Click on any item in the table to review the document.
Use the "back" button or arrow on your browser to return to the table
below. Be patient this is a lengthy document.
|
Legislation, Testimony, Remarks on the Internment issue |
|
Hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution This is a lengthy document, but it is the entire hearing and testimony on H.R. 2442 to include a discussion on German Americans. This is a most interesting and informative document. |
|
H.R. 2442 Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act Signed by the President 11/7/2000; Latest Major Action: 11/7/2000 Became Public Law No: 106-451. |
|
S.1909 Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act Companion bill to H.R. 2442 see next entry. |
|
Wexler
Calls For Commission to Study Injustices Suffered by Italian and German
Americans During WWII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legislative History <--- Click here.
For those not familiar with "Thomas" Legislative information on the internet. Here is a quick primer. Simply enter either bill number, i.e., H.R. 2442 or S. 1909. Then click on the search button. After that you are on your own. It is not possible to provide a direct link to the history of this legislation, because in "Thomas" query's, so to speak, time out.
Do not hesitate to email the author of this page at Arthur D. Jacobs for assistance.
It is most important to note that in the hearings, prior to a vote pass H.R.
2442 out of the House Judiciary Committee, the German American situation was
discussed. Despite this discussion the bill was passed by the
House. An autographed copy of the book The Prison Called
Hohenasperg... was delivered to Chairman Hyde's office. [ADJ]
S. 1909 Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil
Liberties Act (Introduced in the Senate)
S 1909 IS
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1909
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices
suffered by Italian Americans during World
War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 10, 1999
Mr. TORRICELLI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices
suffered by Italian Americans during World
War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The freedom of
more than 600,000 Italian-born immigrants in the United States and their
families
was restricted during
World War II by Government measures that branded them `enemy aliens' and
included carrying
identification cards, travel restrictions, and seizure of personal property.
(2) During World War
II more than 10,000 Italian Americans living on the West Coast were forced to
leave their homes and
prohibited from entering coastal zones. More than 50,000 were subjected to
curfews.
(3) During World War
II thousands of Italian American immigrants were arrested, and hundreds were
interned in military
camps.
(4) Hundreds of
thousands of Italian Americans performed exemplary service and thousands
sacrificed
their lives in defense
of the United States.
(5) At the time,
Italians were the largest foreign-born group in the United States, and today
are the fifth
largest immigrant group
in the United States, numbering approximately 15,000,000.
(6) The impact of the
wartime experience was devastating to Italian American communities in the
United
States, and its effects
are still being felt.
(7) A deliberate
policy kept these measures from the public during the war. Even 50 years later
much
information is still
classified, the full story remains unknown to the public, and it has never been
acknowledged in any
official capacity by the United States Government.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice
shall conduct a comprehensive review of the treatment by
the United States Government of Italian Americans
during World War II, and not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act shall submit to the
Congress a report that documents the findings of such review.
The report shall cover the period between September 1,
1939, and December 31, 1945, and shall include the
following:
(1) The names of all
Italian Americans who were taken into custody in the initial roundup following
the
attack on Pearl Harbor,
and prior to the United States declaration of war against Italy.
(2) The names of all Italian Americans who were taken into custody.
(3) The names of all Italian Americans who were interned and the location where they were interned.
(4) The names of all
Italian Americans who were ordered to move out of designated areas under the
United States Army's
`Individual Exclusion Program'.
(5) The names of all
Italian Americans who were arrested for curfew, contraband, or other violations
under the authority of
Executive Order 9066.
(6) Documentation of Federal Bureau of Investigation raids on the homes of Italian Americans.
(7) A list of ports from which Italian American fishermen were restricted.
(8) The names of
Italian American fishermen who were prevented from fishing in prohibited zones
and
therefore unable to
pursue their livelihoods.
(9) The names of Italian Americans whose boats were confiscated.
(10) The names of
Italian American railroad workers who were prevented from working in prohibited
zones.
(11) A list of all
civil liberties infringements suffered by Italian Americans during World War
II, as a
result of Executive
Order 9066, including internment, hearings without benefit of counsel, illegal
searches and seizures,
travel restrictions, enemy alien registration requirements, employment
restrictions,
confiscation of
property, and forced evacuation from homes.
(12) An explanation
of why some Italian Americans were subjected to civil liberties infringements,
as a
result of Executive
Order 9066, while other Italian Americans were not.
(13) A review of the
wartime restrictions on Italian Americans to determine how civil liberties can
be
better protected during
national emergencies.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the story of the
treatment of Italian Americans during World War II needs to be told in order to
acknowledge that these
events happened, to remember those whose lives were unjustly disrupted and
whose freedoms were
violated, to help repair the damage to the Italian American community, and to
discourage the
occurrence of similar injustices and violations of civil liberties in the
future;
(2) Federal agencies,
including the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the
Humanities, should
support projects such as--
(A) conferences, seminars, and lectures to heighten awareness of this
unfortunate chapter in our
Nation's history;
(B) the refurbishment of and payment of all expenses associated with the
traveling exhibit `Una
Storia Segreta', exhibited at major cultural and educational institutions
throughout the United
States; and
(C) documentaries to allow this issue to be presented to the American public to
raise its
awareness;
(3) an independent,
volunteer advisory committee should be established comprised of representatives
of
Italian American
organizations, historians, and other interested individuals to assist in the
compilation,
research, and
dissemination of information concerning the treatment of Italian Americans; and
(4) after completion
of the report required by this Act, financial support should be provided for
the
education of the
American public through the production of a documentary film suited for public
broadcast.
SEC. 5. FORMAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
The United States Government formally acknowledges
that these events during World War II represented a
fundamental injustice against Italian Americans.
H.R. 2442 Wartime Violation of Italian American
Civil Liberties Act (Engrossed in House )
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2442
AN ACT
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices
suffered by Italian Americans during World
War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
HR 2442 EH
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2442
AN ACT
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices
suffered by Italian Americans during World
War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The freedom of
more than 600,000 Italian-born immigrants in the United States and their
families
was restricted during
World War II by Government measures that branded them `enemy aliens' and
included carrying
identification cards, travel restrictions, and seizure of personal property.
(2) During World War
II more than 10,000 Italian Americans living on the West Coast were forced to
leave their homes and
prohibited from entering coastal zones. More than 50,000 were subjected to
curfews.
(3) During World War
II thousands of Italian American immigrants were arrested, and hundreds were
interned in military camps.
(4) Hundreds of
thousands of Italian Americans performed exemplary service and thousands
sacrificed
their lives in defense
of the United States.
(5) At the time,
Italians were the largest foreign-born group in the United States, and today
are the fifth
largest immigrant group
in the United States, numbering approximately 15 million.
(6) The impact of the
wartime experience was devastating to Italian American communities in the
United
States, and its effects
are still being felt.
(7) A deliberate
policy kept these measures from the public during the war. Even 50 years later
much
information is still
classified, the full story remains unknown to the public, and it has never been
acknowledged in any
official capacity by the United States Government.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice
shall conduct a comprehensive review of the treatment by
the United States Government of Italian Americans
during World War II, and not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act shall submit to the
Congress a report that documents the findings of such
review. The report shall cover the period between September
1, 1939, and December 31, 1945, and shall
include the following:
(1) The names of all
Italian Americans who were taken into custody in the initial roundup following
the
attack on Pearl Harbor,
and prior to the United States declaration of war against Italy.
(2) The names of all Italian Americans who were taken into custody.
(3) The names of all Italian Americans who were interned and the location where they were interned.
(4) The names of all
Italian Americans who were ordered to move out of designated areas under the
United States Army's
`Individual Exclusion Program'.
(5) The names of all
Italian Americans who were arrested for curfew, contraband, or other violations
under the authority of
Executive Order No. 9066.
(6) Documentation of Federal Bureau of Investigation raids on the homes of Italian Americans.
(7) A list of ports from which Italian American fishermen were restricted.
(8) The names of
Italian American fishermen who were prevented from fishing in prohibited zones
and
therefore unable to
pursue their livelihoods.
(9) The names of Italian Americans whose boats were confiscated.
(10) The names of
Italian American railroad workers who were prevented from working in prohibited
zones.
(11) A list of all
civil liberties infringements suffered by Italian Americans during World War
II, as a
result of Executive
Order No. 9066, including internment, hearings without benefit of counsel,
illegal
searches and seizures,
travel restrictions, enemy alien registration requirements, employment
restrictions,
confiscation of
property, and forced evacuation from homes.
(12) An explanation
of why some Italian Americans were subjected to civil liberties infringements,
as a
result of Executive
Order No. 9066, while other Italian Americans were not.
