Profile of Rosa Mosauer, Refugee at Fort Ontario

In August 1944, during World War II, 982 European refugees arrived at an Emergency Refugee Shelter at Ft. Ontario, near Oswego, New York. They entered the United States outside immigration quotas with the status of temporary "guests." They were not permitted to leave the camp during their stay, and were required to return to their home countries or another location after the war.

In March 1945, D. S. Myer, Director of the War Relocation Authority sent a memorandum to General William O'Dwyer, Executive Secretary of the War Refugee Board detailing reasons why refugees at the Fort Ontario refugee camp should be given supervised "sponsored leave." It would enable the refugees to leave the camp for brief periods of time to visit family and friends in the United States.

Attached to the memo were case histories, including this one for Rosa Mosauer, a 60-year-old Polish-born Austrian citizen who resided at the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Center. Her two surviving sons were U.S. citizens serving in the army during WWII who, with the Welfare Department of the Center, believed Ms. Mosauer should be released into the custody of her family.