http://video.aol.com/video-detail/japanese-internment-camps-during-wwii/432345598634422007/?icid=VIDURVHOV02 Video internment

What do these two images tell you?

Japanese Internment February 19, 1942: Executive Order 9066 Government could remove “any and all people” from “military areas” Japanese Americans on the west coast were placed in large assembly centers then sent to internment camps There were 10 internment camps across the country. They were found in the states of California, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas. Two of the biggest camps were Manzanar and Tule Lake, both found in California. All Japanese were taken to the camps, even Japanese-Americans. They could only bring what they could carry, including toiletry items, kitchen items, bedding, and clothing. Everything else was left behind including pets. Most of the camps were located in remote, desolate areas. The land could vary from desert like conditions with very hot summers and cold winters, to swamp-like conditions with heat and humidity in Arkansas. Facilities differed from camp to camp, but all were spartan. Internees were assigned to a block consisting of fourteen barracks subdivided into four or six rooms.   Over 127,000 United States citizens were imprisoned during World War II. Their crime? Being of Japanese ancestry. Many families sold their homes, their stores, and most of their assets. They could not be certain their homes and livelihoods would still be there upon their return. Because of the mad rush to sell, properties and inventories were often sold at a fraction of their true value. Until the camps were completed, many of the evacuees were held in temporary centers, such as stables at local racetracks. Almost two-thirds of the interns were Nisei, or Japanese Americans born in the United States. It made no difference that many had never even been to Japan. Even Japanese-American veterans of World War I were forced to leave their homes. Families dined together at communal mess halls, and children were expected to attend school. Adults had the option of working for a salary of $5 per day. The United States government hoped that the interns could make the camps self-sufficient by farming to produce food. But cultivation on arid soil was quite a challenge. Evacuees elected representatives to meet with government officials to air grievances, often to little avail When the order was repealed, many found they could not return to their hometowns. Hostility against Japanese Americans remained high across the West Coast into the postwar years as many villages displayed signs demanding that the evacuees never return. As a result, the interns scattered across the country. Several killed resisting orders – kids died bc of inadequate health care older Issei (immigrants) were deprived of their traditional respect when their children, the Nisei (American-born), were alone permitted authority positions within the camps Early in 1945, Japanese-American citizens of undisputed loyalty were allowed to return to the West Coast, but not until March 1946 was the last camp closed. A 1948 law provided for reimbursement for property losses by those interned.

Locations of Internment Camps 10 large relocation camps

“During the winter, our wet hair became frozen, and our fingers would stick to the metal door knob because we had to walk outdoors back to our barracks [after a shower].” - Shigeru Yabu, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation

1988: checks for $20,000/detainee Korematsu v. US: 1944 “hardships are a part of war” “direct and emergency peril” Released January 2, 1945 $25 and a train ticket 1988: checks for $20,000/detainee

Important for the future…

1942 Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel)

An Oakland, California, grocery store bears a “Sold” sign as well as one proclaiming the patriotism of its owner. The Japanese American shopowner, a University of California graduate, hung the “I am an American” sign the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Soon afterward, the government shut down the shop and relocated the owner to an internment camp, along with thousands of other Pacific Coast Japanese Americans

http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/ww2/prewar.html