(13) A review of the wartime
restrictions on Italian Americans to determine how civil liberties can be
better protected during
national emergencies.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the story of the
treatment of Italian Americans during World War II needs to be told in order to
acknowledge that these
events happened, to remember those whose lives were unjustly disrupted and
whose freedoms were
violated, to help repair the damage to the Italian American community, and to
discourage the
occurrence of similar injustices and violations of civil liberties in the
future;
(2) Federal agencies,
including the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the
Humanities, should
support projects such as--
(A) conferences, seminars, and lectures to heighten awareness of this
unfortunate chapter in our
Nation's history;
(B) the refurbishment of and payment of all expenses associated with the
traveling exhibit `Una
Storia Segreta', exhibited at major cultural and educational institutions
throughout the United
States; and
(C) documentaries to allow this issue to be presented to the American public to
raise its
awareness;
(3) an independent,
volunteer advisory committee should be established comprised of representatives
of
Italian American
organizations, historians, and other interested individuals to assist in the
compilation,
research, and
dissemination of information concerning the treatment of Italian Americans; and
(4) after completion
of the report required by this Act, financial support should be provided for
the
education of the
American public through the production of a documentary film suited for public
broadcast.
SEC. 5. FORMAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
The President shall, on behalf of the United States
Government, formally acknowledge that these events during
World War II represented a fundamental injustice
against Italian Americans.
Passed the House of Representatives November 10, 1999.
Attest:
Clerk.
Proclamation 2526, Extension of Remarks by the
Honorable Matt Salmon (AZ) on November 19, 1999, as printed in the
Congressional Record pp. E2525-E2526.
PROCLAMATION NO. 2526 -- HON. MATT SALMON (Extension of Remarks - November 19, 1999)
[Page: E2525] GPO's PDF
---
HON. MATT SALMON
in the House of Representatives
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1999
Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, the severe treatment of
Japanese Americans and aliens during World War II
has been extensively detailed. Not as chronicled is
the less pervasive, but still serious discrimination on the
basis of ethnicity suffered by Americans or aliens of
Italian and German descent. To this end, Congressman
Rick Lazio's Wartime Violation of Italian Americans
Civil Liberties Act, which passed the House last week,
would provide Americans with a sharper account of the
discrimination suffered by Italian Americans during
World War II. But, history would still lack a clear
picture of the German-American experience.
It's clear that certain Americans of German descent
experienced injustices similar to other ethnic groups during
World War II. For example, consider the case of Arthur
D. Jacobs, an American of German descent, who
now lives in my district. Mr. Jacobs published a book
earlier in the year, The Prison Called Hohenasperg that
details his account of internment in the United States
and Germany. Mr. Jacobs and his family spent time at
Ellis Island, Crystal City, TX, and finally a prison
camp in Germany. The event that put Mr. Jacobs ordeal in
motion was the leveling of unsubstantiated, anonymous
charges against his father.
The book has generated national interest. The
November 1st edition of the American Library Association's
Booklist offered the following review of the book:
[Page: E2526] GPO's PDF
There has been very little written about the terrible punishment that was
meted out to thousands of German
Americans during World War II. That's why Jacob's book is an important one.
This modest tome opens up a hidden
and disgraceful chapter in our history for all to see.
The internment of Mr. Jacobs and his family was not
an isolated case. Arnold Kramer, a Texas A&M
professor specializing in European history and author
of Undue Process: The Untold Story of America's
German Alien Internees, observed in his book that
about 15 percent of the 10,905 German aliens and
Americans interned were committed Nazis, while the
rest `were ordinary American citizens.'
In the 48 hours following the bombing of Pearl
Harbor President Franklin Roosevelt issued Proclamation
2525, 2526, and 2527, which authorized restrictive
rules for aliens of Japanese, German, and Italian descent,
respectively. These proclamations coupled with
Executive Order 9066, which authorized the War Department
to exclude certain persons from designated military
areas, resulted in hardships and the deprivation of certain
fundamental rights for the targeted populations. A
1980 Congressional Research Service Report, The
Internment of German and Italian Aliens Compared With
the Internment of Japanese Aliens in the United
States During World War II: A Brief History and
Analysis, revealed that the War Department would not
support the `collective evacuation of German and
Italian aliens from the West Coast or from anywhere else in
the United States' but would authorize individual
exclusion orders `against both aliens and citizens under the
authority of Executive Order 9066.' In other words,
German and Italian Americans and aliens could still be
denied basic civil liberties because of their
heritage.
Ideally, Congress would address both the Italian
American and German American experience during World
War II. On a per capita basis, it appears that
significantly more Americans or aliens of German descent were
interned than Italian Americans. According to personal
Justice Denied, a report of the Commission on
Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians issued
in 1982, the Justice Department had interned 1,393
Germans and 264 Italians by February 16, 1942.
Moreover, the Commission's report contains evidence that
German Americans were considered to be more of a
threat than Italian Americans. For instance, the Secretary
of War in 1942 instructed the military commander in
charge of implementing Executive Order 9066 to
consider plans for excluding German aliens, but to
ignore the Italians. And later in the year, the Attorney
General announced that Italians would no longer be
considered `aliens of enemy nationality.' No such
clarification was ever issued for German Americans.
Finally, President Franklin Roosevelt dismissed the threat
of those of Italian descent living in America,
referring to them as `a lot of opera singers.'
As we reach the end of the century, I urge my
colleagues to pursue a full historical accounting of the
experiences of all Americans who suffered
discrimination during the Second World War as expeditiously as
possible.
1999
WARTIME VIOLATION OF ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 2442
OCTOBER 26, 1999
Serial No. 1
Page 2 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., Wisconsin
BILL McCOLLUM, Florida
GEORGE W. GEKAS, Pennsylvania
HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina
LAMAR SMITH, Texas
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
CHARLES T. CANADY, Florida
BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
BOB BARR, Georgia
WILLIAM L. JENKINS, Tennessee
ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas
EDWARD A. PEASE, Indiana
CHRIS CANNON, Utah
JAMES E. ROGAN, California
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
MARY BONO, California
Page 3 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida
DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Michigan
BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
RICK BOUCHER, Virginia
JERROLD NADLER, New York
ROBERT C. SCOTT, Virginia
MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina
ZOE LOFGREN, California
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
MAXINE WATERS, California
MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, New Jersey
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York
THOMAS E. MOONEY, General Counsel-Chief of Staff
JULIAN EPSTEIN, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on the Constitution
Page 4 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
CHARLES T. CANADY, Florida, Chairman
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois
ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas
SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama
BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
BOB BARR, Georgia
WILLIAM L. JENKINS, Tennessee
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina
MAXINE WATERS, California
BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts
JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Michigan
JERROLD NADLER, New York
CATHLEEN CLEAVER, Chief Counsel
BRADLEY S. CLANTON, Counsel
JONATHAN A. VOGEL, Counsel
PAUL B. TAYLOR, Counsel
C O N T E N T S
PREAMBLE
Hyde, Hon. Henry J., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Illinois, and chairman, Committee on the
Judiciary
Page 5 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
HEARING DATE
October 26, 1999
TEXT OF BILL
H.R. 2442
OPENING STATEMENT
Canady, Charles T., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Florida, and chairman, Subcommittee on the
Constitution
WITNESSES
de Guttadauro, Colonel Angelo, Retired, San Antonio, TX
DiDomenico, Matthew, Sr., Executive Vice President, National Italian American Foundation, Washington, DC
DiMaggio, Dominic, Ocean Ridge, FL
Di Stasi, Lawrence, President, American Italian Historical Association, Western Regional Chapter, Bolinas, CA
Page 6 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Engel, Hon. Eliot, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York
La Piana, Anthony E., Representing the National Italian American Council, Lombard, IL
Lazio, Hon. Rick, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York
Piccigallo, Philip, National Executive Director, Order of the Sons of Italy in America, Washington, DC
Pinza, Doris L., Cape Elizabeth, ME
Scudero, Rose Viscuso, Antioch, CA
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
de Guttadauro, Colonel Angelo, Retired, San Antonio, TX: Prepared statement
DiDomenico, Matthew, Sr., Executive Vice President,
National Italian American Foundation, Washington, DC:
Prepared statement
DiMaggio, Dominic, Ocean Ridge, FL: Prepared statement
Page 7 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Di Stasi, Lawrence, President, American Italian
Historical Association, Western Regional Chapter, Bolinas, CA:
Prepared statement
Engel, Hon. Eliot, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Prepared statement
Foran, Costanza Ilacqua: Prepared statement
La Piana, Anthony E., Representing the National Italian American Council, Lombard, IL: Prepared statement
Lazio, Hon. Rick, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Prepared statement
Maggio, Thomas P.: Prepared statement
Piccigallo, Philip, National Executive Director, Order of
the Sons of Italy in America, Washington, DC: Prepared
statement
Pinza, Doris L., Cape Elizabeth, ME: Prepared statement
Scherini, Rose, Ph.D.: Prepared statement
Scudero, Rose Viscuso, Antioch, CA: Prepared statement
Page 8 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Spadaro, Vitina: Prepared statement
P R E A M B L E
We are pleased to reproduce the testimony of those who
have come to tell their sad but important story. This
secret history of wartime restrictions on Italian Americans living in the
United States has been largely absent from the
American history books. It is long past time that this unknown part of American
history and the plight of an immigrant
people living in the United States who endured oppression during World War II
be revealed.
