Japanese Internment

Japanese Internment December 7, 1941 February 19, 1942 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 allowed military authorities to exclude "any and all persons" from designated areas of the country as necessary for national defense

#1 What do you see in this photograph? car; shop, probably owned by a Japanese person named Wanto; sign says “I am an American” Why might the owner of this store have a large sign that says, “I am an American”? maybe the owner is a Japanese-American and wants the people to know that he/she is an American, just like they are it’s possible the owner is Japanese-American and has never been to Japan and feels that they are more of an American than they are of Japanese ancestry, so they want other people to know they are not going to help Japan in any way Do you think this sign makes any difference to the people who see it? some people might feel reassured that the owner is an American, but many people, especially white people, could probably care less people might think, “Well, of course! They’re the enemy, they’re liars, so of course they would say they are American when they’re not really!” http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/manzanar3/japanesestore1942.jpg #1

#2 California, 1942 What do you see in this photograph? a home in California that has multiple signs saying, “Japs Keep Moving, This is a White Man’s Neighborhood” and “Japs Keep Out You are Not Wanted” Who and why might someone put a sign like this on their home? a white person might possibly put a sign like this on their home they might put a sign like this on their home because they want the Japanese-Americans or Japanese immigrants out of their neighborhoods because they are “dangerous” and “enemies” What could this tell us about the general population on the west coast? these signs could tell us that the white people were very prejudiced against those of Japanese ancestry and don’t want them to live near them and want nothing to do with them http://education.eastwestcenter.org/asiapacificed/ph2006/PH2006projects/7_clip_image001.jpg #2 California, 1942

Japanese Internment Hawaii West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) Japanese-Americans = majority of population government didn’t force them to relocate West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) Japanese-Americans & Japanese immigrants forced to relocate no other states wanted to take them

transport center, San Francisco, 1942 As military police stand guard, people of Japanese descent wait at a transport center in San Francisco on April 6, 1942, for relocation to an internment center at Santa Anita racetrack near Los Angeles. What do you see in this photograph? I see many men and women in one area with some military personnel in the background (open door). There is a lot of baggage/luggage everywhere, like every person has brought their belongings. What do you think about all of the luggage? Do you think they’ll be able to take it all with them? I think all of the luggage means that these people are going somewhere. I don’t know if they will all be able to take everything they want. Since some are still American citizens, I think they can probably take more than groups elsewhere in the world might be able to. People were allowed to take “only what we could carry.” Could you pack everything you wanted to take with you for who knows how long in one suitcase? (By the way: no electronics of any kind allowed.) No, I couldn’t. I could take one suitcase full of my most prized possessions, but it wouldn’t be enough for ALL of what I would want to take. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/japanese-internment-camp-2.jpg transport center, San Francisco, 1942 #3

#4 What do you see in this photograph? I see a train and a person inside a cargo car with men around the door on the outside with piles of luggage (suitcases, bundles, etc.) It looks like chaos! Where do you think these people are going? I think these people are going to assembly centers or relocation/internment camps to live for the duration of the war. Do you think this looks organized? Not really. I would be worried about my luggage being lost and, since I’m going somewhere I don’t know http://questgarden.com/12/37/9/051210192950/ #4

WCCA (Wartime Civil Control Administration) Assembly Center: housed evacuees temporarily until the relocation centers were finished being constructed WRA (War Relocation Authority) Relocation Center: internment camps WRA Isolation Center: where particularly “dangerous” or “criminal” people were sent if they couldn’t live peacefully at the relocation centers http://education.eastwestcenter.org/asiapacificed/ph2006/PH2006projects/9.htm

Japanese Internment internment camp –noun a prison camp for the confinement of enemy aliens, prisoners of war, political prisoners, etc. Definitions from Dictionary.com concentration camp –noun a guarded compound for the detention or imprisonment of aliens, members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, etc.

