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In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the operation that ultimately involved the coordinated efforts of 12 nations.

After much deliberation, it was decided that the landings would take place on the long, sloping beaches of Normandy. There, the Allies would have the element of surprise. The German high command expected the attack to come in the Pas de Calais region, north of the river Seine where the English Channel is narrowest. It was here that Adolf Hitler had put the bulk of his panzer divisions after being tipped off by Allied undercover agents posing as German sympathizers that the invasion would take place in the Pas de Calais.

The challenges of mounting a successful landing were daunting.

Surprise was an essential element of the Allied invasion plan. If the Germans had known where and when the Allies were coming they would have hurled them back into the sea with the 55 divisions they had in France. The invaders would have been on the offensive with a 10-to-1 manpower ratio against them.

The challenges of mounting a successful landing were daunting. The English Channel was notorious for its rough seas and unpredictable weather, and the enemy had spent months constructing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile line of obstacles. This defensive wall comprised 6.5 million mines, thousands of concrete bunkers and pillboxes containing heavy and fast-firing artillery, tens of thousands of tank ditches, and other formidable beach obstacles. And the German army would be dug in on the cliffs overlooking the American landing beaches.

At the Tehran Conference in August 1943, Allied leaders scheduled Overlord to take place on or about May 1, 1944. In the meantime, they prepared ceaselessly for the attack. Trucks, tanks, and tens of thousands of troops poured into England. "We were getting ready for one of the biggest adventures of our lives," an American sergeant said. "We couldn't wait." Meanwhile, the American and British air forces in England conducted a tremendous bombing campaign that targeted railroad bridges and roadways in northern France to prevent the Germans from bringing in reserves to stop the invasion.

Allied leaders set June 5, 1944, as the invasion's D-Day. But on the morning of June 4, foul weather over the English Channel forced Eisenhower to postpone the attack for 24 hours. The delay was unnerving for soldiers, sailors, and airmen, but when meteorologists forecast a brief window of clearer weather over the channel on June 6, Eisenhower made the decision to go. It was one of the gutsiest decisions of the war.

Just after midnight on June 6, Allied airborne troops began dropping behind enemy lines. Their job was to blow up bridges, sabotage railroad lines, and take other measures to prevent the enemy from rushing reinforcements to the invasion beaches. Hours later, the largest amphibious landing force ever assembled began moving through the storm-tossed waters toward the beaches. Most of the Americans were packed into flat-bottomed Higgins boats launched from troop transports 10 miles from the French coastline. Vomit filled the bottom of the boats, and as water kept rushing in over the gunwales, the green-faced men had to bail this vile stew with their helmets. Though it was cold, the men were sweating.

Planners had divided the landing zone into five separate beaches. The British and Canadians landed at Juno, Gold, and Sword beaches. The Americans landed at Omaha and Utah beaches.

The fiercest fighting was on Omaha Beach where the enemy was positioned on steep cliffs that commanded the long, flat shoreline. Troops leapt from their landing boats and were pinned down for hours by murderous machine-gun fire that turned the beach into a vast killing field. "If you (stayed) there you were going to die," Lieutenant Colonel Bill Friedman said. "We just had to . . . try to get to the bottom of the cliffs on which the Germans had mounted their defenses." By midday, the Americans had surmounted the cliffs and taken Omaha Beach at a heavy cost: over 4,700 killed, wounded, or missing out of the total of approximately 35,000 who came ashore that day, a loss rate of more than 13 percent.

"If you (stayed) there you were going to die"

Lieutenant Colonel Bill Friedman

Like this article? Read more in our online classroom.

From the Collection to the Classroom: Teaching History with The National WWII Museum

By nightfall, about 175,000 Allied troops and 50,000 vehicles were ashore with nearly a million more men on the way that summer.

The Normandy invasion was one of great turning points of 20th-century history. An immense army was placed in Nazi-occupied Europe, never to be dislodged. Germany was threatened that same month by a tremendous Soviet invasion from the east that would reach the gates of Berlin by the following April. The way to appreciate D-Day's importance is to contemplate what would have happened if it had failed. Another landing would not have been possible for at least a year. This would have given Hitler time to strengthen the Atlantic Wall, harass England with the newly developed V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets, continue to develop jet aircraft and other so-called "miracle weapons," and finish off his killing campaign against ethnic and sexual undesirables.

The Museum's original exhibit, located on the third floor of Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, helps you understand what the Allies faced in Normandy, from the comprehensive preparations beforehand to the daunting challenges once troops landed on Normandy beaches.

Road to Berlin brings to life the drama, sacrifices, personal stories, and strategies of America's campaign to defeat the Axis powers and preserve freedom.

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D-Day: The Allies Invade Europe | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord.

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The attack on Pearl Harbor pulled the U.S. into World War II, changing the course of history. Learn about its causes and effects.

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The Path to Pearl Harbor | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, decimating the US Pacific Fleet. When Germany and Italy declared war on the United States days later, America found itself in a global war.

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Executive Order 9066

On February 19, 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 with the stated intention of preventing espionage on American shores.

