Una Storia Segreta

George Perez

HPSC 106

29 November 2010

Una Storia Segreta

Una Storia Segreta meaning the secret story or secret history is a book which tells about the Italian-American evacuation and internment in the U.S. during World War II. The book is edited by Lawrence DiStasi who uses stories to explain how the United States has secretly hidden the truth about how they relocated thousands of Italian-Americans and interned more than 200. The book is compiled mainly of different accounts of families and individuals who suffered during this period of injustice. This is a part of history that has been kept out of the public’s knowledge, and now it has been exposed not only in a book, but also in an exhibition. The book describes much about how much Italian-Americans lost during their relocations and how they had to suffer lots of embarrassment because of where they came from and not who they were.

The book immediately starts off with telling us of about a letter written from a man named Louis Berizzi. The letter was written from his internment at Fort George Meade in Maryland on January 1943 trying to clear a statement he had given at his first hearing that made him look more like an enemy alien than a true citizen. About two years earlier it was when the United States started taking any Italian in America they branded as an enemy alien that would pose as a threat to the country to internment camps all over the country. It was also at this time that anyone taken would be given a court hearing to try to prove themselves innocent, however it was the courts philosophy that any Italian was guilty until proven innocent as opposed to what the common constitution law tells any citizen that they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. So to prove his innocence at a court hearing when asked which country he liked better either Italy or America Louis Berizzi responded that he did not like his mother bombed as he referred to Italy as his mother country. Many Italians used an analogy of their mother and wife in which their mother was Italy and their wife was America. They love both but it is different kinds of love where you can lay in bed with your wife and love her one way, but you cannot do that with your mother. It is the same with their country where they cannot go against the United States because the U.S. is their country also. Many Italians were also found and branded as enemy aliens because of an organization called the Ex Combattenti they had been a part of but was of no threat to the U.S.

Another story that was interesting, told from the daughter’s viewpoint, was that of Guido Bronzini who in 1923 came to America and established himself in the U.S. before the war and would seem would never been of any type of threat to America. He married his childhood sweet heart, Clara Filippi, after coming to America and going back to Italy to bring her to the U.S. After having a daughter in Oakland, CA he applied for citizenship but did not complete the process because he had become too busy trying to survive. He started with his family by selling vegetables out of his truck that he had bought with 25 dollars and some chickens. When he had become successful enough he opened a produce market in the Fruitvale district of Oakland. His family went from living in a rented house to owning a house and buying their first Pontiac car and many new appliances. One night during dinner the police came and took their radio. After that night they were classified as enemy aliens and lost many other possessions. Soon after the produce market had become off limits because it was on the one side of the street they could not cross into. The market closed and things got worse. Bronzini’s wife suffered a depressed mental collapse and was send to a mental hospital in Livermore, California. The father and daughter also had to move their home and started visiting Clara every Sunday. Guido tried to work wherever he could but could not find a job because of not being a citizen. After the restrictions were lifted Guido and Clara took their exams and became naturalized citizens. They had no hard feelings toward the government because they blamed it on themselves by not having been citizens. Guido eventually also opened his market and expanded. Although, many Italians were not as fortunate some even had their fishing boats taken and returned in horrible conditions. Many Italians had to start from nothing and rebuild what they had before the war.

Reading through the book many facts were given throughout the book such as: 10,000 Italian-American’s were forced to relocate on the west coast, up to 250 Italians were sent to military camps for two years, and many lost their homes and possessions because the United States had fear they what they could possess could be used to signal foreign enemies what to do in order to attack America. The book states that 600,000 Italian-Americans were branded as enemy aliens and 10,000 forced to relocate and that they were required to carry photo ids, they had restricted movement of about a 5 mile radius from their home, and many had to register at their Post Office. Upon registering, they had to carry a little book anywhere they went that showed they had registered. Many Italians were also put on curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

From an outside point of view it seems very unfair to Italians because from reading the book it seems the U.S. did not try hard enough to investigate each Italian to see which would be a true threat. Although, the United States did need to make sure they stayed safe it was not completely a valid method they used to intern many Italians and make many of the suffer. Also, the labeling of enemy aliens was very detrimental to Italians because they felt it was who they were and not what they did that made them feel like it was their fault they were enemy aliens. Ultimately this led them to try to forget about what happened instead of dealing with this and demanding the United States to give an apology and pay reprimands. It was more than 50 years when some were actually paid reprimands and offered an apology. Still most Italians did not want anything that happened known and just wanted to get past the fact of what happened.