"A German Lutheran catechism and an ashtray, crafted from a rock and painted "Seagoville 1943,' were John Heitmann's first clues to his family's history in the years before his birth. The clues would lead him to FBI files, immigration records and conversations with princes and professors and to the tip of the iceberg of a chapter of U.S. history unknown to most Americans - the internment of German aliens during World War II."
Smith continues, "Seagoville [in reality an internment camp near Dallas], Heitmann knew, was somewhere his parents lived in Texas during the war, but never spoke of. The catechism, found two years ago while browsing books in his mother's home, was stamped with a German inscription: "A gift of the German Red Cross to prisoners of war, 1943.' A fax from a friend at the National Archives handed Heitmann the missing piece: "my father's card file from the Immigration and Naturalization Service in May 1942 with a warrant to arrest my father as a dangerous pro-Nazi. My father was apprehended at his home in Astoria, N.Y., by seven FBI men with machine guns.'"
DO WE LEARN FROM OUR PAST?
The story of many of WWII internees of Asian, European, and Latin American descent often shared the same experience--an experience that many Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians have been sharing in too much--after 9-11-2001.
"The Department of Justice (DOJ) instituted very limited due process protections for those arrested. Potential internees were held in custody for weeks in temporary detention centers, such as jails and hospitals, prior to their hearings. Frequently, their families had no idea where they were for weeks. The hearings took place before DOJ-constituted civilian hearing boards. Those arrested were subject to hostile questioning by the local prosecuting US Attorney, who was assisted by the investigating FBI agents. The intimidated, frequently semi-fluent accused had no right to counsel, could not contest the proceedings or question their accusers. Hearing board recommendations were forwarded to the DOJ's Alien Enemy Control Unit (AECU) for a final determination that could take weeks or months.
Internees remained in custody nervously awaiting DOJ's order--unconditional release, parole or internment. Policy dictated that the AECU resolve what it deemed to be questionable hearing board recommendations in favor of internment. Based on AECU recommendations, the Attorney General issued internment orders for the duration of the war. Internees were shipped off to distant camps. Families were torn apart and lives disrupted, many irreparably. Family members left at home were shunned due to fear of the FBI and spite. Newspapers published stories and incriminating lists. Eventually destitute, many families lost their homes and had to apply to the government to join spouses in family camps, apply for welfare and/or rely on other family members who could afford to support them. Eventually, under such duress, hundreds of internees agreed to repatriate to war-torn Germany to be exchanged with their children for Americans. Once there, food was scarce, Allied bombs were falling and their German families could do little to help them. Many regretted their decision. Considering the spurious allegations, which led to the internment of a majority of internees, their treatment by our government was harsh indeed. Their experience provides ample evidence of why our civil liberties are so precious."
John Heitmann, who is mentioned above, is a now professor of history and has often sought to obtain all records on his father's case with J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act, but he has often come up against Walls of Silence over the years.
When discussing his continuing struggle to obtain information, Heitmann recalls --I've always dealt with the history of institutions and how they can impersonally repress individuals who are perceived as a threat to those institutions. . . ."
"'Do we really learn from our past?' Heitmann wonders, tracing parallels between the internment of German- Americans in the '40s and government plans to intern suspected communists in the '50s, Iranians in the '70s and Iraqis in the '90s. In the FBI Filegate flap of the Clinton administration, in current anti-immigrant sentiment, in anti-terrorist legislation that circumvents due process, historians hear ominous echoes of earlier times."
Finally, Heitmann summarizes, "There are some intrinsic flaws in human nature that reappear and are reflected in our institutions. It's a story of how institutions end up biting people . . . . In a world where there are lots of smoke screens and J. Edgar Hoovers, an individual can really be hurt"." He then acknowledged "a professional curiosity that is fueled by a personal quest to discover a part of his family history that is buried under years of silence."
If this is the case, our endless war on terrorism in the 21st century is going to leave many more generations scarred due to American backlash and internment.
NOTES
Enemy Alien Control Program WWII: An Overview
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/immigration/enemy-aliens-overview.html
German American Internee Coalition
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