The Sawyer Free Library is proud to host Branded: Gloucester’s Hidden History of Enemy Aliens on Saturday, September 27 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The event will take place in the Library’s (brand new!) Community Room located on the ground floor level.

Join Gloucester native and writer Maria Millefoglie as she uncovers a little-known chapter of local history in her presentation Italian Immigrant: A Story of Allegiance, Loss, and Belonging in World War II.

Drawing on archives, historic newspapers, and community stories, Millefoglie reveals how World War II reshaped Gloucester’s Sicilian and Italian immigrant families. While hundreds of young men proudly enlisted in the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, others in their households were labeled “enemy aliens,” banned from the waterfront, and stripped of their livelihoods. During this time, the U.S. Navy requisitioned some of Gloucester’s finest fishing vessels for minesweeping and patrol duty, even as German U-boats prowled the Atlantic.

Through storytelling, timelines, and photographs, Millefoglie brings to life the sacrifices of fishermen pressed into naval service, the struggles of families torn between loyalty to their new country and ties to their homeland, and the resilience of women who held households together amid fear and loss.

This presentation not only pays tribute to the past but also offers timely reflections on how history echoes in today’s debates about immigration and belonging.

This event is the first project under Preserving Cape Ann’s Ethnic Cultural Heritage, part of the broader Down the Fort: A Documentary and Archive Project, which works to capture and honor the immigrant and ethnic experiences that have long shaped Cape Ann’s cultural fabric.

Register for the presentation on Library’s calendar at sawyerfreelibrary.org.

The Sawyer Free Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. For details on all the Library’s services and upcoming programming visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org.