#5 What do you see in this photograph? I see barbed wire fence that is very high, some people inside this barbed wire fence, some people on the roof of a building, and some people on a train that are either coming or going How do the people look? Happy? Sad? Upset? Some people look happy, especially a few of the girls. Many of them look indifferent. I don’t see anyone that looks particularly upset/angry What kind of place does this look like? Where do you think the people on the train are going? Why might some be leaving and some be staying? The people could be at an assembly center, waiting to be relocated or a relocation center. The people on the train might be going to a relocation center. They are probably not going home. Maybe the center is too crowded so some are going to another place. Or, if this is an assembly center, perhaps they are being shipped off to a relocation center http://stufffromthelab.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/japanese-internment.jpg #5

Granada Relocation Center Colorado, 1943 Aerial Photo of Granada Center from the Water Tower - Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. Photo by Joe McClelland , 6/20/1943 What do you see in this photograph? long lines of barracks; little vegetation; much of the same thing over and over again; looks pretty boring How do you think life was like in a place like this? not very fun, but I’m sure they made friends and entertained themselves for the most part Would you like to live in a place like this? I would not like it, but not because of the life I would have. I’d miss the life that I had before that and miss old friends and family that I haven’t seen in a long time http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/wwcod/image8-2.gif Granada Relocation Center Colorado, 1943 #6

#7 What do you see in this photograph? I see a man bathing, using a small bowl of water to wash his face. If he has to do this for his face, I’m assuming he would have to bathe in a similar way for the rest of his body. Why do you think this man has to bath this way? I guess there is just no running water. Would you like to live like this for 3-4 years? No, I wouldn’t like living like this for any long period of time. Maybe on a short camping trip, but not any longer than that. http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/non-flash/ #7

“At Minidoka, arriving evacuees found two stacked canvas cots, a pot-bellied stove and a light bulb hanging from the ceiling…Rooms had no running water, which had to be carried from community facilities.” Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, Personal Justice Denied

#8 Jerome Relocation Center, Arkansas, 1942 What do you see in this photograph? A room in a barracks. There is a woman. The room looks fairly nice, with some homey touches. The room has, sort of, been separated into two rooms by the way of a decorative sheet/drape. Do you think it would be easy to make a room like this feel like home? Probably not. I doubt the government would have provided such items to the people in the camps, so they must have, through some means or other, managed to get their own homey touches. MAIL ORDER CATALOGUES How many people do you think would be expected to live in a room like this? Up to around 10 people in a family could be expected to live in this area http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/non-flash/internment_barracks.html #8 Jerome Relocation Center, Arkansas, 1942

“Despite the starkness of their barracks apartments, evacuees did their best to give them a homey touch and find a bit of privacy.” Nisei: The Quiet Americans

#9 What do you see in this photograph? I see children playing ball in an open area, which I’m guessing is in a relocation center/internment camp How do you think the children felt about living in a relocation center/internment camp? I think the children, depending on their age, did not really think much of staying in this sort of place. Children tend to make friends easily, and they remained with their families. Plus, they have school to go to and can pretty much live their normal children lives. Do you think children of this age could be a “threat” to the security of the United States? No, I think children that are this young are not a threat to the security of the US. I don’t think they can do very much. I suppose they might be able to be messengers because they might not know any better, but they couldn’t plan with people back in Japan to make military movements http://katieshea.com/worldhistory2/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/heart_mtn.jpg #9

Japanese-American 442nd Combat Team, 1944 442nd Regimental Combat Team unit composed mostly of Japanese Americans who fought in Europe in WWII unit became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the US Armed Forces, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients. What do you see in this photograph? The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit comprised mostly of Japanese American soldiers; J-A soldiers Why might some of the Japanese-American men be allowed to leave the camps to join the war effort? The draft—the US needed soldiers Do you think it was a good idea that the US military let what they classified as “enemies” fight for them in war? I think it’s a little silly that the US trusted hundreds of “enemies” together in one group to fight, especially if they were to be sent to Japan http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html Japanese-American 442nd Combat Team, 1944 #10

military interrogation, 1945 “Col. M.F. Smith and interpreter, Tec 3 Jyro Arekaki, question Japanese Commander of Yonakuni Jima. Japan.” What do you see in this photograph? I see a white military man, a young Japanese-American soldier and a Japanese soldier/officer (who looks nervous/sweaty) What could be an advantage to having Japanese-Americans in the army? interpreters for those military men in Japan; could interpret messages if intercepted, interrogations Could there be problems with using Japanese-Americans this way? if they really were enemies, they could lie about everything or they could desert with military secrets once arrived in Japan; it would take much trust http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html #11 military interrogation, 1945

FORT MINOR- KENJI JAPANESE INTERNMENT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mc0UWpRRF4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJjo0BCbGo http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/personal_justice_denied/chap6.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygkboaLM3do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lXYShlonCs Korematsu V United States