Subcommittee on the Constitution

Committee on the Judiciary

U.S. House of Representatives

In Re: H.R. 2442

The Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act

STATEMENT OF DORIS L. PINZA

Honorable Members of the Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Doris Pinza. My late husband, Ezio Pinza, was a native Italian and an opera singer working at the Metropolitan Opera in New York when he was arrested and interned at Ellis Island as an enemy alien on March 12, 1942, thus opening one of the most terrifying chapters in our lives.

I had left in my car to do an errand that morning. Ezio was alone in an upstairs room of our home in Mamaroneck, NY doing paperwork at a table when he suddenly became aware that two strange men were approaching him.

They had entered through the unlocked back door without either knocking or ringing the doorbell. They then walked through the lower floor and up the stairway.

One of them said, "Are you Ezio Pinza?" Ezio replied, "Yes, what can I do for you?" The men showed their FBI identifications, and one said, "In the name of the President of the United States we place you under arrest!"

Ezio immediately stood up. He was shocked and puzzled. He asked if they would mind waiting until his wife came back from the village. They handed Ezio a warrant and said, "There's plenty of time. We intend to search your house anyway."

When I returned to find the strange car - and men - I was shocked to hear Ezio say to me, "They have come to arrest me."

We knew that all Italians were classified as "enemy aliens" during the war, but we had not heard that they could be arrested indiscriminately as the Japanese had been. We never suspected this could happen in the United States.

When they had finished their search of every room, closet, drawer and file and found nothing of interest except a bill of sale for our boat, they told us they were going to take Ezio to the Foley Square Court House in Manhattan. When they arrived there, Ezio was searched again, fingerprinted, photographed and questioned at length. He was then taken by boat to Ellis Island and handed over to uniformed guards who took away his necktie, belt and shoelaces. Finally, Ezio was assigned an upper cot in a huge dormitory. A photograph of the dormitory is attached as Exhibit A.

I had utter confidence in my husband, and although I was confused, I felt certain that some horrible mistake had been made and that he would be released quickly. But I was soon told that he could not be released until after a hearing that would take place in 12 days time - that was chilling news.

A hearing? About what?

We were told that the United States Department of Justice would not disclose to us what charges had been brought against Ezio! Needless to say, that seemed to us a highly unusual and unfair policy for an American Court.

Ezio was totally innocent of any wrongdoing against the country. He was due to receive his final citizenship papers in four months, and we had not the slightest idea of what allegations had been made. How, we agonized, could we prepare for a hearing in 12 days? What would we talk about? What allegations did we have to rebut?

While Ezio was at Ellis Island, I was allowed to visit him once each week by taking a ferry to the Island. When it docked, there was a great rush to get to the head of the line to enter the facility. Then we waited patiently to have our packages, pocketbooks and all of our clothing inspected by the hands of a male guard.

We met in a huge room - sitting on wooden benches and again, being watched carefully. In 15 minutes or so, a bell signaled that it was time to leave.

At Ellis Island I found my husband in a state of deep depression. The very next morning after his arrest, his picture had been on the front page of the New York Times stating he had been arrested as an enemy alien and implying that he might be guilty of some subversive activities. Similar articles had also been carried in every other New York paper and in the newspapers of every major city in the country. He was humiliated and felt certain that his operatic career, which depended on the goodwill of the public, was doomed.

Living as he was with untidy clothing, open latrines and a lack of fresh air was also difficult for him. He felt helpless to defend himself.

Ezio suspected that jealousies within the opera house might be at the root of any accusations against him. But how could we know if not presented with the charges? How could I sort it all out and make successful arguments at a hearing in 12 days? I couldn't!

Since we had no idea of the charges, the attorney I went to could only suggest taking affidavits and witnesses to the hearing who would attest to Ezio's honesty and his apolitical nature - and we did so.

At the hearing, my father and I spoke in more detail about Ezio's character and the fact that in 1939 he had disposed of everything he had ever owned in Italy including his home, three apartment houses, his car and all Italian investments. Ezio told the judges why he had decided to become an American citizen and how he had attempted to help the American war effort by performing, without remuneration, for the U.S. Treasury Department at rallies to sell Defense Bonds and for the American Red Cross in their drives to collect funds and blood. He tried to help them understand that he cared only about his family and his musical career. He later told me that he was so nervous and confused by the ordeal that he had put on the worst show of his life.

The part of the hearing that was most startling to me - as an American - was that our attorney was not permitted to be in the courtroom with us.

Ezio and I were forced to face a stern panel without legal assistance and without knowledge of the charges against him. We did our best to defend against the ghosts lined up against us. Not surprisingly, we failed.

Two judges voted for acquittal, and one did not. We were told that Ezio would be shipped to a camp in some distant state until the end of the war. He would never be allowed to have any visitors, and I could send him only one letter each month!

What was he being punished for? My parents and I agreed this could not happen in America!

To make a long story as short as possible, within a few days I found a new attorney and with great energy on our part and the help of friends sympathetic to Ezio's plight, we were able to persuade Attorney General Biddle to grant us a second hearing. Then several of Ezio's colleagues from the Opera House stepped forward and volunteered to tell the facts about how this drama had been invented. They testified under oath at the second hearing about that as well as about Ezio's character and the impossibility of his being any type of threat to America. We presented other evidence in Ezio's favor as well. This time, we succeeded.

Ezio had been confined for nearly three months when he was finally released. When he felt strong again, he returned to his profession, and to our joy, audiences everywhere greeted him with affection. Ezio had never spoken of this episode publicly, but they seemed to have guessed the truth.

Perhaps because Ezio was a well-known person, he managed to gain his freedom within months, rather than years. Even so, the terror of being arrested and imprisoned without knowing the charges against him, the fear that he could be separated from his family for years and lose his career and the difficult conditions on Ellis Island contributed, I am sure, to the high blood pressure and heart ailment that eventually took his life at the young age of 64. His brother and sister lived to the ages of 91 and 93.

On July 2, 1945, Ezio was honored to have been chosen to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the welcoming home ceremonies for Generals Patton and Doolittle.

Thank you.