SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS Tables
Page 1 TOP OF DOC
60–413
1999
WARTIME VIOLATION OF ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 2442
OCTOBER 26, 1999
Serial No. 1
Page 2 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., Wisconsin
BILL McCOLLUM, Florida
GEORGE W. GEKAS, Pennsylvania
HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina
LAMAR SMITH, Texas
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
CHARLES T. CANADY, Florida
BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
BOB BARR, Georgia
WILLIAM L. JENKINS, Tennessee
ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas
EDWARD A. PEASE, Indiana
CHRIS CANNON, Utah
JAMES E. ROGAN, California
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
MARY BONO, California
Page 3 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida
DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Michigan
BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
RICK BOUCHER, Virginia
JERROLD NADLER, New York
ROBERT C. SCOTT, Virginia
MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina
ZOE LOFGREN, California
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
MAXINE WATERS, California
MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, New Jersey
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York
THOMAS E. MOONEY, General Counsel-Chief of Staff
JULIAN EPSTEIN, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on the Constitution
Page 4 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
CHARLES T. CANADY, Florida, Chairman
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois
ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas
SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama
BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
BOB BARR, Georgia
WILLIAM L. JENKINS, Tennessee
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina
MAXINE WATERS, California
BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts
JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Michigan
JERROLD NADLER, New York
CATHLEEN CLEAVER, Chief Counsel
BRADLEY S. CLANTON, Counsel
JONATHAN A. VOGEL, Counsel
PAUL B. TAYLOR, Counsel
C O N T E N T S
PREAMBLE
Hyde, Hon. Henry J., a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois, and chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
Page 5 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
HEARING DATE
October 26, 1999
TEXT OF BILL
H.R. 2442
OPENING STATEMENT
Canady, Charles T., a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida, and chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution
WITNESSES
de Guttadauro, Colonel Angelo, Retired, San Antonio, TX
DiDomenico, Matthew, Sr., Executive Vice President, National Italian American Foundation, Washington, DC
DiMaggio, Dominic, Ocean Ridge, FL
Di Stasi, Lawrence, President, American Italian Historical Association, Western Regional Chapter, Bolinas, CA
Page 6 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Engel, Hon. Eliot, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York
La Piana, Anthony E., Representing the National Italian American Council, Lombard, IL
Lazio, Hon. Rick, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York
Piccigallo, Philip, National Executive Director, Order of the Sons of Italy in America, Washington, DC
Pinza, Doris L., Cape Elizabeth, ME
Scudero, Rose Viscuso, Antioch, CA
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
de Guttadauro, Colonel Angelo, Retired, San Antonio, TX: Prepared statement
DiDomenico, Matthew, Sr., Executive Vice President, National Italian American Foundation, Washington, DC: Prepared statement
DiMaggio, Dominic, Ocean Ridge, FL: Prepared statement
Page 7 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Di Stasi, Lawrence, President, American Italian Historical Association, Western Regional Chapter, Bolinas, CA: Prepared statement
Engel, Hon. Eliot, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Prepared statement
Foran, Costanza Ilacqua: Prepared statement
La Piana, Anthony E., Representing the National Italian American Council, Lombard, IL: Prepared statement
Lazio, Hon. Rick, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Prepared statement
Maggio, Thomas P.: Prepared statement
Piccigallo, Philip, National Executive Director, Order of the Sons of Italy in America, Washington, DC: Prepared statement
Pinza, Doris L., Cape Elizabeth, ME: Prepared statement
Scherini, Rose, Ph.D.: Prepared statement
Scudero, Rose Viscuso, Antioch, CA: Prepared statement
Page 8 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Spadaro, Vitina: Prepared statement
P R E A M B L E
We are pleased to reproduce the testimony of those who have come to tell their sad but important story. This secret history of wartime restrictions on Italian Americans living in the United States has been largely absent from the American history books. It is long past time that this unknown part of American history and the plight of an immigrant people living in the United States who endured oppression during World War II be revealed.
In the interests of history and truth itself, the shocking story of the official persecution (there is no other word) of so many persons then residing in the United States whose only fault seems to have been sharing an Italian ancestry, must be told.
The contributions to our country by Italian Americans would fill a library, whether the category is business, film, television and theatre, literature, music and entertainment, politics, religion, science and technology, sports or the visual arts. Persons of Italian heritage have helped make America the great country it is today and we owe it to our national honor to acknowledge with deep sorrow the abuses they endured here at home during World War II.
I urge you to read this testimony and be as shocked as I was by its details. By telling this ''secret history'' we can only hope it will never happen again. That it still shocks us is a sign that we have not yet lost our sensitivity and can still celebrate and esteem a proud and exceptional people as fellow Americans.
Page 9 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
This testimony is an effort to bring to the forefront the discrimination and prejudice that was suffered by Italian Americans during the war. In a gesture of remorse and atonement for these acts, the United States House of Representatives on November 10, 1999 overwhelmingly passed the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, formally acknowledging the fundamental injustice that was visited on Italian Americans during World War II. It is my hope that in studying the provisions of H.R. 2442, we will unearth the long-buried events and recast the plight of Italian-American immigrants in a way that we can help heal those who suffered and make sure that history will never repeat such injustice again.
Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary.
WARTIME VIOLATION OF ITALIAN AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1999
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Constitution
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:33 a.m., in Room 2237 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Charles T. Canady [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Page 10 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Present: Representatives Henry J. Hyde, Bob Goodlatte, William L. Jenkins, Melvin L. Watt, and Jerrold Nadler.
Staff Present: Cathleen Cleaver, Chief Counsel; Jonathan Vogel, Counsel; Susana Gutierrez, Clerk; Sharee Freeman, Counsel; and Anthony Foxx, Minority Counsel.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN CANADY
Mr. CANADY. The subcommittee will come to order.
This morning the subcommittee convenes to conduct a hearing on H.R. 2442, the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act. Though much has been written about the internment in the United States during World War II of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans few people know that during the same time approximately 600,000 Italian Americans were deprived of their civil liberties by Government measures that branded them ''enemy aliens.'' In fact, on December 7, 1941, hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the FBI took into custody hundreds of Italian-American aliens previously classified as ''dangerous'' and shipped them to camps where they were imprisoned until Italy surrendered in 1943.
As so-called enemy aliens, Italian-American aliens were required to carry special photo identification booklets at all times and they were forced to turn into the Government items such as shortwave radios, cameras, and flashlights. Those suspected of retaining these items had their homes raided by FBI agents.
Page 11 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
In California, about 52,000 Italian-American aliens were subjected to a curfew that confined them to their homes between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and a travel restriction that prohibited them from traveling further than 5 miles from their homes. These measures made it difficult, if not impossible, for some Italian Americans to travel to their jobs, and thousands were arrested for violations of these and other restrictions.
Then on February 24, 1942, 10,000 Italian-American aliens living in California were ordered to evacuate coastal and military zones. Most of those who had to abandon their homes were elderly, some of whom were taken away in wheelchairs and on stretchers.
Later in the fall of 1942, about 25 Italian-American citizens were ordered to evacuate these areas. In Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, evacuation orders had an enormous impact on hundreds of Italian-American fishermen who were prohibited from taking their boats out to sea. In fact, many boats belonging to Italian-American fishermen were impounded by the United States Navy for the duration of the war.
H.R. 2442 would require the President, on behalf of the Federal Government, to formally acknowledge that the Government measures Italian Americans were subjected to during World War II represented a fundamental injustice. H.R. 2442 would further require the Department of Justice to author a report that would include, among other things, the names of every Italian American arrested and ordered to move or taken into custody during World War II as a result of those Government measures.
The bill also urges the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities to support conferences and lectures, pay for a traveling exhibit, and fund documentaries. H.R. 2442 itself provides that this story must be told to acknowledge that these events occurred, to remember those whose lives were unjustly disrupted by these events, to help repair the damage to the Italian-American community, and to discourage the occurrence of similar injustices in the future.
Page 12 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
[The bill, H.R. 2442, follows:]
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2442
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices suffered by Italian Americans during World War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 1, 1999
Mr. LAZIO (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. BAKER, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KING, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LOBIONDO, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. MASCARA, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. Wu, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. DOYLE, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. WEINER, Mr. STUPAK, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. DEUTSCH, and Mr. ACKERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
Page 13 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
A BILL
To provide for the preparation of a Government report detailing injustices suffered by Italian Americans during World War II, and a formal acknowledgment of such injustices by the President.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ''Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The freedom of more than 600,000 Italian-born immigrants in the United States and their families was restricted during World War II by Government measures that branded them ''enemy aliens'' and included carrying identification cards, travel restrictions, and seizure of personal property.
(2) During World War II more than 10,000 Italian Americans living on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and prohibited from entering coastal zones. More than 50,000 were subjected to curfews.
(3) During World War II thousands of Italian American immigrants were arrested, and hundreds were interned in military camps.
(4) Hundreds of thousands of Italian Americans performed exemplary service and thousands sacrificed their lives in defense of the United States.
(5) At the time, Italians were the largest foreign-born group in the United States, and today are the fifth largest immigrant group in the United States, numbering approximately 15 million.
Page 14 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
(6) The impact of the wartime experience was devastating to Italian American communities in the United States, and its effects are still being felt.
(7) A deliberate policy kept these measures from the public during the war. Even 50 years later much information is still classified, the full story remains unknown to the public, and it has never been acknowledged in any official capacity by the United States Government.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall conduct a comprehensive review of the treatment by the United States Government of Italian Americans during World War II, and not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act shall submit to the Congress a report that documents the findings of such review. The report shall cover the period between September 1, 1939, and December 31, 1945, and shall include the following:
(1) The names of all Italian Americans who were taken into custody in the initial roundup following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and prior to the United States declaration of war against Italy.
(2) The names of all Italian Americans who were taken into custody.
(3) The names of all Italian Americans who were interned and the location where they were interned.
(4) The names of all Italian Americans who were ordered to move out of designated areas under the United States Army's ''Individual Exclusion Program''.
(5) The names of all Italian Americans who were arrested for curfew, contraband, or other violations under the authority of Executive Order 9066.
(6) Documentation of Federal Bureau of Investigation raids on the homes of Italian Americans.
Page 15 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
(7) A list of ports from which Italian American fishermen were restricted.
(8) The names of Italian American fishermen who were prevented from fishing in prohibited zones and therefore unable to pursue their livelihoods.
(9) The names of Italian Americans whose boats were confiscated.
(10) The names of Italian American railroad workers who were prevented from working in prohibited zones.
(11) A list of all civil liberties infringements suffered by Italian Americans during World War II, as a result of Executive Order 9066, including internment, hearings without benefit of counsel, illegal searches and seizures, travel restrictions, enemy alien registration requirements, employment restrictions, confiscation of property, and forced evacuation from homes.
(12) An explanation of why some Italian Americans were subjected to civil liberties infringements, as a result of Executive Order 9066, while other Italian Americans were not.
(13) A review of the wartime restrictions on Italian Americans to determine how civil liberties can be better protected during national emergencies.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the story of the treatment of Italian Americans during World War II needs to be told in order to acknowledge that these events happened, to remember those whose lives were unjustly disrupted and whose freedoms were violated, to help repair the damage to the Italian American community, and to discourage the occurrence of similar injustices and violations of civil liberties in the future;
(2) Federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities, should support projects such as—
Page 16 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
(A) conferences, seminars, and lectures to heighten awareness of this unfortunate chapter in our Nation's history;
(B) the refurbishment of and payment of all expenses associated with the traveling exhibit ''Una Storia Segreta'', exhibited at major cultural and educational institutions throughout the United States; and
(C) documentaries to allow this issue to be presented to the American public to raise its awareness;
(3) an independent, volunteer advisory committee should be established comprised of representatives of Italian American organizations, historians, and other interested individuals to assist in the compilation, research, and dissemination of information concerning the treatment of Italian Americans; and
(4) after completion of the report required by this Act, financial support should be provided for the education of the American public through the production of a documentary film suited for public broadcast.
SEC. 5. FORMAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
The President shall, on behalf of the United States Government, formally acknowledge that these events during World War II represented a fundamental injustice against Italian Americans.
Mr. Watt is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. WATT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will not take 5 minutes.
I do want to thank the chairman for scheduling the hearing and thank Representatives Engel and Lazio for introducing this bill.
Page 17 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
As much as we love and respect and honor this country, we keep finding that there are things in our history that either through official acts or unofficial acts we cannot be proud of as a Nation. When people ask me what value there is in the current day practice that was followed in South Africa of having a truth commission and hearings to put all these things on the table and get them out in the public and in the light of day, it always strikes me that it is impossible to move forward until you have some appreciation of inequities and injustices—acts both official and unofficial—that keep you looking backwards and retrospectively.
I hope first of all that this hearing gives us the basis for documenting as much of this as we can and that the bill gives us a basis for having a discussion above board about what acts are appropriate to address in this era and this series of injustices. There are many things that we are proud of our country for, but there are many things that leave us scratching our heads and wondering if it is the same country that stands for the same values that we all aspire to.
I am hopeful that this bill and this hearing will help in addressing this particular thing that we cannot—not any of us—be proud of and allow us to move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I yield back.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Watt.
Page 18 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
We now go to our first panel of the day, which consists of two of our colleagues.
Our first witness this morning is the Honorable Rick Lazio, who represents the 2nd District of New York. Congressman Lazio was elected to Congress in 1992 and chairs the House Banking Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. Congressman Lazio has been named Chairman of the 1999 National Italian American Gala Dinner and is Congress' representative on the Holocaust Asset Committee. Before serving in Congress, he was twice elected to the Suffolk County Legislature.
Following Congressman Lazio is the Honorable Eliot L. Engel, who represents the 17th District of New York. Congressman Engel, who was elected to Congress in 1988, serves on the House Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. Prior to his election to Congress, Congressman Engel served in the New York State Legislature from 1977 to 1988.
I want to thank both of you for being here with us today. I would ask that you do your best to summarize your testimony in 5 minutes, although I do not think anyone here is going to insist on strict adherence to the 5-minute rule. Of course, your full written statements will be made a part of the permanent record, without objection.
Congressman Lazio.
STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LAZIO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Page 19 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. LAZIO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Let me begin by thanking you personally for holding this hearing and for your interest and for your statement, which I listened to carefully, and I which I think very much reflects the sentiments of both Congressman Engel, myself, and others that are co-sponsors to this legislation.
I want to thank the ranking member as well, Representative Watt, for his insight and sensitivity to what we call ''Una Storia Segreta,'' which is our ''secret story,'' for many Italian Americans who were not even aware of this chapter or who, because their parents or grandparents did not want to talk about it, were ashamed of it and thought that it stigmatized—which in many ways it did—Italian Americans during that era.
Let me also, if I may, thank the witnesses that have flown from different parts of our Nation to come here today because they believe with passion that this chapter needs to be told, and we need to come to terms with the consequences of America's actions during World War II.
I should also mention at the outset, as an Italian American and somebody who represents a district with many Italian Americans—in a district that was home to Anthony Cassamento, one of many Italian Americans who served during World War II, who went off to war and served in Guadalcanal, took a series of bullets in defending a hill, was shot through the throat, took a bandanna, wrapped his throat, then continued to charge up and secure the Japanese machine gun nests, thereby saving many, many lives for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor—what an irony it was that during that time when Italian Americans in unprecedented numbers were serving our Nation in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters, were spilling blood and being awarded honors, including the Congressional Medal of Honor—their parents and grandparents back home were being subjected to evacuation and to the disgrace of being labelled ''enemy aliens.''
Page 20 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. Chairman, late in the night of December 7, 1941, only hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Filippo Molinari heard noises outside his San Jose home. When Mr. Molinari went to investigate, he found three policemen at his front door. They told him that by the order of President Roosevelt he must come with them.
Filippo Molinari had served in the Italian army during World War I, fighting alongside American troops. He was well known in his community as a door-to-door salesman for the Italian language newspaper, La Italia. He was the founding member of the San Francisco Sons of Italy. Now he was under arrest. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Molinari was shipped to a Government detention center in Fort Missoula, Montana for no other reason than for having the status of being an Italian American.
Filippo Molinari's story is not unique. He was one of the hundreds of Italian Americans arrested in the first days of the war and shipped off to distant internment centers without benefit of counsel or trial, where they were held against their will until Italy surrendered 2 years later—2 years later, Mr. Chairman.
Early in 1942, another 10,000 Italian Americans across the Nation were forcibly evacuated from their homes and relocated away from coastal areas and military bases. In all, 600,000 Italian nationals—most of whom had lived in the United States for decades—were deemed enemy aliens and subject to strict travel restrictions, curfews, and seizures of personal property for no other reason than their heritage.
These so-called ''enemy aliens'' were required to carry photo-bearing identification booklets at all times, forbidden to travel beyond a 5-mile radius of their homes, and were required to turn in any short-wave radios, cameras, flashlights, and firearms in their possession. In fact, Mr. Chairman, there were instances of people having their cameras seized or destroyed at their doorstep. Many times these were elderly women who had their cameras or their radios destroyed. Imagine the terror as many of the neighbors looked on and the stigma that was attached to that.
Page 21 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
In California, 52,000 Italian residents were subject to an 8 p.m. curfew. In Monterey, Boston, and other port towns, Italian-American fishermen were grounded and many had their boats impounded by the Navy—all this while half a million Italian Americans were serving, fighting, and dying in the United States armed forces during World War II.
To this day, few Americans have any idea that these events took place. Indeed, few Italian Americans know what happened to their ancestors during the war. Many believe that President Roosevelt's infamous Executive Order 9066 applied only to Japanese and Japanese Americans living in western States, but that is not the case.
There is another chapter to this sad story which I mentioned before, ''Una Storia Segreta''—a secret story. The bill we are discussing today represents an attempt—I think a very balanced and very modest attempt—to begin setting the record straight. The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act calls upon the Department of Justice to conduct a comprehensive study of our Government's policies toward Italian Americans during the war, to find out exactly what took place and to whom. This report will include an examination of ways to safeguard the civil liberties of minority groups during future national emergencies.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act would also encourage relevant Federal agencies to support educational projects to heighten public awareness of this unfortunate episode in our history, including exhibitions, seminars, and documentaries.
Finally, this legislation calls upon the President to acknowledge formally our Government's systematic denial of civil liberties to what was then the largest foreign-born ethnic group in the United States. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to say that this bill has attracted more than 80 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. The diversity of this list is indicative of both the national scope of the injustices that took place and the widespread belief felt across ethnic and geographic lines, that justice be done.
Page 22 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
The noted poet and philosopher, George Santayana, observed that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This is exactly what Representative Watt was saying: You need to confront the truth before you can deal with assuring that that sad chapter is not repeated. That is why this bill has been introduced, to establish the truth. We owe it to the Italian-American community and indeed the American public to find out exactly what happened and to publicize it. A complete understanding of what took place during this sad chapter of American history is the best guarantee that it will never happen again.
Let me also take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the Chairman of the Full Committee, Mr. Hyde, for his support in allowing this hearing to go forward, and for his sensitivity in trying to work through the nuances of a very difficult chapter, during a very difficult time, putting this in the context of American history.
But again, it is difficult to address these seizures, these arrests based on status, and the stigma that was attached without reflecting on the irony that at the very same time Italian Americans were serving our Nation, dying, protecting others in the name of freedom, protecting American principles on far-off shores.
Again, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing this hearing to go forward.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lazio follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LAZIO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Page 23 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, I want to thank you for holding these hearing today. This issue, the violation of Italian American civil liberties during World War Two, is one that is very important to me, my constituents, and Italian-Americans across the nation.
