Schools behind Barbed Wire: The Untold Story of Wartime Internment and the Children of Arrested Enemy Aliens

by Karen L. Riley

Often overlooked in the infamous history of U.S. internment during World War II is the plight of internee children. Drawn from personal interviews and multiple primary source materials, Schools behind Barbed Wire is the first book to uncover this unique chapter in American history. Previous to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the children of German and Japanese nationals took their 'Americanness' for granted. Many were citizens, born on American soil. Many had worn Boy Scout uniforms, pledged allegiance to the flag, and even collected tin foil in order to do their 'bit' for the war effort. But all this changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Without warning their American identity was suspect and on the basis of their parents' nationality, they too were treated as enemies of the state and shipped off to remote internment camps such as the one located in Crystal City, TX. Schools behind Barbed Wire is the story of the boys and girls who grew up in the Crystal City internment camp and spent the war years attending one of its three internment camp schools. These children attended regular classes in math and English, joined clubs, and tried to go about 'normal' life in the most extraordinary of circumstances. For many, their wartime experiences were often the defining moments of their lives. Professor Karen L. Riley has meticulously recorded the struggles these children faced everyday in her new book Schools behind Barbed Wire. No account of World War II would be complete without the wartime stories of these children.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2001

Reviews

[Marre Prestigiacomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I, personally, really enjoyed this book. I had a co-worker whose parents were in the Internment camps during the war. So having a personal connection to this space in time helped. However, the book is written with a very factual presentation of life and how it was in the Crystal City Family Internment Camp in Texas.
The internees were German and Japanese. Professor Karen Riley describes in detail the conflicts that exist between immigrant parents and their American-born children. There were conflicts between the German and Japanese because their cultures were different. The efforts and struggles of the administrators to provide all children education with a curriculum; with extracurricular activities and socialization geared toward Americanization of the children from grades K through 12. The immigrant parents were often in conflict and they expressed concern.
Each nationality had special holidays that they wanted to celebrate which caused some concern for the administration of the camp. For the Germans, Adolf Hitler's birthday was a celebration day. For the Japanese, the Emperor's birthday was a day of celebration.
Each family had a small little home and when they were provided a small kitchen the mothers of the family were very happy as it meant they could cook meals of their culture. Prior to the kitchens everyone at in a long cafeteria whatever was provided.
There was no record of any abuse by the administrators of the Crystal City location. The biggest conflict was the German leader was often difficult to communicate with which would result in his transfer to another camp when it was determined.
I enjoyed the book as it was written based on what little recorded history could be found but was basically the oral conversations of people who had been confined at Crystal City and their recollections. Informative and factual.

[Therese Wiese · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am interested in the whole internment thing from WWII, so this book was of interest to me. On the positive side, let me first say I learned a whole lot. I had only known of the Japanese that were interned, and this was very informative about the Germans also interned. Specifically, I was really interested to learn about the difference between the families that were actually arrested versus the "civilian enemy aliens".

My two problems with book? First, there were SO many footnotes. The book was not very long. Hard to believe the author could not have incorporated most of those long footnote dialogs into the book in a more substantive way. Second, the author made a comment that some of the interned families thought this was one of the best periods of their lives (I am paraphrasing). Really? I doubt that.

In spite of all that - if this is a topic that interests you, this will book will provide a lot of good information.

[JoNeita Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in College. One of the best, most interesting books I was forced to read.