Advisor Information

Danielle Battisti

Location

UNO Criss Library, Room 249

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Start Date

3-3-2017 2:15 PM

End Date

3-3-2017 2:30 PM

Abstract

This paper will detail the experiences, perceptions, and memories of working and middle class Italian American men during the first half of the twentieth century and examine the differences between how the two World Wars and their aftermaths shaped the ethnic identity of these men. By looking at Italian American World War II veterans, I conclude the notion that Italian American inclusion was achieved through the First World War and the nationalism of the 1920s, especially the restriction of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, is not fully representative of both the realities and perceptions of a sizable number of Italian American men. The view held by scholars that by the time FDR came into office, ethnic identity among European ethnics no longer seemed to matter is challenged by the argument that it was not until the Second World War and its aftermath that Italian Americans became socially, culturally, and economically included into the American identity.The reason for this was the differences in the natures of the two World Wars and how they effected Italian American ethnicity. The Second World War contained a number of unique factors that greatly assisted the integration and assimilation of Italian Americans resulting in their permanent inclusion. I seek to add to the work of Christopher Sterba’s Good Americans: Italian and Jewish Immigrants During the First World War, by showing that the inclusion of Italian Americans that did not endure following the First World War did in fact survive the aftermath of the Second.

For this paper, I examined sixty-two oral interviews with Italian American World War II veterans.These interviews are housed in two locations: the Immigration History Research Center Archives (or IHRCA), at the University of Minnesota, and the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. They come from three different collections: being the Italians in Chicago Oral History Project and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers Oral Histories from the IHRCA, and the Italian American World War II Veterans Oral History Collection from the Heinz History Center. These interviews detail the lives and military service of these men and reveal a great deal about their personal identity as Italian Americans.

COinS
 
Mar 3rd, 2:15 PM Mar 3rd, 2:30 PM

An Oral History of Italian American Identity & Perception during the First Half of the 20th Century

UNO Criss Library, Room 249

This paper will detail the experiences, perceptions, and memories of working and middle class Italian American men during the first half of the twentieth century and examine the differences between how the two World Wars and their aftermaths shaped the ethnic identity of these men. By looking at Italian American World War II veterans, I conclude the notion that Italian American inclusion was achieved through the First World War and the nationalism of the 1920s, especially the restriction of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, is not fully representative of both the realities and perceptions of a sizable number of Italian American men. The view held by scholars that by the time FDR came into office, ethnic identity among European ethnics no longer seemed to matter is challenged by the argument that it was not until the Second World War and its aftermath that Italian Americans became socially, culturally, and economically included into the American identity.The reason for this was the differences in the natures of the two World Wars and how they effected Italian American ethnicity. The Second World War contained a number of unique factors that greatly assisted the integration and assimilation of Italian Americans resulting in their permanent inclusion. I seek to add to the work of Christopher Sterba’s Good Americans: Italian and Jewish Immigrants During the First World War, by showing that the inclusion of Italian Americans that did not endure following the First World War did in fact survive the aftermath of the Second.

For this paper, I examined sixty-two oral interviews with Italian American World War II veterans.These interviews are housed in two locations: the Immigration History Research Center Archives (or IHRCA), at the University of Minnesota, and the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. They come from three different collections: being the Italians in Chicago Oral History Project and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers Oral Histories from the IHRCA, and the Italian American World War II Veterans Oral History Collection from the Heinz History Center. These interviews detail the lives and military service of these men and reveal a great deal about their personal identity as Italian Americans.