Italians During Wartime America

Mary Elizabeth Basile Chopas is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants who settled in Farmington, CT in the 1930s. Her presentation will discuss the experiences of Italians living in the United States during World War II, with special focus on the Italian residents of Farmington through the lens of her family. When the United States entered World War II, Italian nationals living in this country were declared enemy aliens and faced with legal restrictions. Several thousand aliens and a few U.S. citizens were arrested and underwent flawed hearings, and hundreds were interned. Less restrictive measures included curfews and raids on homes. In telling the stories of former enemy aliens as they attempted to resume their lives after the war, Chopas demonstrates the lasting social and cultural effects of government policies on the Italian American community. She is the author of Searching for Subversives: The Story of Italian Internment in Wartime America (UNC Press, 2017).