A Retrospective on the Internment of Japanese American Citizens
While in Hyde Park this past weekend, we went to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Estate and Presidential Library. There is a newer display there on the Interment of Japanese American Citizens along with others. It was a moving display. I tried to capture the information signs, which I hope to post in order. I hope you can read them. I wasn't able to get images of all the pictures-literally thousands of them posted up. Please take a look and let me know your thoughts.
I thought this image (above) was the very best representation of the whole subject.
Was a sad time in our history. President Reagan tried to address the wrongs we did to these people.
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Glad they have addressed this so in depth. I will continue to try to post more info signs as I can, in a correct timeline, if possible.
There is more info available and many more pictures at
This photo has shades of The Holocaust.
Yes it does. I heard one interview-the man said they told us the military was there to protect us, but none of them were facing out, they were all facing us!
Thanks for posting this Spike. A truly black moment in our history.
A bit of a story. I have a friend who is Japanese American. In the 1990's he asked me to take a drive with him to Lone Pine CA. (the Manzanar internment camp) I was living in LA at the time so it was a bit of a drive. He didn't tell me why he wanted me to go with him, but being a friend I said sure.
When we got there, it was Manzanar he got out of the car and I followed him, he didn't say a word, but I knew that something very personal was going on with him. Finally he said to me that he had just found out that his parents were interned at Manzanar and he was stunned. He was born 2 years after the war ended. We just stood there for a long time saying nothing.
He finally said to me, ''do you know why I asked you to come there with me''....I said I wasn't sure, but that as a friend I'd go with you. He then said, you of all my friends would understand what this means, you and your people have lived through the same only it was called reservations.
We stood there for a moment and finally we hugged and walked away.
It was a moment that I'll never forget. We are still very close friends even though we live 1500 miles apart.
All of us have moments that change our lives, this was one for me.
I once travelled to Beale AFB in Northern California (Marysville/Yuba City) to do an inspection and they have the remains of an Internment Camp there on the base. Not a great time in our history, but I understand the hysteria form the people in those days.
The harsh and truthful reality is that America has perpetrated more than one variation of the "Trail of Tears" … the prototype being against Native Americans …
Trail of Tears definition. The route along which the United States government forced several tribes of Native Americans, including the Cherokees, Seminoles, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks, to migrate to reservations west of the Mississippi River in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s.
The fact that it was necessary to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and … that in recent years we have seen Voter Suppression Laws disguised as, and, euphemistically called "Voter I.D." laws, the bastardizing of the Voting Rights Act by a Conservative-majority Supreme Court, anti-gay legislation, et al … indicates that there is much to be changed to make America great … not "Great Again," rather great in totality at some point.
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Thank you, Spikegary for posting this discussion … Lest We Forget.
It's a lesson we should remember and learn from and promise not to repeat. We allowed fear and xenophobia to get the better of us, and sadly we face a similar situation today. Terrorists attack us and yet we can never allow that same fear and xenophobia force our hand as we did back then. We should not blame the hundreds of millions of peaceful Muslims for the bad actions of a few thousand. That's one of the biggest fears I have about this new administration that seems set on repeating history because the President knows so little about it. Ignorance and fear are never assets, excuses claiming we have to commit atrocities in the name of safety, practicing and supporting torture all in the name of safety in counterproductive and dangerous.
I think we have learned something, obviously, as there are no muslims being interned.
Not yet, currently they're just being banned from entering the country disguised as a "country of origin" travel ban.
There are/have been Muslims in Guantanamo against whom there have never charges, nor any paperwork … some have been there for many years; and recently, three of their attorneys tried to quit and are in the process of being brought back by a judge who has nothing to do with the military … and an American General was placed under arrest, originally for 21 days … then released after just two or three.
Something smells …
That is absolutely true. But is it necessary to ignore, whitewash and euphemize the actions of those few thousand, and attack and despise those who warn about the potential of those few thousand, in order to not hurt the feelings of the millions of peaceful Muslims?
