Enemy Aliens

Enemy Aliens

A dark chapter in the history of WW II that is still largely ignored in mainstream U.S. politics: The internment of German families in the USA during WW II.
After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the United State' entry into the war, German immigrants became potential enemies and spies and a threat to national security virtually overnight. Thousands of them found the FBI knocking on their doors one day. They were arrested, deprived of their property and forcibly interned in remote camps surrounded by barbed wire. For around 4000 of these German-Americans, however, internment camp turned out to be just the first stop on a long odyssey brought about by a secret deal between the warring parties: The United States government exchanged them for U.S. POWs - shipping them back to Germany in the middle of a war zone. But that was not the end of their travails. In Germany they were not welcome either, but were immediately suspected of being American spies and locked up again. Families were torn apart and destroyed. Even after the end of the war, many were not allowed to return to the United States.

A breathtaking adventure story about the darkest secrets of the Dark Ages, with a luminary cast and stunning production values.Based on five individual stories, the film presents one of the first accounts of German-American families who wound up between the fronts during the Second World War. Their incredible odyssey this film recounts remains largely unknown to this very day.

Original German Version: 45 and 60min

English+French Dubbed Version: 52min