were ALL italian immigrants locked up during world war II? my histroy teacher told me this and if it' true then this could really upset my novel setting! was there a way mobsters could fool the records so they didn't go to jail?

thanks for any help!!
mick

The U.S. Government went as far as to place American Citizens of Japanese descent in "camps" out west during WW II, but as far as I know, nothing similar on a large scale was done to Italians. I assume when you use the term "immigrant", you are referring to citizens of Italian descent. What may have happened to illegal aliens, suspected saboteurs, spies, government agents of Italy, etc., is another story.

If you are thinking of "Enzo..da baker", he was an Italian prisoner of war, captured by the American Army in Italy. He was not an American citizen.

I think that you possibly misunderstood your teacher. If he insists that this was the case, ask him to cite his source for this information.

I know that my in-laws weren't locked up or interned in a camp. They would've needed to put a fence around all of Brooklyn to keep them. Japanese were mostly in the western states, and were a different religion, looked different, and were viewed as ruthless and cunning.

It's interesting that the Germans and Italians were not subject ot the same loss of freedom as the Japanese.

Only Japanese-Americans were "interned." Italian-Americans and German-Americans were not bothered in any way. But, ironically: Italians and Germans who fled fascism in their native countries and came to America for refuge (but who were not yet citizens), were considered "enemy aliens" after Pearl Harbor, and were required to register with the government, had their travel restricted, etc.

I wonder, will the same happen to the Iraqis living in the U.S at present??? Did this happen in the last war in the early 1990's????? If not and if so, it can't be any different to the 1940's treatment of the Japanese!!!! National Security is a priority is it not!!!???

John Basileone was the first Italian-American to win the Medal Of Honor at Guadalcanal. He also won a Navy Cross posthumously at Iwo Jima. Sorry to go off topic.

thanks a lot guys for clarifying those points for me. i KNEW my teacher was wrong, but couldn't really prove it. when i asked her why it didn't happen in the godfather she said because it was set in the 30s--so you can imagine my joy when i corrected her and told her it was the 50s!
so, plawrence, i hadn't misunderstood her because i specifically asked her about it after she'd said it. i can't wait to tell her she's wrong!

thanks again,
mick

Better wait until she posts your grade, Mick!

yeah, nice advice Turnball!

mick

Orig Posted by Turnbull: Yes, Because Italian americans were in too large of a number to "inter", too spread out. But the Japanese were in small numbers and tightly packed on the east coast. All of this in account when thousands of Italian-Americans were joining Pro-Mussolini groups here in america, the same with the Germans and Hitler "groups" Hey, thats the American Goverment for you.

The Don Ferro

Sorry for bumping, looked interesting.

Yes, Because Italian americans were in too large of a number to "inter", too spread out. But the Japanese were in small numbers and tightly packed on the east coast. All of this in account when thousands of Italian-Americans were joining Pro-Mussolini groups here in america, the same with the Germans and Hitler "groups" Hey, thats the American Goverment for you.

The Don Ferro

Sorry for bumping, looked interesting.[/quote]You must mean on the west coast. European immigrants gathered on the east coast, Asian on the west coast.

Yes, sorry, where was my head? :rolleyes: