During WWII, German Americans were labeled people of “enemy ancestry.” The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required resident aliens aged 14 and older to register with the U.S. Government “subject to arrest, detention, or internment for the duration of war.” After Pearl Harbor, in December 1941, President Roosevelt expanded restrictions on travel and property ownership. Approximately 11,000 German Americans were interned in camps in rural, isolated areas throughout the U.S. Many were pressured to “repatriate” to Germany where they could be exchanged for American prisoners of war. Read more about a German-American during WWII in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
