| World War II US Government-Operated and -Funded
Internment and Detention Facilities which Held Persons of German
Ancestry |
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The interactive map below shows the
location of many important detention/internment facilities operated by
the US Government during World War II which held persons of German
ancestry from the US and Latin America. Clicking on a map location
will link you to more detailed information about a given facility
or facilities at that location. Below the map is a summary description
of the facilities. Many sites across the U.S. not reflected on the
interactive map were also used. Click on the following links
for comprehensive maps of Department
of Justice and INS/State Dept. sites and U.S. Army sites.
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Internment and Detention
Facilities Overview
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What follows is general information about many of the
primary US government internment camps and detention facilities in
which persons of German ancestry from the United States and Latin
America were interned during World War II. This overview should provide
a sense of the different facilities used or funded by the US government
to detain and intern enemy aliens and their families, including
American-born children: US Department of Justice permanent internment
facilities, temporary detention facilities of many types, US Army
internment camps (including prisons), Latin American internment camps,
US State Department detention facilities and forest work camps. Most
internees passed through a series of these facilities depending on
their status in the internment/repatriation/deportation process, their
gender, whether they were interned with family members and their
citizenship status. Additionally, internee transfers resulted as the US
government progressively selected and prepared the facilities, and
adjusted to the demands of the internee population (i.e., the creation
of a family camp).
The primary focus of this website is the US government’s
wartime treatment of German Americans and German Latin Americans,
however, most internment/detention facilities held internees of German,
Italian and Japanese ancestry, together or individually, at different
times during the war. Pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act, the alien enemy
program targeted all persons of “enemy ancestry” during World War
II—German, Japanese and Italian—because such persons were considered
disloyal by reason of their ancestry. Research materials, exhibits,
monuments, media accounts and other informational materials which
indicate otherwise are incorrect and misleading. This overview does not
include the ten Wartime Relocation Authority camps in which West Coast
Japanese and Japanese Americans were held pursuant to Executive Order
9066 which were not operated pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act.
This overview is not exhaustive, but representative. The
narrative is based on research and personal accounts. Pictures have
been obtained from a variety of sources, including the National
Archives, the National Park Service, researchers and internees to whom
we are very grateful.
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US Department of Justice Internment
Facilities
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The government rotated internees through a number of
detention facilities while interned, however, the majority eventually
landed in one of the eight main Department of Justice internment camps.
These camps were administered by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS), a division of DOJ. Camps for men were: Ft. Lincoln, Camp
Kenedy, Ft. Stanton, Ft. Missoula, Santa Fe, and Kooskia in Idaho (no
German internees). Camps for women and families were: Seagoville and
Crystal City. Read more about Department of
Justice Internment Facilities. |
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United States Army Internment Camps
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In addition to Department of Justice facilities, the
US government used U.S. Army posts to hold internees. This was
especially true at the beginning of the war, when there were many
arrests and no good place to put the internees. At least 18 Army
facilities were used to hold German internees, including two internment
sites at Sand Island and Honouliuli in Hawaii. One, in Stringtown,
Oklahoma, was actually a state prison. Conditions at these locations
were generally harsh. The Army administered the camps with frequently
unwarranted vigor because they viewed their wards as the enemy. Most
camps had double fences and guard towers with armed guards. Of the many
camps where Germans were held, several are featured below. Eventually,
Army sites had to be used to house Axis prisoners of war, and the
internees were moved to INS facilities. Most internees were transferred
to multiple sites during their years of internment. This made it hard
for their families to communicate with them and the internees wondered
constantly what would happen to them next. Read
more about US Army Internment Camps |
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Temporary Detention Facilities
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After arrest by the FBI or another police authority,
people were held for periods of several days to months in temporary
detention facilities, usually near their homes, but not always.
Traditionally, the detention facilities were operated by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) on behalf of its parent
agency, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Because the INS was
responsible for aliens in the US, this was logical, but far from ideal.
The facilities were frequently way stations for foreign seamen or
others coming to the US. They were not set up to imprison many
detainees for months and had to be quickly adapted to perform this
service. Other temporary facilities included jails, hospitals, hotels
and convents (for women). Jails were particularly harsh because the
inmate population was seldom friendly toward the suspected
“subversives” in their midst.
After their hearings, the detainees remained incarcerated until DOJ
rendered its decision. Once an internment order was issued, the
detainees were transferred to more permanent facilities. They were
transferred from camp to camp, crisscrossing the US until they arrived
at the camp to which they were ultimately assigned. Early in the war,
the US struggled to locate, retrofit and staff appropriate internment
sites for the thousands it had decided to intern. Read more about Temporary Detention
Facilities, including Ellis Island. |
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Latin American Detention Facilities
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As explained in greater detail in the Latin American
Program, the US sought to extend its authority over Latin America
before and during World War II, to promote both national security and
business interests. Except for Argentina, Brazil and Chile, the Latin
American countries complied, many for their own reasons. Brief
overviews of some of the Latin American camps are included here. Read More about Latin American Detention
Facilities |
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Forest Camps
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During World War II, because so many men were gone
to fight in the war, German and Italian internees and prisoners of war
were sometimes sent to work in the forest. Read more about the Forest Camps |
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State Department-Related Sites: Hotels
and Resorts
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The Special War Problems Division of the U.S. State
Department ran a small group of their own internment facilities during
WW II. "Special war problems" included diplomats and consular corps
staff, as well as executives from Axis owned businesses, from both the
U.S. and Latin American countries. Read more about the State
Department-Related Sites |
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