In the interests of history and truth itself, the
shocking story of the official persecution (there is no other word) of
so many persons then residing in the United States whose only fault seems to
have been sharing an Italian ancestry,
must be told.
The contributions to our country by Italian Americans
would fill a library, whether the category is business, film,
television and theatre, literature, music and entertainment, politics,
religion, science and technology, sports or the
visual arts. Persons of Italian heritage have helped make America the great
country it is today and we owe it to our
national honor to acknowledge with deep sorrow the abuses they endured here at
home during World War II.
I urge you to read this testimony and be as shocked as I
was by its details. By telling this ''secret history'' we can
only hope it will never happen again. That it still shocks us is a sign that we
have not yet lost our sensitivity and can
still celebrate and esteem a proud and exceptional people as fellow Americans.
Page 9 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
This testimony is an effort to bring to the forefront the
discrimination and prejudice that was suffered by Italian
Americans during the war. In a gesture of remorse and atonement for these acts,
the United States House of
Representatives on November 10, 1999 overwhelmingly passed the Wartime
Violation of Italian American Civil
Liberties Act, formally acknowledging the fundamental injustice that was
visited on Italian Americans during World
War II. It is my hope that in studying the provisions of H.R. 2442, we will
unearth the long-buried events and recast
the plight of Italian-American immigrants in a way that we can help heal those
who suffered and make sure that
history will never repeat such injustice again.
Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary.
WARTIME VIOLATION OF ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1999
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Constitution
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:33 a.m.,
in Room 2237 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon.
Charles T. Canady [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Page 10 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Present: Representatives Henry J. Hyde, Bob Goodlatte, William L. Jenkins, Melvin L. Watt, and Jerrold Nadler.
Staff Present: Cathleen Cleaver, Chief Counsel; Jonathan
Vogel, Counsel; Susana Gutierrez, Clerk; Sharee
Freeman, Counsel; and Anthony Foxx, Minority Counsel.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN CANADY
Mr. CANADY. The subcommittee will come to order.
This morning the subcommittee convenes to conduct a hearing
on H.R. 2442, the Wartime Violation of Italian
American Civil Liberties Act. Though much has been written about the internment
in the United States during World
War II of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans few people know that during the
same time approximately
600,000 Italian Americans were deprived of their civil liberties by Government
measures that branded them ''enemy
aliens.'' In fact, on December 7, 1941, hours after the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor, the FBI took into custody
hundreds of Italian-American aliens previously classified as ''dangerous'' and
shipped them to camps where they
were imprisoned until Italy surrendered in 1943.
As so-called enemy aliens, Italian-American aliens were
required to carry special photo identification booklets at
all times and they were forced to turn into the Government items such as
shortwave radios, cameras, and flashlights.
Those suspected of retaining these items had their homes raided by FBI agents.
Page 11 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
In California, about 52,000 Italian-American aliens were
subjected to a curfew that confined them to their homes
between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and a travel restriction that prohibited them from
traveling further than 5 miles from their
homes. These measures made it difficult, if not impossible, for some Italian
Americans to travel to their jobs, and
thousands were arrested for violations of these and other restrictions.
Then on February 24, 1942, 10,000 Italian-American aliens
living in California were ordered to evacuate coastal
and military zones. Most of those who had to abandon their homes were elderly,
some of whom were taken away in
wheelchairs and on stretchers.
Later in the fall of 1942, about 25 Italian-American
citizens were ordered to evacuate these areas. In Half Moon
Bay, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, evacuation orders had an enormous
impact on hundreds of
Italian-American fishermen who were prohibited from taking their boats out to
sea. In fact, many boats belonging to
Italian-American fishermen were impounded by the United States Navy for the
duration of the war.
H.R. 2442 would require the President, on behalf of the
Federal Government, to formally acknowledge that the
Government measures Italian Americans were subjected to during World War II
represented a fundamental injustice.
H.R. 2442 would further require the Department of Justice to author a report
that would include, among other things,
the names of every Italian American arrested and ordered to move or taken into
custody during World War II as a
result of those Government measures.
The bill also urges the Department of Education and the
National Endowment for the Humanities to support
conferences and lectures, pay for a traveling exhibit, and fund documentaries.
H.R. 2442 itself provides that this
story must be told to acknowledge that these events occurred, to remember those
whose lives were unjustly
disrupted by these events, to help repair the damage to the Italian-American
community, and to discourage the
occurrence of similar injustices in the future.
Page 12 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
[The bill, H.R. 2442, follows:]
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2442
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices
suffered by Italian Americans during
World War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 1, 1999
Mr. LAZIO (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. BAKER, Mr.
BERMAN, Mr.
BOEHLERT, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DELAURO,
Mr.
FORBES, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GONZALEZ,
Mr.
GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KING, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr.
LAMPSON, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LOBIONDO, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York,
Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mrs. MALONEY
of
New York, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. MASCARA, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of
California,
Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr.
TOWNS, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. Wu, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. BROWN
of
California, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. MATSUI, Mr.
BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. DOYLE, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. SMITH of New
Jersey,
Mr. WEINER, Mr. STUPAK, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. DEUTSCH, and Mr. ACKERMAN)
introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
Page 13 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
A BILL
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices
suffered by Italian Americans during
World War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ''Wartime Violation of Italian
American Civil Liberties Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The freedom of more than 600,000 Italian-born immigrants
in the United States and their families was
restricted during World War II by Government measures that branded them ''enemy
aliens'' and included carrying
identification cards, travel restrictions, and seizure of personal property.
(2) During World War II more than 10,000 Italian Americans
living on the West Coast were forced to leave their
homes and prohibited from entering coastal zones. More than 50,000 were
subjected to curfews.
(3) During World War II thousands of Italian American
immigrants were arrested, and hundreds were interned in
military camps.
(4) Hundreds of thousands of Italian Americans performed
exemplary service and thousands sacrificed their lives
in defense of the United States.
(5) At the time, Italians were the largest foreign-born
group in the United States, and today are the fifth largest
immigrant group in the United States, numbering approximately 15 million.
Page 14 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
(6) The impact of the wartime experience was devastating
to Italian American communities in the United States,
and its effects are still being felt.
(7) A deliberate policy kept these measures from the public
during the war. Even 50 years later much information
is still classified, the full story remains unknown to the public, and it has
never been acknowledged in any official
capacity by the United States Government.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall
conduct a comprehensive review of the treatment by the
United States Government of Italian Americans during World War II, and not
later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act shall submit to the Congress a report that documents the
findings of such review. The report
shall cover the period between September 1, 1939, and December 31, 1945, and
shall include the following:
(1) The names of all Italian Americans who were taken into
custody in the initial roundup following the attack on
Pearl Harbor, and prior to the United States declaration of war against Italy.
(2) The names of all Italian Americans who were taken into
custody.
(3) The names of all Italian Americans who were interned and
the location where they were interned.
(4) The names of all Italian Americans who were ordered to
move out of designated areas under the United States
Army's ''Individual Exclusion Program''.
(5) The names of all Italian Americans who were arrested for
curfew, contraband, or other violations under the
authority of Executive Order 9066.
(6) Documentation of Federal Bureau of Investigation raids
on the homes of Italian Americans.
Page 15 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
(7) A list of ports from which Italian American fishermen
were restricted.
(8) The names of Italian American fishermen who were
prevented from fishing in prohibited zones and therefore
unable to pursue their livelihoods.
(9) The names of Italian Americans whose boats were
confiscated.
(10) The names of Italian American railroad workers who were
prevented from working in prohibited zones.
(11) A list of all civil liberties infringements suffered by
Italian Americans during World War II, as a result of
Executive Order 9066, including internment, hearings without benefit of
counsel, illegal searches and seizures, travel
restrictions, enemy alien registration requirements, employment restrictions,
confiscation of property, and forced
evacuation from homes.
(12) An explanation of why some Italian Americans were
subjected to civil liberties infringements, as a result of
Executive Order 9066, while other Italian Americans were not.
(13) A review of the wartime restrictions on Italian
Americans to determine how civil liberties can be better
protected during national emergencies.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the story of the treatment of Italian Americans during
World War II needs to be told in order to acknowledge
that these events happened, to remember those whose lives were unjustly
disrupted and whose freedoms were
violated, to help repair the damage to the Italian American community, and to
discourage the occurrence of similar
injustices and violations of civil liberties in the future;
(2) Federal agencies, including the Department of Education
and the National Endowment for the Humanities,
should support projects such as—
Page 16 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
(A) conferences, seminars, and lectures to heighten
awareness of this unfortunate chapter in our Nation's history;
(B) the refurbishment of and payment of all expenses
associated with the traveling exhibit ''Una Storia Segreta'',
exhibited at major cultural and educational institutions throughout the United
States; and
(C) documentaries to allow this issue to be presented to the
American public to raise its awareness;
(3) an independent, volunteer advisory committee should be
established comprised of representatives of Italian
American organizations, historians, and other interested individuals to assist
in the compilation, research, and
dissemination of information concerning the treatment of Italian Americans; and
(4) after completion of the report required by this Act,
financial support should be provided for the education of
the American public through the production of a documentary film suited for
public broadcast.
SEC. 5. FORMAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
The President shall, on behalf of the United States
Government, formally acknowledge that these events during
World War II represented a fundamental injustice against Italian Americans.
Mr. Watt is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. WATT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will not take 5 minutes.
I do want to thank the chairman for scheduling the
hearing and thank Representatives Engel and Lazio for
introducing this bill.
Page 17 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
As much as we love and respect and honor this country, we
keep finding that there are things in our history that
either through official acts or unofficial acts we cannot be proud of as a
Nation. When people ask me what value
there is in the current day practice that was followed in South Africa of
having a truth commission and hearings to put
all these things on the table and get them out in the public and in the light
of day, it always strikes me that it is
impossible to move forward until you have some appreciation of inequities and
injustices—acts both official and
unofficial—that keep you looking backwards and retrospectively.
I hope first of all that this hearing gives us the basis
for documenting as much of this as we can and that the bill
gives us a basis for having a discussion above board about what acts are
appropriate to address in this era and this
series of injustices. There are many things that we are proud of our country
for, but there are many things that leave
us scratching our heads and wondering if it is the same country that stands for
the same values that we all aspire to.
I am hopeful that this bill and this hearing will help in
addressing this particular thing that we cannot—not any of
us—be proud of and allow us to move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I yield back.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Watt.
Page 18 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
We now go to our first panel of the day, which consists of two of our colleagues.
Our first witness this morning is the Honorable Rick
Lazio, who represents the 2nd District of New York.
Congressman Lazio was elected to Congress in 1992 and chairs the House Banking
Subcommittee on Housing and
Community Opportunity. Congressman Lazio has been named Chairman of the 1999
National Italian American Gala
Dinner and is Congress' representative on the Holocaust Asset Committee. Before
serving in Congress, he was twice
elected to the Suffolk County Legislature.
Following Congressman Lazio is the Honorable Eliot L.
Engel, who represents the 17th District of New York.
Congressman Engel, who was elected to Congress in 1988, serves on the House
Committee on Commerce and the
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. Prior to his election to
Congress, Congressman Engel
served in the New York State Legislature from 1977 to 1988.
I want to thank both of you for being here with us today.
I would ask that you do your best to summarize your
testimony in 5 minutes, although I do not think anyone here is going to insist
on strict adherence to the 5-minute rule.
Of course, your full written statements will be made a part of the permanent
record, without objection.
Congressman Lazio.
STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LAZIO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
NEW YORK
Page 19 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. LAZIO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Let me begin by thanking you personally for holding this
hearing and for your interest and for your statement,
which I listened to carefully, and I which I think very much reflects the
sentiments of both Congressman Engel,
myself, and others that are co-sponsors to this legislation.
I want to thank the ranking member as well,
Representative Watt, for his insight and sensitivity to what we call
''Una Storia Segreta,'' which is our ''secret story,'' for many Italian
Americans who were not even aware of this
chapter or who, because their parents or grandparents did not want to talk
about it, were ashamed of it and thought
that it stigmatized—which in many ways it did—Italian Americans during that
era.
Let me also, if I may, thank the witnesses that have
flown from different parts of our Nation to come here today
because they believe with passion that this chapter needs to be told, and we
need to come to terms with the
consequences of America's actions during World War II.
I should also mention at the outset, as an Italian
American and somebody who represents a district with many
Italian Americans—in a district that was home to Anthony Cassamento, one of
many Italian Americans who served
during World War II, who went off to war and served in Guadalcanal, took a
series of bullets in defending a hill, was
shot through the throat, took a bandanna, wrapped his throat, then continued to
charge up and secure the Japanese
machine gun nests, thereby saving many, many lives for which he was awarded the
Congressional Medal of
Honor—what an irony it was that during that time when Italian Americans in
unprecedented numbers were serving
our Nation in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters, were spilling blood and being
awarded honors, including the
Congressional Medal of Honor—their parents and grandparents back home were
being subjected to evacuation and
to the disgrace of being labelled ''enemy aliens.''
Page 20 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. Chairman, late in the night of December 7, 1941, only
hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
Filippo Molinari heard noises outside his San Jose home. When Mr. Molinari went
to investigate, he found three
policemen at his front door. They told him that by the order of President
Roosevelt he must come with them.
Filippo Molinari had served in the Italian army during
World War I, fighting alongside American troops. He was
well known in his community as a door-to-door salesman for the Italian language
newspaper, La Italia. He was the
founding member of the San Francisco Sons of Italy. Now he was under arrest.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Molinari was
shipped to a Government detention center in Fort Missoula, Montana for no other
reason than for having the status
of being an Italian American.
Filippo Molinari's story is not unique. He was one of the
hundreds of Italian Americans arrested in the first days of
the war and shipped off to distant internment centers without benefit of
counsel or trial, where they were held against
their will until Italy surrendered 2 years later—2 years later, Mr. Chairman.
Early in 1942, another 10,000 Italian Americans across
the Nation were forcibly evacuated from their homes and
relocated away from coastal areas and military bases. In all, 600,000 Italian
nationals—most of whom had lived in
the United States for decades—were deemed enemy aliens and subject to strict
travel restrictions, curfews, and
seizures of personal property for no other reason than their heritage.
These so-called ''enemy aliens'' were required to carry
photo-bearing identification booklets at all times, forbidden
to travel beyond a 5-mile radius of their homes, and were required to turn in
any short-wave radios, cameras,
flashlights, and firearms in their possession. In fact, Mr. Chairman, there
were instances of people having their
cameras seized or destroyed at their doorstep. Many times these were elderly
women who had their cameras or their
radios destroyed. Imagine the terror as many of the neighbors looked on and the
stigma that was attached to that.
Page 21 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
In California, 52,000 Italian residents were subject to
an 8 p.m. curfew. In Monterey, Boston, and other port
towns, Italian-American fishermen were grounded and many had their boats
impounded by the Navy—all this while
half a million Italian Americans were serving, fighting, and dying in the
United States armed forces during World War
II.
To this day, few Americans have any idea that these
events took place. Indeed, few Italian Americans know what
happened to their ancestors during the war. Many believe that President Roosevelt's
infamous Executive Order 9066
applied only to Japanese and Japanese Americans living in western States, but
that is not the case.
There is another chapter to this sad story which I
mentioned before, ''Una Storia Segreta''—a secret story. The
bill we are discussing today represents an attempt—I think a very balanced and
very modest attempt—to begin
setting the record straight. The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil
Liberties Act calls upon the Department
of Justice to conduct a comprehensive study of our Government's policies toward
Italian Americans during the war,
to find out exactly what took place and to whom. This report will include an
examination of ways to safeguard the
civil liberties of minority groups during future national emergencies.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties
Act would also encourage relevant Federal agencies to
support educational projects to heighten public awareness of this unfortunate
episode in our history, including
exhibitions, seminars, and documentaries.
Finally, this legislation calls upon the President to
acknowledge formally our Government's systematic denial of
civil liberties to what was then the largest foreign-born ethnic group in the
United States. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased
to say that this bill has attracted more than 80 cosponsors from both sides of
the aisle. The diversity of this list is
indicative of both the national scope of the injustices that took place and the
widespread belief felt across ethnic and
geographic lines, that justice be done.
