Is That Legal?

Does CCLPEP plan to mention any of the US citizens of German or Italian decent who were interned? Of course not! That would disprove the charge of racism.

"Coin"--
Shut the hell up, would you please?
From the conference schedule, Thursday, June 2, 1:45 to 3:15 p.m.

LESSER KNOWN STORIES OF THE INTERNMENT: THE ITALIAN AMERICAN AND JAPANESE LATIN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (PART 1)
SPEAKERS: John Christgau, author of Enemies: World War II Alien Internment; Judith Ehrlich, The Italian American Film Project; Lawrence DiStasi, author of Una Storia Segret; Grace Shimizu of Campaign for Japanese Latin Americans For Redress NOW.

This symposium will explore the stories of the how the U.S. government disregarded the civil and human rights of 31,000 German, Italian and Japanese Latin American immigrants during World War II.
Do you plan to build any of this into your skewed views? Of course not!

Professor Muller:

Was it a typo or did you mean to write the figure 31,000 in the following?:

"This symposium will explore the stories of the how the U.S. government disregarded the civil and human rights of 31,000 German, Italian and Japanese Latin American immigrants during World War II. Do you plan to build any of this into your skewed views? Of course not!"

Speaking of "skewed views" the 31,000 figure you use for "German, Italian and Japanese Latin American immigrants during WWII" appears to be about 28,000 too many. Such an exaggeration is not unusual, indeed it is rather typical of other gross distortions of numbers bandied about with regard to the experiences of immigrant Japanese and Japanese-Americans during WWII.

With regard to the Latin American Axis nationals, it is generally acknowledged by those who have bothered to check the record that only approx 8,500 Axis nationals (Germans, Italians, and Japanese)were arrested and interned by 16 Latin American countries during WWII. In accordance with treaty obligations, the U.S. was obligated to accept Axis nationals for internment in the U.S. from those Latin American countries which were unable to establish costly internment programs.

Accordngly, at least twelve Latin American countries deported a total of only 3,000 Axis nationals consisting of just under 2,300 Japanese (500 of whom who had already applied for expatriation to Japan at the Spanish Embassy in Peru) and just over 700 Germans and Italians.
Hence, the U.S. was only involved in the internment of 3,000, not 31,000 Latin American Axis nationals. Charges of violation of the wartime civil rights of such persons (enemy aliens)by the U.S. is far fetched. Indeed, such persons were specifically excluded from P.L.100-383 which authorized payment to Japanese enemy aliens and Japanese Americans evacuated from the West Coast or interned by the U.S. during the war.

As for other numerical inflations, it is often alleged that 33,000 JAs served in the U.S. armed forces during the war. But records indicate that only 21,000 were inducted and the Japanese-American war memorial in L.A. seems to have only been able to identify approx 16,000 who actually served. Similarly, over 9,000 Purple Hearts are commonly claimed for the just over 8,000-man 100/442d Regimental Combat Team by latter-day enthusiasts, but according to the Washington Infantry Journal Press 18 months after war's end, the true number was only 3,600.

It is unfortunate that historical accuracy so often plays second fiddle to emotion with regard to the Japanese-American internment subject.

Cmdr Hopwood,

First off, I didn't write that number at all. I merely cut and pasted from the conference website. Somebody at CCLPEP, I would imagine, wrote that text.

Secondly--and to say nothing about the substantive accuracy of the figures--I think the number you're disputing can be read differently. I think it can be read (and probably was intended to be read) as referring to the number of (a) Germans in the USA, (b) Italians in the USA, and (c) German, Italian, and Japanese Latin Americans who were interned in the USA during WWII.

Prof. Muller, you write:

"...I think the number you're disputing can be read differently. I think it can be read (and probably was intended to be read) as referring to the number of (a) Germans in the USA, (b) Italians in the USA, and (c) German, Italian, and Japanese Latin Americans who were interned in the USA during WWII."

Perhaps you are right but if the 31,000 figure is meant to be read the way you suggest, that poses an interesting question which I hope may be raised for discussion at the syposium. I wonder if anyone might think to bring it up?

Since the symposium statement you quoted indicates that in the view of the symposium organizers the civil and human rights of interned Germans, Italians, and Japanese nationals who were in the U.S. and interned by the U.S. (all of whom were enemy aliens subject to internment under long-standing law) were alleged to have been violated, how can the payment of reparations under P.L. 100-383 to only the enemy alien Japanese and none to Germans and Italians be justified?

Professor Muller,

What?!? No invite for Ms. Malkin?!?!?

The heck you say!

(/sarcasm)