When the U.S. decided to provide shelter for almost 1,000 Jewish refugees during World War II, former President Franklin Roosevelt decided the best place to do so was Fort Ontario in Oswego.

Community members gathered on Jan. 27 at the Quality Inn Restaurant to hear Paul Lear, the manager of Fort Ontario, tell a complete history of how the camp was turned into an emergency refugee shelter. The lecture was one of many going on throughout the world on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Fort Ontario represents the first time in history that a group of unsponsored refugees were granted asylum in the U.S.,” Lear said. “In some ways, it opened the door for admitting larger numbers of refugees through post-war legislation.”

Lear became a part of Fort Ontario in 1986 when he began as an interpretive programs assistant. He was also part of the Safe Haven Committee, which shared history and images in the collection with the developing National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

In June 1944, Dillon Myer, the director of the War Relocation Authority, read in The Washington Post that the WRA would be responsible for 1,000 refugees being transported immediately from southern Italy to America on a ship, and they would travel by train to Fort Ontario, which at that point had just been a recently abandoned army camp. They began the work to refurbish the camp from soldiers’ quarters to apartments for refugees and their families.

“The principal changes were alterations into small apartments and women’s bathrooms,” Lear said. “The army carried out the alterations quickly, costing about $250,000. It was a lot of money in those days.”

More than 3,000 people applied to come to the U.S. Interviews were conducted with 775 people from southern Italy, and the rest from Rome. Ultimately, 982 refugees out of the 3,000 applicants were allowed into the temporary safe haven. There were 525 men and 457 women, with all different religions, occupations and languages. The youngest refugee was born on the ship and was two days old when they arrived in America, and the oldest refugee was 88 years old.

The refugees arrived at Fort Ontario on Aug. 5, 1944, and began learning to become a self-sufficient camp. Residents of Oswego were hired on staff to run the camp in the beginning until the refugees could take over.

A chain-link fence surrounded the fort, which reminded refugees of the internment camps they were previously held in. For the first month, all refugees were under quarantine and could not travel in the community.

“The quarantine was imposed for security reasons,” Lear said. “But also, to make sure the population was free of epidemic diseases.”

The fence lasted throughout the duration of the quarantine. On early summer evenings, refugees and Oswego residents met and exchanged souvenirs, and friendships formed through the chain-link fence.

“There was a real tie between the fort and the community,” Lear said.

When the fence came down, refugees were allowed out in the community for six hours at a time. Many used this time to shop downtown and to form a relationship with the community. 

In order to avoid confusion, each refugee signed a written statement before they arrived, stating after the war, the refugees could not remain in the U.S.

“It was difficult to know whether some people misunderstood the statement, or if they took a chance,” Lear said. 

The statement also said that refugees were required to remain at Fort Ontario and not travel throughout the U.S. The statement was translated in many different languages, which changed the phrase to say, “I shall remain,” or “I can remain.”

“This was interpreted by many refugees to mean the shelter would be operated for those who wish to remain, but that others would have their freedom to live where they chose,” Lear said. 

When the war ended, most refugees felt they had no home to return to. At that time, most refugees were eligible to be admitted to the U.S. Former President Harry Truman made a statement allowing refugees to be admitted and remain in the U.S. if they wanted to stay, under the immigration laws.

“In these circumstances, it would be inhumane and wasteful to require these people to go all the way back to Europe merely for the purpose of applying there, for immigration visas, and returning to the U.S.,” the statement said.

On Jan. 7, 1946, workers helped refugees resettle into the population. The group had, by now, taken on many aspects of American culture and were very similar to a natural-born citizen. The refugees had all learned English and their clothing was indistinguishable.

On April 4, 1946, the flag at Fort Ontario was lowered for the last time as an official army post.

“The fort then goes onto another chapter of history after this,” Lear said.

Kevin Hill, the president of the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum, said the Fort Ontario emergency refugee shelter was the only shelter for refugees during the Holocaust in the U.S..

“It’s a piece of history that no other community can lay claim to,” Hill said. “I am honored to be a part of the organization in charge of ensuring that the history lives on.” 

Photo: Greg Tavani | The Oswegonian