About Potentially Dangerous
During World War II, the U.S Government restricted the actions and freedoms of 600,000 Italian residents of the United States. All were declared “Enemy Aliens,” and many were placed under curfew, banned from their workplaces, evacuated from their homes and communities, and even placed in internment camps.
Many of these people had been in the United States for decades, had children born in their adopted country, and had sons serving in the U.S. Military.
During that era, Italians made up the biggest foreign-born group in the country. As the Department of Justice would later say, “The impact of the wartime experience was devastating to the Italian American communities in the United States, and its effects are still being felt.”
Interned Italians were not charged with a crime or allowed legal representation. They were subjected to “loyalty hearings” and held for the duration of the war. The United States government considered them “Potentially Dangerous” not based on anything they had done, but on where they were born.
Most Italians refused to speak about what happened to them. Even 80 years later, many have remained silent. Until now. Hear their stories for the first time in Potentially Dangerous.
Director’s Statement:
When I obtained my dual citizenship in Italy, I realized that I had little connection to my ancestors' homeland…and I wondered why. Then I discovered the reason - Italians in America were persecuted during World War II, not for anything they had actually done but only for who they were and where they were from. The trauma led many of them to hide their language, culture, and customs. Potentially Dangerous reveals the untold story of what happened to Italians in America during WWII and examines the lasting effects of these events. This story has modern-day implications and can help us learn to treat others with empathy and understanding.