Page 22 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
The noted poet and philosopher, George Santayana,
observed that those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it. This is exactly what Representative Watt was saying:
You need to confront the truth before
you can deal with assuring that that sad chapter is not repeated. That is why
this bill has been introduced, to establish
the truth. We owe it to the Italian-American community and indeed the American
public to find out exactly what
happened and to publicize it. A complete understanding of what took place
during this sad chapter of American
history is the best guarantee that it will never happen again.
Let me also take this opportunity to thank and
acknowledge the Chairman of the Full Committee, Mr. Hyde, for
his support in allowing this hearing to go forward, and for his sensitivity in
trying to work through the nuances of a
very difficult chapter, during a very difficult time, putting this in the
context of American history.
But again, it is difficult to address these seizures,
these arrests based on status, and the stigma that was attached
without reflecting on the irony that at the very same time Italian Americans
were serving our Nation, dying, protecting
others in the name of freedom, protecting American principles on far-off
shores.
Again, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing this hearing to go forward.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lazio follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LAZIO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF NEW YORK
Page 23 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the
Subcommittee, I want to thank you for holding these hearing
today. This issue, the violation of Italian American civil liberties during
World War Two, is one that is very important
to me, my constituents, and Italian-Americans across the nation.
I also want to thank all the people who have come from
all across the country to testify today. I genuinely
appreciate their time and effort, and admire their commitment to set the record
straight.
Mr. Chairman, late in the night of December 7, 1941, only
hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
Filippo Molinari heard noises outside his San Jose home. When Mr. Molinari went
to investigate, he found three
policemen at his front door. They told him that by order of President
Roosevelt, he must come with them.
Filippo Molinari had served in the Italian army during
World War One, fighting along side American troops. He
was well-known in his community as a door-to-door salesman for the Italian
language newspaper L'Italia. He was
the founding member of the San Francisco Sons of Italy. And now, he was under
arrest. Shortly thereafter, Mr.
Molinari was shipped to a government detention center in Fort Missoula,
Montana.
Filippo Molinari's story is not unique. He was one of
hundreds of Italian Americans arrested in the first days of the
war, and shipped off to distant internment centers without benefit of council
or trial—where they were held against
their will until Italy surrendered two years later. Early in 1942 another ten
thousand Italian Americans across the
nation were forcibly evacuated from their homes and relocated away from coastal
areas and military bases.
Page 24 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
In all 600,000 Italian nationals, most of whom had lived
in the United States for decades, were deemed ''enemy
aliens'' and subject to strict travel restrictions, curfews, and seizures of
their personal property. These so-called
''enemy aliens'' were required to carry photo-bearing ID booklets at all times;
forbidden to travel beyond a five mile
radius of their homes; and required to turn in any shortwave radios, cameras,
flashlights and firearms in their
possession. In California, 52,000 Italian residents were subjected to an 8 p.m.
curfew. In Monterey, Boston, and
other port towns, Italian American fishermen were grounded, and many had their
boats impounded by the navy—all
this while half a million Italian Americans were serving, fighting, and dying
in the U.S. armed forces during World
War II.
To this day, few Americans have any idea that these
events took place. Indeed, few Italian Americans know what
happened to their ancestors during the war. Most believe that President
Roosevelt's infamous Executive Order 9066
applied only to Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in the western states.
But clearly there is another chapter to
this sad story, ''Una Storia Segreta''—a secret story. The bill we are
discussing today represents an attempt to begin
setting the record straight.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties
Act calls on the Department of Justice to conduct a
comprehensive study of our government's policies toward Italian Americans
during the war, to find out exactly what
took place and to whom. This report will include an examination of ways to
safeguard the civil liberties of minority
groups during future national emergencies.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties
Act would also encourage relevant federal agencies to
support educational projects to heighten public awareness of this unfortunate
episode in our history, including
exhibitions, seminars, and documentaries.
Page 25 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Finally, this legislation calls upon the President to
acknowledge formally our government's systematic denial of civil
liberties to what was then the largest foreign-born ethnic group in the United
States.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to say that this bill has
attracted more than 80 cosponsors from both sides of the
aisle. The diversity of this list is indicative of both the national scope of
the injustices that took place, and the
widespread belief—felt across ethnic and geographic lines—that justice be done.
The noted poet and philosopher George Santayana observed
that, ''Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.'' But the truth must be established before it can be
remembered. That's why I introduced this
bill: to establish the truth. We owe it to the Italian-American community, and
indeed to the American public, to find
out exactly what happened and publicize it. A complete understanding of what
took place during this sad chapter of
American history is the best guarantee that they will never happen again.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for holding these hearings.
I look forward to working with you and your
committee on this important issue.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Lazio.
Representative Engel.
STATEMENT OF HON. ELIOT ENGEL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE
OF
NEW YORK
Page 26 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. ENGEL. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Mr.
Watt. I want to thank you for having this hearing
today. I want to also thank those who have taken time out of their busy
schedules to be with us to offer their
personal experiences and expertise on this issue. I want to thank my friend and
colleague, Rick Lazio, for sponsoring
this legislation with me. And I want to thank both of you for your very
sensitive remarks. Mr. Watt is right on target
with the Truth Commission.
When we first started bringing this out to the public,
the reaction of people is just disbelief. People just do not
believe that it ever happened because the textbooks did not say anything about
it. Everyone has heard about the
unfortunate circumstances with the Japanese Americans, but people were unaware
that the Italian Americans had a
similar situation.
We have two photos up here showing Italian Americans
being marched to the internment camps in Missoula,
Montana. So we have documented evidence as to what really happened here.
Again, why do we do this? We do it because hopefully we
will learn from the past and something like this can
never happen again. We love this country. It is the best country in the world,
but mistakes have been made along the
line. People are human and make mistakes. This was obviously a colossal error
and it is something that we need to
focus on so that something like this can never happen again.
We are here today not only to discuss the Wartime
Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, but to listen
to accounts from Italian Americans describing the events they and their
families endured during World War II. The
civil liberty abuses that Italian Americans suffered are not well documented
and are not well known, but they did
occur and the truth about this story—which we call ''Una Storia Segreta,'' the
secret story—must be told.
Page 27 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
December 7, 1941 is a day that is very well known. On
that horrifying day, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
and the United States entered World War II. What has been overlooked since that
day is the fact that Italian
Americans suddenly became enemy aliens. Loyal Italian American patriots who
fought alongside the United States
Armed Forces in World War I, mothers and fathers of U.S. soldiers, and even
children were suspected of being
dangerous and subversive simply because they were Italian Americans.
With this new enemy alien status, the military and local
police began confiscating firearms from Italians. Italians
were subject to strict curfew regulations, forced to carry photo IDs, and could
not travel further than a 5-mile radius
from their homes without prior approval. Soon after, radios and televisions
were also confiscated, and eventually
Italians were forced to give up all electronic devices, personal pictures, any
papers that the Government suspected
treasonous, and even their livelihoods.
For instance, an Italian car dealer in Oakland,
California was told that he could not collect $3,500 for automobiles
he sold to Alameda County just before Pearl Harbor was bombed because of his
status now as an enemy alien. He
was told that payment to him by Alameda County would be considered trading with
the enemy and was prohibited.
Also Italian fishermen were forbidden from using their
boats in prohibited zones. Since fishing was the only means
of income for many families, households were torn apart or completely relocated
as alternative sources of income
were sought. Initially, the fishing boats left behind simply remained docked.
However, as time passed, the military
began using the boats and there was nothing that could be done to stop them, as
appeals to the Justice Department
were left unanswered. When some of the boats were returned after the war, they
either required extensive repairs or
were simply unusable, and some were never returned at all.
Page 28 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
As awful as the internment experience was, it would have
been much worse if not for the intervention of Congress
and other public officials attempting to prevent these injustices from
continuing.
As you may know, the Tolan Committee, made up of Members
of Congress, began holding public hearings on the
west coast at that time regarding the treatment of enemy aliens. Congressman
John Tolan of Oakland, California
chaired the committee. Chairman Tolan spoke publicly about the exemplary
character of many Italians subjected to
civil liberties abuses. He spoke openly about the plight of the famous DiMaggio
family. We will hear more about their
experiences later from Mr. Dominic DiMaggio.
Thanks to the Tolan Committee, Italian Americans did not
suffer the same fate as the Japanese Americans. The
committee recommendation to the Department of Justice suggested that Italians
were less ''dangerous'' than Japanese
and that mass internment and relocation was not necessary. However, the fate of
the Italians rested with Lieutenant
General John DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command.
Through the efforts of the Tolan Committee, General
DeWitt was forced to scale back his mass evacuation and
relocation plans for the west coast. Consequently, Lieutenant General Hugh A.
Drum, Commander of the Eastern
Defense Command, who had recommended establishing prohibited zones in 16 States
along the east coast, was
pressured to scale back his plans to relocate some 52 million people.