Military zones were created in California, Washington and Oregon-states with a large population of Japanese Americans. Then Roosevelt's executive order forcibly removed Americans of Japanese ancestry from their homes. Executive Order 9066 affected the lives about 120,000 people-the majority of whom were American citizens.

Canada soon followed suit, forcibly removing 21,000 of its residents of Japanese descent from its west coast. Mexico enacted its own version, and eventually 2,264 more people of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from Peru, Brazil, Chile and Argentina to the United States.

Anti-Japanese American Activity

Weeks before the order, the Navy removed citizens of Japanese descent from Terminal Island near the Port of Los Angeles.

On December 7, 1941, just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the FBI rounded-up 1,291 Japanese American community and religious leaders, arresting them without evidence and freezing their assets.

In January, the arrestees were transferred to prison camps in Montana, New Mexico and North Dakota, many unable to inform their families and most remaining for the duration of the war.

Concurrently, the FBI searched the private homes of thousands of Japanese American residents on the West Coast, seizing items considered contraband.

One-third of Hawaii's population was of Japanese descent. In a panic, some politicians called for their mass incarceration. Japanese-owned fishing boats were impounded.

Some Japanese American residents were arrested and 1,500 people-one percent of the Japanese population in Hawaii-were sent to prison camps on the U.S. mainland.

Photos of Japanese American Relocation and Incarceration

John DeWitt

Lt. General John L. DeWitt, leader of the Western Defense Command, believed that the civilian population needed to be taken control of to prevent a repeat of Pearl Harbor.

To argue his case, DeWitt prepared a report filled with known falsehoods, such as examples of sabotage that were later revealed to be the result of cattle damaging power lines.

DeWitt suggested the creation of the military zones and Japanese detainment to Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Attorney General Francis Biddle. His original plan included Italians and Germans, though the idea of rounding-up Americans of European descent was not as popular.

At Congressional hearings in February 1942, a majority of the testimonies, including those from California Governor Culbert L. Olson and State Attorney General Earl Warren, declared that all Japanese should be removed.

Biddle pleaded with the president that mass incarceration of citizens was not required, preferring smaller, more targeted security measures. Regardless, Roosevelt signed the order.

War Relocation Authority

After much organizational chaos, about 15,000 Japanese Americans willingly moved out of prohibited areas. Inland state citizens were not keen for new Japanese American residents, and they were met with racist resistance.

Ten state governors voiced opposition, fearing the Japanese Americans might never leave, and demanded they be locked up if the states were forced to accept them.

A civilian organization called the War Relocation Authority was set up in March 1942 to administer the plan, with Milton S. Eisenhower from the Department of Agriculture to lead it. Eisenhower only lasted until June 1942, resigning in protest over what he characterized as incarcerating innocent citizens.

Relocation to 'Assembly Centers'

Army-directed removals began on March 24. People had six days notice to dispose of their belongings other than what they could carry.

Anyone who was at least 1/16th Japanese was evacuated, including 17,000 children under age 10, as well as several thousand elderly and disabled residents.

Japanese Americans reported to "Assembly Centers" near their homes. From there they were transported to a "Relocation Center" where they might live for months before transfer to a permanent "Wartime Residence."

Assembly Centers were located in remote areas, often reconfigured fairgrounds and racetracks featuring buildings not meant for human habitation, like horse stalls or cow sheds, that had been converted for that purpose. In Portland, Oregon, 3,000 people stayed in the livestock pavilion of the Pacific International Livestock Exposition Facilities.

The Santa Anita Assembly Center, just several miles northeast of Los Angeles, was a de-facto city with 18,000 incarcerated, 8,500 of whom lived in stables. Food shortages and substandard sanitation were prevalent in these facilities.

Life in 'Assembly Centers'

Assembly Centers offered work to prisoners with the policy that they should not be paid more than an Army private. Jobs ranged from doctors to teachers to laborers and mechanics. A couple were the sites of camouflage net factories, which provided work.

Over 1,000 incarcerated Japanese Americans were sent to other states to do seasonal farm work. Over 4,000 of the incarcerated population were allowed to leave to attend college.

Conditions in 'Relocation Centers'

There were a total of 10 prison camps, called "Relocation Centers." Typically the camps included some form of barracks with communal eating areas. Several families were housed together. Residents who were labeled as dissidents were forced to a special prison camp in Tule Lake, California.

Two prison camps in Arizona were located on Native American reservations, despite the protests of tribal councils, who were overruled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Each Relocation Center was its own "town," and included schools, post offices and work facilities, as well as farmland for growing food and keeping livestock. Each prison camp "town" was completely surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers.

Net factories offered work at several Relocation Centers. One housed a naval ship model factory. There were also factories in different Relocation Centers that manufactured items for use in other prison camps, including garments, mattresses and cabinets. Several housed agricultural processing plants.

Violence in Prison Camps

Violence occasionally occurred in the prison camps. In Lordsburg, New Mexico, prisoners were delivered by trains and forced to march two miles at night to the camp. On July 27, 1942, during a night march, two Japanese Americans, Toshio Kobata and Hirota Isomura, were shot and killed by a sentry who claimed they were attempting to escape. Japanese Americans testified later that the two elderly men were disabled and had been struggling during the march to Lordsburg. The sentry was found not guilty by the army court martial board.

