Tuesday, March 5, 2019
"Farewell To Manzanar" Internment Web Link Background Information?
Regarding the Densho Internment Link Resource, what are some ideas or
trends that profoundly struck you that are addressed regarding this
period in American History? Please use any quotes or specific
references to materials that validate your argument. Due by 3:40p.m. on Tues., Mar. 12th, 2019.
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16 comments:
I just find it shocking that this and overlooked part during World War II that many people don't know about. The website states, "...the United States government incarcerated innocent people solely because of their ancestry." This is a disturbing and unsettling quote to me because there was absolutely no connections to these people to the bombers of Pearl Harbor expect for their race. Thousands of Japanese Americans were thrown into these camps and stripped of everything they had. It's probably the most unconstitutional thing that the United States has ever done, and it boggles me that the government was so desperate that they decided that locking up the Japanese Americans was a good solution.
The resource showed how the organization's purpose is to not let the memories or the history to die off. Japanese people in America experienced horrible things during the war, and Densho wants people to remember what happened so it doesn't happen again. "The initial goal of documenting oral histories from Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II. This evolved into a mission to educate, preserve, collaborate and inspire action for equity," the website explained. They want to pass on the stories of innocent people who were unjustly imprisoned. Most of the stories are about what it was like for Japanese people in America after Pearl Harbor with all of the racial discrimination, and in concentration camps. The website also explains why learning these stories is so important. This is a part of history that is sometimes ignored, and that's not fair to those who experienced it and those who can learn from it.
I think it's crazy how the Americans put people in concentration camps based on their race the same way the Nazis did. Jews and Japanese Americans both lived in barracks and lived like animals. Although American concentration camps were significantly nicer than Nazi camps, people were still severely discriminated based on race. The website says: "Located in desolate desert or swamplands throughout the West and in Arkansas, these “relocation centers” were surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers...inmates lived in blocks of barracks with communal bathrooms, laundry facilities, and dining halls." Jews were also kept in concentrations camps that were surrounded by barbed wire with guard towers and armed guards. Their camps were also located in desolate locations in Poland and other frigid places. I just never thought the American government would do thing the Nazis did.
It shocks me that the Americans put Japanese people in interment camps just because of stereotypes, and all of the people put in the camps were innocent people who had pride for their country. According to the website, "Most exiled West Coast Japanese Americans were first sent to short-term detention facilities run by the army that were euphemistically called “assembly centers.” The “assembly centers” utilized existing facilities such as fairgrounds and horse racing tracks located near the areas where Japanese Americans were being removed." It also shocks me that the U.S. tried to cover up the fact that they were basically concentration camps, not just "assembly camps."
One trend that I found interesting was how they housed the Japansese Americans before transporting them to the camps. During the Holocaust, one of the locations the Jews were housed in before they were transported to concentration camps was the Vélodrome d'Hiver. The Vélodrome d'Hiver was a racing track in Paris. According to Densho, "...[The WCCA] utilized existing facilities such as fairgrounds and horse racing tracks located near the areas where Japanese Americans were being removed." Both the Jewish and the Japanese Americans were housed in similar facilities before being moved to the concentration camps. It is crazy how similar the two events, the Holocaust and the Japanese Internment, were to eachother.
I thought it was interesting how they housed the Japanese Americans before they were transported to the camp. During the Holocaust, they housed jews in Velodrome d'Hiver before sending them to the concentration camps. It was a racing track located in Paris. Both Japanese and Jews were housed in similar places. I just think it was weird how the Holocaust and Japanese Internment were similar.
It was interesting to me that America was so paranoid during this time that they created a camp for there own citizens. Its the same thing as what the Nazis did but they "Justified" it trying to cover up the fact and horrors they were creating.
It surprised me that Americans were so shocked by how nazis treated other races and looked at them differently because of it. But then Americans did the same thing with innocent Japanese people because of stereotypes. Which I find very hypocritical. Also, Jewish people and Japanese American interment were very similar and they were housed in very similar camps.
After looking at the website, the thing I found the most interesting was the people's living conditions and how the government tried to not show how bad the camps were. In these camps there were families with about up to 5 people per room. These camps had soldiers around them, barb wire and much more. The government made it seem like these camps were like prisons and they made them sound so bad.
I think it's shocking how many similarities there are between the nazi camps in the holocaust and the camps for the japanese here. I think it is very sad there wa seven a camp here in colorado. We should educate Americans about this part of history just as well as we are educated about the holocaust because it is a part of history that should be more well known. - Ayan
From what I've seen from the website, something that stood out to me was that people still think that it is important to remember what happened and why it happened so we can learn from what others have done, so we can see how bad it was and we can see that we shouldn't ever do it again. Another thing that was interesting to me was that some of the Japanese Americans wouldn't respond to incarceration because of them not wanting to obey the Army's exclusion orders.
Something that caught my attention while reading about this was that people that were born in America were put in these camps despite their right of citizenship, and if they where so lucky to be released they couldn't go back to their home if it was in the west coast, many were forced to make a new way of living. They didn't necessarily get a warm welcome back, people were skeptical because they thought because of their nationality they would be spies.
What surprised me in these videos was that the Japanese were treated more like animals than human beings even though America supposedly had equal rights and freedoms. These Japanese had no rights and were racially discriminated based on the color of skin instead of their personality. They also made concentration camps sound so great and healthy but the fence around the camp and soldiers would tell a different story. When they moved into their housing it wasn't a nice place it was made up of “The floors were wooden but I think they painted the walls with very thin paint, like whitewash, and the odor of the horses was strong.” The Japanese were not treated as a person they were treated like nothing really. And even when they got their equal citizenship the country wasn't really rejoicing in it they saddened instead. Overall the conditions that Japanese lived in and dealt with was very brutal and sad.
I think that it was absolutely crazy how the Japanese Americans were forced to leave during the war just because of their race. One idea that I found really interesting was how they housed the Japanese Americans before they were going to be transported to the camps. I thought that this was strange because during the Holocaust they housed the jews also before sending them to the camps. I just think that it was wierd how they housed the Japanese Americans just like they housed the jews.
Something that stood out to me was the fact that people were put into the camps purely based on their ethnicity. The website says, "For the most part, those apprehended were male immigrant community leaders who were suspect for the positions they held—heads of a Japanese Association branch or priests at Buddhist temples, for instance—rather than for anything they had specifically done. Initially held in local facilities—along with some prisoners of German and Italian descent—they were moved to internment camps" If their ethnicity was one that was an Axis power they were put into the camps. It didn't matter that they were US citizens or that they were loyal to the US.
What surprises me is that they are able to put people in these camps without feeling bad at all. If I was in the position that they are in, I would feel really bad just putting innocent people into these camp. It was also weird how America was really paranoid but then put their people and the citizens of their country into these camps.
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