And yet, have those bans been upheld? And it's a far cry from saying no, you can't come here to internment. False equivalency.
Those were taken into custody as enemy combatants, not in the USA, not citizens, if memory serves.
I guess it is fair to say that the entire group suffers for the actions of those who appear to represent the group. The Red Army raped and brutalized an estimated 2 million German women, with Stalin's blessing, supposedly for Nazi atrocities. I think as Americans, more than others, we have learned from history.
Not even touching on the millions of his own Stalin was responsible for killing.
Did you ever watch the movie "Casualties of War"? I understand it is the depiction of actual events.
Haven't seen it - there have been a few books out on it (WWII behind closed doors & After the Reich)
I hope you've enjoyed this and for far more information, please visit:
Truly sad. Emotions were running high, to say the least, during that time in history. We have history so that bad history doesn't repeat itself. However, I can't help but wonder if we (includes allies) had been the losers do you think we would have been treated any differently?
A good point. We were attacked by another country. Doesn't excuse what we did, but puts some perspective on why. I'm glad I stumbled onto this display.
But let's not forget, that these people were American citizens, not enemy combatants. They even served in the armed services. This was an awful way to treat fellow Americans.
And we've learned from it. The proof: Despite all the terrorist attacks against the US via Islamic extremists, our Muslim citizens haven't experienced that kind or reaction. We can take pride in that.
Yes, I wonder If the Japanese would have looked so kindly on Japanese citizens who were originally from the U.S.
Some were, some were not. And trying to view this form today's standards of course, shows us they were wrong back then, but that was then and this is now.
Slave labor comes to mind
If we would have been even that fortunate.
Good thread Gary - something many people have no idea of.
"today's standards of course, shows us they were wrong back then" - but we still have reservations - that hasn't and won't change - Sad.
Well, We know what they did to military prisoners and the Chinese
Agreed Vic
But one has nothing to do with the other. We all know that the Japanese were brutal to their enemy combatants. But that has no relevance to how we acted, to fellow citizens. In fact, the argument could be made that they came here to get away from that culture.
Some?! Over 2/3's of the 120,000 confined were American citizens!
Actually the majority of Americans back then knew it was wrong but like today.....fake news, racial prejudices, and propaganda won out
Going by history I see very little difference, the majority of people back then knew it was wrong, but still let it happen.
I am answering Mags hypothetical. She is asking what they might do
That is a very important point. America usually gets it right first.
So, how many people, at that time actually knew that Japanese Americans, mostly on the west coast had been relocated?
Show us with a link please
So you're basically saying ignorance of the facts is a good enough reason to claim that people were for internment?! What does that got to do with the fact that for the most part the people that DID know was against it
To what? Pictures of Manzanar internment camp that was taken by Ansel Adams in 1943 and published immediately after giving the whole world a glimpse at how America treats their citizens?
No, what I'm pointing out is that the relocation of Japanese (62% were citizens) on the west coast was the act of one man - FDR. As far as I'm concerned most people at that time were unaware of it. So instead of blaming the American people let's put the blame where it belongs.
Atrocities committed by the Japanese. Do you think most Americans are currently aware of that?
Your comments display a lack of understanding history, and maybe a lack of the ability to put yourself in the final weeks of WW2.
In the end, Truman authorized the dropping of the bomb because it was his job to do so, although there were factors that influenced or reinforced the decision.
The American high command believed the atomic bomb could end the war. I dont know if they were SURE it would, but they certainly hoped it would.
Truman was commander in chief. If he had a means to end the war and didnt use it, he would be responsible for all the subsequent US military deaths associated with further action such as conventional bombing or the invasion of the Japanese mainland.
The US had been bombing Japan for months, destroying cities and killing tens of thousands of civilians. The idea that killing tens of thousands with one bomb instead of thousands of bombs may seem like a horrible thing today but in 1945 it was seen as part of the war. Less than one half of one percent of the people who died in WW2 died as a result of the atomic bombs.