On August 4, 1942, a riot broke out in the Santa Anita Assembly Center, the result of anger about insufficient rations and overcrowding. At California's Manzanar War Relocation Center, tensions resulted in the beating of Fred Tayama, a Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL) leader, by six men. JACL members were believed to be supporters of the prison camp's administration.

Fearing a riot, police tear-gassed crowds that had gathered at the police station to demand the release of Harry Ueno. Ueno had been arrested for allegedly assaulting Tayama. James Ito was killed instantly and several others were wounded. Among those injured was Jim Kanegawa, 21, who died of complications five days later.

At the Topaz Relocation Center, 63-year-old prisoner James Hatsuki Wakasa was shot and killed by military police after walking near the perimeter fence. Two months later, a couple was shot at for strolling near the fence.

In October 1943, the Army deployed tanks and soldiers to Tule Lake Segregation Center in northern California to crack down on protests. Japanese American prisoners at Tule Lake had been striking over food shortages and unsafe conditions that had led to an accidental death in October 1943. At the same camp, on May 24, 1943, James Okamoto, a 30-year-old prisoner who drove a construction truck, was shot and killed by a guard.

Fred Korematsu

In 1942, 23-year-old Japanese-American Fred Korematsu was arrested for refusing to relocate to a Japanese prison camp. His case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where his attorneys argued in Korematsu v. United States that Executive Order 9066 violated the Fifth Amendment.

Korematsu lost the case, but he went on to become a civil rights activist and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. With the creation of California's Fred Korematsu Day, the United States saw its first U.S. holiday named for an Asian American. But it took another Supreme Court decision to halt the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Mitsuye Endo

The prison camps ended in 1945 following the Supreme Court decision, Ex parte Mitsuye Endo. In this case, justices ruled unanimously that the War Relocation Authority "has no authority to subject citizens who are concededly loyal to its leave procedure."

The case was brought on behalf of Mitsuye Endo, the daughter of Japanese immigrants from Sacramento, California. After filing a habeas corpus petition, the government offered to free her, but Endo refused, wanting her case to address the entire issue of Japanese incarceration.

One year later, the Supreme Court made the decision, but gave President Truman the chance to begin camp closures before the announcement. One day after Truman made his announcement, the Supreme Court revealed its decision.

Reparations

The last Japanese internment camp closed in March 1946. President Gerald Ford officially repealed Executive Order 9066 in 1976, and in 1988, Congress issued a formal apology and passed the Civil Liberties Act awarding $20,000 each to over 80,000 Japanese Americans as reparations for their treatment.

Sources

Japanese Relocation During World War II. National Archives.
Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites. J. Burton, M. Farrell, F. Lord and R. Lord.
Lordsburg Internment POW Camp. Historical Society of New Mexico.
Smithsonian Institute.

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Japanese Internment Camps: WWII, Life & Conditions | HISTORY

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Japanese internment camps were established during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt through his Executive Order 9066. From 1942 to 1945, it was the policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, be incarcerated.

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Watch the Then Came War video clip of HISTORY. Find this and many more videos only on HISTORY.

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Japanese internment camps were established during World War II by President Franklin Roosevelt through his Executive Order 9066. From 1942 to 1945, it was the policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent would be interred in isolated camps. Enacted in reaction to Pearl Harbor and the ensuing war, the Japanese internment camps are now considered one of the most atrocious violations of American civil rights in the 20th century.

Executive Order 9066

On February 19, 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 with the intention of preventing espionage on American shores.

Military zones were created in California, Washington and Oregon -states with a large population of Japanese Americans-and Roosevelt's executive order commanded the relocation of Americans of Japanese ancestry.

Executive Order 9066 affected the lives about 117,000 people-the majority of whom were American citizens.

Canada soon followed suit, relocating 21,000 of its Japanese residents from its west coast. Mexico enacted its own version, and eventually 2,264 more people of Japanese descent were removed from Peru, Brazil, Chile and Argentina to the United States.

Anti-Japanese Activity

Weeks before the order, the Navy removed citizens of Japanese descent from Terminal Island near the Port of Los Angeles.

On December 7, 1941, just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the FBI rounded-up 1,291 Japanese community and religious leaders, arresting them without evidence and freezing their assets.

In January, the arrestees were transferred to facilities in Montana, New Mexico and North Dakota, many unable to inform their families and most remaining for the duration of the war.

Concurrently, the FBI searched the private homes of thousands of Japanese residents on the West Coast, seizing items considered contraband.

One-third of Hawaii's population was of Japanese descent. In a panic, some politicians called for their mass incarceration. Japanese-owned fishing boats were impounded.

Some Japanese residents were arrested and 1,500 people-one percent of the Japanese population in Hawaii-were sent to camps on the U.S. mainland.

John DeWitt

Lt. General John L. DeWitt, leader of the Western Defense Command, believed that the civilian population needed to be taken control of to prevent a repeat of Pearl Harbor.

