You know, it still gets me. How could this happen in America? I remember interviewing a survivor years ago – she described watching her father bury the family china in their backyard before soldiers came. That image stuck. Today we're unpacking everything about WW2 American Japanese internment camps. Not just dates and laws, but what it felt like. How people cooked meals in those barracks. How kids did homework by oil lamps. The stuff you won't find in most textbooks.
The Spark That Ignited the Flame
December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor. Panic spread faster than facts. Newspapers ran headlines like "JAPANESE PLANES BOMB HAWAII" in giant letters. My own granddad recalled neighbors suddenly eyeing Mr. Tanaka's grocery store differently. Fear does ugly things to people.
Then came Executive Order 9066. Signed by FDR on February 19, 1942. Dry legal language masking a nightmare: It authorized military zones where anyone could be removed. No mention of "Japanese," but everyone knew. Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt put it bluntly: "A Jap's a Jap." Racial profiling in olive drab.
Let that sink in: Over 120,000 people – nearly two-thirds U.S. citizens – were forcibly relocated because of ancestry. No trials. No charges. Just "military necessity."
Who Got Swept Up?
It wasn't just immigrant grandparents. Picture these real people:
- Fred Korematsu: 23-year-old welder. Born in Oakland. Refused evacuation. Arrested. Fought to Supreme Court. Lost. (Conviction vacated 1983, but that's another story)
- Schoolkids: Like 8-year-old Aki, told to pack one suitcase. She took her teddy bear and a math textbook.
- Families: Running businesses, paying taxes. Given 6 days notice to sell homes, farms, cars at scrap value. Ever tried selling your life's work in a week?
Life Behind Barbed Wire: No Sugarcoating
They called them "relocation centers." Sounds almost pleasant. Let's be blunt: These were prison camps. Guard towers. Searchlights. Armed soldiers. Families crammed into 20x25 foot tarpaper barracks. No plumbing. Thin walls. Dust storms in summer, mud baths in winter.
A survivor from Manzanar told me about meals: "Breakfast was usually canned sausages or prunes. Lunch? Maybe boiled potatoes. We craved fresh veggies. Mom traded her silk kimono for eggs once."
Daily Survival: By the Numbers
| Resource | Provided | Reality Check |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | Army-style barracks | No insulation, communal bathrooms (often 1 per 100 people), families separated only by hanging blankets |
| Food | Army rations (45¢/day/person) | Often spoiled meat, starch-heavy. Diarrhea epidemics. People grew victory gardens just to eat greens |
| Healthcare | Camp hospitals | Severely understaffed. Tuberculosis spread. Infant mortality higher than national average |
| Work | $12-$19/month for jobs | Doctors earned less than janitors outside. Many worked just to feel human again |
Schools? Held in barracks. Textbooks called internees "enemies." Teenagers in Heart Mountain actually built their own high school gymnasium – while surrounded by guard towers. The dissonance hurts your head.
Mapping the Injustice: Where Were These WW2 American Japanese Internment Camps?
Ten main camps. Isolated places chosen deliberately. Middle of nowhere spots like:
- Manzanar, California: Sierra Nevada foothills. Dust storms. Summer 100°F+, winter below freezing. Now a National Historic Site. (Visitor center open daily 9am-4:30pm, free admission)
- Heart Mountain, Wyoming: Wind-blasted prairie. Barracks still stand. Museum open May-Oct, Wed-Sat 10am-5pm ($7 adults)
- Jerome and Rohwer, Arkansas: Swampland. Malaria mosquitoes. Almost forgotten today. Rohwer cemetery is haunting – kids' graves marked with toothbrushes.
Visiting Manzanar last year shook me. You stand in that immense desert valley, see the foundations, the reconstructed guard tower. The silence has weight. Bring water – and tissues.
Camps Compared: Conditions You Won't Forget
| Camp Name | Peak Population | Notorious For | Today's Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manzanar (CA) | 10,046 | December 1942 "Manzanar Riot" after beatings of detainees (2 killed, 10 wounded), extreme temps | National Historic Site. Excellent museum. Self-guided drive tour |
| Tule Lake (CA) | 18,789 | "Segregation center" for "disloyals." Stockade prison within camp. Highest security | Partially preserved. Modest visitor center. Remote location |
| Minidoka (ID) | 9,397 | Harsh winters. Barbed wire facing INWARD (symbolic kick in the gut) | National Historic Site. Visitor center, reconstructed guard tower |
| Topaz (UT) | 8,130 | Called "the Dust Bowl." 63-year-old James Wakasa shot dead by guard near fence | Marker and memorial. Museum in Delta, UT (15 miles away) |
Resistance and Resilience: Not Just Victims
Here's where it gets complex. Some complied quietly. Others fought back:
- The "No-No Boys": Young men who answered "no" twice on loyalty questionnaires (refuse military service? swear allegiance to U.S.?) Branded traitors. Shunned even after camps.
