Heartland. A historical drama about the internment of German-Americans in the United States during World War II. / Lojo Simon; Anita Simons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Simon, Lojo.

Contributor:

Simons, Anita.

Department of Germanic Languages Book Fund.

Series:

Social fictions series ; 9.

Social Fictions Series ; 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

German Americans--Forced removal and internment, 1941-1948--Drama.

German Americans.

Evacuation and relocation of German Americans (United States : 1941-1948).

Genre:

Drama.

Physical Description:

148 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Dordrecht : Sense Publishers, 2014.

Summary:

During World War II, the US government confined thousands of Japanese-, German- and Italian-Americans to isolated, fenced and guarded relocation centers known as internment camps. At the same time, it shipped foreign Prisoners of War captured overseas to the US for imprisonment. This book reflects on the intersection between these two historic events through the story of a German-born widow and her family who take in two German Prisoners of War to work their family farm. But the German-American family and the POWs bond too well for the townspeople to accept, and the widow is arrested, interned and eventually suffers a breakdown, which tears her family apart. Based on true stories, Heartland illustrates what can happen when fear and prejudice pit neighbor against neighbor in times of war. A dramatic tale that grants insights into American history, Heartland is a winner of the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest and a runner-up for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award. “The story is shocking; for me it was revelatory,” wrote theatre critic Pat Launer. “Deporting our own citizens? Who knew? But the play, while conveying historical information, is not in the slightest didactic. It’s a family story, a tale of survival and acquiescence, of racism, of neighbor against neighbor. Not a pretty picture .” While it may be read for pleasure, this book also is a useful tool for exposing students to important lessons in history, politics, economics, sociology, psychology, women’s studies and other academic disciplines.0.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Department of Germanic Languages Book Fund.

ISBN:

946209585X

9789462095861

9462095868

9789462095854

OCLC:

881214038

Publisher Number:

99962892966