Thankfully, relocation on the east coast never occurred,
as President Roosevelt prohibited it. However, individuals
considered dangerous were still taken into custody. As a New Yorker—and as a
person whose grandparents came
to Ellis Island to this country—it still saddens me to think that Ellis Island,
the world-renowned symbol of freedom
and democracy, was used to detain Italians considered dangerous. Ezio Pinza, an
international opera star, was
detained at Ellis Island. His wife is here today to share their story with us.
Page 29 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
The east coast was spared relocation. However, Italians on the west coast were not as fortunate.
Under authority of Executive Order 9066, which first
authorized the internment of the Japanese, General DeWitt
began relocation and internment of Italian Americans in California. Over 10,000
Italians deemed enemy aliens were
forcibly evacuated from their homes and over 52,000 were subject to strict
curfew regulations. Ironically, over
500,000 Italians were serving in the United States Armed Forces at the time,
fighting to protect the liberties of all
Americans, while many of their family members had their basic freedoms revoked.
However, the full extent of the internment experience is
still unknown. Several Italian Americans in California were
so shamed about their status as enemy aliens that they committed suicide. Many
Italians were arrested for curfew
violations or carrying everyday products that were suddenly considered
contraband. Families with ethnic names
began changing them to sound more American and stopped speaking their native language.
Mr. Chairman, we must ensure that these terrible events
will never be perpetrated again. We must safeguard the
individual rights of all Americans from arbitrary persecution or no American
will ever be secure. The least our
Government can do is try to right these terrible wrongs by acknowledging that
these events did occur. We are not
looking for an apology, just an acknowledgement by the President. That is part
of what this legislation does.
Mr. Chairman, there was not one documented case of
Italian Americans conducting sabotage against the United
States. While we cannot erase the mistakes of the past, we must try to learn
from them in order to ensure that we
never subject anyone to the same injustices.
Page 30 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Our bill, H.R. 2442, calls on the Department of Justice
to publish a report detailing the unjust policies of the
Government during this time period. Essential to the report will be a study
examining ways to safeguard individual
rights during national emergencies. Moreover, this legislation calls on the
President to formally acknowledge our
Government's systematic denial of basic human rights and freedoms to one of the
largest ethnic communities in the
United States.
Mr. Chairman, we owe it to the Italian-American
community, and to all communities—especially those who
endured these abuses—to recognize the injustices of the past. Documentation and
education about the suffering of all
groups of Americans who face persecution is important in order to ensure that
no group's civil liberties are ever
violated again.
I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the
committee—Mr. Watt, the ranking member, and
others—for having this hearing. As you may know—and as Mr. Lazio said—this
legislation has received vast
support in the House of Representatives as 80 of our colleagues have
cosponsored the bill.
I look forward to working further with you and the committee on this important legislation.
I would like to revise and extend my remarks to include
letters I have received from organizations supporting our
legislation. I want to thank our staffs for helping us with this legislation,
particularly my administrative assistant, John
Calvelli, who has been so helpful in putting this together and documenting
this. I want to thank NIAF—National
Italian American Foundation—and all the people who have really called this to
our attention and carried the ball on
this.
Page 31 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
I thank you for your endorsement.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Engel and referenced documentation follow.]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ELIOT ENGEL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE
STATE OF NEW YORK
Mr. Chairman, I first want to thank you and the distinguished
members of the Committee for having this hearing
today. I also want to thank those who have taken time out of their busy
schedules to be with us to offer their
personal experiences and expertise on this issue. We are here today not only to
discuss the Wartime Violation of
Italian American Civil Liberties Act, but to listen to accounts from Italian
Americans describing the events they and
their families endured during World War II. The civil liberty abuses that
Italian Americans suffered are not well
documented and are not well known, but they did occur and the truth about this
story, Una Storia Segreta—the
Secret Story, must be told.
December 7, 1941 is a day that is very well known. On
that horrifying day, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
and the United States entered World War II. What has been overlooked since that
day is the fact that Italian
Americans suddenly became ''enemy aliens''. Loyal Italian American patriots who
fought for the United States
Armed Forces in World War I, immigrants who had fought along side our troops,
even women and children were
suspected of being dangerous and subversive. With this new enemy alien status,
the military and local police began
confiscating firearms from Italians. Italians were subject to strict curfew
regulations, forced to carry photo ID's, and
could not travel further than a 5 mile radius from their homes without prior
approval. Soon radios and televisions
were also confiscated, and eventually Italians were forced to give up all
electronic devices, personal pictures, any
papers that the government suspected treasonous, and even their livelihoods.
Page 32 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
For instance, an Italian car dealer in Oakland, California,
was told he could not collect $3,500 dollars for
automobiles he sold to Alameda County just before Pearl Harbor was bombed
because of his status now as an
enemy alien. He was told that payment to him by Alameda County would be
considered trading with the enemy and
was prohibited. Also, Italian fishermen were forbidden from using their boats
in prohibited zones. Since fishing was
the only means of income for many families, households were torn apart or
completely relocated as alternative
sources of income were sought. Initially, the fishing boats left behind simply
remained docked. However, as time
passed, the military began using the boats and there was nothing that could be
done to stop them as appeals to the
Justice Department were left unanswered. When some of the boats were returned
after the war they either required
extensive repairs or were simply unusable, and some were never returned at all.
As awful as the internment
experience was, it would have been much worse if not for the intervention of
Congress and other public officials
attempting to prevent these injustices from continuing.
As you may know, the Tolan Committee, made up of Members
of Congress, began holding public hearings on the
West Coast regarding the treatment of enemy aliens. Congressman John Tolan of
Oakland, California chaired the
Committee. Chairman Tolan spoke publicly about the exemplary character of many
Italians subjected to civil liberties
abuses. He spoke openly about the plight of the famous DiMaggio family. We will
hear more about their experiences
later from Mr. Dominic DiMaggio. Thanks to the efforts of the Tolan Committee,
Italians did not suffer the same fate
as the Japanese. The Committee recommendation to the Department of Justice
suggested that Italians were less
''dangerous'' than Japanese and that mass internment and relocation was not
necessary. However, the fate of the
Italians rested with Lieutenant General John DeWitt, head of the Western
Defense Command.
Page 33 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Through the efforts of the Tolan Committee, General
DeWitt was forced to scale back his mass evacuation and
relocation plans for the West Coast. Consequently, Lieutenant General Hugh A.
Drum, commander of the Eastern
Defense Command, who had recommended establishing prohibited zones in 16 states
along the east coast was
pressured to scale back his plans to relocate some 52 million people.
Thankfully, relocation on the East coast never
occurred as President Roosevelt prohibited it. However, individuals considered
dangerous were still taken into
custody. It still saddens me to think that Ellis Island, the world renowned
symbol of freedom and democracy, was
used to detain Italians considered dangerous. Ezio Pinza, an international opera
star was detained at Ellis Island. His
wife is here today to share their story with us. The east coast was spared
relocation, however, Italians on the West
Coast were not as fortunate.
Under authority of Executive Order 9066, which first
authorized the internment of the Japanese, General DeWitt
began relocation and internment of Italian Americans in California. Over 10,000
Italians deemed enemy aliens were
forcibly evacuated from their homes and over 52,000 were subject to strict
curfew regulations. Ironically, over
500,000 Italians were serving in the United States Armed Forces fighting to
protect the liberties of all Americans,
while many of their family members had their basic freedoms revoked.
However, the full extent of the internment experience is
still unknown. Several Italian Americans in California were
so shamed about their status as enemy aliens that they committed suicide. Many
Italians were arrested for curfew
violations or carrying everyday products that were suddenly considered
contraband. Families with ethnic names
began changing them to sound more American and stopped speaking their native
language. Mr. Chairman, we must
ensure that these terrible events will never be perpetrated again. We must
safeguard the individual rights of all
Americans from arbitrary persecution or no American will ever be secure. The
least our government can do is try to
right these terrible wrongs by acknowledging that these events did occur. Mr.
Chairman, there was not one
documented case of Italian Americans conducting sabotage against the United
States. While we cannot erase the
mistakes of the past, we must try to learn from them in order to ensure that we
never subject anyone to the same
injustices.
Page 34 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. Chairman, HR 2442, the Wartime Violation of Italian
American Civil Liberties Act, calls on the Department
of Justice to publish a report detailing the unjust policies of the government
during this time period. Essential to the
report will be a study examining ways to safeguard individual rights during
national emergencies. Moreover, this
legislation calls on the President to formally acknowledge our government's
systematic denial of basic human rights
and freedoms to one of the largest ethnic communities in the United States.
