The World War II Incarceration of Japanese Americans

Newspapers In Education and Densho Present American Infamy #5 Courtesy of Roger Shimonura “What did I do to scare the government?”— asked ten-year-old Norman t was the spring of 1942 when young Norman, his parents, three sisters and older brother were forced from their homes in San Jose, California, and incarcerated in Wyoming. “Murderers, arsonists, even assassins and spies get trials. But not young boys This educational supplement I born and raised in San Jose who happen to have odd sounding last names. Is that what this country is about?” he wondered. The commemorates the 70th government even took away his baseball bat, fearing it could be used as a weapon. anniversary of Japanese Americans being removed What led up to this event was a surprise attack by Japan on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which caused the from Seattle during World War United States to enter World War II. Norman’s parents had emigrated from Japan 40 years earlier. And although Norman was born in America, was a U.S. citizen, and knew no other country, he looked like the enemy. II. It is created in the spirit of promoting a strong and vibrant Many Americans believed people like Norman and his family were the enemy. Wartime hysteria had swept the country and within democracy, ongoing questioning a few months, 110,000 Japanese Americans living in Washington, Oregon, California and parts of Arizona — two-thirds who were and deliberation of issues from American citizens — were forcibly removed from their homes and businesses. Most were held in desolate, inland concentration camps for the duration of the war. a diversity of perspectives, and the importance of an active and Fast-forward to the fall of 2002, Chloe was eight years old and in the second grade when a book on the anniversary of the 9/11 participatory citizenry. tragedy inadvertently turned her classmates against her. She and her family were practicing Muslims in a community where there were few Muslims, something that the family had enjoyed because they wanted to be in a place where many different kinds of people lived together … (Continued on page 2) “What happens when you look like the enemy?” — An American story (Continued from page 1) Chloe remembers the exact moment when her friends began to treat her differently, “There were some pictures of Muslim ladies wearing the headscarf hijab. And some of them said, hey, those weird ladies, her mom’s one of them. And then they all looked at me and said, ‘You’re one of those bad Muslims, aren’t you?’ Before reading the book, I was just a normal kid. And then I turned into an Islamic extremist who hated the world and wanted to kill everybody,” Chloe recalled. Chloe eventually changed schools. Her father, who had emigrated from the Middle East, felt that Muslims were no longer safe in America and moved back to the West Bank, divorcing her mother. Chloe is now a senior in high school, and her mother reports that the taunts continue. Though she is doing well academically, she and her family still feel uncertain about their future. “It’s been a barrage of intolerance and ugliness,” her mother told a reporter. As of 2009, 10% of all religion-based hate crimes were committed against Muslims, despite Muslims making up only 1% of the U.S. population. But as Americans, Chloe and her family are determined to stick it out. She is now reading about the Japanese American World War II incarceration experience and its aftermath. Ten-year-old Norman became Norman Mineta, who was elected to Congress representing San Jose, California. While in Congress, he helped push for legislation to have the U.S. government apologize to Japanese Americans who were placed in the wartime camps. Later, he served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation in President George W. Bush’s Cabinet during the aftermath of the terrorist acts on September 11, 2001. Seventy years after World War II we still witness intolerance bred by stereotypes toward those who resemble “the enemy.” President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which authorized the mass removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans in 1942, is now history. But it is a history we Japanese American Boy Scouts can learn from — and apply to — situations we come across today. in the Heart Mountain, Wyoming camp, 1943. Courtesy of NARA Why study history? We don’t study history to memorize facts or to glorify the mass expulsion of Japanese Americans but did not. In past. We study history because of what it can tell us about 2004, a Department of Justice investigation found that the present and future. What are some of the lessons of the Chloe’s teacher had behaved inappropriately, which led to forced removal and detention of Japanese Americans during an atmosphere of intolerance where bullying took place. World War II? What actions can you take when you witness injustice? How would you inform people in leadership positions at • Fear can cause scapegoating. your school, in your community, in government? Public opinion turned against Japanese Americans in 1942, when fear caused many reasonable people to • Ordinary people can do extraordinary things. believe the charges made against them. This built support In crisis situations, one person can make a difference. for the expulsion of Japanese Americans from the West During World War II, there were a few people who Coast. Many people later came to regret their actions. stood up for Japanese Americans, which made a huge difference both at the time and in retrospect. What other times in history have people been treated (See the story of one of them on page 6.) unfairly? What did the government or citizens do about the injustice? What injustices do you see today? What can Think about eight-year-old Chloe on the playground: citizens or governments do to improve the situation? if one person stood up for her, could that have made a difference in shifting the mob mentality? What can Racist graffiti in Seattle, 1945. • Leadership matters. you do to make a difference in someone else’s life? Courtesy of MOHAI, P-I Collection In 1942, any number of political leaders on the West Coast or in Washington, D.C. could have stopped the Fear swayed most Americans during World War II to believe that Japanese Americans were the enemy — largely because they looked the part. Can you tell just by looking who’s a loyal, American citizen? “Classmates” Courtesy of Roger Shimomura. 2 What can an image tell us? What can you learn from a photo or a painting? The key is to take the time to look at it very closely. Pick an image that particularly strikes you. Take two minutes to really look at the image. Then, ask: • What do you see? • What do you think is going on? • What does it make you wonder? Although these prompts seem simple, let them evoke careful observation, enrich your interpretations and raise new questions. Captions and credit information are on page 7. See, Think, Wonder, © Harvard Project Zero, is from the Visible Thinking Project, pz.harvard.edu/vt and in Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners, by Ron Ritchhart, Karin Morrison and Mark Church, published by Jossey-Bass, 2011. 3 What happened to Japanese Americans during World War II? What should we call the camps? During World War II, the U.S. government used euphemisms — words that made things sound better than they were — to describe the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. For instance, the government said that Japanese Pre-World War II Americans were “evacuated” to “relocation centers” — implying that this was being done for their protection, as in a natural Searching for a better life, millions of immigrants flocked to America’s disaster — while the camps were surrounded by barbed wire with shores from all directions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. armed guards posted with their guns facing into the camps. Among them were immigrants from Japan. Most settled in Hawaii and on the West Coast to work as agricultural laborers. Discriminatory This educational supplement uses the term “concentration laws prevented Japanese and other Asian immigrants from becoming camp” to refer to the facilities in which Japanese Americans were naturalized citizens. Powerless and small in number, they became held. These camps fit the dictionary definition of “concentration scapegoats for opportunistic politicians, organized labor and newspaper camps” and were referred to as such by many people at the publishers. Despite this, Japanese Americans found economic niches in time, including President Franklin Roosevelt. Use of this term is agriculture and small business, and built thriving communities. By 1940, not meant to compare what happened to Japanese Americans to a new American-born generation was coming of age and native-born what happened in Europe, where the term “concentration camp” U.S. citizens made up two-thirds of the Japanese American population. might itself be considered euphemistic. But war with the land of their ancestors would change things forever. Go to Densho.org/Times for additional information about the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. Seattle Boy Scouts. Courtesy of Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee The Lineup, CourtesyThe Lineup,of Roger Roger Shimomura Shimomura A government trying February 1943 January – February, 1942 to right a wrong The strong consensus of American media against Japanese President Roosevelt says, “Americanism is not, and never was, a Americans is a factor in influencing the decision makers to push matter of race or ancestry,” as he announces the formation of the for forcibly removing all Japanese Americans including native- entirely Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

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