In the summer of 1945 word of the atrocities the Japanese had committed on American and allied prisoners of war had come out. Also, the battle of Okinawa, the most brutal battle of the Pacific war, had taken place and hinted to the American leaders what would be in store in an invasion of Japan.
Truman decided to try and end it, it worked, and it is a very defensible decision.
Monument at Manzanar.
When you also have things like the Bataan Death March and things like that, where U.S. POWs had surrendered but were still killed by gun and by sword, then marched mercilessly for days on pretty much zero food to prison camps-it's not hard to see why they were scared here in the U.S. Things like the 'Rape of Nanking' were also known by the powers that be.
Actually it seems quite irrational - not to mention quite obviously racist - to blame Asian Americans for what the Japanese were doing.
If you read some of the history, only some were American Citizens, and of course it was racist. Though I don't think they thought in those terms back then. I agree it was wrong, no matter how you slice it, as does everyone else commenting here, I believe.
Are you saying that FDR was racist?
More like he gave in to the hatred and ignorance of racists....not his finest hour
Could you please stop saying that, the seed itself actually contradicts you. Go and look at the 6th pic in the seed. The plaque clearly states that out of the 120,000 that were confined roughly 2/3's of them were American citizens......that's not some, that's MOST.
Who did he give into? Who was urging him to do it?
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crickets
It was at the urging of the military, part of one of their war plans, and it wasn't just the Japanese, it was the Germans and Italians also when it was first brought up.
It was the intervention of congress that obtained the exclusion of the Germans and Italian-American fro0m the order. the Japanese-Americans didn't have such a powerful lobby on congress.....
The political bargains Roosevelt made to get agreement on issuance of said order to make the military happy were political in nature and required him to do many things he disliked. But, it got us around a number of very divisive issues, and allowed the war preparations to advance unhindered. (most of the unions were controlled or heavily influenced by the Italians for example, (the mafia for example, during the war, there was a "Hands Off" policy to the Mafia in the Attorney Generals office in exchange for no interference with shipping out of the major east coast ports)
Unfortunately for the Japanese emigrants, they weren't in this country for but a short period (30 some odd years) and hadn't had the chance to build up their political clout yet.......
The strong thing to do would have been for Roosevelt to plain flat tell the military no, doing this to one without doing it to all of them was a huge mistake, but it was easy to bury it in the rush to build up production for the war.....
And then forget about it in victory......
Roosevelt was a great man, but he was after all a man....
Ok, I'll accept that (I read farmers somewhere). Presidential Proclamation #2525 Alien enemies (Japanese), #2526 Alien enemies (German), #2527 Alien enemies (Italian).
It was the intervention of congress that obtained the exclusion of the Germans and Italian-American fro0m the order. the Japanese-Americans didn't have such a powerful lobby on congress.....
The fact was they didnt attack us - the Japanese did. It was amazing that FDR was then able to convince the nation that the European front would get most of the armed forces, while for the most part the US Navy would handle the Pacific War. So much for being "racist".
Unfortunately for the Japanese emigrants, they weren't in this country for but a short period (30 some odd years) and hadn't had the chance to build up their political clout yet.......
You may be thinking in today's terms. There was no "identity politics" then. People ran on issues. You mean there was nobody standing up for civil liberties - I think even the Courts got it wrong back then.
The strong thing to do would have been for Roosevelt to plain flat tell the military no, doing this to one without doing it to all of them was a huge mistake, but it was easy to bury it in the rush to build up production for the war.....
It was easy to keep secrets back then. FDR forgot the principles he supposedly stood for
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It was a lot more then the Army. Newspapers carried inflammatory articles about the Japanese Americans, politicians supported the interment and one of the most important supporters of the interment camps was non other than Earl Warren governor and AJ of CA. Yes, that Earl Warren who would later would be on SCOTUS.
Vic mentioned something about the farmers being supportive of the interment camps. That is true, they were advocates of it, but their motives were far more sinister. The wanted the land that the Japanese owned and had become very successful farmers. It important to note that immigrant Japanese (legal) were not allowed to own land in CA, could not eat in white restaurants and a host of racial discrimination.