To argue his case, DeWitt prepared a report filled with known falsehoods, such as examples of sabotage that were later revealed to be the result of cattle-damaging power lines.

DeWitt suggested the creation of the military zones and Japanese detainment to Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Attorney General Francis Biddle. His original plan included Italians and Germans, though the idea of rounding-up Americans of European descent was not as popular.

At Congressional hearings in February 1942, a majority of the testimonies, including those from California Governor Culbert L. Olson and State Attorney General Earl Warren, declared that all Japanese should be removed.

Biddle pleaded with the president that mass evacuation of citizens was not required, preferring smaller, more targeted security measures. Regardless, Roosevelt signed the order.

War Relocation Authority

After much organizational chaos, about 15,000 Japanese Americans willingly moved out of prohibited areas. Inland state citizens were not keen for new Japanese residents, and they were met with racist resistance.

Ten state governors voiced opposition, fearing the Japanese might never leave, and demanded they be locked up if the states were forced to accept them.

A civilian organization called the War Relocation Authority was set up in March 1942 to administer the plan, with Milton S. Eisenhower from the Department of Agriculture to lead it. Eisenhower only lasted until June 1942, resigning in protest over what he characterized as incarcerating innocent citizens.

Relocation to Assembly Centers

Army-directed evacuations began on March 24. People had six days notice to dispose of their belongings other than what they could carry.

Anyone who was at least 1/16th Japanese was evacuated, including 17,000 children under 10, as well as several thousand elderly and handicapped.

Japanese Americans reported to centers near their homes. From there they were transported to a relocation center where they might live for months before transfer to a permanent wartime residence.

These centers were located in remote areas, often reconfigured fairgrounds and racetracks featuring buildings not meant for human habitation, like horse stalls or cow sheds, that had been converted for that purpose. In Portland, Oregon, 3,000 people stayed in the livestock pavilion of the Pacific International Livestock Exposition Facilities.

The Santa Anita Assembly Center, just several miles northeast of Los Angeles, was a de-facto city with 18,000 interred, 8,500 of whom lived in stables. Food shortages and substandard sanitation were prevalent in these facilities.

Life in Assembly Centers

Assembly centers offered work to detainees with the policy that they should not be paid more than an Army private. Jobs ranged from doctors to teachers to laborers and mechanics. A couple of assembly centers were the sites of camouflage net factories, which provided work.

There were opportunities for farm work during a labor shortage, and over 1,000 internees were sent to other states to do seasonal farm work. Over 4,000 internees were allowed to leave to attend college.

Conditions in Relocation Centers

There were a total of 10 permanent housing camps called Relocation Centers. Typically some form of barracks, several families were housed together, with communal eating areas. Residents that were designated as dissidents went to a special camp in Tule Lake, California.

Two relocation centers in Arizona were located on Indian reservations, despite the protests of tribal councils, who were overruled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Each relocation center was its own town, featuring schools, post offices and work facilities, as well as farmland for growing food and keeping livestock, all surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers.

Net factories offered work at several relocation centers. One housed a naval ship model factory. There were also factories in different centers that manufactured items for use in other centers, including garments, mattresses and cabinets. Several centers had agricultural processing plants.

Violence in Relocation Centers

Violence occasionally occurred in centers. In Lordsburg, New Mexico, internees were delivered by trains and marched two miles at night to the camp.

An elderly man attempted to flee and was shot and killed. After settling in, at least two men were shot and killed while trying to escape.

On August 4, 1942, a riot broke out in the Santa Anita facility, the result of anger about insufficient rations and overcrowding. At Manzanar, California, tensions resulted in the beating of a Japanese American Citizens League member by six masked men. Fearing a riot, police tear-gassed crowds, and one man was killed by police.

At the Topaz Relocation Center, a man was shot and killed by military police for going too close to the perimeter. Two months later, a couple was shot at for the same reason.

In 1943, a riot broke out at Tule Lake following an accidental death. Tear gas was dispersed, and martial law declared until agreements were reached.

Fred Korematsu

In 1942, 23-year-old Fred Korematsu was arrested for refusing to relocate to a Japanese internment camp. His case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where his attorneys argued in Korematsu v. United States that Executive Order 9066 violated the Fifth Amendment. He lost the case, but he went on to become a civil rights activist and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. With the creation of California's Fred Korematsu Day, the U.S. saw its first U.S. holiday named for an Asian American. But it would take another Supreme Court decision to halt the internment of Japanese Americans

Mitsuye Endo

The internment camps ended in 1945 following a Supreme Court decision.

In Endo v. the United States, it was ruled that the War Relocation Authority "has no authority to subject citizens who are concededly loyal to its leave procedure."

The case was brought on behalf of Mitsuye Endo, the daughter of Japanese immigrants from Sacramento, CA. After filing a habeas corpus petition, the government offered to free her, but Endo refused, wanting her case to address the entire issue of Japanese internment.

Two years later, the Supreme Court made the decision, but gave Roosevelt the chance to begin camp closures before the announcement. One day after Roosevelt made his announcement, the Supreme Court revealed its decision.