Mr. Chairman, we owe it to the Italian American
community, especially those who endured these abuses, to
recognize the injustices of the past. Documentation and education about the
suffering of all groups of Americans who
face persecution is important in order to ensure that no group's civil
liberties are ever violated again.
I want to commend the Chairman and Members of the
Committee for having this hearing. As you may know, this
legislation has received vast support in the House of Representatives as 80 of
my colleagues have cosponsored the
bill. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working further with you and the
Committee on this important legislation.
Italic Studies Institute,
Floral Park, NY, October 26, 1999.
CHAIRMAN,
Subcommittee on the Constitution,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Page 35 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Re: HR 2442
Wartime Violation of Italian-American Civil Liberties Act
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Italic Studies Institute, a New
York State nonprofit educational organization
founded in 1987, hereby confirms its support of HR 2442 as the beginning of the
process to restore the historical
record and the dignity of the Italian American community in regard to the
unjust and shameful results of Executive
Order 9066/1942.
We have witnessed within the past few generations the
Federal government's recognition of past misdeeds. Most
recently, Congress has taken concrete steps to ameliorate the negative effects
of the Second World War as follows:
The American Civil Liberties Act of 1987 appropriated $1.2 billion in
reparations to Japanese-American victims of
the Internment as well as a $50 million education fund. Close to $3 million of
this fund has been awarded solely for
Japanese-American media projects in 1997.
The DOD Appropriations Act of 1994 provided $4 million for the establishment
of a Japanese-American Cultural
Center in Ontario, Oregon.
In March, 1996 House legislation called for the rapid creation of a Manzanar
National Historic Site for
Japanese-American internment.
H.R. 3019 (1996) libraries appropriation allowed for a $1 million direct
grant to filmmaker Steven Spielberg for his
Holocaust documentation (sponsored by Senators Boxer and Specter) in
recognition of the Nazi persecution of
European Jews.
Page 36 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
In 1996, Congress authorized a land swap in the capital to provide a site
for a war memorial to the 442nd Infantry
Division (Japanese-American Nisei), the first such ethnic war memorial, as well
as land for a Japanese American
Internment memorial.
In 1998 approximately $40 million was taken from the Civil Liberties
Education Fund (cited above) to provide cash
settlements to Peruvian Japanese who were interned in the United States during
World War II.
We would also like to bring to the Congress' attention
that the Government of Canada, through its National Film
Board, allocated approximately $400,000 to produce a public documentary (Barbed
Wire and Mandolins) as an
atonement for its horrific treatment of Italian Canadians during World War II.
Finally, there is the serious matter of disinformation
that abounds throughout the American media concerning the
full scope of Executive Order 9066. Nearly every newspaper article, a majority
of books, and almost all
documentaries on the subject emphatically state that only the Japanese
Americans were subjected to the illegal acts
of Executive Order 9066. Authors and narrators often state that Italians and
Germans were not targeted, as in the
1999 PBS documentary Rabbit on the Moon. They further opine that this is proof
of the racial intent of the Order.
These subjective views and misrepresentation of the public record need to be
addressed forthrightly by Congress.
In the matter of Italian Americans, the road to atonement
has not yet been taken. It is our unequivocal belief that
Congress needs to finally come to terms with Executive Order 9066 for the sake
of justice and the historical record.
Page 37 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Respectfully,
John Mancini, Chairman.
cc: Officers, Governors, Advisors
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Engel and Mr. Lazio. We appreciate your very helpful comments.
I would like to now recognize the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. HYDE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Very briefly, I want to congratulate Rick Lazio for
bringing this to national attention. I was shocked when I heard
about it. Anthony LaPiana came to visit me and apprised me of the background of
this whole situation and I was
dumbfounded. And if I was dumbfounded, I wonder how many people just never
heard of these terrible abuses
against one of the most loyal segments of our country.
I am not Italian, but I have a profound admiration for
the Italian Americans and their contribution to our country. I
once had to give a speech before an Italian-American community and I spent some
wonderful hours learning about
the accomplishments of the Italians in music, art, literature, history, and
their contribution to this country.
My old friend, Frank Annunzio, who was instrumental in
having Columbus Day declared a national holiday, was
needled by one of his colleagues who said, ''Everyone knows Leif Ericksen
discovered America,'' and Frank, quick
as a flash, said, ''When Columbus discovered it, it stayed discovered.''
[Laughter.]
Page 38 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. HYDE. But all the Italian-American community wants is
the truth to be told. It is not a question of reparations
or looking for money or anything like that, but the truth has been obscured and
it ought not to be obscured. The truth
has to be told. And we are doing it the hard way, through a congressional
hearing. And this is only the beginning. I
think there will be more.
It is very important that the contribution of a proud
people be made known, and the abuses visited upon them be
made known, because then their unshakable patriotism stands in even greater
relief.
I am very proud to be a small part of this. Thank you again, Mr. Lazio and Mr. Engel.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Jenkins, would you like to make an opening statement?
Mr. JENKINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Hyde has a few years on me. I was surprised to
hear him say that his degree of being unaware of
this—because I certainly was—it very recently has come to my attention that
there were these kinds of abuses that
were being thrust upon a segment of our population. But I, like Mr. Hyde, would
like to salute the contributions that
have been made in every facet of our society by the Italian Americans and say
that I, too, am very happy to be—if
there is some way that we can atone for—a part of that.
Page 39 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. CANADY. Mr. Watt.
Mr. WATT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I know we typically do not ask our colleagues questions,
but I thought this might be more appropriately addressed
to them than to any of the other witnesses who will be testifying about the
factual backdrop.
One concern—and I am not sure that it is an overwhelming
concern—that I have about the bill is on page seven.
Is there precedent for directing the President to make such an acknowledgement
as we are directing him to make?
Or might it be better to make the acknowledgment and have it acknowledged by
his signature on a bill that we, as
Congress, have officially acknowledged as opposed to having the President do
it? Is there some reason you elected
to do it this way?
Mr. LAZIO. I am not aware of any precedent. I think the
only precedent we have for this sort of factual setting is
the experience of the Japanese Americans. The reason why we have this formal
acknowledgement on the part of the
President is because I think he is perceived by the American public—and
rightfully so—as the head of our
Government. He has the ability to generate a message in a way that a piece of
legislation might not otherwise be able
to. And it would certainly offer the President the opportunity to make a more
thorough statement than just a signature
or an announcement. It is something that a message could be built around that
would penetrate the consciousness of
the American people that perhaps legislation might not be able to do.
Page 40 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. ENGEL. I agree with that. I was there when we put the
language together for the bill and we talked about
whether or not to have a formal acknowledgement by the President. We decided to
do it because we felt that that
would make it more forceful. Obviously, by signing the bill there is an
acknowledgement, but we felt that the formal
acknowledgement would emphasize it.
Again, as Chairman Hyde said, we are not asking for
money, or an apology, or anything like that, but a formal
acknowledgement. By doing it that way, we thought we would emphasize it and
highlight the fact of what really
happened.
Again, I want to stress—and everybody has mentioned
it—why I believe it is so important. The overwhelming
majority—99 percent of everybody who comes into contact with this bill—thinks
it is a wonderful thing that we are
doing. Occasionally someone will ask, ''Why drudge up the past? Why make
Italian Americans as victims? Why are
you doing this?''
I think it is important that we mention the past and
acknowledge the past. Whether it is the injustices against
African Americans in this country or what happened with the Japanese Americans
or the Holocaust in Europe—it is
so important to do that. How else are our children going to learn? How else are
we going to learn? How else are we
going to show that this happened when people ultimately will deny that these
injustices ever happened?
Mr. WATT. I do not want to leave the impression that I
object to this form of doing it. I just wanted to be sure
that we have thought about the ramifications of this. It seems to me that just
as powerful a statement would be made
by having all of us going on record as having acknowledged this. I suspect that
whatever president would sign this
bill, it would be a further acknowledgement at that point anyway.
Page 41 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Let me emphasize that I am not second-guessing this. I am raising what I hope is a constructive question.
Mr. CANADY. Mr. Nadler.
Mr. NADLER. Thank you.
Let me first express my apologies for coming late. I was
at another meeting on a different topic, in this case a
current ethnic persecution. Let me express my appreciation to Mr. Engel and Mr.
Lazio for sponsoring this very
important legislation, of which I am proud to be a cosponsor. I am glad that we
are doing this—or hope to be doing
this—passing this legislation because it is about time that we acknowledge the
actions of our Government.
I just have one question. We know with respect to the
Japanese the shameful acts our Government committed,
and Congress voted for formal reparations about a decade ago. Until Congressman
Engel mentioned this to me a
few months ago, I had no idea that the Government had done anything with
respect to Italian Americans in World
War II. I was rather chagrined to find it out, and I am glad we are considering
this legislation.