I also want to thank all the people who have come from all across the country to testify today. I genuinely appreciate their time and effort, and admire their commitment to set the record straight.
Mr. Chairman, late in the night of December 7, 1941, only hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Filippo Molinari heard noises outside his San Jose home. When Mr. Molinari went to investigate, he found three policemen at his front door. They told him that by order of President Roosevelt, he must come with them.
Filippo Molinari had served in the Italian army during World War One, fighting along side American troops. He was well-known in his community as a door-to-door salesman for the Italian language newspaper L'Italia. He was the founding member of the San Francisco Sons of Italy. And now, he was under arrest. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Molinari was shipped to a government detention center in Fort Missoula, Montana.
Filippo Molinari's story is not unique. He was one of hundreds of Italian Americans arrested in the first days of the war, and shipped off to distant internment centers without benefit of council or trial—where they were held against their will until Italy surrendered two years later. Early in 1942 another ten thousand Italian Americans across the nation were forcibly evacuated from their homes and relocated away from coastal areas and military bases.
Page 24 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
In all 600,000 Italian nationals, most of whom had lived in the United States for decades, were deemed ''enemy aliens'' and subject to strict travel restrictions, curfews, and seizures of their personal property. These so-called ''enemy aliens'' were required to carry photo-bearing ID booklets at all times; forbidden to travel beyond a five mile radius of their homes; and required to turn in any shortwave radios, cameras, flashlights and firearms in their possession. In California, 52,000 Italian residents were subjected to an 8 p.m. curfew. In Monterey, Boston, and other port towns, Italian American fishermen were grounded, and many had their boats impounded by the navy—all this while half a million Italian Americans were serving, fighting, and dying in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
To this day, few Americans have any idea that these events took place. Indeed, few Italian Americans know what happened to their ancestors during the war. Most believe that President Roosevelt's infamous Executive Order 9066 applied only to Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in the western states. But clearly there is another chapter to this sad story, ''Una Storia Segreta''—a secret story. The bill we are discussing today represents an attempt to begin setting the record straight.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act calls on the Department of Justice to conduct a comprehensive study of our government's policies toward Italian Americans during the war, to find out exactly what took place and to whom. This report will include an examination of ways to safeguard the civil liberties of minority groups during future national emergencies.
The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act would also encourage relevant federal agencies to support educational projects to heighten public awareness of this unfortunate episode in our history, including exhibitions, seminars, and documentaries.
Page 25 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Finally, this legislation calls upon the President to acknowledge formally our government's systematic denial of civil liberties to what was then the largest foreign-born ethnic group in the United States.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to say that this bill has attracted more than 80 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. The diversity of this list is indicative of both the national scope of the injustices that took place, and the widespread belief—felt across ethnic and geographic lines—that justice be done.
The noted poet and philosopher George Santayana observed that, ''Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' But the truth must be established before it can be remembered. That's why I introduced this bill: to establish the truth. We owe it to the Italian-American community, and indeed to the American public, to find out exactly what happened and publicize it. A complete understanding of what took place during this sad chapter of American history is the best guarantee that they will never happen again.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for holding these hearings. I look forward to working with you and your committee on this important issue.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Lazio.
Representative Engel.
STATEMENT OF HON. ELIOT ENGEL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Page 26 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. ENGEL. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Watt. I want to thank you for having this hearing today. I want to also thank those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to be with us to offer their personal experiences and expertise on this issue. I want to thank my friend and colleague, Rick Lazio, for sponsoring this legislation with me. And I want to thank both of you for your very sensitive remarks. Mr. Watt is right on target with the Truth Commission.
When we first started bringing this out to the public, the reaction of people is just disbelief. People just do not believe that it ever happened because the textbooks did not say anything about it. Everyone has heard about the unfortunate circumstances with the Japanese Americans, but people were unaware that the Italian Americans had a similar situation.
We have two photos up here showing Italian Americans being marched to the internment camps in Missoula, Montana. So we have documented evidence as to what really happened here.
Again, why do we do this? We do it because hopefully we will learn from the past and something like this can never happen again. We love this country. It is the best country in the world, but mistakes have been made along the line. People are human and make mistakes. This was obviously a colossal error and it is something that we need to focus on so that something like this can never happen again.
We are here today not only to discuss the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, but to listen to accounts from Italian Americans describing the events they and their families endured during World War II. The civil liberty abuses that Italian Americans suffered are not well documented and are not well known, but they did occur and the truth about this story—which we call ''Una Storia Segreta,'' the secret story—must be told.
Page 27 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
December 7, 1941 is a day that is very well known. On that horrifying day, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. What has been overlooked since that day is the fact that Italian Americans suddenly became enemy aliens. Loyal Italian American patriots who fought alongside the United States Armed Forces in World War I, mothers and fathers of U.S. soldiers, and even children were suspected of being dangerous and subversive simply because they were Italian Americans.
With this new enemy alien status, the military and local police began confiscating firearms from Italians. Italians were subject to strict curfew regulations, forced to carry photo IDs, and could not travel further than a 5-mile radius from their homes without prior approval. Soon after, radios and televisions were also confiscated, and eventually Italians were forced to give up all electronic devices, personal pictures, any papers that the Government suspected treasonous, and even their livelihoods.
For instance, an Italian car dealer in Oakland, California was told that he could not collect $3,500 for automobiles he sold to Alameda County just before Pearl Harbor was bombed because of his status now as an enemy alien. He was told that payment to him by Alameda County would be considered trading with the enemy and was prohibited.
Also Italian fishermen were forbidden from using their boats in prohibited zones. Since fishing was the only means of income for many families, households were torn apart or completely relocated as alternative sources of income were sought. Initially, the fishing boats left behind simply remained docked. However, as time passed, the military began using the boats and there was nothing that could be done to stop them, as appeals to the Justice Department were left unanswered. When some of the boats were returned after the war, they either required extensive repairs or were simply unusable, and some were never returned at all.
Page 28 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
As awful as the internment experience was, it would have been much worse if not for the intervention of Congress and other public officials attempting to prevent these injustices from continuing.
As you may know, the Tolan Committee, made up of Members of Congress, began holding public hearings on the west coast at that time regarding the treatment of enemy aliens. Congressman John Tolan of Oakland, California chaired the committee. Chairman Tolan spoke publicly about the exemplary character of many Italians subjected to civil liberties abuses. He spoke openly about the plight of the famous DiMaggio family. We will hear more about their experiences later from Mr. Dominic DiMaggio.
Thanks to the Tolan Committee, Italian Americans did not suffer the same fate as the Japanese Americans. The committee recommendation to the Department of Justice suggested that Italians were less ''dangerous'' than Japanese and that mass internment and relocation was not necessary. However, the fate of the Italians rested with Lieutenant General John DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command.
Through the efforts of the Tolan Committee, General DeWitt was forced to scale back his mass evacuation and relocation plans for the west coast. Consequently, Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum, Commander of the Eastern Defense Command, who had recommended establishing prohibited zones in 16 States along the east coast, was pressured to scale back his plans to relocate some 52 million people.
Thankfully, relocation on the east coast never occurred, as President Roosevelt prohibited it. However, individuals considered dangerous were still taken into custody. As a New Yorker—and as a person whose grandparents came to Ellis Island to this country—it still saddens me to think that Ellis Island, the world-renowned symbol of freedom and democracy, was used to detain Italians considered dangerous. Ezio Pinza, an international opera star, was detained at Ellis Island. His wife is here today to share their story with us.
Page 29 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
The east coast was spared relocation. However, Italians on the west coast were not as fortunate.
Under authority of Executive Order 9066, which first authorized the internment of the Japanese, General DeWitt began relocation and internment of Italian Americans in California. Over 10,000 Italians deemed enemy aliens were forcibly evacuated from their homes and over 52,000 were subject to strict curfew regulations. Ironically, over 500,000 Italians were serving in the United States Armed Forces at the time, fighting to protect the liberties of all Americans, while many of their family members had their basic freedoms revoked.
However, the full extent of the internment experience is still unknown. Several Italian Americans in California were so shamed about their status as enemy aliens that they committed suicide. Many Italians were arrested for curfew violations or carrying everyday products that were suddenly considered contraband. Families with ethnic names began changing them to sound more American and stopped speaking their native language.
Mr. Chairman, we must ensure that these terrible events will never be perpetrated again. We must safeguard the individual rights of all Americans from arbitrary persecution or no American will ever be secure. The least our Government can do is try to right these terrible wrongs by acknowledging that these events did occur. We are not looking for an apology, just an acknowledgement by the President. That is part of what this legislation does.
Mr. Chairman, there was not one documented case of Italian Americans conducting sabotage against the United States. While we cannot erase the mistakes of the past, we must try to learn from them in order to ensure that we never subject anyone to the same injustices.
Page 30 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Our bill, H.R. 2442, calls on the Department of Justice to publish a report detailing the unjust policies of the Government during this time period. Essential to the report will be a study examining ways to safeguard individual rights during national emergencies. Moreover, this legislation calls on the President to formally acknowledge our Government's systematic denial of basic human rights and freedoms to one of the largest ethnic communities in the United States.
Mr. Chairman, we owe it to the Italian-American community, and to all communities—especially those who endured these abuses—to recognize the injustices of the past. Documentation and education about the suffering of all groups of Americans who face persecution is important in order to ensure that no group's civil liberties are ever violated again.
I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee—Mr. Watt, the ranking member, and others—for having this hearing. As you may know—and as Mr. Lazio said—this legislation has received vast support in the House of Representatives as 80 of our colleagues have cosponsored the bill.
I look forward to working further with you and the committee on this important legislation.
I would like to revise and extend my remarks to include letters I have received from organizations supporting our legislation. I want to thank our staffs for helping us with this legislation, particularly my administrative assistant, John Calvelli, who has been so helpful in putting this together and documenting this. I want to thank NIAF—National Italian American Foundation—and all the people who have really called this to our attention and carried the ball on this.
