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Schools behind Barbed Wire

The Untold Story of Wartime Internment and the Children of Arrested Enemy Aliens

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.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 208 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7425-0171-3 • Paperback • December 2001 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
Subjects: Education / History, History / Military / World War II
Karen L. Riley is associate professor in the School of Education at Auburn University, Montgomery.
Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Foreword
Chapter 3 Interrupted Lives
Chapter 4 Day of Infamy and Beyond
Chapter 5 From Migrant Camp to Internment Camp
Chapter 6 An Onion Crate and a Box of Chalk
Chapter 7 The German School: Deutschland über alles
Chapter 8 The German School: Organization, Curriculum, and Teachers
Chapter 9 Vocational Education, Box Kites, and Brahms
Chapter 10 The Japanese Struggle for Control
Chapter 11 The Japanese School and Curriculum: Yamato Damashii
Chapter 12 Sports, Scouts, Kenkyu Kai, and Adult Education
Chapter 13 The American Schools: Happy Days Are Here Again
Chapter 14 The American Schools: Organization, Teachers, and Curriculum
Chapter 15 School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days
Chapter 16 Reflections and Epilogue
Book of the week. Schools Behind Barbed Wire meticulously charts the short but varied histories of these three institutions [Japanese, German, and American schools], offering in the process a string of fascinating cameos highlighting how schools are culturally defined, and how they, in turn, shape and define the pupils who pass through them....
— Times Educational Supplement


Seldom is groundbreaking history written from the experiences of children, especially the German and Japanese children whose families were arrested and imprisoned as 'Enemy Aliens' during World War II. Dr. Riley's remarkable study of the Federal schools at the Crystal City Family Internment Camp analyzes the internal pressures of camp life, the contradictions between tradition and wartime patriotism, and the difficulties of teaching children about democracy behind barbed wire. Extremely well-written and based on interviews and original documents, Dr. Riley has brought the history of a little-known government education program out of the shadows of World War Two.
— Arnold Krammer, Texas A&M University; author of Undue Process: The Untold Story of America's German Internees and Nazi Prisoners of War in America


Schools behind Barbed Wire is a beautifully written, well-researched, and fascinating book about a previously forgotten topic. It should appeal to educators, to historians interested in the treatment of enemy aliens during the Second World War, and to people intrigued by the acculturation of racial minorities. It is also a refreshing contrast to the dismal story of the internment of Japanese-Americans.
— Bruce F. Pauley, University of Central Florida, author of From Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti-Semitism and other books


Recommended.
— Choice Reviews


A useful addition to the literature on internment of enemy aliens.
— American Historical Review


Karen Riley has helped us restore the memory of the complicated lives and educational experiences of people who were caught up in the effects of international conflicts. This richly detailed book deserves to be read by anyone who wants to understand what can happen to schooling in times of such conflicts.
— Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison; author,


Book of the week.Schools Behind Barbed Wire meticulously charts the short but varied histories of these three institutions [Japanese, German, and American schools], offering in the process a string of fascinating cameos highlighting how schools are culturally defined, and how they, in turn, shape and define the pupils who pass through them.
— Times Educational Supplement


Numerous interviews and extensive use of previously unexamined primary sources bring some pithty evidence to light about the experiences of a unique set of World War II detainees.
— Journal of Southern History


Schools Behind Barbed Wire adds a remarkable chapter to World War II literature. . . . Anyone interested in civilian internment, education, and the south during World War II must read this important book.
— Southern Historian


Schools behind Barbed Wire

The Untold Story of Wartime Internment and the Children of Arrested Enemy Aliens

Cover Image
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • 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.
Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 208 • Trim: 6 x 9
    978-0-7425-0171-3 • Paperback • December 2001 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
    Subjects: Education / History, History / Military / World War II
Author
Author
  • Karen L. Riley is associate professor in the School of Education at Auburn University, Montgomery.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1 Foreword
    Chapter 2 Foreword
    Chapter 3 Interrupted Lives
    Chapter 4 Day of Infamy and Beyond
    Chapter 5 From Migrant Camp to Internment Camp
    Chapter 6 An Onion Crate and a Box of Chalk
    Chapter 7 The German School: Deutschland über alles
    Chapter 8 The German School: Organization, Curriculum, and Teachers
    Chapter 9 Vocational Education, Box Kites, and Brahms
    Chapter 10 The Japanese Struggle for Control
    Chapter 11 The Japanese School and Curriculum: Yamato Damashii
    Chapter 12 Sports, Scouts, Kenkyu Kai, and Adult Education
    Chapter 13 The American Schools: Happy Days Are Here Again
    Chapter 14 The American Schools: Organization, Teachers, and Curriculum
    Chapter 15 School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days
    Chapter 16 Reflections and Epilogue
Reviews
Reviews
  • Book of the week. Schools Behind Barbed Wire meticulously charts the short but varied histories of these three institutions [Japanese, German, and American schools], offering in the process a string of fascinating cameos highlighting how schools are culturally defined, and how they, in turn, shape and define the pupils who pass through them....
    — Times Educational Supplement


    Seldom is groundbreaking history written from the experiences of children, especially the German and Japanese children whose families were arrested and imprisoned as 'Enemy Aliens' during World War II. Dr. Riley's remarkable study of the Federal schools at the Crystal City Family Internment Camp analyzes the internal pressures of camp life, the contradictions between tradition and wartime patriotism, and the difficulties of teaching children about democracy behind barbed wire. Extremely well-written and based on interviews and original documents, Dr. Riley has brought the history of a little-known government education program out of the shadows of World War Two.
    — Arnold Krammer, Texas A&M University; author of Undue Process: The Untold Story of America's German Internees and Nazi Prisoners of War in America


    Schools behind Barbed Wire is a beautifully written, well-researched, and fascinating book about a previously forgotten topic. It should appeal to educators, to historians interested in the treatment of enemy aliens during the Second World War, and to people intrigued by the acculturation of racial minorities. It is also a refreshing contrast to the dismal story of the internment of Japanese-Americans.
    — Bruce F. Pauley, University of Central Florida, author of From Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti-Semitism and other books


    Recommended.
    — Choice Reviews


    A useful addition to the literature on internment of enemy aliens.
    — American Historical Review


    Karen Riley has helped us restore the memory of the complicated lives and educational experiences of people who were caught up in the effects of international conflicts. This richly detailed book deserves to be read by anyone who wants to understand what can happen to schooling in times of such conflicts.
    — Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison; author,


    Book of the week.Schools Behind Barbed Wire meticulously charts the short but varied histories of these three institutions [Japanese, German, and American schools], offering in the process a string of fascinating cameos highlighting how schools are culturally defined, and how they, in turn, shape and define the pupils who pass through them.
    — Times Educational Supplement


    Numerous interviews and extensive use of previously unexamined primary sources bring some pithty evidence to light about the experiences of a unique set of World War II detainees.
    — Journal of Southern History


    Schools Behind Barbed Wire adds a remarkable chapter to World War II literature. . . . Anyone interested in civilian internment, education, and the south during World War II must read this important book.
    — Southern Historian


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