Behind
the fence
Internment Camps in World War II
Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, over 120,000 Japanese Americans had their lives tragically changed forever.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order that allowed the U.S. military to arrest people of Japanese ancestry and force them into internment camps. These camps, also called “relocation centers,” were operated like prison towns. There were facilities, schools, and farms, but the people were surrounded by tall fences and barbed wire and watched by armed soldiers in guard towers. The living conditions were harsh and unforgiving. Worst of all, people were not allowed to leave without permission. It didn’t matter that they were American citizens. They were arrested, treated like criminals conspiring against the U.S. government, and taken away from their homes.
Leaving Home
Many did not have the chance to say goodbye to their friends and loved ones. They were given a short amount of time to pack up their things and could only take what they could carry by hand. U.S. soldiers often took possession of their belongings that they considered “contraband,” something smuggled illegally. Even if soldiers had no evidence to prove that these items were illegal, those of Japanese ancestry had no choice in the matter.
The U.S. government created these internment camps because they feared that Japanese Americans were conspiring with the Japanese government. However, there was no real evidence that proved this to be true. The U.S. government targeted people based on their race, but they were innocent. Those of Japanese ancestry were even given tests to determine how loyal they were to the United States. Those who didn’t score well on the loyalty test were sent away to a high security camp in Tule Lake, California, with even harsher conditions.
Life in the Camps
Ten internment camps were located in many Western states throughout the United States, like California, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and more. The first camp was in Manzanar, California, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Japanese Americans were divided into three groups: the Issei (those who came directly from Japan), the Nisei (Japanese people born in America), and the Sansei (those whose family had been in America for three generations). People of all ages were sent to these internment camps, but a third of them were children.
Families lived in tarpaper barracks with one bedroom and had to share bathrooms with other families. The food they were served at mealtime did not taste good. Because people were not able to bring many of their personal possessions with them, they owned very little.
Using their strength and creativity, families built a community under these harsh conditions. People organized sports games, created art, printed newspapers, and made friendships. But during this time, they were heavily watched and treated cruelly by the guards and the military police.
Ending the Prison Camps
In 1945, more than three years after the camps began, the internment of the Japanese people ended, along with the war. When families returned to their communities, they had to restart their lives from scratch, having lost upwards of $400 million.
The Japanese were not the only ones in North America sent to internment camps. Many Native Alaskans were also arrested and sent to camps in southeast Alaska because they were viewed as threats. Like the Japanese people, they were unjustly interned until the end of the war.
While many Japanese Americans were sent to camps, thousands were also fighting for the United States. Around 17,000 served during WWII as soldiers, translators, and pilots.
More than 40 years later, President Ronald Reagan apologized to those who survived the internment camps. Congress granted Japanese Americans $20,000 each in reparations. Today, the camps are remembered as a “grave injustice.”