Are you aware of anything the Government did to German
Americans? Did the United States Government take
similar action with respect to Germans in the United States, German citizens,
or German immigrants? Or did they
single out Italians and Japanese in a different way?
Page 42 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. LAZIO. Congressman, I believe that German Americans
faced a similar status problem. They were also
labelled as enemy aliens. I think their access to radios and to communications
equipment beyond telephones and to
firearms was also restricted. I do recall that German Americans had the same
status as enemy aliens.
Mr. NADLER. And this was limited in both the
Italian-American case and the German-American case to people
who were not citizens? Or was it not so limited?
Mr. LAZIO. There were cases where you actually had
citizens, but the overwhelming majority of the people were
resident aliens.
Mr. NADLER. But there was internment of Italian Americans?
Mr. LAZIO. Yes, there was.
Mr. ENGEL. Unfortunately, there were some internments of
German Americans as well. The thing that is so
striking here is that there was not one documented act of sabotage by any
Italian Americans. There were some
unfortunate cases by some German Americans. Unfortunately, German Americans
were rounded up as well. Again,
that is part of our history that most of us were not aware of.
Mr. NADLER. Were any citizens in either the German or Italian extraction interned? Or only resident aliens?
Mr. ENGEL. Most were resident aliens. There were some incidents of citizens as well.
Page 43 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
As you know, some people—for whatever reason—choose not
to become citizens but are legal in this country
and work and pay taxes. Most of those people were the ones who were rounded up.
Mr. LAZIO. I would also add that—and while I do not
believe in any way that this is justification for
internment—there were cases of German Americans who were involved in espionage
and helping the Nazis. There
were no instances of Italian Americans involved in espionage, who passed on
information to any of America's
declared enemies.
Mr. NADLER. Again, I want to thank the two of you for
sponsoring this legislation. I want to thank
Congressman Engel for bringing the history to my attention because I was
entirely unaware of it. I do hope we will
approve this legislation expeditiously.
Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Nadler.
Again, we thank both of you for your leadership on this important issue.
Mr. CANADY. We will now move to the second panel.
I thank all of you for being with us this morning. We will now proceed with the introductions of the next panel.
Page 44 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
The first witness on our second panel this morning is Ms.
Rose Viscuso Scudero of Antioch, California. Following
her is Doris L. Pinza of Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Our third witness on the second panel is Colonel Angelo de Guttadauro of San Antonio, Texas.
Following him is ''The Little Professor,'' Mr. Dominic
DiMaggio of Ocean Ridge, Florida. Mr. DiMaggio, a former
major league baseball player, is the brother of baseball legend, Joe DiMaggio.
Our next witness is Lawrence Di Stasi of Bolinas, California.
Mr. Di Stasi is President of the Western Regional
Chapter of the American Italian Historical Association, and Project Director of
the traveling exhibit ''Una Storia
Segreta: When Italian Americans Were 'Enemy Aliens' ''.
Following Mr. Di Stasi is Anthony E. LaPiana of Lombard,
Illinois. Mr. LaPiana is here on behalf of the National
Italian American Council.
Our next witness on this panel is Matthew DiDomenico,
Sr., who is the Executive Vice President of the National
Italian American Foundation in Washington, D.C. NIAF is a non-profit
organization that represents an estimated 20
million Americans of Italian descent.
Our final witness on this panel is Dr. Philip Piccigallo,
who is here on behalf of the Sons of Italy of Washington,
D.C.
Page 45 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
Again, I want to thank all of you for being here with us
this morning. I apologize for mispronouncing any of your
names. I would ask that you do your best to summarize your testimony in 5
minutes or less, guided by the green light.
When it is red, that means the 5 minutes have expired. Without objection, your
full written statements will be made a
part of the permanent hearing record.
Ms. Scudero.
STATEMENT OF ROSE VISCUSO SCUDERO, ANTIOCH, CA
Ms. SCUDERO. Thank you, and thank you for having us here today.
I am Rose Viscuso Scudero and my story goes that I was
twelve and a half years old at the time this happened.
My mother received a letter from the Government stating that because she did
not have her citizenship papers she
would have to leave the town that we lived in. We had to move at least 9 miles
out. Pittsburg, California had the San
Joaquin River, the Columbia Steel Mill, and quite a few other vital industries.
We had to move. And because I was a minor—I was born in
the United States. I was a citizen—and yet because
I was a minor, I had to leave with my mother. My mother had to leave behind
three daughters, my two brothers, and
my father, who was building the Liberty ships at Kaiser Shipyards. My brothers
were working at Columbia Steel.
That is kind of ironic that there is a woman who could not read or write
English, and they sent her away.
Page 46 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
There were many families in Pittsburg who went through
the same thing. A lot of my classmates were sent away
that were born in the United States, with their parents. I did not have any
idea what was going to happen to me. I did
not know if I was ever going to come back home. I had to leave all the
classmates I had been in school with since
kindergarten. It was just very traumatic. My mother would cry herself to sleep
every night. The thought of leaving
three daughters, especially, at home—18, 19, and 21 years old—was very, very
hard for her to take.
They did not get to see us except every few weekends
because it was hard to get a ride. Everybody did not have
a car at that time. We shared the house with my two aunts, my two cousins, and
my uncle, who was a citizen. He
stayed with us so that we would have a man in the house.
We had to walk quite a few miles to go to the store to
get groceries and things. We had no radio. They took all
those things away from us. So we had no way of knowing how things were going,
except when our family came to
visit.
The school I went to—because we were foreign to them—I
was considered an enemy alien. When I would get on
the bus, they would spread out so that there would be no room to sit. My lunch
was stolen several times a month. I
had to share lunch with the teacher. When they would teach the children to
dance, the boys would ask the girls to
dance and I would sit there by myself. It was very humiliating.
And I know these things are not as bad as the atrocities
that happened to the Japanese. I am not trying to
compare this to that, but emotionally it did affect us. And now my
grandchildren are questioning it. ''We do not see it
in history books in school. Why are you saying this?'' I have to bring out a few
pictures and things that I have of my
family.
Page 47 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
This happened to two other members in my family. My
brother was married a year and a half and had a
1-year-old child. His wife came over when she was 9 years old. She had just
turned 21 at the time this happened. At
that time, I don't believe they could receive their citizenship papers until
they were 21. She did not have time. So she
had to move to Walnut Creek with the baby and my brother stayed behind because
he worked at the steel mill.
My brother joined the Navy, even though this was
happening, but his boss at the steel mill said that they needed
him there for the war effort. So he talked to his commanding officer and had
him deferred.
So it did affect us.
My father was building liberty ships at Kaiser shipyards and yet they sent my mother away.
I have a lot of other stories of people in Pittsburg who
had two or three sons in the service who came home and
found their house boarded up. The mothers were living in Oakley in itinerant
houses—three families in these
houses—distant cousins or whatever would cook and bring them food. A lot of
these things were going on.
My sister, Marie, was engaged to be married to a boy from
San Francisco, Mr. Del Carlo. He came here when
he was 18 months old and he was not 21 at the time. So he waited until he was
21. When he finally got his papers, 6
weeks later he is drafted. He fought in Normandy and the Rhine. And while he
was there he was able to go to
Lucca, Italy and he saw his 90-year-old grandfather, and here they were on
opposite sides fighting each other. I
have pictures of that.
Page 48 PREV
PAGE TOP OF DOC
They confiscated all our cameras, radios, et cetera, so
my mom put me on the bus after several months and sent
me to Pittsburg. I was able to do that because I was born here. That liberty
they gave me. I was to find out when we
were going to be able to come home. The news was good at that time. We were
there from February 24th until
August of that year. I went back and the news was good. Everybody was so happy
and crying. My mom sent
me—this was sort of a rural area—to tell all the other people. I went knocking
on doors and kept telling them that
they could go home now. They labelled me the ''Italian Paul Revere'' at that
time. [Laughter.]
Ms. SCUDERO. I am now 70 years old. I am speaking to
children from the 6th grade through high school and it
is amazing the reaction I get to this story and the questions they come up
with. It is just mind-boggling. You can hear
a pin drop.
I have shown a video of my interviews with CNN and Good
Morning America. They cannot comprehend. The
first question I get from most of them is, ''You mean this happened here in the
United States?'' I answer yes, and it
can happen again.
They want to know more. They want to read about it.
I want to thank you for having me here, and I am sorry I
am so nervous. I have a lot more stories to tell, if you
want to listen.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Scudero follows:]
Page 49 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
PREPARED STATEMENT OF ROSE VISCUSO SCUDERO,