Token Shipment The Story of Ameri~a's War RefugeeShelter UNITED STATESDEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR w AR RELOC.~TIONAUTHORITY i!OY T);::ni~onUniv " Token Shipment The Story of America's War RefugeeShelter United States Department of the lnterior J. A. KRUG,Secretary War Relocation Authority D ' D. S. MYER, z;rector For sale by the Superintendentof Documents U. S. Government Printing Office, Washin~ton 25, D. C. Price 35 cents . [- . , l I . ! I TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREV«>RD.. 1 CHAPTER- I. GENESIS... .. 4 Origins.. .. 4 Preparations.. .. 8 Selection.. .. 9 Composition.. .. 13 Voyage.. .. 14 ll. EARLYDAYS AT FORT ONTARIO. .. 18 Staff. .. 18 OfficialArrival. Processing. .... .. 1920 SomeQuestions. .. 21 OpenHouse. .. 22 PolicY' . .. 23 1. Food.. .. 23 2. Housing. .. 25 3.4. MedicalClothingCare. ... 2526 5. Internal and External SecuritY'. .. 27 6. Religion.. .. 28 8.7. Education.PrivateAgencies. ... 3029 9. CommunityGovernment. .. 34 10. Refugee Employment. .. 36 11. OswegoMvisory Committee. .. 37 12. Canteen 38 Language.. : . ~. .. 38 "Protection" . .. 39 HoneyJOOon . .'. .. 39 III. THE BlEAK PERIOD. .. 41 The Work Situation. 41 Lack of Cohesion. 42 Two Tragic Events. 43 TheCompensation Issue. .. 43 . ~:'c~~c" The Psychologist. 44 The Psychiatrist. 46 Signs of Progress. .. 46 First Departure. .' 48 Redemption of the Lire. .. 49 New Health Developments. .. 49 Leisure-Time Pursuits. .. 50 School and College. .. 51 End of an Era .. .. 52 IV. 'niE FDJAL PUSH. .. 5.3 A Shift in Emphasis. .. 5.3 The Shelter Director Resigns. .. 54 Oswego Adds its Voice. .. 55 The Dickstein Committee Hearings. .. 56 Administration Changes. .. 58 Bonus System. .. 60 Private Enterprise. .. 61 The Summer: Tensions Ease. .. 62 First Repatriates. .. 64 A Residents' Committee is Formed. .. 65 New Shelter Director. .. 67 End of the Chronicle. .. 67 The Paneling. .. 68 Variants of Medical Leave. .. 70 Problems of Administration. 72 Still Waiting. .' . .. 7.3 V. EXODUS. 75 Christmas Present. .. 75 I Immigration Examination. 76 I Citizens by Birth. 77 .I Resettling the People. .. 78 I Last Shelter Activities. .. 8.3 "The Golden Cage" . .. 8.3 Farewell. .. 85 Closing Down the Post. .. 85 'vI11here They Went. .. 86 Renaissance. .. 88 STEPS TOWARDFREEOOM . .. <X) Chronology: June 8, 1944 - February 5, 1946 . -~ . \ STATISTICS.. .. 103 FINAL DEPARTURESBY NATIONALITY AND TYPE OF DEPARTURE: Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter Residents, August 5, 1944- February 4,1946 . .. 104 FINAL DEPARTURESBY STATE AND COUNTRY OF DESTINATION Mill TYPE OF DEPARTURE: }o"ort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter Residents, August 5, 1944 - February 4,1946 . .. 104 AGE-SEX COMPOSITION: Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter Residents, August 5, 1944 ~ ~ (number and percent) 105 ," . GRADE Il~ SCHOOL BY YEAR OF BIRTH: School Children at Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter, September 15,1944 . .. 105 SIZE OF FAMILY: Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter Residents, September 14,1944 . .. 105 "'- r ,,~~~ ", . FOREWORD The story of the Emergency Refugee Shelter at Fort Ontario, Oswego, New York, is the story of 1,000 refugees of assorted European nationalities brought to the United States from Italy by order of President Roosevelt in the war year 1944. They lived for 18 months on the shores of -Lake Ontario in an abandoned Army camp administered by the War Relocation Authority. At the end of that period, the shelter was closed. When they came to Fort Ontario this group of 1,000 was but a tiny segment of the unfortunate horde of displa,ced persons throughout the world. When they left the shelter they had become a thousand individ- uals with as many destinations. 'ft1e Onego project was undertaken primarily to further long-range rescue objective. of the War Refugee Board. A secondary motive was to relieve overtaxed Allied supply lines in Italy c One purpose, of course, was to assist the people inTOlved, but at the time the project was con- ceived this was not one of the major considerations. In announcing the project to the Congress and to the public, President Roosevelt said that the refugees would remain at Fort Ontario "under appropriate security restrictions * * * for the duration of the war," and that at the 'Warts end they would "be returned to their hoa- lands." Had the shelter been located in Africa, or even in the Virgin Islands, as the Secretary ot the Interior first proposed, these two con- diticns could probably have been carFied out with little question. But the shelter was physically located within the United States, where man,. of the refugees found relatives, friends and organizations interested in their 'Welfare and within easy reach of the telephone. The result was that the protracted detention of these people and the possibi11~y ot t.heir involuntary return abroad became a kind of minor cause celebre tor anY' Americans who developed an interest 1ri t.hi. unique colony. 