Japanese Internment Camps | World War II

The United States entered World War II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour and declared war on Japan. President Roosevelt issued an executive order on February 19, 1942, not long after the attack, allowing the military to put people of Japanese ancestry into internment camps. The camps received over 120,000 Japanese Americans.

What kind of camps were they?

The internment camps resembled prisons in certain ways. People were compelled to relocate into a barbed-wire-enclosed enclave. They were not permitted to go.

Why did they make the camps?

After the attack on Pearl Harbour, individuals had irrational fears that Japanese-Americans would side with Japan against the United States, leading to the creation of the camps. They were afraid they’d undermine American interests. However, there was no concrete data to support this anxiety. The only factor used to group the people into the camps was race. They had not broken any laws.

Who were sent to the internment camps?

Around 120,000 Japanese-Americans were reportedly transferred to 10 camps scattered across the Western US. They primarily came from states along the west coast, such California. Three groups were distinguished among them: the Issei (Japanese immigrants), the Nisei (Japanese people born in the United States), and the Sansei (third generation Japanese-Americans).

Children lived in the camps, right?

Yes. Families in their entirety were separated and transferred to the camps. There were around one-third of youngsters in the camps who were of school age. Children were provided with schools in the camps, although they were overcrowded and deficient in supplies like desks and books.

What conditions existed in the camps?

The camp lifestyle wasn’t really enjoyable. In tarpaper barracks, each family normally had a single room. They had to share bathrooms with other families while consuming tasteless food in enormous mess halls. They didn’t have much freedom.

The other Axis Powers nations, Germany and Italy, were put to camps, right?

Yes, though not on the same level. In the US, internment camps received about 12,000 Germans and Italians. Most of them were citizens of Germany or Italy who had immigrated to the United States before the outbreak of World War II.

End of the Internment

In January 1945, the burial officially came to an end. Many of these families had spent more than two years living in the camps. While they were living in the camps, many of them lost their houses, farms, and other possessions. Their lives needed to be rebuilt.

The Government Apologizes

The American government issued an apology for the internment camps in 1988. A statute that provided each of the survivors with $20,000 in damages was signed by President Ronald Reagan. He also offered a signed apology to each survivor.

Fascinating Information Regarding the Japanese Internment Camps

The inhabitants of the camps were mostly calm despite their unfair and cruel treatment.

The internees received $25 and a train ticket home after being let free.

Numerous titles for the camps have been used, including “concentration camps,” “relocation centres,” and “internment camps.”

A “loyalty” questionnaire was given to camp residents to measure how “American” they were. Those who were found to be traitors were transported to Tule Lake, a specialised high security camp in Northern California.

During World War II, approximately 17,000 Japanese-Americans served in the armed forces of the United States.