Page 31 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
I thank you for your endorsement.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Engel and referenced documentation follow.]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ELIOT ENGEL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Mr. Chairman, I first want to thank you and the distinguished members of the Committee for having this hearing today. I also want to thank those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to be with us to offer their personal experiences and expertise on this issue. We are here today not only to discuss the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, but to listen to accounts from Italian Americans describing the events they and their families endured during World War II. The civil liberty abuses that Italian Americans suffered are not well documented and are not well known, but they did occur and the truth about this story, Una Storia Segreta—the Secret Story, must be told.
December 7, 1941 is a day that is very well known. On that horrifying day, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. What has been overlooked since that day is the fact that Italian Americans suddenly became ''enemy aliens''. Loyal Italian American patriots who fought for the United States Armed Forces in World War I, immigrants who had fought along side our troops, even women and children were suspected of being dangerous and subversive. With this new enemy alien status, the military and local police began confiscating firearms from Italians. Italians were subject to strict curfew regulations, forced to carry photo ID's, and could not travel further than a 5 mile radius from their homes without prior approval. Soon radios and televisions were also confiscated, and eventually Italians were forced to give up all electronic devices, personal pictures, any papers that the government suspected treasonous, and even their livelihoods.
Page 32 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
For instance, an Italian car dealer in Oakland, California, was told he could not collect $3,500 dollars for automobiles he sold to Alameda County just before Pearl Harbor was bombed because of his status now as an enemy alien. He was told that payment to him by Alameda County would be considered trading with the enemy and was prohibited. Also, Italian fishermen were forbidden from using their boats in prohibited zones. Since fishing was the only means of income for many families, households were torn apart or completely relocated as alternative sources of income were sought. Initially, the fishing boats left behind simply remained docked. However, as time passed, the military began using the boats and there was nothing that could be done to stop them as appeals to the Justice Department were left unanswered. When some of the boats were returned after the war they either required extensive repairs or were simply unusable, and some were never returned at all. As awful as the internment experience was, it would have been much worse if not for the intervention of Congress and other public officials attempting to prevent these injustices from continuing.
As you may know, the Tolan Committee, made up of Members of Congress, began holding public hearings on the West Coast regarding the treatment of enemy aliens. Congressman John Tolan of Oakland, California chaired the Committee. Chairman Tolan spoke publicly about the exemplary character of many Italians subjected to civil liberties abuses. He spoke openly about the plight of the famous DiMaggio family. We will hear more about their experiences later from Mr. Dominic DiMaggio. Thanks to the efforts of the Tolan Committee, Italians did not suffer the same fate as the Japanese. The Committee recommendation to the Department of Justice suggested that Italians were less ''dangerous'' than Japanese and that mass internment and relocation was not necessary. However, the fate of the Italians rested with Lieutenant General John DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command.
Page 33 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Through the efforts of the Tolan Committee, General DeWitt was forced to scale back his mass evacuation and relocation plans for the West Coast. Consequently, Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum, commander of the Eastern Defense Command, who had recommended establishing prohibited zones in 16 states along the east coast was pressured to scale back his plans to relocate some 52 million people. Thankfully, relocation on the East coast never occurred as President Roosevelt prohibited it. However, individuals considered dangerous were still taken into custody. It still saddens me to think that Ellis Island, the world renowned symbol of freedom and democracy, was used to detain Italians considered dangerous. Ezio Pinza, an international opera star was detained at Ellis Island. His wife is here today to share their story with us. The east coast was spared relocation, however, Italians on the West Coast were not as fortunate.
Under authority of Executive Order 9066, which first authorized the internment of the Japanese, General DeWitt began relocation and internment of Italian Americans in California. Over 10,000 Italians deemed enemy aliens were forcibly evacuated from their homes and over 52,000 were subject to strict curfew regulations. Ironically, over 500,000 Italians were serving in the United States Armed Forces fighting to protect the liberties of all Americans, while many of their family members had their basic freedoms revoked.
However, the full extent of the internment experience is still unknown. Several Italian Americans in California were so shamed about their status as enemy aliens that they committed suicide. Many Italians were arrested for curfew violations or carrying everyday products that were suddenly considered contraband. Families with ethnic names began changing them to sound more American and stopped speaking their native language. Mr. Chairman, we must ensure that these terrible events will never be perpetrated again. We must safeguard the individual rights of all Americans from arbitrary persecution or no American will ever be secure. The least our government can do is try to right these terrible wrongs by acknowledging that these events did occur. Mr. Chairman, there was not one documented case of Italian Americans conducting sabotage against the United States. While we cannot erase the mistakes of the past, we must try to learn from them in order to ensure that we never subject anyone to the same injustices.
Page 34 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. Chairman, HR 2442, the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, calls on the Department of Justice to publish a report detailing the unjust policies of the government during this time period. Essential to the report will be a study examining ways to safeguard individual rights during national emergencies. Moreover, this legislation calls on the President to formally acknowledge our government's systematic denial of basic human rights and freedoms to one of the largest ethnic communities in the United States.
Mr. Chairman, we owe it to the Italian American community, especially those who endured these abuses, to recognize the injustices of the past. Documentation and education about the suffering of all groups of Americans who face persecution is important in order to ensure that no group's civil liberties are ever violated again.
I want to commend the Chairman and Members of the Committee for having this hearing. As you may know, this legislation has received vast support in the House of Representatives as 80 of my colleagues have cosponsored the bill. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working further with you and the Committee on this important legislation.
| Italic Studies Institute, |
| Floral Park, NY, October 26, 1999. |
CHAIRMAN,
Subcommittee on the Constitution,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Page 35 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Re: HR 2442
Wartime Violation of Italian-American Civil Liberties Act
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Italic Studies Institute, a New York State nonprofit educational organization founded in 1987, hereby confirms its support of HR 2442 as the beginning of the process to restore the historical record and the dignity of the Italian American community in regard to the unjust and shameful results of Executive Order 9066/1942.
We have witnessed within the past few generations the Federal government's recognition of past misdeeds. Most recently, Congress has taken concrete steps to ameliorate the negative effects of the Second World War as follows:
The American Civil Liberties Act of 1987 appropriated $1.2 billion in reparations to Japanese-American victims of the Internment as well as a $50 million education fund. Close to $3 million of this fund has been awarded solely for Japanese-American media projects in 1997.
The DOD Appropriations Act of 1994 provided $4 million for the establishment of a Japanese-American Cultural Center in Ontario, Oregon.
In March, 1996 House legislation called for the rapid creation of a Manzanar National Historic Site for Japanese-American internment.
H.R. 3019 (1996) libraries appropriation allowed for a $1 million direct grant to filmmaker Steven Spielberg for his Holocaust documentation (sponsored by Senators Boxer and Specter) in recognition of the Nazi persecution of European Jews.
Page 36 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
In 1996, Congress authorized a land swap in the capital to provide a site for a war memorial to the 442nd Infantry Division (Japanese-American Nisei), the first such ethnic war memorial, as well as land for a Japanese American Internment memorial.
In 1998 approximately $40 million was taken from the Civil Liberties Education Fund (cited above) to provide cash settlements to Peruvian Japanese who were interned in the United States during World War II.
We would also like to bring to the Congress' attention that the Government of Canada, through its National Film Board, allocated approximately $400,000 to produce a public documentary (Barbed Wire and Mandolins) as an atonement for its horrific treatment of Italian Canadians during World War II.
Finally, there is the serious matter of disinformation that abounds throughout the American media concerning the full scope of Executive Order 9066. Nearly every newspaper article, a majority of books, and almost all documentaries on the subject emphatically state that only the Japanese Americans were subjected to the illegal acts of Executive Order 9066. Authors and narrators often state that Italians and Germans were not targeted, as in the 1999 PBS documentary Rabbit on the Moon. They further opine that this is proof of the racial intent of the Order. These subjective views and misrepresentation of the public record need to be addressed forthrightly by Congress.
In the matter of Italian Americans, the road to atonement has not yet been taken. It is our unequivocal belief that Congress needs to finally come to terms with Executive Order 9066 for the sake of justice and the historical record.
Page 37 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Respectfully,
cc: Officers, Governors, Advisors
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Engel and Mr. Lazio. We appreciate your very helpful comments.
I would like to now recognize the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. HYDE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Very briefly, I want to congratulate Rick Lazio for bringing this to national attention. I was shocked when I heard about it. Anthony LaPiana came to visit me and apprised me of the background of this whole situation and I was dumbfounded. And if I was dumbfounded, I wonder how many people just never heard of these terrible abuses against one of the most loyal segments of our country.
I am not Italian, but I have a profound admiration for the Italian Americans and their contribution to our country. I once had to give a speech before an Italian-American community and I spent some wonderful hours learning about the accomplishments of the Italians in music, art, literature, history, and their contribution to this country.
My old friend, Frank Annunzio, who was instrumental in having Columbus Day declared a national holiday, was needled by one of his colleagues who said, ''Everyone knows Leif Ericksen discovered America,'' and Frank, quick as a flash, said, ''When Columbus discovered it, it stayed discovered.'' [Laughter.]
Page 38 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. HYDE. But all the Italian-American community wants is the truth to be told. It is not a question of reparations or looking for money or anything like that, but the truth has been obscured and it ought not to be obscured. The truth has to be told. And we are doing it the hard way, through a congressional hearing. And this is only the beginning. I think there will be more.
It is very important that the contribution of a proud people be made known, and the abuses visited upon them be made known, because then their unshakable patriotism stands in even greater relief.
I am very proud to be a small part of this. Thank you again, Mr. Lazio and Mr. Engel.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Jenkins, would you like to make an opening statement?
Mr. JENKINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Hyde has a few years on me. I was surprised to hear him say that his degree of being unaware of this—because I certainly was—it very recently has come to my attention that there were these kinds of abuses that were being thrust upon a segment of our population. But I, like Mr. Hyde, would like to salute the contributions that have been made in every facet of our society by the Italian Americans and say that I, too, am very happy to be—if there is some way that we can atone for—a part of that.