Reparations

The last Japanese internment camp closed in March 1946. President Gerald Ford officially repealed Executive Order 9066 in 1976, and in 1988 Congress issued a formal apology and passed the Civil Liberties Act awarding $20,000 each to over 80,000 Japanese Americans as reparations for their treatment.

SOURCES

Japanese Relocation During World War II. National Archives.
Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites. J. Burton, M. Farrell, F. Lord and R. Lord.
Lordsburg Internment POW Camp. Historical Society of New Mexico.
Smithsonian Institute.

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Japanese internment camps were established during World War II by President Franklin Roosevelt through his Executive Order 9066. From 1942 to 1945, it was the policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent would be interred in isolated camps.

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Japanese-American Soldiers in WWII Video - Japanese Internment Camps - HISTORY.com

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Senator Daniel Inouye fought to prove his American patriotism.

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World War II: Internment of Japanese Americans

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World War II: Internment of Japanese Americans

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Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the secretary of war to designate military zones within the U.S. from which "any or all persons may be excluded." The order was not targeted at any specific group, but it became the basis for the mass relocation and internment of some 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry, including both citizens and non-citizens of the United States. In March 1942, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, commander of the U.S. Army Western Defense Command established a massive exclusion zone along the west coast and demanded that all persons of Japanese ancestry report to civilian assembly centers. On short notice, thousands were forced to close businesses, abandon farms and homes, and move into remote internment camps, also called relocation centers. Some of the detainees were repatriated to Japan, and others moved eastward to other parts of the U.S. outside of the exclusion zones. A number even enlisted with the U.S. Army. But most simply endured their internment in frustrated resignation. In January 1944, a Supreme Court ruling halted the detention of U.S. citizens without cause, and the exclusion order was rescinded, and the Japanese Americans began to leave the camps, most returning home to rebuild their former lives. The last camp closed in 1946, and by the end of the 20th century the U.S. government had paid $1.6 billion in reparations to detainees and their descendants. See also color film of the camps in our video channel. (This entry is Part 10 of a weekly 20-part retrospective of World War II)

View this page Hints: full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

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World War II: Internment of Japanese Americans

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Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the secretary of war to designate military zones within the U.S. from which "any or all persons may be excluded."

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This collection of photographs from the Hearst Collection of the Los Angeles Examiner in the USC Regional History Collection, documents the incarceration of Japanese Americans in California during World War II. These 222 photographs provide a glimpse into the lives of Japanese immigrants and native born Japanese Americans (a.k.a. Nisei) residing in California from 1921 to 1958, with primary emphasis on 1941-1946.

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The original captions from the photographs, many of which were published in the Los Angeles Examiner, have been transcribed into the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive to enhance subject-specific retrieval; the cultural references reflect the 1940's terminology.

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How an eagle feels when his wings are clipped and caged?

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How an eagle feels when his wings are clipped and caged?

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Relocation Center Newspapers Describe Japanese American Internment in World War II

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Relocation Center Newspapers Describe Japanese American Internment in World War II

Winter 2009, Vol. 41, No. 4 | Genealogy Notes

By Rebecca K. Sharp

While interned at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho, newspaper staff reporter Kimi Tambara wrote an open letter in the Minidoka Irrigator to her friend Jan. She recalled Christmas 1941, just weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

. . . another thought . . . coincident with the crackling noise of the firecrackers popping around Lower Chinatown, a low voice 'You damn Jap-you! By gosh, the government should put every damn one of you in concentration camps'-I remember the cold shiver that ran up my spine, transforming the humid, warm air of a July night into the bitter cold of winter. You and I, Jan, tried to laugh it off, because somehow, it seemed ridiculous. The freedom of life and liberty was so much a part of us that the idea of confinement had never once occurred to us.

Tambara also described her feelings about internment:

[T]his life behind a fence is not a pleasant one, but nothing can be pleasant in these times, could it? I can now understand how an eagle feels when his wings are clipped and caged. Beyond the bars of his prison lies the wide expanse of the boundless skies, flocked with soft clouds, the wide, wide, fields of brush and woods-limitless space for the pursuit of Life itself. 1

The Japanese American 2 internees published newspapers that provided general information about their community as well as specific individuals. Publication frequency varied from newspaper to newspaper. Some newspapers were published once a week, while others were published biweekly, triweekly, or even six times a week. The publication frequency of a particular newspaper often changed over time.

Two and a half months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the secretary of war and military commanders the authority "to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded." 3 This order gave the U.S. Army the authority to forcibly evacuate the Japanese American population from the designated military areas along the Pacific Coast between the latter part of March and May 1942. 4

The Japanese Americans could bring only what they could carry-clothes, plates, cups, utensils, linens, toiletry items, and mementos-to the designated collection points. With less than a week to sell their businesses, houses, and valuables, they had no time to get things in order. The evacuees were moved to 16 assembly centers. Many of the assembly centers were located on fairgrounds and racetracks, where the living conditions were overcrowded and unsanitary.