'ftley felt that it was unjust to detain avowed anti-Nazis, particularly those who were the spouses, children or parents of United States citiz.ns. But it was difficult to arrive at a generally acceptable solution to the problem, not only because of the original conditions, but because there was divided responsibility among the various government agencies having an interest in the shelter. The War Refugee Board had been given overall responsibility for the project, but it did not have an operating program in this country. Its job was to rescue additional people from the Nazis, and its actual interest in the Oswego project ended when the refugees arrived in the Un!ted States. The intere.t of the Depart_nt of Ju8tice was a negative one: it was anxious to prevent any violation of immigration laws or any untoward reactions likely to haJlper future (1) --- -- . immigration. The War Relocation Authority, on the other hand, was very much interested: it had to administer the project, although as the custodial agency it had limited policy responsibility. Unfortunately there was no opportunity for the agenc!es concerned to get together before the announcement was made. WRAknew, out of it. experience in maintaining relocation centers for Japanese Americans, that life in campswas far from satisfactory, especially where family groups were involved. But when it learned that it was to administer the shelter, the conditions of residence had already been set. WRA immedi- ately tried to alter the plan to permit a kind of parole system, but it 'Wastoo late. Despite its many windows to the world outside, Fort Ontario never resembled a normal community. The people slept and ate and worked and studied and took part in leisure-time activities. They married, had babies and died. But they lacked the one thing that they wanted roost- freedom. They were permitted outside the shelter only for certain hours each day and could not go beJOndthe city's environs. It was not simply that they were confined, but that their detention was of such an indeter- minate nature. After several months' operation of the shelter, WRAfelt that the peak of its usefulness as a rehabilitative center had been reached, but the agency was unable, because of the original stipulations, to obtain authorization tor a plan of sponsored leave under which the refugees could be permitted to live in normal communities under adequate safe- guards. So the people lived on in a kind of limbo. They saw their days slipping by as they continued to mark time. The experience was the more tantalizing because they were prisoners on the very brink of liberty. Many were able to take a rational view and so keep their resilience. But others who could not accept the fact that they were actually enjoy- ing less freedom here than abroad, showed signs of deterioration. At t~s they were restless, moody, rumor-ridden, even childish in their behavior. In a DK>destway the Oawegoexperience points to the need for early action to relieve the uncertain status of displaced persons every- where. As the war in Europe drew to a close, anxiety over the refugees' detention WaS linked with the great fear that they would be forced to return to countries for which they felt only revulsion. They were fear- ful of renewed persecution in the countries from which they came, and h~d an understandable horror of going back to the villages, towns and cities in which so many of their wives, husbands, children, parents and other close family membershad been exterminated. (2) j Although they resented their long, unproductive detention, and were troubled about the uncertainty of their future, the shelter resi- dents behaved surprisingly well during their stay at Fort Ontario. '111e Jl8jority of the group were people of intelligence and understanding. Years of non-private lives in internlMnt camps and in flight had made extreme individualists of many of them, but they were well aware of their own frailties. Despite the efforts or WRA,the private agencies, the refugees, their relatives and their friends, it took 18 months before a sati8- factory solution could be found to the dileJlUDaat Fort Ontario. It took a Congre.sional investigation, an administrative inquiry by thr$e government departments, and finally action by the President himself to cut the Gordian knot. ~t when the time cams tor the people to leave, most ot them faced the future with confidence. Their health was im- proved. 'D1eyhad learned the language and many of the customs of America. And although their only point of vantage was the main street of a small town 11,1 upstate New York, they had acquired a surprising senseof values and perspective about their chancesin the days ahead. Note: This report prepared by Edward B. Marks, Jr., Refugee Program Officer. (3) CHAPTERI GE~I.S Origins In June 1944, the War Relocation Authoritywa8 about to close its first relocation center and was deep in the program of assisting Japanese American evacuees to leave the other centers under its juris- diction and becomereestablished in outside communities.