Page 39 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. CANADY. Mr. Watt.
Mr. WATT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I know we typically do not ask our colleagues questions, but I thought this might be more appropriately addressed to them than to any of the other witnesses who will be testifying about the factual backdrop.
One concern—and I am not sure that it is an overwhelming concern—that I have about the bill is on page seven. Is there precedent for directing the President to make such an acknowledgement as we are directing him to make? Or might it be better to make the acknowledgment and have it acknowledged by his signature on a bill that we, as Congress, have officially acknowledged as opposed to having the President do it? Is there some reason you elected to do it this way?
Mr. LAZIO. I am not aware of any precedent. I think the only precedent we have for this sort of factual setting is the experience of the Japanese Americans. The reason why we have this formal acknowledgement on the part of the President is because I think he is perceived by the American public—and rightfully so—as the head of our Government. He has the ability to generate a message in a way that a piece of legislation might not otherwise be able to. And it would certainly offer the President the opportunity to make a more thorough statement than just a signature or an announcement. It is something that a message could be built around that would penetrate the consciousness of the American people that perhaps legislation might not be able to do.
Page 40 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. ENGEL. I agree with that. I was there when we put the language together for the bill and we talked about whether or not to have a formal acknowledgement by the President. We decided to do it because we felt that that would make it more forceful. Obviously, by signing the bill there is an acknowledgement, but we felt that the formal acknowledgement would emphasize it.
Again, as Chairman Hyde said, we are not asking for money, or an apology, or anything like that, but a formal acknowledgement. By doing it that way, we thought we would emphasize it and highlight the fact of what really happened.
Again, I want to stress—and everybody has mentioned it—why I believe it is so important. The overwhelming majority—99 percent of everybody who comes into contact with this bill—thinks it is a wonderful thing that we are doing. Occasionally someone will ask, ''Why drudge up the past? Why make Italian Americans as victims? Why are you doing this?''
I think it is important that we mention the past and acknowledge the past. Whether it is the injustices against African Americans in this country or what happened with the Japanese Americans or the Holocaust in Europe—it is so important to do that. How else are our children going to learn? How else are we going to learn? How else are we going to show that this happened when people ultimately will deny that these injustices ever happened?
Mr. WATT. I do not want to leave the impression that I object to this form of doing it. I just wanted to be sure that we have thought about the ramifications of this. It seems to me that just as powerful a statement would be made by having all of us going on record as having acknowledged this. I suspect that whatever president would sign this bill, it would be a further acknowledgement at that point anyway.
Page 41 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Let me emphasize that I am not second-guessing this. I am raising what I hope is a constructive question.
Mr. CANADY. Mr. Nadler.
Mr. NADLER. Thank you.
Let me first express my apologies for coming late. I was at another meeting on a different topic, in this case a current ethnic persecution. Let me express my appreciation to Mr. Engel and Mr. Lazio for sponsoring this very important legislation, of which I am proud to be a cosponsor. I am glad that we are doing this—or hope to be doing this—passing this legislation because it is about time that we acknowledge the actions of our Government.
I just have one question. We know with respect to the Japanese the shameful acts our Government committed, and Congress voted for formal reparations about a decade ago. Until Congressman Engel mentioned this to me a few months ago, I had no idea that the Government had done anything with respect to Italian Americans in World War II. I was rather chagrined to find it out, and I am glad we are considering this legislation.
Are you aware of anything the Government did to German Americans? Did the United States Government take similar action with respect to Germans in the United States, German citizens, or German immigrants? Or did they single out Italians and Japanese in a different way?
Page 42 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. LAZIO. Congressman, I believe that German Americans faced a similar status problem. They were also labelled as enemy aliens. I think their access to radios and to communications equipment beyond telephones and to firearms was also restricted. I do recall that German Americans had the same status as enemy aliens.
Mr. NADLER. And this was limited in both the Italian-American case and the German-American case to people who were not citizens? Or was it not so limited?
Mr. LAZIO. There were cases where you actually had citizens, but the overwhelming majority of the people were resident aliens.
Mr. NADLER. But there was internment of Italian Americans?
Mr. LAZIO. Yes, there was.
Mr. ENGEL. Unfortunately, there were some internments of German Americans as well. The thing that is so striking here is that there was not one documented act of sabotage by any Italian Americans. There were some unfortunate cases by some German Americans. Unfortunately, German Americans were rounded up as well. Again, that is part of our history that most of us were not aware of.
Mr. NADLER. Were any citizens in either the German or Italian extraction interned? Or only resident aliens?
Mr. ENGEL. Most were resident aliens. There were some incidents of citizens as well.
Page 43 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
As you know, some people—for whatever reason—choose not to become citizens but are legal in this country and work and pay taxes. Most of those people were the ones who were rounded up.
Mr. LAZIO. I would also add that—and while I do not believe in any way that this is justification for internment—there were cases of German Americans who were involved in espionage and helping the Nazis. There were no instances of Italian Americans involved in espionage, who passed on information to any of America's declared enemies.
Mr. NADLER. Again, I want to thank the two of you for sponsoring this legislation. I want to thank Congressman Engel for bringing the history to my attention because I was entirely unaware of it. I do hope we will approve this legislation expeditiously.
Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Mr. Nadler.
Again, we thank both of you for your leadership on this important issue.
Mr. CANADY. We will now move to the second panel.
I thank all of you for being with us this morning. We will now proceed with the introductions of the next panel.
Page 44 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
The first witness on our second panel this morning is Ms. Rose Viscuso Scudero of Antioch, California. Following her is Doris L. Pinza of Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Our third witness on the second panel is Colonel Angelo de Guttadauro of San Antonio, Texas.
Following him is ''The Little Professor,'' Mr. Dominic DiMaggio of Ocean Ridge, Florida. Mr. DiMaggio, a former major league baseball player, is the brother of baseball legend, Joe DiMaggio.
Our next witness is Lawrence Di Stasi of Bolinas, California. Mr. Di Stasi is President of the Western Regional Chapter of the American Italian Historical Association, and Project Director of the traveling exhibit ''Una Storia Segreta: When Italian Americans Were 'Enemy Aliens' ''.
Following Mr. Di Stasi is Anthony E. LaPiana of Lombard, Illinois. Mr. LaPiana is here on behalf of the National Italian American Council.
Our next witness on this panel is Matthew DiDomenico, Sr., who is the Executive Vice President of the National Italian American Foundation in Washington, D.C. NIAF is a non-profit organization that represents an estimated 20 million Americans of Italian descent.
Our final witness on this panel is Dr. Philip Piccigallo, who is here on behalf of the Sons of Italy of Washington, D.C.
Page 45 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Again, I want to thank all of you for being here with us this morning. I apologize for mispronouncing any of your names. I would ask that you do your best to summarize your testimony in 5 minutes or less, guided by the green light. When it is red, that means the 5 minutes have expired. Without objection, your full written statements will be made a part of the permanent hearing record.
Ms. Scudero.
STATEMENT OF ROSE VISCUSO SCUDERO, ANTIOCH, CA
Ms. SCUDERO. Thank you, and thank you for having us here today.
I am Rose Viscuso Scudero and my story goes that I was twelve and a half years old at the time this happened. My mother received a letter from the Government stating that because she did not have her citizenship papers she would have to leave the town that we lived in. We had to move at least 9 miles out. Pittsburg, California had the San Joaquin River, the Columbia Steel Mill, and quite a few other vital industries.
We had to move. And because I was a minor—I was born in the United States. I was a citizen—and yet because I was a minor, I had to leave with my mother. My mother had to leave behind three daughters, my two brothers, and my father, who was building the Liberty ships at Kaiser Shipyards. My brothers were working at Columbia Steel. That is kind of ironic that there is a woman who could not read or write English, and they sent her away.
Page 46 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
There were many families in Pittsburg who went through the same thing. A lot of my classmates were sent away that were born in the United States, with their parents. I did not have any idea what was going to happen to me. I did not know if I was ever going to come back home. I had to leave all the classmates I had been in school with since kindergarten. It was just very traumatic. My mother would cry herself to sleep every night. The thought of leaving three daughters, especially, at home—18, 19, and 21 years old—was very, very hard for her to take.
They did not get to see us except every few weekends because it was hard to get a ride. Everybody did not have a car at that time. We shared the house with my two aunts, my two cousins, and my uncle, who was a citizen. He stayed with us so that we would have a man in the house.
We had to walk quite a few miles to go to the store to get groceries and things. We had no radio. They took all those things away from us. So we had no way of knowing how things were going, except when our family came to visit.
The school I went to—because we were foreign to them—I was considered an enemy alien. When I would get on the bus, they would spread out so that there would be no room to sit. My lunch was stolen several times a month. I had to share lunch with the teacher. When they would teach the children to dance, the boys would ask the girls to dance and I would sit there by myself. It was very humiliating.
And I know these things are not as bad as the atrocities that happened to the Japanese. I am not trying to compare this to that, but emotionally it did affect us. And now my grandchildren are questioning it. ''We do not see it in history books in school. Why are you saying this?'' I have to bring out a few pictures and things that I have of my family.
Page 47 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
This happened to two other members in my family. My brother was married a year and a half and had a 1-year-old child. His wife came over when she was 9 years old. She had just turned 21 at the time this happened. At that time, I don't believe they could receive their citizenship papers until they were 21. She did not have time. So she had to move to Walnut Creek with the baby and my brother stayed behind because he worked at the steel mill.
My brother joined the Navy, even though this was happening, but his boss at the steel mill said that they needed him there for the war effort. So he talked to his commanding officer and had him deferred.
So it did affect us.
My father was building liberty ships at Kaiser shipyards and yet they sent my mother away.
I have a lot of other stories of people in Pittsburg who had two or three sons in the service who came home and found their house boarded up. The mothers were living in Oakley in itinerant houses—three families in these houses—distant cousins or whatever would cook and bring them food. A lot of these things were going on.
