Were the Italian communites of the UK and US subject to being interned during WWII?
On the 10th of June 1940 Mussolini, the Italian Dictator, declared War on Great Britain and France. That night across the country angry riots broke out in many British cities. Mobs ransacked Italian property, mainly businesses, smashing windows and looted shops. The terrified owners, many with British citizenship and having been resident in the British Isles (often for decades), were forced to barricade themselves into back rooms. The worst riots were in Liverpool, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, all with large pre-war Italian populations. In places the police were forced to charge the rampaging mobs with batons. Italians living in Manchester and Birmingham faired better, with no reported incidents, and in London there were relatively few attacks on Italian owned premises. The worse violence however occurred in Scotland with major riots in Glasgow, Clydebank and Edinburgh. The Scotman, next morning reported on a night of smashing and looting in Leith street, numerous arson attacks, the c
