F. C. A., tit. 50, § 21] as follows: "Whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government,...

Proclamation 2526

Presidential Proclamation 2526 -- Alien Enemies -- Germans WHEREAS it is provided by Section 21 of Title 50 of the United States Code [11 F. C. A., tit. 50, § 21] as follows: "Whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or...

Proclamation 2525

Presidential Proclamation 2525 -- Alien Enemies -- Japanese WHEREAS it is provided by Section 21 of Title 50 of the United States Code [11 F. C. A., tit. 50, sect. 21] as follows: "Whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or...

Executive Order 9066

Franklin D. Roosevelt Executive Order 9066 Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas February 19, 1942 WHEREAS, the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national defense...

Proclamation 2685

Presidential Proclamation -- Removal of Alien Enemies -- No. 2685 April 10, 1946   By the President of the United States of America A ProclamationWhereas sections 4067 and 4068 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (50 U.S.C. 21 and 22) make provision...

Proclamation 2662

Presidential Proclamation -- Removal of Alien Enemies -- No. 2662 September 8, 1945 By the President of the United States of America A ProclamationWhereas section 4067 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (50 U.S.C. 21) makes provision relative to the...

Executive Order 8985

 Executive Order 8985--Censorship Establishing Office of Censorship December 19, 1941 Statement: All Americans abhor censorship, just as they abhor war. But the experience of this and of all other Nations has demonstrated that some degree of censorship is essential in...

Executive Order 9142

Executive Order 9142 Transferring Certain Functions, Property, and Personnel from the Department of Justice to the Alien Enemy Custodian April 21, 1942 By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, under the Constitution and laws of the...

Executive Order 9095

Franklin D. Roosevelt Executive Order 9095 Establishing the Office of the Alien Property Custodian March 11, 1942 By virtue Of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, by the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, by the First War Powers...

Proclamation 2497

Proclamation--Blacklists--No. 2497 Blacklisting 1,800 Latin American Firms for Aiding Germany or Italy July 17, 1941 I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5(b) of the...

Berg Story

Internment of German Americans in Hawaii under Martial Law By: Doris Berg Nye—My Memories of the War Years My parents and my older sister were interned in Honolulu. My Dad and Mom on Dec. 8, 1941. My older sister, Elle, age 18, was taken five days later. My younger...

Vogt Story

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The Karl Vogt Story The following are excerpts/condensations of portions of the book, THE MISPLACED AMERICAN, which was compiled and edited by Ursula Vogt Potter and published by 1stBooks Library (now AuthorHouse) in 2003. These excerpts/condensations have to do with...

Internee E-Group

INTERNEE E-GROUP If you would like to join our online egroup for persons interested in German American and Latin American internment, you may do so by sending an email to the following address  and typing SUBSCRIBE in the...

Curriculum

CURRICULUM GUIDE AND LESSON PLANS Curriculum Guide and Lesson Plans, including Three One-Act Plays The following Instructions to Teachers, Lesson Plan Table of Contents and Lesson Plans are available in pdf format by clicking on the related, highlighted document...

Internee Records

OBTAINING AN INTERNEE'S RECORDS For many, the decision to request family internment records is a difficult one. You are not sure what you will get or if you will like what you read. The decision is an individual one, and the GAIC generally encourages document...

Inouye Memoir

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Hisao Inouye's Story   While our website is about German American and Latin American residents interned during WW II, we are making an exception to post Hisao Inouye's memoirs here. He was held in temporary facilities, a military prison, and various Immigration...

John Christgau, Director

John Christgau, a California resident, is the author of nine books. His novel Spoon won the Society of Midland Authors prize for "Best Fiction." ENEMIES, this country’s first book on the World War II Alien Enemy Control Program (AECP), was published by the Iowa State...

Lothar Eiserloh, Director

Lothar Eiserloh and his family experienced major upheaval with the advent of WW II. His father, Mathias, was arrested the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. For two years his mother, Johanna, struggled daily to feed, clothe, and house her children, before the family...

Legacy of Crystal City’s Internment Camps

Robyn Ross's 2014 article for the Texas Observer, "Legacy of Crystal City's Internment Camps," discusses the Crystal City, Texas, Family Internment Camp of WW II, which provided much needed work for many Crystal City residents. The article outlines the history of the...

Priscilla Wegars

Author and historian Priscilla Wegars' website—She has a Table of Justice Department and U.S. Army Internment Camps and Detention Stations in the U.S. during World War II

Smith Story

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  Alfred and Susan Schmidt married in Germany in 1932, moved to the U.S. the following year, eventually working their way to Honolulu. In 1935 Alfred began a roofing business of his own, and in 1940, he and his wife became naturalized American citizens, changing...

2007 Crystal City Reunion

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THE SECOND NATIONAL REUNION OF GERMAN AMERICAN WORLD WAR II INTERNEE FAMILIES IN CRYSTAL CITY, TEXAS November 6 -- November 9, 2007 The second reunion of German American World War II internees was held in Crystal City, Texas from November 6 through November 9, 2007....