My sister, Marie, was engaged to be married to a boy from San Francisco, Mr. Del Carlo. He came here when he was 18 months old and he was not 21 at the time. So he waited until he was 21. When he finally got his papers, 6 weeks later he is drafted. He fought in Normandy and the Rhine. And while he was there he was able to go to Lucca, Italy and he saw his 90-year-old grandfather, and here they were on opposite sides fighting each other. I have pictures of that.
Page 48 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
They confiscated all our cameras, radios, et cetera, so my mom put me on the bus after several months and sent me to Pittsburg. I was able to do that because I was born here. That liberty they gave me. I was to find out when we were going to be able to come home. The news was good at that time. We were there from February 24th until August of that year. I went back and the news was good. Everybody was so happy and crying. My mom sent me—this was sort of a rural area—to tell all the other people. I went knocking on doors and kept telling them that they could go home now. They labelled me the ''Italian Paul Revere'' at that time. [Laughter.]
Ms. SCUDERO. I am now 70 years old. I am speaking to children from the 6th grade through high school and it is amazing the reaction I get to this story and the questions they come up with. It is just mind-boggling. You can hear a pin drop.
I have shown a video of my interviews with CNN and Good Morning America. They cannot comprehend. The first question I get from most of them is, ''You mean this happened here in the United States?'' I answer yes, and it can happen again.
They want to know more. They want to read about it.
I want to thank you for having me here, and I am sorry I am so nervous. I have a lot more stories to tell, if you want to listen.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Scudero follows:]
Page 49 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
PREPARED STATEMENT OF ROSE VISCUSO SCUDERO, ANTIOCH, CA
The year was 1942 and I was twelve and a half years old. My mother received a letter from the U.S. government stating that because she had not become a U.S. citizen, she would have to move to a specified area in the county we lived in because our house was too close to the Columbia Steel Co. and other vital industries, plus the San Joaquin River.
Because we were at war with Germany and Italy, it didn't matter that my father (a U.S. citizen) was employed at Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond Calif. building the Liberty ships for the Defense Dept. and my two brothers worked at Columbia Steel Co. My three sisters worked in downtown Pittsburgh establishments. Even though I was born in the U.S., I had to accompany my mother because I was a minor. I realize it now as an adult that they had abused my civil rights.
I was attending Jr. High School and I felt bad about leaving all of my childhood friends. I thought I would be gone forever, so gave away my collection of fancy pins that I wore on my sweaters to my classmates.
It was February 24th, 1942 that we went to live in a rented house on West St.on the outskirts of Concord Calif. about nineteen miles from our home in Pittsburgh.
We shared the house with my Aunt Sara and Uncle Filipo Nicolosi and my Aunt Mary Viscuso and her two sons, Salvatore and Johnny. My Uncle Filipo was a U.S. citizen but he stayed with us so that we would have a man in the house.
Page 50 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
I can remember my mother Rosa crying herself to sleep at night, missing her family especially the thought of having to leave three daughters ages eighteen, nineteen and twenty-one years old.
I attended Clayton Valley School and the bus would pick us up in the morning. The other children were not very friendly. I would find my lunch missing many times and the teacher would share hers with me. During music class, I would not be asked to dance and I would sit alone. It was very humiliating for a twelve and a half year old. We were considered Enemy Aliens. This happened to many of my Italian friends that were born here and had to move with their parents.
My brother Salvatore's wife, Grace Viscuso and their baby son Joseph eight months old, moved to Walnut Creek, Calif. while he stayed in Pittsburg to work at Columbia Steel Co. Grace came to America when she was nine years old and she had just turned twenty-one when this happened. She didn't have time to get her citizenship papers.
My sister Marie was engaged to be married to Albert Del Carlo from South San Francisco, Calif. Because he was born in Lucca, Italy and came to America when he was eighteen months old, and was not twenty-one years old yet in order to get his papers, he was restricted from traveling so many miles from his home so my sister had to visit him when she could get a ride to San Francisco. As soon as he turned twenty-one years old, he received his citizenship papers and six weeks later he was drafted. He fought in Normandy and the Battle of the Rine. He also was able to meet his ninety year old grandfather Bezo Del Carlo while passing through Lucca, Italy. ''HOW IRONIC'' that they were on opposite sides in battle!
Page 51 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
My brother Dante joined the Navy but his boss at Columbia Steel Co. called his commanding officer and requested that he be deferred from the service because they needed him at his job for the War effort.
My family brothers Dante and Salvatore, and sisters Josephine, Gena and Marie with my father, Giuseppe Viscuso would come to visit us on weekends when they could. It would be a very happy day and yet, when they had to leave, it would be very sad with many tears.
Since they confiscated all of our cameras, radios etc. we had no way of knowing how things were progressing on our behalf, so my mother put me on a Greyhound Bus and sent me to Pittsburgh to find out if any news on when we could return home was available. The news was good so they sent me back to Concord to alert every one. I can remember the joy and tears when I told my mother and Aunts. Momma sent me on to alert the other families living in a one mile radius, blocks apart from one another. I can remember knocking on doors and shouting ''YOU CAN GO HOME NOW!'' and the excitement of it all . . . I felt like PAUL REVERE, Italian Style.
I am now seventy years old and am giving lectures in schools to students from sixth grade through high school and it is amazing at how they respond to my story. The question most asked is . . . ''You mean that this happened here in the U.S.A.?'' And I tell them YES! AND IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN! It is hard for them to comprehend it because it has not been acknowledged or documented in our history books. We are not asking for an apology nor monetary compensation. So please consider what little we are asking for.
Thank you.
Page 52 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Ms. Scudero.
Ms. Pinza.
STATEMENT OF DORIS L. PINZA, CAPE ELIZABETH, ME
Ms. PINZA. Honorable members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Doris Pinza. My late husband, Ezio Pinza, was a native Italian and an opera singer working at the Metropolitan Opera in New York when he was arrested and interned at Ellis Island as an enemy alien on March 12, 1942, thus opening one of the most terrifying chapters in our lives.
I had left in my car to do an errand that morning. Ezio was alone in an upstairs room of our home in Mamaroneck, New York, doing paperwork at a table when he suddenly became aware that two strange men were approaching him. They had entered through the unlocked back door without either knocking or ringing the doorbell. They then walked through the lower floor and up the stairway.
One of them said, ''Are you Ezio Pinza?'' Ezio replied, ''Yes, what can I do for you?'' The men showed their FBI identifications, and one said, ''In the name of the President of the United States, we place you under arrest.'' Ezio immediately stood up. He was shocked and puzzled. He asked if they would mind waiting until his wife came back from the village. They handed Ezio a warrant and said, ''There is plenty of time. We intend to search your house anyway.''
Page 53 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
When I returned to find the strange car—and men—I was shocked to hear Ezio say to me, ''They have come to arrest me.'' We knew that all Italians were classified as enemy aliens during the war, but we had not heard that they could be arrested indiscriminately as the Japanese had been. We never suspected this could happen in the United States.
When they had finished their search of every room, closet, drawer, and file and found nothing of interest except a bill of sale for our boat, they told us they were going to take Ezio to the Foley Square Court House in Manhattan. When they arrived there, Ezio was searched again, fingerprinted, photographed, and questioned at length. He was then taken by boat to Ellis Island and handed over to uniformed guards who took away his necktie, belt, and shoelaces. Finally, Ezio was assigned an upper cot in a huge dormitory. A photograph of the dormitory is attached as Exhibit A to my written statement.
I had utter confidence in my husband, and although I was confused, I felt certain that some horrible mistake had been made and that he would be released quickly. But I was soon told that he could not be released until after a hearing that would take place in 12 days time. That was chilling news. A hearing? About what?
We were told that the United States Department of Justice would not disclose to us what charges had been brought against Ezio. Needless to say, that seemed to us a highly unusual and unfair policy for an American court. Ezio was totally innocent of any wrongdoing against the country. He was due to receive his final citizenship papers in 4 months, and we had not the slightest idea of what allegations had been made. How, we agonized, could we prepare for a hearing in 12 days? What would we talk about? What allegations did we have to rebut?
Page 54 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
While Ezio was at Ellis Island, I was allowed to visit him once each week by taking a ferry to the Island. When it docked, there was a great rush to get to the head of the line to enter the facility. Then we waited patiently to have our packages, pocketbooks, and all of our clothing inspected by the hands of a male guard.
We met in a huge room, sitting on wood benches, and again being watched carefully. In 15 minutes or so, a bell signaled that it was time to leave.
At Ellis Island I found my husband in a state of deep depression. The very next morning after his arrest, his picture had been on the front page of The New York Times stating that he had been arrested as an enemy alien and implying that he might be guilty of some subversive activities. Similar articles had also been carried in every other New York paper and in the newspapers of every major city in the country. He was humiliated and felt certain that his operatic career, which depended on the goodwill of the public, was doomed.
Living as he was with untidy clothing, open latrines, censored mail, and a lack of fresh air was also difficult for him. He felt helpless to defend himself. Ezio suspected that jealousies within the opera house might be at the root of any accusations against him. But how could we know if not presented with the charges? How could I sort it all out and make successful arguments at a hearing in 12 days? I could not.
Since we had no idea of the charges, the attorney I went to could only suggest taking affidavits and witnesses to the hearing who would attest to Ezio's honesty and his apolitical nature, and we did so. At the hearing, my father and I spoke in more detail about Ezio's character and the fact that in 1939 he decided and then did dispose of everything he had ever owned in Italy including his home, three apartment houses, his car, and all Italian investments.
Page 55 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Ezio told the judges why he had decided to become an American citizen and how he had attempted to help the American war effort by performing, without remuneration, for the United States Treasury Department at rallies to sell defense bonds and for the American Red Cross in their drives to collect funds and blood. He tried to help them understand that he cared only about his family and his musical career. He later told me that he was so nervous and confused by the ordeal that he had put on the worst show of this life.