Beginning in May 1942, the War Department transferred the Japanese Americans to 10 War Relocation Authority (WRA) relocation centers: Central Utah (Utah), Colorado River (Arizona), Gila River (Arizona), Granada (Colorado), Heart Mountain (Wyoming), Jerome (Arkansas), Manzanar (California), Minidoka (Idaho), Rohwer (Arkansas), and Tule Lake (California). Under guard and surrounded by barbed-wire fences, the internees lived in cramped barracks sharing communal toilets, showers, and mess halls. Privacy was nonexistent. The relocation centers mirrored small communities with churches, hospitals, libraries, post offices, and schools. The WRA allowed some internees to leave for temporary seasonal agricultural work. Others attended college, served in the military, or obtained outside employment. Some of the internees remained in the WRA relocation centers until they closed in 1946.

Relocation Center Newspapers

The newspapers served as a means for disseminating WRA rules, regulations, and surveys. The WRA initially banned the use of Japanese in the newspapers, but later issues sometimes included Japanese-language inserts. Newspaper articles cover a wide range of topics including daily activities, beauty tips, diet and nutrition, crime and law enforcement, education, hobbies, social activities, and sports. The newspapers reported on military service, outside employment opportunities, and vital statistics as well as rumors that were circulating throughout the relocation centers. The newspapers also described culture shock, a consequence of internment, forced assimilation, and a constant reminder how their lives had changed. Since the newspapers were censored, the staff avoided direct criticism of the federal government. 5

Artwork, maps, photographs, and weather reports offer a glimpse at the relocation center environment. On occasion, the newspapers include the artwork, articles, letters, poems, and short stories submitted by internees or former internees who were attending colleges and universities, working outside the relocation center, or serving in the military. In addition to relocation center news, the newspapers also conveyed national and world news.

Vital Statistic

The newspapers published lists of births, marriages, and deaths in the relocation centers. The lists provide minimal information about the individuals. For example, the birth lists typically record the baby's sex, birth date, and the parents' names, and in some, but not all cases, the baby's name. The newspapers briefly announced engagements, marriages, and milestone wedding anniversaries as well as obituaries. Longer articles about a newborn may list the attending medical staff, while an article about a wedding may include the name of the presiding religious official.

The newspapers usually ran feature articles about the first birth, marriage, and death that occurred at the relocation center. Yuki Shiozawa and Taro Katayama were the first couple to wed at the Central Utah relocation center. The Topaz Times reported that several musical performances preceded the wedding, including Goro Suzuki's (the bride's cousin) rendition of the song "At Dawning." Protestant minister Rev. Joseph Tsukamoto officiated; Yuki's father, Tetsushiro Shiozawa, gave her away; and Taro's best man was his brother, Jerry Katayama. The article also describes the couple's wedding attire:

The bride, with a "Victory" pompadour hairdress, wore a wine-colored velveteen dress and accessories with 1 strand of pearls. She wore an orchid corsage rounded off with white bouvardias. The benedict [bridegroom]wore a navy blue tailored suit.

The article also puts the wedding in the context of internment:

Prior to evacuation the bride was a Civil Service stenographer in the Alameda County Charities Commission in Oakland. The bridegroom, formerly of Salt Lake City, is a graduate of the University of Utah, and was working on a San Francisco paper before the evacuation. He was also the editor of the Tanforan Totalizer [an assembly center newspaper]. They are "at home" in 36-12-A [relocation center barracks address] until Thursday. 6

Living Quarters

In addition to general articles about the barracks and community living, a small percentage of the articles show the creative ways in which individuals modified their living quarters. Yoshimatsu Mukai, an internee at the Rohwer relocation center in Arkansas, decorated the exterior of his barracks with wood carvings of a monkey and birds. The article describes Mukai's personality: "He is very modest about his work and laughingly replies, 'One minute,' when asked how much time is required to make each animal." 7

The Heart Mountain Sentinel ran a series of articles that showed different barracks to give readers interior decorating ideas. These articles include sketches of the featured barracks, such as Mr. and Mrs. Bob Sato's "apartment":

When is a closet not a closet? We have been informed it was intended for a coal bin, but Mrs. Sato has cleverly converted her "closet" to a den or nook, with card table and chairs. The chairs are fashioned out of orange boxes, draped in stripped denim. The upper part of the den was made for storage space, covered with monks cloth, the same material used for her dressing table and closet which was built in one corner. Adding life to the otherwise drab monks cloth is a gay yellow, red, and blue bias tape trim on the hem of the drapes.

The den is made cozy with lights. For [the] lamp shade, Mrs. Sato used the white corrugated paper which came with the mail order wrappings.

An oval mirror adds to the modernistic touch of her spacious dressing table which was fashioned out of left-over celotex. Three shelves on each side, 18 inches deep, hold linens, clothing, shoes, etc. 8

Artwork

Despite the difficult living conditions, people continued to express themselves artistically. Comic strips and other works of art appear in most WRA relocation center newspapers. One example is the artwork of Eddie Sato, a staff artist for The Minidoka Irrigator. Sato, a talented political cartoonist, created a comic strip character that he considered calling Potato, but the newspaper decided to run a character-naming contest. Three articles about the contest provide information about Sato, the cartoon character, and the Minidoka community. The November 7, 1942, issue announced Yasuko Koyama's winning submission, Dokie. 9 Dokie first appears to be an ordinary comic strip character, but a closer look at the strips reveals that Sato captured the reality of internment. In May 1943, Sato left the Minidoka relocation center to serve in the military. Although he was no longer interned, the newspaper occasionally ran articles about him, including information about his winning art contest submissions and his return visit to Minidoka. 10 Eddie Sato is just one example of the numerous Japanese American internees who went to war for a country that had confined its loyal citizens behind barbed wire fences.