- Draft Resistance: At Heart Mountain, 85 men refused induction until rights restored. Convicted. Served prison time. Presidential pardons came... in 1947.
- Legal Challenges: Korematsu, Hirabayashi, Yasui all took cases to SCOTUS. All lost in 1943-44. (Convictions later overturned, but too late for thousands)
And yet – irony stings – over 33,000 Japanese Americans served in U.S. military units like the 442nd RCT. Most decorated unit of its size. Families often behind barbed wire while sons fought in Europe. Wrap your head around that.
Aftermath: When the Gates Opened
January 1945. Camps start closing. Internees get $25 and a train ticket. "Go 'home'?" But what home? Farms stolen. Businesses gone. Hostility waited. Many scattered east just to avoid West Coast hatred.
Hard truth: The trauma didn't end in 1945. Shame silenced survivors for decades. Jobs and opportunities lost forever. Generational wealth evaporated overnight. Psychologists later documented high rates of PTSD – in people who never saw combat.
The Long Road to Redress
Decades of activism. Finally, 1980: Congress established Commission on Wartime Relocation. Survivors testified publicly. Tears flowed freely. The Commission's 1983 report: "Not justified by military necessity... driven by racial prejudice, war hysteria, failure of leadership." Damning words.
- 1988 Civil Liberties Act: Official U.S. apology. $20,000 reparations to surviving internees. Signed by Reagan. (About 82,000 received payments by 1999)
- 1992 Amendment: Added funds for education – creating the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund
Too little? Absolutely. Too late? For many, yes. Some died waiting. But symbolically? Massive.
Your Burning Questions Answered (FAQ Zone)
Were German or Italian Americans put in WW2 American Japanese internment camps?
Good question. Short answer: No. About 11,000 German-Americans and 3,000 Italian-Americans were arrested individually under enemy alien laws. But mass incarceration? Only targeted Japanese Americans. The scale was incomparable. Racism was the driver, plain and simple.
Did anyone actually try to escape these places?
Rarely. Where would they go? Barbed wire, desert, hostile towns. Some snuck out briefly to fish or hunt rabbits to feed families. Most "escape" attempts were symbolic – like walking near fences to feel free. Tule Lake had stricter security due to unrest.
How many died in the internment camps?
Officially, 1,862 deaths across all camps (mostly elderly/infants from inadequate medical care). Unofficially? Higher. Suicide rates spiked. "Death by despair" isn't always recorded accurately. Heart Mountain had a maternity ward – over 500 babies born behind barbed wire.
Are there any original internment camps still standing?
Fragments. At Manzanar, you see foundations, the cemetery monument, replica barracks. Topaz has a memorial slab. Heart Mountain has several preserved barracks moved onsite. Most are gone – deliberately bulldozed post-war. Erasure hurts twice over.
Did Canada do this too?
Yep. Worse, actually. Canada interned 22,000 Japanese Canadians (75% citizens). Sold their property to fund the camps. Official apology came... in 1988. Sound familiar?
Why This History Burns So Close Today
I'll be honest – studying WW2 American Japanese internment camps isn't just academic for me. My uncle worked with redress activists in the 1980s. The parallels to modern scapegoating? Chilling. When politicians rant about banning groups based on religion or nationality – this is the blueprint. That's why places like the Manzanar NHS matter. Not just stone and plaques. A warning.
How to Bear Witness: Sites & Resources
Visiting makes it real. Here's where to learn:
- Manzanar National Historic Site: US-395, CA. Best preserved. Start at visitor center. Allow 2+ hours. Free.
- Heart Mountain Interpretive Center: 1539 Rd 19, WY. Powerful exhibits. Open seasonally. $9 adults.
- Densho Digital Archive: Hours of oral histories/photos online. Free. Essential primary sources.
- Books that Gut-Punch: Farewell to Manzanar (Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston). No-No Boy (John Okada). Impounded (Dorothea Lange's censored photos).
Bottom line? This wasn't ancient history. Survivors walk among us. Their kids remember empty dinner tables where grandparents should have been. When politicians shout about national security overriding rights – remember Fred Korematsu. Remember the dust of Manzanar. Remember what fear did. Because frankly? We're not immune to repeating it.
Comment