WORLD WAR II: THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS
The topic of Japanese American Internment during the Second World War is a very important part of American history.It happened during the Second World War when nations were against each other and after the Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Japan automatically became an enemy to the United States thus leading to the government of the day led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 to take several measures against Japan and its origins mainly living in the United states. What followed was an executive order by the president to allow forceful removal of Americans of Japanese origin from their homes and incarcerated into camps.The government had feared another attack by the Japanese would be imminent and so they had to come up with some measures to get rid of Japanese spies that were living in the west coast. This led to one of the lowest moments in American history as these camps were an absolute human rights violation to these Japanese Americans.
Most of these Japanese Americans who had been taken to these camps were actually legal American citizens thus showing that this move was based on racial stereotypes and propaganda that was being peddled during that time referring to the Japanese as less of human beings. This incarceration seriously affected these Japanese Americans leading to them losing their homes and valuable possessions they had acquired out of their own hard work. Despite these barbaric actions by the government most of the Japanese Americans tried to prove their loyalty to the US by engaging in several activities that helped in the war such as making parachutes and uniforms to the US soldiers the government. This led to more than 110,000 Japanese Americans being held in these camps with 77,000 of them being American citizens while the remaining 43,00 were either legal or illegal aliens of Japanese origin.
In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii the President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942 issued an executive order 9066 that granted the Secretary of War, Henry Stimson the authority to relocate civilians as necessary to camps and this led to the West Coast Military officials to force over 110,000 people of Japanese origin to these camps. After these attacks the government and private organizations embarked on spreading useless propaganda against the people of Asian origin especially Japanese Americans stereotyping on their racial orientation.As a result most Americans grew to hate the Japanese referring to them as non-humans. The use of these camps was an absolute violation of the rights and freedoms of these Japanese Americans as they were subjected to very tough conditions though they tried to prove their loyalty by aiding the American military by making them parachutes and uniforms but this chapter of American history remains one of the darkest. These actions by the government led to the removal of Japanese Americans from the society based merely on suspicion of them being spies but there was no concrete evidence to prove this fact.
In these camps all children were allowed to attend schools, adults were given liberty to engage in work that would attract a salary of $5 a day. They were allowed to elect their representatives who would then forward their complaints to American authorities or any other relevant information that needed to be passed. They were allowed to take part in recreational activities that were organized for them to pass time. Some even willingly joined in the fighting in one of the two all-Nisei army regiments and would later establish themselves as war heroes. Life generally in these camps was not easy with the quality of food being offered very low since it was produced in bulk and also many of them did not try to escape because of the guards who were constantly watching with guns. The weather in these camps was also not so favorable with it getting very hot during summer and very cold during winter. The housing condition was similar to those in barracks makes-shift schools and hospitals were made for them to help in offering the services but the conditions were generally poor. The quality of education and the health services were also not as good so generally these people were living in worse conditions. These camps were used until the year 1946 the government decided to close them down after the war had cooled down.
Not many reasons can be given for this barbaric action by the government but it can be assumed that the actions were informed by the fact that most of the American public was bitter with the people of Asian origin especially the Japanese after the Japanese attack on the pearl harbor and so the government saw it necessary to keep them away from the public who could easily harm the or even worse. Another reason can be due to the racial discrimination that most Asians were going through thus they were put up in concentration camps on the basis of their race. Though the conditions in these camps were not as harsh as those witnessed in the Nazi concentration camps but it was a total disregard for human rights and a form of racial discrimination well execute by the government and the citizens.
In the year 1988 the congress passed a legislation offered apology to those affected during the internment by the US government signed by President Ronald Reagan. They explained the actions of the government as based on race prejudice that was being experienced at that time. The war hysteria and the failure of political leadership were also among the reasons the congress explained to have led to the actions. More than $1.6 billion was also distributed by the government to those affected as compensation for the pain they were subjected to in those camps. The government since then has repeatedly apologized for these action with former president George Bush officially writing an apology letter to those who were affected by this.
The internment of Japanese Americans was really a dark chapter in American history that we can never forget however painful it was. It was a chapter where our country was blinded by racism and too much propaganda depicting Asians mainly of Japanese origin to be less of human. Almost the whole country hated these Japanese Americans not as result of the war that was going on but as result of their skin color and racial orientation. As we remember our history we should also remember this part of history as much as it may be a dark part. Some may argue that the actions of the government of the day were justified according to the situation that was being experienced countrywide but one thing is for sure, the lives of these innocent Japanese Americans were completely destroyed by these actions, their children could not live normal lives again. They were denied their fundamental human rights and subjected to inhuman conditions just because they were of different race and color.
Bibliography
Connell, T. (2002). America's Japanese Hostages: The US Plan for a Japanese Free Hemisphere. Westport: Praeger-Greenwood
De Nevers, K. (2004). The Colonel and the Pacifist: Karl Bendetsen, Perry Saito, and the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Higashide, S. (2000). Adios to Tears: The Memoirs of a Japanese-Peruvian Internee in U.S. Concentration Camps. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Harth, E. (2001). Last Witnesses: Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans. Palgrave,
New York