Availability of the Records

The publications created by the Japanese American internees, including church papers, newspapers, and school papers, are among the records of the relocation centers (entry 4b) in the Records of the War Relocation Authority (Record Group 210).

The National Archives does not have a complete set of relocation center newspapers. Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project digitized approximately 4,000 newspapers from the 10 WRA relocation centers. Researchers must register (registration is free) to obtain access to Denshō's "Camp Newspapers Collections" Digital Archive ( www.densho.org). 11 The Bancroft Library's (University of California at Berkeley) "Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Records, 1930-1974," and the Library of Congress's "Japanese Camp Papers" (microfilm number 2022) may have additional newspaper issues.

Entry 4b records have been microfilmed and are available as Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (Microfilm Publication C53). The records are arranged by relocation center; however, the microfilm roll list only records the first and last record that appears on each roll of microfilm. The staff of the National Archives created a finding aid that provides the titles and coverage dates of the church papers, newspapers, and school papers published by the Japanese American internees.

To receive a copy of this finding aid, contact the Archives I Reference Section (NWCT1R), 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001 (e-mail archives1reference@nara.gov). Microfilm Publication C53 is available at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., and at the National Archives regional archives in Laguna Niguel, California. For additional information about this microfilm publication, including a digital copy of the microfilm roll list, visit the online microfilm catalog through Order Online at www.archives.gov. The records can be difficult to use because there is no master name index. To locate articles about individuals, researchers need to read the WRA relocation center newspaper of interest.

Although this research can be time consuming, the WRA newspapers provide a contemporary description of the often difficult and desolate conditions of the relocation centers. The newspapers can also show how the Japanese Americans adapted to both the physical and psychological pressures of internment.

Author

Rebecca K. Sharp is an archives specialist in the Archives I Research Support Branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. She specializes in federal records of genealogical interest.

Notes

The author would like to thank the following staff members for their professional guidance: Rebecca Crawford, John Deeben, Constance Potter, Claire Sadar, Sally Schwartz, Katherine Vollen, William Wade, and Nancy Wing. She would like to acknowledge Michelle Farnsworth for digitizing the original relocation center newspapers described in this article.

1 This letter is part of a special Christmas 1942 issue. See "Irrigator Asks: Contributions for Yule Issue," Minidoka Irrigator, Dec. 12, 1942, vol. I, no. 26, p. 1. Tambara's letter is published as "In This, Our Land," Minidoka Irrigator, Dec. 25, 1942, vol. I, no. 29, p. 7. Both articles are found in Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (Microfilm Publication C53, roll 91), Records of the War Relocation Authority, Record Group (RG) 210.

2 U.S. naturalization laws prohibited Japanese immigrants, the issei, from obtaining United States citizenship. Children of the issei born in the United States, the nisei, were automatically U.S. citizens. Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project emphasizes that "[b]y the time of World War II, most issei had lived in the United States for decades and raised their children here. Although they were technically aliens and ethnically Japanese, many considered themselves permanently settled in the United States . . . [and] had no plans for returning to Japan, and would have become naturalized citizens if that had been allowed." In light of this, the term Japanese American will be used to refer to both citizens and noncitizens. Denshō: The Japansese American Legacy Project web site, Terminology and Glossary section, www.densho.org (accessed June 19, 2009).

3 Executive Order No. 9066, Feb. 19, 1942, General Records of the United States Government, RG 11. Available online at www.ourdocuments.gov (accessed June 12, 2009).

4 Estimates vary from 100,000 to 120,000 interned Japanese Americans. The WRA was established within the Office for Emergency Management on March 18, 1942.

5 The staff usually self censored, but omissions of reports of conflicts between the Japanese American internees and the WRA suggest WRA censorship.

6 "First Wedding Held," Topaz Times, Nov. 17, 1942, vol. I, no. 16, p. 2, Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (C53, roll 10), RG 210.

7 "He Wasn't Stumped," The Rohwer Outpost, Apr. 7, 1943, vol. II, no. 28, p. 4, Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (C53, roll 100), RG 210.

8 "The Social World: Your Home and Mine," Heart Mountain Sentinel, Oct.24, 1942, vol. I, no. 1, p. 3, Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (C53, roll 58), RG 210.

9 For additional information, see the following issues of the the Minidoka Irrigator: "Name Sought for 'Imp' Who Makes Debut," Oct. 21, 1942, vol. I, no. 11, p. 6; "Cartoon Hero Still Nameless, asks Readers to Aid Plight," Nov. 4, 1942, vol. I, no. 15, p. 7; and "Irrigator Mascot Christened," Nov. 7, 1942, vol. I, no. 16, p. 7, all in Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (C53, roll 91), RG 210.

