Traveling exhibit tells story of German-American civilian internment


"Vanished, German-American Internment 1941-1948" describes a little known fact about World War II: the U.S. Government interned 15,000 German-American civilians.

A unique multimedia exhibit housed in a bus, "Vanished" is a traveling exhibit that will visit Grand Forks Friday, Sept. 15, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The BUS-eum, as it is called, will be parked at the corner of University Ave. and Harvard St. on the UND campus. The public is invited to tour the exhibit during its stop. The exhibit is free and open to all.

"Vanished" is presented by TRACES, a St. Paul, Minn.-based non-profit educational organization that collects and publicizes stories about Germans and Austrians in the Midwest during World War II. The exhibit's visit to Grand Forks is sponsored by the Chester Fritz Library.

During the Second World War, a U.S. government policy forced thousands of German-Americans and Latin American Germans into camps where they were confined for the duration of the war. The exhibit has particular relevance to North Dakota, which housed a German-American internment detention center outside of Bismarck. German-American internment detention centers were located across the country and included sites in Wisconsin and Texas. Ellis Island, recognized as the entry point for U.S. immigration was a German-American detention center site.

The public will have the opportunity to view information about the U.S. Government's WWII "enemy alien" internment program through 10 narrative panels, an NBC "Dateline" documentary and a 1945 U.S. Government color film. The exhibit will stimulate viewers to ask questions about U.S. detention policies and the history of World War II.

For information about the exhibit, contact Wilbur Stolt, director of libraries, Chester Fritz Library, at 777-2189.