Today we remember those who were killed in the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor which resulted in the United States entering into World
War II. It is right that we should honor our fallen heroes.
But we should not forget the other Americans whose lives
were also changed—those of Japanese ancestry. War causes nations to take actions that
seem, to those in charge at the time, to be necessary. Such is the case of the
relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II.
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| National Archives photo. In the public domain. Original caption: Hayward, California. Members of the Mochida family awaiting evacuation bus. Identification tags are used to aid in keeping the family unit intact during all phases of evacuation. Mochida operated a nursery and five greenhouses on a two-acre site in Eden Township. He raised snapdragons and sweet peas. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry will be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration. Date: 8 May 1942. |
Descendants of those who were interned in camps may wish to
know more about what life was like during those times. Much material about the
Japanese-American experience is available at institutions in Southern
California. Following are links to descriptions of several collections (an *
indicates items are available online):
- Japanese American Research Project (Yuji Ichioka papers), 1893-1973 – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- Constantine Panunzio Collection of Material on Japanese American Internment, ca. 1853-1945 – UCLA
- Estes (Donald H.) Papers 1887-2005 – Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego
- Japanese American Internment Collection 1929-1956 – UCLA
- Japanese American Relocation Collection* – Occidental College
- Asian Pacific Studies Collection 1920-1993 – California State University, Dominguez Hills
- Okubo (Miné) papers, 1932-2009 – University of California, Riverside
- Murphy (Mollie Wilson) Papers 1942-1945 – Japanese American National Museum
- Manzanar Collection, 1942-1994 (bulk 1942-1946) – California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo
- Anderson (Hugh) Collection 1921-1959 – Pasadena Museum of History
- Yamada (Mitsuye) Papers 1940-2005 – University of California, Irvine
- Japanese American Relocation Photograph Collection 1930-1958 (bulk 1941-1946)* – University of Southern California (USC)