10 "Sounding Off . . . ," Minidoka Irrigator, May 15, 1943, vol. III, no. 12, p. 4; "Four Hunt Entrants in Art Contest Win Honors: Exhibit Sponsored by Friends Ass'n for Ten Centers," Minidoka Irrigator, May 29, 1943, vol. III, no. 14, p. 5; and "Hunt is Home for Shelby Boys," Minidoka Irrigator, Sept. 11, 1943, vol. III, no. 29, p. 3, all in Field Basic Documentation of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946 (C53, roll 92), RG 210.

11 To learn more about Denshō's newspaper digitization project, visit www.densho.org and click on "Archive," then "From the Archive," followed by "June 2007-Free Press behind Barbed Wire. Newspapers Published in the Incarceration Camps."

Articles published in Prologue do not necessarily represent the views of NARA or of any other agency of the United States Government.

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How an eagle feels when his wings are clipped and caged

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Winter 2009, Vol. 41, No. 4 | Genealogy Notes While interned at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho, newspaper staff reporter Kimi Tambara wrote an open letter in the Minidoka Irrigator to her friend Jan. She recalled Christmas 1941, just weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. . .

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After the war, Japanese Americans were allowed to return to their homes on the West Coast. Although Miss Breed no longer worked at the Children's Library, having been appointed to the postion of Head Librarian in 1945, she continued to exchange letters with many of her Japanese American friends until her death at the age of 88 in 1994.

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The concentration camps were hastily constructed facilities for housing Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes and businesses on the West Coast during World War II. Located in isolated areas of the United States on either desert or swampland, the camps were usually surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by armed sentries.

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Conditions varied from the heat and dust of Manzanar, Poston and Gila River, to the rains of Jerome and Rowher, and the bitter winter cold of Heart Mountain and Minidoka. The one thing that all 10 camps had in common was geographic isolation.

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For many, the real trauma of internment was built around the scores of small indignities endured each day. Taken together, their impact on family structure and on an individual's sense of pride, dignity, and self-respect was enormous.

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From 1942 to 1946, home for most Japanese Americans was one of 10 WRA camps, all patterned on military facilities. Hastily built, with tarpaper walls and no amenities, the barracks were hot in summer and cold in winter. Most did not meet minimal standards for military housing.

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Internees were encouraged to work in camp-sponsored self-help programs. All of the relocation centers operated farms, and the food grown was often exchanged between camps. Camp administration offices also provided other opportunities for employing residents. The pay was low, ranging from $12 for a month of 48-hour weeks as an agricultural worker to $19 a month for physicians, dentists, and other professionals.

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Each camp functioned as a school district and offered educational programs from the first grade through high school. Caucasian administrators and teachers, and some qualified residents, were employed in these programs. Students and teachers faced a lack of appropriate books and teaching materials, typing classes with no typewriters, and other problems, but made do with what they had.

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Education at the camps encompassed more than reading, writing and arithmetic. In many camps, professional artists offered art classes. All camp residents, adults and children, found themselves in an alien and threatening situation. The art created within the camps embodies their responses to life inside internment.

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ddr-manz-1-1-1 - Dennis Bambauer Interview Segment 1 | Densho Digital Repository

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Male of Japanese and French-Irish descent. Born October 1, 1934, in Los Angeles, California. As a child, resided in the Children's Home Society Orphanage in Los Angeles. During World War II, was transferred to Manzanar concentration camp's "Children's Village" for orphans. Was adopted out of camp by a family from Bishop, California.

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ddr-manz-1-2-1 - Sue Kunitomi Embrey Interview Segment 1 | Densho Digital Repository

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Nisei female. Born January 6, 1923, in Los Angeles, California. During World War II, incarcerated at Manzanar concentration camp. Wrote for Manzanar Free Press while incarcerated. Resettled during World War II in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. Returned to Los Angeles, California, in 1948. Founding member of Nisei Progressives and the Manzanar Committee.

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ddr-manz-1-5-1 - Frank Isamu Kikuchi Interview Segment 1 | Densho Digital Repository

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This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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ddr-manz-1-7-1 - Mary Nomura Interview Segment 1 | Densho Digital Repository

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This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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ddr-manz-1-8-1 - Bo T. Sakaguchi Interview Segment 1 | Densho Digital Repository

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This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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ddr-manz-1-10-2 - Hikoji Takeuchi Interview Segment 2 | Densho Digital Repository

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Nisei male. Born December 18, 1921, in Los Angeles, California. Parents owned and operated a restaurant. Father passed away prior to the onset of World War II, so mother was responsible for preparing the family to move to camp. Removed to Manzanar concentration camp, California, and in 1942, was shot by a military police officer while picking up scrap lumber.

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The Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement

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The Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement

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This timeline is a chronological overview of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Click on the links at the top of the screen to explore major events that took place from 1941 to 1946. Selected entries on each section page feature links to digital objects that illustrate the event described.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This timeline is a chronological overview of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Click on the links at the top of the screen to explore major events that took place from 1941 to 1946. Selected entries on each section page feature links to digital objects that illustrate the event described.