Did you know 14,000 German and Italian immigrants and citizens were interred, and some sent back to their "homelands" for persecution?

2015-12-18T09:18:26-05:00

The story of the approximately 14,000 German- and Italian-Americans and aliens interned during the war is officially filed under “never remind.”

Here is the Story of one Brooklyn native who later became a Air Force Veteran.
http://takimag.com/article/the_nazi_kid_from_brooklyn_david_cole/print#ixzz3ugHzPV6F

The Nazi Kid From Brooklyn

History must always be remembered, except when it shouldn’t. No one will ever claim...

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Dec 18 at 2015 10:00 AM

2015-12-18T10:00:39-05:00

SSG Gerhard S. I was aware that some German and Italian people were interred during WWII; but, I did not realize that there were 14,000 of them. I did not realize that some German and Italian people were sent by the US government back to their countries of origin.
I am glad to learn that the Nazi kid from Brooklyn Arthur Jacobs who was sent back to the country of his German parents not only wasn't bitter; but, he went on to serve nearly twenty-five years in the Air Force and retire with the rank of Major. Thanks for sharing an interesting story.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2015 10:41 AM

2015-12-18T10:41:48-05:00

Well ... lets hope we don't repeat history, starting on Muslim :P.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2015 10:59 AM

2015-12-18T10:59:56-05:00

People often forget that there was an American National Socialist Party in the 30's and 40's, and it had some influential members including famed aviator Charles Lindburgh. There were real fears of espionage and sabotage from these and recent immigrants from the parent countries.
I would note that the disparity in treatment could largely be ascribed to the perception that a Japanese attack on the west coast was very much in the minds of American leaders - they had attacked Pearl Harbor, the Philippines and occupied some of the Alutian Islands - whereas a threat of Germans landing on the east coast just wasn't feasible. In 1941-42, there wasn't much of a Pacific fleet to stand in the Japanese's way.

Response by MAJ Alvin B. made Dec 18 at 2015 6:25 PM

2015-12-18T18:25:02-05:00

Yes. We also denied entry to entire nationalities as we could not tell the good ones form the bad ones.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Dec 18 at 2015 6:38 PM

2015-12-18T18:38:06-05:00

Yep. Especially Members of the German American BUND Organization (German American Nazis). As a German American I know about that and don't have a problem with it.

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Dec 29 at 2015 7:47 AM

2015-12-29T07:47:55-05:00

People who are interred are typically dead.

Walt

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Dec 29 at 2015 12:12 PM

2015-12-29T12:12:15-05:00

There are many attempts to convince citizens of the USA to accept the idea that Syrian refugees should be allowed and encouraged to emigrate here. One of the most disingenuous is the Huffington Post article which attempts to equate Syrian refugees leaving Syria to the holy Family of Joseph, Mary and the toddler Jesus traveling to Egypt.
Joseph was directed by God in a dream to flee with his wife and child to Egypt to fulfil 2 prophecies (1) the slaughter of the innocents which would take place in Bethlehem and (2) that the Christ would be called out from Egypt Hosea 11:1
Since the Hand of God directed Joseph and Mary with Jesus they were in no serious danger - the Huffington Post as usual resorts to hyperbole.
The parallels between the Holy family's trek across land primarily to Egypt and the "Syrian" refugees is loose at best. It would make perfect sense if the comparison was made to Syrians leaving Syria for Turkey or even Kuwait and Saudi Arabia which are similar in climate and culture in many respects.
To be frank, logical arguments have a better chance of swaying minds that appeals to false premises which is exactly what the Huffington Post article doing.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Dec 29 at 2015 12:12 PM

2015-12-29T12:12:57-05:00

As a student of history I am always amazed but never surprised by how much I don't know about what I don't know. Thus, I find stories like this intriguing. Thank you for sharing it.

The story itself inspires several knee-jerk reactions, none of which would serve as the basis of an intelligent response, so I'll keep quiet for now. However, you may well trust that I'll be thinking about it and that there will be a response some day. As my study of history has taught me, the most obvious lessons are often misleading...

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2015 2:09 PM

2015-12-30T14:09:38-05:00

Are you aware their is an entire list of negative terms associated with Italians? These terms were very prevalent during this timeframe and are still used.
Black Dagos
Dagos
Whopp
WOP
Mingia
Jabonee
Guinea....