The part of the hearing that was most startling to me, as an American, was that our attorney was not permitted to be in the courtroom with us. Ezio and I were forced to face a stern panel without legal assistance and without knowledge of the charges against him. We did our best to defend against the ghosts lined up against us. Not surprisingly, we failed.
Two judges voted for acquittal and one did not. We were told that Ezio would be shipped to a camp in some distant State until the end of the war. He would never be allowed to have any visitors, and I could send him only one letter each month. What was he being punished for? My parents and I agreed this could not happen in America.
To make a long story as short as possible, within a few days I found a new attorney and with great energy on our part and the help of friends sympathetic to Ezio's plight, we were able to persuade Attorney General Biddle to grant us a second hearing. Then several of Ezio's colleagues from the Opera House stepped forward and volunteered to tell the facts about how this drama had been invented. They testified under oath at the second hearing about that as well as about Ezio's character and the impossibility of his being any type of threat to America. We presented other evidence in Ezio's favor as well. This time, we succeeded.
Page 56 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Ezio had been confined for nearly 3 months when he was finally released. When he felt strong again, he returned to his profession, and to our joy, audiences everywhere greeted him with affection. Ezio had never spoken of this episode publicly, but they seemed to have guessed the truth.
Perhaps because Ezio was a well-known person, he managed to gain his freedom within months, rather than years. Even so, the terror of being arrested and imprisoned without knowing the charges against him, the fear that he could be separated from his family for years and lose his career and the difficult conditions on Ellis Island contributed, I am sure, to the high blood pressure and heart ailment that eventually took his life at the young age of 64. His brother and sister lived to the ages of 91 and 93.
On July 2, 1945, Ezio was honored to have been chosen to sing the Star-Spangled Banner at the welcoming home ceremonies for Generals Patton and Doolittle.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Pinza follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF DORIS L. PINZA, CAPE ELIZABETH, ME
Honorable Members of the Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Doris Pinza. My late husband, Ezio Pinza, was a native Italian and an opera singer working at the Metropolitan Opera in New York when he was arrested and interned at Ellis Island as an enemy alien on March 12, 1942, thus opening one of the most terrifying chapters in our lives.
Page 57 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
I had left in my car to do an errand that morning. Ezio was alone in an upstairs room of our home in Mamaroneck, NY doing paperwork at a table when he suddenly became aware that two strange men were approaching him.
They had entered through the unlocked back door without either knocking or ringing the doorbell. They then walked through the lower floor and up the stairway.
One of them said, ''Are you Ezio Pinza?'' Ezio replied, ''Yes, what can I do for you?'' The men showed their FBI identifications, and one said, ''In the name of the President of the United States we place you under arrest!''
Ezio immediately stood up. He was shocked and puzzled. He asked if they would mind waiting until his wife came back from the village. They handed Ezio a warrant and said, ''There's plenty of time. We intend to search your house anyway.''
When I returned to find the strange car—and men—I was shocked to hear Ezio say to me, ''They have come to arrest me.''
We knew that all Italians were classified as ''enemy aliens'' during the war, but we had not heard that they could be arrested indiscriminately as the Japanese had been. We never suspected this could happen in the United States.
When they had finished their search of every room, closet, drawer and file and found nothing of interest except a bill of sale for our boat, they told us they were going to take Ezio to the Foley Square Court House in Manhattan. When they arrived there, Ezio was searched again, fingerprinted, photographed and questioned at length. He was then taken by boat to Ellis Island and handed over to uniformed guards who took away his necktie, belt and shoelaces. Finally, Ezio was assigned an upper cot in a huge dormitory. A photograph of the dormitory is attached as Exhibit A.
Page 58 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
I had utter confidence in my husband, and although I was confused, I felt certain that some horrible mistake had been made and that he would be released quickly. But I was soon told that he could not be released until after a hearing that would take place in 12 days time—that was chilling news.
A hearing? About what?
We were told that the United States Department of Justice would not disclose to us what charges had been brought against Ezio! Needless to say, that seemed to us a highly unusual and unfair policy for an American Court.
Ezio was totally innocent of any wrongdoing against the country. He was due to receive his final citizenship papers in four months, and we had not the slightest idea of what allegations had been made. How, we agonized, could we prepare for a hearing in 12 days? What would we talk about? What allegations did we have to rebut?
While Ezio was at Ellis Island, I was allowed to visit him once each week by taking a ferry to the Island. When it docked, there was a great rush to get to the head of the line to enter the facility. Then we waited patiently to have our packages, pocketbooks and all of our clothing inspected by the hands of a male guard.
We met in a huge room—sitting on wooden benches and again, being watched carefully. In 15 minutes or so, a bell signaled that it was time to leave.
Page 59 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
At Ellis Island I found my husband in a state of deep depression. The very next morning after his arrest, his picture had been on the front page of the New York Times stating he had been arrested as an enemy alien and implying that he might be guilty of some subversive activities. Similar articles had also been carried in every other New York paper and in the newspapers of every major city in the country. He was humiliated and felt certain that his operatic career, which depended on the goodwill of the public, was doomed.
Living as he was with untidy clothing, open latrines and a lack of fresh air was also difficult for him. He felt helpless to defend himself.
Ezio suspected that jealousies within the opera house might be at the root of any accusations against him. But how could we know if not presented with the charges? How could I sort it all out and make successful arguments at a hearing in 12 days? I couldn't!
Since we had no idea of the charges, the attorney I went to could only suggest taking affidavits and witnesses to the hearing who would attest to Ezio's honesty and his apolitical nature—and we did so.
At the hearing, my father and I spoke in more detail about Ezio's character and the fact that in 1939 he had disposed of everything he had ever owned in Italy including his home, three apartment houses, his car and all Italian investments. Ezio told the judges why he had decided to become an American citizen and how he had attempted to help the American war effort by performing, without remuneration, for the U.S. Treasury Department at rallies to sell Defense Bonds and for the American Red Cross in their drives to collect funds and blood. He tried to help them understand that he cared only about his family and his musical career. He later told me that he was so nervous and confused by the ordeal that he had put on the worst show of his life.
Page 60 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
The part of the hearing that was most startling to me—as an American—was that our attorney was not permitted to be in the courtroom with us.
Ezio and I were forced to face a stern panel without legal assistance and without knowledge of the charges against him. We did our best to defend against the ghosts lined up against us. Not surprisingly, we failed.
Two judges voted for acquittal, and one did not. We were told that Ezio would be shipped to a camp in some distant state until the end of the war. He would never be allowed to have any visitors, and I could send him only one letter each month!
What was he being punished for? My parents and I agreed this could not happen in America!
To make a long story as short as possible, within a few days I found a new attorney and with great energy on our part and the help of friends sympathetic to Ezio's plight, we were able to persuade Attorney General Biddle to grant us a second hearing. Then several of Ezio's colleagues from the Opera House stepped forward and volunteered to tell the facts about how this drama had been invented. They testified under oath at the second hearing about that as well as about Ezio's character and the impossibility of his being any type of threat to America. We presented other evidence in Ezio's favor as well. This time, we succeeded.
Ezio had been confined for nearly three months when he was finally released. When he felt strong again, he returned to his profession, and to our joy, audiences everywhere greeted him with affection. Ezio had never spoken of this episode publicly, but they seemed to have guessed the truth.
Page 61 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Perhaps because Ezio was a well-known person, he managed to gain his freedom within months, rather than years. Even so, the terror of being arrested and imprisoned without knowing the charges against him, the fear that he could be separated from his family for years and lose his career and the difficult conditions on Ellis Island contributed, I am sure, to the high blood pressure and heart ailment that eventually took his life at the young age of 64. His brother and sister lived to the ages of 91 and 93.
On July 2, 1945, Ezio was honored to have been chosen to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the welcoming home ceremonies for Generals Patton and Doolittle.
Thank you.
04
EXHIBIT A
60413a.eps
This is where Ezio slept during his stay at Ellis Island—he had an upper berth.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Ms. Pinza.
Mr. de Guttadauro.
STATEMENT OF COLONEL ANGELO DE GUTTADAURO, RETIRED, SAN ANTONIO, TX
Page 62 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Mr. DE GUTTADAURO. Gentlemen, thank you having me here today.
Very briefly, my father was born in 1899 in Italy and was drafted into the Italian army at the tender age of 17. He immediately was sent to the front. I want to emphasize the fact that at this time Italy was an ally of America, and Italy was fighting with the American forces against the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. My father fought on the front for almost a year until he was seriously wounded. He received Italy's War Cross for Military Valor, which was the equivalent of our Silver Star. He then came to the United States, married my mother, who was a native-born American citizen, in San Francisco.
His problems began even before December 7, 1941. Under the provisions of FOIPA, I have received a number of documents from the Department of Justice and the FBI. I have one here dated March 19, 1941 from the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in San Francisco to the Director, Mr. Hoover. Everything from ''Dear Sir'' to ''Very Truly Yours'' has been sanitized. Another document, dated April 20, 1941, was an interrogation and investigation by the FBI of my father. Again, you can see the sanitization that was done.
In these documents, going from 1941 to 1944, my father was always referred to as having an alias. My father's first name was Antonino, but he went by Nino. The FBI continued to refer to Antonino Guttadauro, alias Nino. Alias in the dictionary is defined as ''An assumed name: The swindler worked under various aliases.'' So this gives a sinister background to my father by having his name going from Antonino to Nino. It said alias, and this continued.
Again, this manipulation was done by the Justice Department and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to try to prove a preconceived point of a subversive activity, which did not exist.
Page 63 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
I have here a letter personally signed by J. Edgar Hoover, a memorandum for Mr. Smith, LMC Smith, Chief, Special Defense Unit of the FBI in San Francisco: ''It is recommended that this individual be considered for custodial detention in the event of an actual emergency,'' dated September 30, 1941, prior to Pearl Harbor. And that is Mr. Hoover's signature.