To say that most American were not aware of the interment camps is not true. All you have to do is goggle newspaper headlines/articles on the interment from that time period.
SCOTUS refused to overturn the interment order.
Some interesting reading.
One and possibly the only politician that opposed the interment was Gov. Carr of Colorado.
It's also interesting to note that the order did not include Hawaii. The business owners in Hawaii were against it because much of farm laborers were Japanese also the building trade and transportation workers. Politics over all it seems.
Yes politics as usual........
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None of it surprising based upon the surprise attack. FDR said "a date which will live in infamy". Long before the generation of baby boomers which would be obsessed with the race of the attackers.
Try to be nice. This is my article, I'd appreciate you not telling me what to do or say on it. There's no need to act out.
There were also Germans and Italians interned, though far fewer, though you never heard that. Yes, over half were citizens and it was wrong-did you miss where I said that before?
Do Not Try to Make This a Trump Bash Fest - it is not, it is off topic and I will have your comment removed if you do it again. Only warning.
I've requested the Moderators to remove this entire line of discussion, if you want to discuss the current government, go write an article and discuss it there. Stop derailing my article.
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So you're saying that the plaque showing in your seed is incorrect?
Well lets see Major Karl Bendetsen and LtG. John Dewitt head of Western Command who testified to Congress saying
Ironically replace a couple of words with others and seems eerily like someone's campaign speeches doesn't it?
Did I say that? 62% is 62%. Some were, some weren't. Get over yourself.
For some reason you left out his final sentence: "Sabotage and espionage will make problems as long as he is allowed in this area.."
Do I consider his comments to be based on racism or reaction to the destruction of a good deal of the Pacific Fleet during a surprise attack?
It would be so much easier if he made an obvious racial statement, such as "my grand mother was a typical white person". I certainly don't use the person in charge of the internment program as representative of a generation, especially that one.
I'd say racism seeing as though earlier Roosevelt had two investigations commissioned involving Japanese Americans and their loyalty, both came to the same conclusion that Dewitt’s supposed problem was nonexistent even to the point where one even said there was an extraordinary degree of loyalty among them
Well see as though you know the full statement by pointing out I left off the final statement then you should also know the first words to this statement
I think that would a racial enough statement for anyone right?
And my contention isn’t that he is…..but Dewitt wasn’t just in charge of the internment camps he actually wrote a report that called for the relocation and interment…and the rest is history
Dude 62% is not some in no ones definition! You post a good seed don't mess it up trying to downplay the fact that MOST of them were citizens
Good advise....try taking it yourself
442nd Regimental Combat Team (Nisei) ''Go For Broke''
Combat
The 442nd was attached to the 5th Army under the command of General Mark Clark . The RCT drove German forces north in the heavily defended mountainous terrain of northern Italy. The younger, untested troops of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were occasionally bailed out of dicey situations by the more combat-hardened veterans of the 100th but soon enough more than earned their stripes. In August 1944 the Anti-Tank Company was separated and sent to France in a glider landing to support the Allied invasion of the Continent. In winter 1944, the 442nd fought German troops in France adjacent to the border with Germany; Hitler had ordered his troops to defend the area at all cost. The Vosges Mountains were thickly forested and bitter cold, with freezing rain and snow showers.
Deep in the forest, the 1st Battalion, 141st Regiment of the 36th "Texas" Division was surrounded by German troops and running out of food and ammunition. Major General John Dahlquist was the much reviled commander of the Division. Over 200 men of this " Lost Battalion " had been sent ahead of logistical support and were surrounded by German troops dug in and fortified. Dahlquist ordered the 442nd to enter the Vosges Mountains to attempt a rescue, after two attempts by other units had failed. After five days of horrific combat, the Texans were rescued by the Japanese Americans. The 442nd suffered casualties several times the number of men they had rescued. In the process, the men liberated the towns of Bruyeres, Belmont, and Biffontaine, whose inhabitants continue to honor the 442nd with monuments , museums, and streets named in their honor.
