Finding Aid for the Collection of Material about Japanese American Internment

I looked at the “Finding Aid for the Collection of Material about Japanese American Internment, 1929-1956 bulk 1942-1946”. This collection is made up of publications, press releases by the War Relocation Authority, phonographic recordings, yearbooks and pamphlets regarding and created by Japanese American internees and advocacy groups. Additional primary resources include speeches, article clippings, reproduced sketches and masters’ theses. Subjects covered include segregation within camps, loyalty of Japanese Americans, resettlement discussions and the internment process. The internment camps in particular that are mentioned include the Manzanar and Minidoka internment camps.

I really enjoyed scrolling through the contents and seeing the collection of resources compiled within this finding aid. Something that surprised me was the lack of personal perspectives from Japanese Americans in the internment camps. Most of the resources were official pamphlets and press releases instead of things like journal entries or interviews.

A historical narrative you might be able to tell from this collection is a narrative regarding how a democratic system was installed within the camps and how it dealt with segregation issues amongst internees. This collection would be useful in creating this narrative due to a variety of resources. In particular, we might be able to use the thesis by Richard B. Rice titled “The Manzanar Relocation Center” tracing the forces creating a democratic way of life in Manzanar. This thesis covers early history of the camp, problems with community government and employment problems. It would be useful because it directly touches on the democratic system within the internment camps, but this narrative would be missing a few resources. Notably, we would be missing a primary resource, such as a journal from an internee, on daily life within the internment camps. I would remedy this by conducting primary research and interviewing leaders in the internment camps to find an insider perspective.

Another historical narrative you could tell from this collection is a narrative regarding internee attitudes and experiences with prejudice after their internment and how they assimilated to life after release. A useful resource in this narrative could be the “United States Dept. of the Interior. Division of budget and Administrative Management. People in Motion: The Postwar Adjustment of the Evacuated Japanese Americans. 1947”. This resource covers public attitudes toward resettlement, economic adjust of internees, evacuation loss and remedial legislation and social adjustment. Another useful resource could be the article by Robert O’Brien, “Selective Dispersion as a Factor in the Solution of the Nisei Problem”. This article talks about the dispersion of second generation Japanese Americans through college education as a solution to the assimilation process. These 2 resources would be useful because it covers an outside perspective on the assimilation process and policies that were undertaken to more comprehensively integrate Japanese Americans back into society. However, if this narrative were based entirely on this collection, a few resources would be missing. Primarily, we would be missing firsthand accounts from Japanese Americans regarding their experiences post-internment. I would remedy this by conducting ethnographical field work, interviewing Japanese Americans who came out of the internment camps about their experiences with post WWII prejudices and their assimilation experiences.