Free Republic

Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in San Jose, California arrested Filippo Molinari, an Italian immigrant who sold subscriptions to L’Italia, a popular newspaper in his Italian American community. While held in custody, Molinari asked why he was being detained, only to be told that his arrest was “by order of the President.” A few days later, FBI agents forced Molinari and approximately 500 other “enemy aliens”—including more Italian nationals as well as Japanese and German immigrants from California—onto a train bound for an internment center in Missoula, Montana. Later, Molinari recalled how cold...

When Japanese bombers appeared in the skies over Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, the U.S. military was completely unprepared for the devastating surprise attack, which dramatically altered the course of World War II, especially in the Pacific theater. But there were several key reasons for the bombing that, in hindsight, make it seem almost inevitable. Tensions Began During the Great Depression Before the Pearl Harbor attack, tensions between Japan and the United States had been mounting for the better part of a decade. The island nation of Japan, isolated from the rest of the world for...

On December 11, 1941, several days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war against the Japanese Empire, Nazi Germany declared war on the United States, in response to what was claimed to be a series of provocations by the United States government when the US was formally neutral during World War II. The decision to declare war was made almost entirely by Adolf Hitler, without consultation. Hitler had received no advance notice from the Japanese about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he and his Foreign Minister Ribbentrop had verbally indicated a willingness...