The Impact Of World War Ii On Italian Americans

This resource explores many facets of the dynamic period of the 1940s and the consequences of war and peace specifically within the context of World War II, now recognized as a seminal event in Italian-American life and culture.

Una Storia Segreta brings a new perspective to the history of wartime violations of civilian populations. The essays in this volume bring together the voices of the Italian American community and experts in the field, including personal stories by survivors and their children, letters from internment camps, news clips, photographs, and cartoons.

According to the author, an extra measure of loyalty and patriotism was required of Italian immigrants because the country of their birth was a declared enemy of their adopted country. This is the story of their quest for acceptance.

The Routledge History of Italian Americans weaves a narrative of the trials and triumphs of one of the nation’s largest ethnic groups. This history, comprising original essays by leading scholars and critics, addresses themes that include the Columbian legacy, immigration, the labor movement, discrimination, anarchism, Fascism, World War II patriotism, assimilation, gender identity and popular culture. This landmark volume offers a clear and accessible overview of work in the growing academic field of Italian American Studies. Rich illustrations bring the story to life, drawing out the aspects of Italian American history and culture that make this ethnic group essential to the American experience.

Recent decades have drawn more attention to the United States' treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Few people realize, however, the extent of the country's relocation, internment, and repatriation of German and Italian Americans, who were interned in greater numbers than Japanese Americans. The United States also assisted other countries, especially in Latin America, in expelling "dangerous" aliens, primarily Germans. In Enemies among Us John E. Schmitz examines the causes, conditions, and consequences of America's selective relocation and internment of its own citizens and enemy aliens, as well as the effects of internment on those who experienced it. Looking at German, Italian, and Japanese Americans, Schmitz analyzes the similarities in the U.S. government's procedures for those they perceived to be domestic and hemispheric threats, revealing the consistencies in the government's treatment of these groups, regardless of race. Reframing wartime relocation and internment through a broader chronological perspective and considering policies in the wider Western Hemisphere, Enemies among Us provides new conclusions as to why the United States relocated, interned, and repatriated both aliens and citizens considered enemies.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

While the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II is a well-known blemish on American history, few people are aware that from February through June of 1942 the federal government enacted a relocation program that forced thousands of West Coast Italian and German aliens and their families to leave their homes for so-called safe zones. Law-abiding people who had lived in the United States for decades, including some who had sons in the armed forces, were subjected to surveillance and harassment simply because they had never obtained U.S. citizenship. The government eventually abandoned this program, but only because the process of relocating so many proved economically and politically unfeasible. Other Italians, including American citizens, whose loyalty was deemed doubtful, were interned or excluded without trial. In UnCivil Liberties: Italian Americans Under Siege during World War II Stephen Fox combines interviews with Italian Americans, government files, and newspaper accounts to reveal this previously untold chapter in American history. The testimonies of those who were the objects of the government's unfounded suspicions and accusations provide a vivid portrait of the times and illuminate a neglected episode. Fox connects his discussion of the Italian American experience with that of other suspected "enemy" aliens during World War II, illustrating how a national security crisis led to the use of group labels and challenged the government's commitment to its libertarian ideals. The voices in UnCivil Liberties will speak to students, scholars, and all readers interested in this period of American history. Published originally as "The Unknown Internment: An Oral History of the Relocation of Italian Americans during World War II." "Outstanding Book" - Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in the United States (1991) American Book Award - "Outstanding Literary Achievement" - Before Columbus Foundation (1992)