In April 1945, General Mark Clark of the 5th Army specifically asked for the 442nd to lead the way to break the Gothic Line, the last hardened obstacle which had turned back Allied efforts for nearly one-half year of combat in northern Italy. In a dramatic nighttime march up the steep slopes of Mt. Folgorito, the 442nd broke through the German defenses allowing the Allies to chase the German army for another several weeks when it finally surrendered on May 2, 1945. In the meantime, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion was detached and sent to support the invasion of Germany by the 7th Army. In the process, the men discovered and liberated Jews from various sub-units of the notorious Dachau extermination camp.
Aftermath and Legacy
The 100th Battalion/442nd RCT, in just over one year, compiled an astonishing combat record. But this segregated unit, almost entirely comprised of Japanese Americans, suffered an equally remarkable number, about 800, killed or missing in action. They won seven Distinguished Unit Citations, including one awarded personally by President Harry Truman who said, on July 15, 1946, "You fought the enemy abroad and prejudice at home and you won." In addition, after an exhaustive survey of individual awards from WWII, twenty more Medals of Honor were awarded, bringing the total to twenty one. Over 4,000 Purple Hearts, 29 Distinguished Service Crosses, 588 Silver Stars, and more than 4,000 Bronze Stars were awarded to the men of the 442nd RCT for action during WWII.
The heroism and combat record of the 100th/442nd were quickly acknowledged by the general population of the Territory of Hawaii. On the mainland, however, the veterans found an uneven reception—perhaps because they returned in relatively small numbers to widely separated locations, notably on the West Coast but also to campuses and cities spread across the nation. In Hawai'i, the veterans, older, tougher, and more worldly-wise, took full advantage of the GI Bill , graduating from the University of Hawaii as well as some of the most prestigious colleges and professional schools in the nation, earning degrees in law, medicine, business, engineering, humanities and natural sciences. This was truly an explosive confluence of talent, determination, and opportunity. For Hawai'i, at least, the larger political, economic, and social impact was transformative; by 1954, the Democratic Party, led by the former GIs, was assuming control of Territorial politics. When Statehood was finally achieved in 1959, in spite of considerable opposition in Congress, some of the credit went to the Texas Congressional Delegation including Jim Wright and Sam Rayburn in the House and Lyndon Johnson in the Senate; all acknowledged the 442nd rescue of the Texas "Lost Battalion" in France during WWII as having influenced their decision.
What in the hell does Russia, Germany or anything else have to do with how we, as American's, treated fellow citizens of Japanese ancestry...Or what liberal or conservative has to do with this article.
MUVA I have no idea what the hell you are talking about.
Daniel Inouye a 2nd LT in the 442nd RCT received the Medal of Honor for his bravery. He later became Senator Inouye from Hawaii and a Democrat.
A man that I had the great pleasure and honor of meeting in Hawaii.
Medal of Honor citation [ edit ]
Citation:
We are aware of the service so many have made in the service to our Country, Kavika, no matter what nationality.
I started this off, I suppose, in acknowledging that the Japanese situation after WWII in the U.S. was sad. But, yet, made the comment on how we would have been treated if we had lost the war.
Not spoken about for many years. I don't remember learning about it in school. It was brushed under the rug, so to speak, and people didn't like to talk about it. Made them feel uncomfortable, as it should.
I bet many Americans still are not aware of it. It would be easy for this to fade away. I hope with displays like this that never happens.
Published in 1988
45 years later, to those that were still alive. A mere pittance to what they lost......
No where near enough.
same reaction....doesn't seem like anywhere near enough
Manzanar.....
Pleasure Park est. 1943
The rock lined depression you see was filled with water to simulate a creek/pond. A very beautiful space, except for the man made trees below........
How anyone could allow such a place in America is a lesson in unbridled fear and this from the man who said that "We have nothing to fear except fear itself"
I guess no one is perfect....
I wonder if we can ever forgive ourselves.....
The proof is in the fact that we have not done this again. We were wrong, regardless of the reasoning, which made sense to the power brokers of the day. Have we learned? One hopes.