Mr. Hoover issued my father a copy of a custodial detention card, which he had to use, again, as an assumed subversive. Wendell Berge, the Assistant Attorney General of the United States, wrote a memorandum to Mr. Hoover regarding my father—this is February 10, 1942—stating that ''there is not sufficient evidence upon which to institute a criminal prosecution against the subject at this time.''
However, the FBI and Mr. Hoover continued to the point that on September 1, 1942 he received an official order from General DeWitt stating that he had to report to an individual exclusion hearing board in San Francisco in less than a month. If he failed to do so, he would be fined a penalty of $5,000 and/or 1 year in jail, or both. Five-thousand dollars compounded quarterly at 7 percent is over $250,000 today. I am afraid my father, as an accountant, simply did not have that kind of money, as I am sure most of the people treated in this fashion did not.
At the exclusion hearing, he was told in writing—and I have the documents here—that he would not be told who his accusers were, he would not be told what the accusations were, and he would not be allowed to bring counsel with him. This is, I believe, a nullification of the civil liberties we were all granted. I would like to remind you again, at this time my father was a citizen of the United States.
Page 64 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
If I look back just a few years, that horrible happening in Oklahoma City—the man responsible for that was allowed to examine his witnesses, he was allowed to see evidence, he was allowed to have counsel. My father was not.
The exclusion hearing barred my father from over 50 percent of the United States. This is a map of the military areas and it runs all the way from Washington State to Maine. He could not go to any of these parts of the United States. Attempts to extinguish his United States citizenship continued, however, in the case entitled ''Antonino Guttadauro, with alias, Internal Security-I, (again from J. Edgar Hoover) Denaturalization Proceedings'' while he had already been excluded within the United States. A report, dated May 19, 1943, again from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, continued the denaturalization proceedings—again sanitized.
I spent almost 32 years in the service of our country—I retired in 1991—and during that time I commanded a nuclear warhead detachment, was a member of the Strategic Studies Institute at the Army War College, which is our senior think tank for the U.S. Army, and was on the personal staff of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), and I know when we have to sanitize documents. I know when it is reasonable to have classified information deleted. This is not the case, especially now that we are talking 60 years after the fact. But they continue to hide behind this veil of secrecy.
My father's exclusion order was finally rescinded, I believe in April 1944. Between the investigations by the FBI, the interrogations, and the exclusion, it ran from March 1941 to April 1944. So there was a period of 3 years. In that time, my father was an accountant. He had to find work. The first job he could find was as a grocery clerk in Salt Lake City, where he knew no one. It really destroyed the family fabric. And this is something, gentlemen, that I think should never again be repeated to any ethnic group for any reason. At least the restraints and the due process of law should be applied in every case.
Page 65 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
I thank you for hearing me.
[The prepared statement of Colonel de Guttadauro follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF COLONEL ANGELO DE GUTTADAURO, RETIRED, SAN ANTONIO, TX
Last winter, my son Andrew, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, sent me a copy of Tom Brokaw's 1998 best seller, The Greatest Generation, as a Christmas present. It is a riveting account of personal integrity and courage as documented by the lives of Americans who were destined to confront World War II. But I was totally dismayed and offended that Brokaw continues to assert the widely held canard that Italian Americans were not persecuted during that period. His following passage makes this fictitious position quite clear:
''Italian and German aliens living in California coastal areas were ordered to move in early 1942 but by June of that year the order had been rescinded, and there was no major relocation for those groups. Italian and German immigrants were picked up and questioned closely; they may have had some uncomfortable moments during the war, but they retained all their rights.''
Some moments, some rights.
My father, Nino Guttadauro, was born in Italy in 1899 and as a teenager was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant in the Italian armed forces. He served for over a year in combat against the Austrian Army in World War I until he was seriously wounded on the front lines. At that time, Italy was allied with America, England, and France to defeat the invading German and Austrian forces in Europe. For his gallantry in action, he was awarded Italy's War Cross for Military Valor, the equivalent of America's Silver Star.
Page 66 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Following the war, my father emigrated to the United States, married my mother (a native-born American citizen), continued his profession as an accountant, and became a naturalized American citizen residing in San Francisco, California. Because of his status as a veteran of World War I, he joined The Federation of the Italian World War I Veterans in the U.S.A., Inc., an organization very similar to America's VFW. His later position as president of the Federation's San Francisco branch, however, would have very damaging consequences for him and his entire family.
Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts (FOIPA), I have received dozens of documents from the FBI covering the period from 19 March 1941 to 13 July 1944. A number of these documents were signed by John Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and by Wendell Berge, Assistant Attorney General of the United States. A brief summary of these documents will illustrate the unconscionable manner in which my father's most basic civil liberties were abused and the core principles of the Constitution were abrogated. Even today, almost sixty years after the fact, the names of my father's accusers to the FBI and, indeed, their very allegations have been blacked out, or sanitized, in these documents.
My father's interrogations by the FBI began in March 1941 and continued until September 1942. At no time was he allowed to know the names of his accusers or the nature of their accusations. During his 28 March 1941 interrogation, the FBI agent recorded that the ''Subject denied there was any Fascist activity in the Italian Colony in San Francisco'' and further noted my father's statement that ''Communism was an international ideology and Russia sought and would, if the chance came, inflict its system on the whole world.'' History has proven my father correct on both counts.
Page 67 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Notwithstanding my father's consistent denials over a period of one and a half years of any inappropriate or illegal activities, a Board of Officers was convened by the Commanding General, Western Defense Command and Fourth Army, to determine if he should be issued an exclusion order prohibiting him from living in over half of the United States. The board was held in Room 483 of San Francisco's Whitcomb Hotel at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 September 1942. As Lt. Col. Frank E. Meek, the board president, informed my father in writing, ''Materials in the hands of the Board will not be made available for your inspection'' and you will not ''be permitted to examine witnesses.'' These are exactly the arbitrary procedures exercised by the infamous ''Star Chamber'' courts of the Middle Ages, and these same processes were utilized during the FBI interrogations.
The board's decision, for which there was no appeal, resulted in my father being served Exclusion Order F–1 at 10:18 a.m. on 29 September 1942. He was ordered to report two days later at 10:00 a.m. to a Maj. Ray Ashworth for ''processing.'' This processing included having a photograph and fingerprints taken and a specimen signature supplied. Documentaries of military tribunals treating civilian citizens in such an arbitrary manner can be seen almost weekly on the History Channel, but most such examples were filmed over half a century ago in Nazi Germany or Communist Russia.
The immediate result of Exclusion Order F–1 was my father's automatic expulsion from California, the loss of his professional position, and, most importantly, his forced separation from his wife, his seven-year-old daughter, and five-year-old son. In fact, he was not only expelled from California, but he was also prohibited from living in or traveling to the following states:
Page 68 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Prior to departing California, my father was ordered by Lt. Gen. J. L. DeWitt, Commanding General of Western Defense Command and Fourth Army, ''to communicate in writing the time of your departure, initial and ultimate destinations, route to be followed and means of travel; upon arrival at ultimate destination, you will report in person the fact of your arrival and your address at such destination to the Special Agent in Charge of the nearest office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice.'' This military notification and personal reporting mandate remained in force anytime my father traveled more than five miles or changed his residence, even in the same city. Although an American citizen, my father was, in effect, a prisoner in his own country.
It was impossible for my father to find qualified accounting positions because he would have to inform prospective employers that he was excluded on security grounds from half of the United States. It is understandable that employers would not trust such an individual with financial ledgers and cash payments. After an extensive search, the first job he was able to find following the exclusion was as a grocery clerk in Salt Lake City, Utah. This economic disruption and hardship, as well as the psychological scars, remained with my father for the rest of his life.
But the entire family also suffered. Due to the swiftness of the expulsion order, household goods were either stored or simply abandoned. We were forced to rent, in numerous cities, furnished apartments or homes at high costs due to our transient status. We had become, by military fiat, a family of involuntary gypsies. It fell upon my mother to create an artificial home atmosphere as best she could while my father roamed the Rocky Mountain states (in the non-prohibited areas) searching for a living. Because of this arbitrary and coercive action, a man's value to himself, to his family, and to his community and society was dramatically and permanently diminished.
Page 69 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Three years after my father's initial FBI interrogation in March 1941, his Exclusion Order F–1 was finally cancelled and rescinded effective 13 March 1944.
Despite the hardships and injustices inflicted on a loyal citizen by his government, my father was always proud of my decision to enter the United States Army from which I was honorable retired as a colonel after almost thirty-two years of commissioned service.
Had he lived, my father would have been a centenarian this year. By exposing the indignities he was forced to endure, you can relay to his spirit, and to all citizens, that our country is truly based on liberty and justice for all. Not only is this the right thing to do, it is the American thing to do.
Mr. CANADY. Thank you, Colonel.
Mr. WATT. Mr. Chairman, would it be appropriate to move at this point that all of these attachments that have been referred to be made an official part of the record so that we can get copies of them into the record?
Mr. CANADY. Without objection, all the materials referred to will be made a part of the record.
[The referenced documentation follows:]
102699a.eps
Page 70 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
102699b.eps
102699c.eps
102699d.eps
102699e.eps
102699f.eps
102699g.eps
102699h.eps
102699i.eps
102699j.eps
102699k.eps
102699l.eps
102699m.eps
Page 71 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
102699n.eps
102699o.eps
102699p.eps
102699q.eps
102699r.eps
Mr. CANADY. Mr. DiMaggio.
STATEMENT OF DOMINIC DIMAGGIO, OCEAN RIDGE, FL
Mr. DIMAGGIO. Mr. Chairman, I am referred to as the little professor, due to my short stature and large glasses, and to the fact that I look more like a scholar than an athlete.
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am pleased to be here today to participate in this hearing. This legislation, the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act, is important in the Italian-American community, and it is important to me.
I am here today in hopes that we can bring to light the tragic events of the past and honor those that had to endure them. Half-way through the 1942 baseball season, I enlisted in the United States Navy. The Navy was very, very reluctant to accept me because of my eye deficiency, but after a long conversation with the optometrist that examined me, I convinced him that he should draft a let