I chose to take a look at the “Finding Aid for the Collection of Material bout Japanese American Internment, 1929- 1956 bulk 1942-1956”. By first looking at the descriptive summary, I am able to get an idea of the kinds of historical narratives that comprise the collection. For example, from the title I know I will encounter narratives about Japanese relocation, specifically those publications released by the War Relocation authority, Japanese American internees and advocacy groups. I know that there are 4 boxes and a folder in English at UCLA, where I can visit with an advanced notice. Once I begin reading, the descriptive summary also tells me there is a placed emphasis on the Manzanar and the Minidoka internment camps.
Looking at the Container list, I see that the first two boxes contain documents, such as speeches, pamphlets, and annual and semi-annual reports of the years. Continuing on, the finding aid tells me exactly what I can expect to find in every folder in that box, whether it is a report or a speech. Through reading descriptions of each folder, I have concluded that the narratives include a lot of information on life in the camps, as well as speakers of the WRA using racial prejudice to justify reasons for the camp and explain how they would be beneficial to America. The second box focuses on the two camps mentioned above, with more detail on life, sports, entertainment, and even yearbooks of the graduating classes while in the camps. The final box has a more diverse array of documents, such as outside analysis of Japanese life and advocacy groups. The last box, also being from later times, depicts documents from people opposed and for the internment whom were “on the outside looking in”.
If I were to base my research only on the information I found inside these boxes, I think it would be incomplete. Yes, there are documents explaining the history, detailed account of life inside the camps, and the lives of people outside, but a greater scope is missing. Because the archive is mainly focused on two camps, I cannot assume that all Japanese American internees experienced the same life inside the camps. It could be that these camps were a lot different than the others, whether being better or worse. Additionally, I do not believe there is enough historical background, only minimal information on World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Lastly, I believe the archive would benefit from more documents on life after the camp. To remedy this, I would recommend using this archive as a helpful aid, but finding a bigger and more diverse archive to facilitate one’s research.
Your blog post was very interesting to read for me because I focused on a collection that is composed focused more on pieces of an era and less of an actual event in history. I was very interested to read about Japanese relocation following the War and intermittent camps. I really like that the materials from these camps include pieces portraying the daily life of people in these camps through sports, entertainment, and even yearbooks. These materials really serve to humanize the people of this era. It is very easy to dehumanize history and forget that living, breathing, people experienced all these events. In other words, we often think of tragedies as events and not as people who have experienced the tragic events. I like that there was a lot of detail about this daily life from these camps, but like you, I think wonder if other camps were similar to these.
I really enjoyed your blog post! I also explored this finding aid and it was interesting to see some of our similar and different opinions. I agree with you that this collection would benefit if there were more historical information the World War II time period to give more context to the documents in this archive. I also wish there were more community based documents so the story could be told more by the Japanese Americans who experienced internment. Great post!