A SECRET HISTORY/ The harassment of Italians during World War II has particular relevance today and serves as a warning of what could happen today. Photo from the February 23, 1942 San Jose News of John Perata, 42, third from left in plaid jacket, and Felix Bersano, 44, center in trench coat and hat, both from the San Jose/Campbell area, being led to the county jail. Perata and Bersano are the father and uncle, respectively, of Don Perata of Saratoga. Handout photo. Photo: Jeff Chiu. Al Bronzini's father lost his business and his mother lost her mind. Rose Scudero and her mother were exiled. Doris Giuliotti's father ended up in an internment camp. And Anita Perata's husband was held in a detention center and her house ransacked by the FBI.They don't want reparations, apologies or pity. They simply want the history books rewritten to say that, 60 years ago, it was a crime to be Italian. During World War II, 600,000 undocumented Italian immigrants in the United States were deemed "enemy aliens" and detained, relocated, stripped of their property or placed under curfew. A couple hundred were even locked in internment camps. It's not something most people know about. What happened to the Italians was based on wartime hysteria.Trying to educate people so it won't happen again.The story needs to be told. The current investigation was ordered by President Bill Clinton when he signed the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act. Finally, the government has admitted something went on. And, finally, too, people are ready to talk about it. Some Italians call this chapter of U.S. history "Una Storia Segreta," which means both a secret story and a secret history.http://www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/A-SECRET-HISTORY-The-harassment-of-Italians-2866287.php#photo-2232447
