Arthur D. Jacobs Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS-427

Scope and Content Note

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The Arthur D. Jacobs Papers consist primarily of official documents, correspondence, photographs, and other materials documenting Jacobs' detention in and deportation from the United States due to his German-American heritage during World War II, his research into the United States' internment of German nationals and German-Americans in the 1940s, and his work to pass federal legislation recognizing this internment, formally apologizing for it, and providing restitution to its victims. The collection is composed of both physical and digital materials.

Series I: Jacobs Family Internment and Deportation consists primarily of official documents, photographs, interviews, correspondence, and other materials documenting the Jacobs family's internment at Ellis Island, New York and Crystal City, Texas; their repatriation to Germany; and Arthur Jacobs' experiences in Hohenasperg prison. Also included are materials showing Jacobs' The Prison Called Hohenasperg: An American Boy Betrayed by his Government during World War II (1999) and his work to acquire copies of the federal records documenting his family's internment and deportation.

Series II: Materials Created by Internees consists primarily of camp newspapers created by internees in Camp Forrest, Tennessee; Crystal City, Texas; Fort Lincoln, North Dakota; Mariana, California; and Seville, Texas. Programs for internee theatre programs and announcements of camp events are also present.

Series III: Research and Legislation Regarding Internment and Internees houses federal records, correspondence, photographs, proposed legislation, interviews, television programs, and other materials documenting internment of German nationals and German-Americans in the United States during World War II. The majority of these items focus on surveillance and detention of German-Americans, internment in Crystal City, and deportation to Germany (sometimes in exchange for American POW). Information regarding the detention of Italian-Americans and Japanese-Americans and materials documenting Jacobs' opposition to legislation formally acknowledging and apologizing for the internment of Japanese-Americans on the grounds that it excluded German- and Italian-Americans who endured similar treatment is also present.

Series IV: Correspondence houses letters exchanged between Jacobs and elected officials at the local, state, and national levels written as part of Jacobs' efforts to pass legislation recognizing German-American internment, formally apologizing for it, and providing restitution to its victims. This correspondence also details Jacobs' opposition to legislation focusing exclusively on Japanese-American internees.

Series V: Other Papers contains information regarding Jacobs' papers at the U.S. Air Force Academy, unidentified photographs, certificates, and other materials.

Dates

Creation: 1928-2014

Creator

Jacobs, Arthur D., 1933- (Person)

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Tuesday through Thursday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Biographical Note

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Lambert Dietrich Jacobs (1908-1983) was born to Lambert and Anna Florin (Adler) Jacobs in Bremen, Germany. He had two sisters, Mara (Jacobs) Legstein (1905-1991) and Florin (1906-). Jacobs worked in a delicatessen in Bremen before emigrating to the United States in 1928. He settled in New York City, where he worked as a painter and maintenance mechanic. He married Paula Sophie Noiseless (1906-1976) on March 2, 1929 and the couple had two sons, Lambert Walter (1931-) and Arthur D. (1933-).

In March of 1944, Lambert Jacobs was investigated by the FBI, ruled an alien enemy ... dangerous to the public peace and safety of the United States, and arrested. He was granted interim parole until October of 1944, after which he was interned at Ellis Island. Paula Jacobs submitted an application to have herself and her sons interned with her husband, as the family wanted to remain together and she could not support herself and her children without her husband's income. Her application was granted, and she and the couple's two sons joined Lambert Jacobs at Ellis Island in February of 1945. The family was transferred to Crystal City, Texas in March of 1945. In October of 1945, Jacobs requested to be repatriated to Germany on the condition that his wife and sons (both of whom were American citizens by birth) accompany him. The family was transferred to Ellis Island in December of 1945 and departed for Germany on the SS Aiken Victory in January of 1946.

When the family arrived in Germany, Lambert and Arthur Jacobs were separated from their parents and transported to Williamsburg, Germany, where Arthur Jacobs was confined in Hohenasperg prison. His captors treated him poorly, referring to him as the little Nazi and threatening him with hanging if he misbehaved. In October of 1947, the brothers were issued an American passport and allowed to return to the United States. Their parents elected to remain in Germany.

Arthur Jacobs enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1951, received his commission in 1962, and retired at the rank of Major in 1973. He married Viva Jane Sims (1932-) in 1952. After leaving the military, Jacobs worked for Motorola before joining Arizona State University's College of Business in 1977. Throughout his life, and particularly after his military retirement, Jacobs researched civilian internment in the United States, worked to raise awareness of German-American internment during World War II, and fought for the passage of federal laws acknowledging and formally apologizing for this injustice. Arthur Jacobs retired from ASU in 1997.