When America’s Italians Were America’s Enemies:

An Exploration of Civil Liberties in Crisis

At the Italian American Museum in mid-Manhattan

Clara Orsini, twelve years old, was in seventh grade when government agents came to her home without warning one day and took her mother and grandfather away.

The year was 1941. A powerful foreign enemy had shocked America. At home, a nation's civil liberties were cast aside in the name of domestic security. Now, more than 60 years later, the Italian American Museum explores America’s civil liberties in crisis as a new generation responds to a new enemy and the atrocities of September 11, 2001.

“Prisoners in Our Own Home: The Italian American Experience as America’s Enemy Aliens,” examines the systematic profiling of more than 600,000 Italian resident aliens as “enemy aliens” during World War II. The exhibition which opened to much public and media acclaim in October 2002 at the Italian American Museum is available to travel to schools, libraries, organizations and other appropriate exhibit spaces.

In New York City, home to the nation’s largest Italian American population and led by Italian American Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, Italian immigrants were photographed, fingerprinted and registered with the Department of Justice and the FBI. The government told Italian resident aliens to stay off the streets after dark. Daytime travel was restricted. To walk the streets or subway to work, Italian resident aliens in New York City carried bright pink enemy alien passbooks, with photo ID and fingerprint. Failure to produce the passbook upon demand of a government agent often resulted in arrest. Spoken Italian in public places was officially discouraged by the Federal government.

In Washington, D.C. the attorney general decreed that an Italian resident alien's "enemy alien" status alone was tantamount to probable cause, effectively suspending the Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Under this decree, search warrants could be obtained without any showing of suspicious activity or evidence of a crime. Authorities in New York City and elsewhere raided more than 2,900 homes of Italian immigrants who did not hold American citizenship. They seized flashlights, cameras, binoculars, firearms and short wave radios.

More than 2,100 Italians in America were taken into custody. Some were held in prison camps until the end of the war. Some escaped these hardships, but as the exhibit demonstrates, few Italian Americans, be they American citizens or enemy aliens-could escape the shame and fear and stigma tied to these laws and the war that raged with Italy, Germany and Japan.

Mothers, laborers, opera stars, even the great Yankee Joe DiMaggio felt the sting of the “enemy alien” act. Wartime restrictions applied to DiMaggio’s father, a fisherman, who was prohibited as an enemy alien from plying his trade or even visiting his son’s waterside restaurant in San Francisco.

“As we today struggle to preserve civil liberties and ensure homeland security, we cannot forget the lessons of the past when our nation targeted populations, such as Italian immigrants, solely because of ethnic background or country of origin,” said Dr. Philip Cannistraro, Distinguished Professor of Italian American Studies at Queens College and the City University Graduate Center, and Executive Director of the College’s John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, which collaborated with the Italian American Museum on the exhibit.

"The New York City Council has been a leader in the call for a Federal investigation into the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II," said former Speaker Peter F. Vallone. "I'm pleased that we were able to provide Council funding for this exhibit which explores the human dimensions of the Department of Justice report. School children throughout the city will now know the truth. I urge students of history of all ages to reflect on the important message of "Prisoners in Our Own Home."

City Council Speaker Gifford Miller said, “These so-called “enemy aliens” and their families were, in fact, loyal Americans. More than a half million Italian Americans fought against the Axis powers, including 70,000 servicemen who were sons of enemy aliens. Their sacrifice was great, yet Italian immigrants and their children suffered in silence during the war years, as this exhibit shows. Many changed their names, ceased speaking their ancestral language and shed cultural traditions to demonstrate beyond any doubt their loyalty to America. Sadly, the full impact on their culture may never be fully known.”

Queens College President James Muyskens said, “This important exhibit reminds us all that the freedoms we cherish are freedoms every generation must fight to preserve. I am especially pleased that this message will be taken to our school children over the coming months so that they may better understand the liberties many take for granted.”

Educators will be able to access documents, download curriculum and view lesson plans by visiting the museum website: www.ItalianAmericanMuseum.org, where a virtual tour will also be available.

To view images of exhibition panels please click here:

Prisoners in Our Own Home:

The Italian American Experience as America’s Enemy Aliens

Exhibition Curator: Dr. Peter Vellon

Exhibition Coordinator: Geoffrey Claroni, Esq.

Exhibition Designers: Vincent Ciulla Design Associates, Inc., Brooklyn, New York

Please contact Dr. Vellon for further information.

telephone: (212) 642-2037

facsimile: (212) 642-2030

pvellon@qc.edu