In 1988, president reagan signed the civil liberties act, which formally apologized on behalf of the country. Japaneseamerican internment camps a historical fact that is not really common knowledge is the fact that, during world war ii, over 100,000 japaneseamerican individuals, the vast majority of which were actually american citizens, were rounded up and shipped eventually to internment camps. The book is comprised mostly of the introduction, afterward, and the supplemental information that embelishes each days diary entries. Overview of world war ii japanese american relocation sites.
Choose your words describing the japanese experience. Topaz japanese american internment camp museum about. Internment camps were scattered all over the interior west, in isolated desert areas of arizona, california, utah, idaho, colorado, and wyoming, where japaneseamericans. Named for a nearby mountain, topaz was in the middle of an area charitably descibed as a barren, sandchoked wasteland. Home movies and historiography usc cinematic arts university. During world war ii more than 127,000 japaneseamerican citizens were imprisoned at internment camps in the united states. An army internment camp, in this context, is a camp where people of japanese descent living on the west coast were sent during world war ii. Evidence from japaneseamerican internment during wwii. Japanese american wwii internment camp topaz museum. This was the year that ansel adams visited manzanar and took stirring photographs capturing the daily life and surroundings of the camp. In addition, a selfguided tour is available of camp buildings that were moved to the town of delta, ut. Sandra c taylor in the spring of 1942, under the guise of military necessity, the u. Between 1942 and 1945, a total of 10 camps were opened, holding approximately 120,000 japanese americans in california, arizona, wyoming, colorado, utah, and arkansas. Topaz internment camp exhibit marriott library the.
A twohour tour of the site depends on the weather and the availability of tour guides. The topaz museum, which interprets the history and shares these stories, opened january 2015 with an inaugural art show. Topaz internment camp and topaz museum great basin. In this activity, students will read quotes and examine pictures that will help them understand daily life in japanese american internment camps as well as the effects of these camps on later generations.
What are some examples of how the peoples lives were changed after the internment. All tours begin at the topaz museum, 55 west main, delta, utah 84624. In 1941, the topaz internment camp was established west of delta. Born in san francisco, interned at topaz at age five, teaches kindergarten in corte madera, california fumi hayashi updated deported from berkeley, california and interned as a high school student at the topaz relocation camp in 1942. Japanese internment at topaz utah division of state history. The term is especially used for the confinement of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects. The fear was that if the japanese invaded the west coast of america, where there was a large japanese population, that they would be loyal to japan. A japanese family returns home to find their garage vandalized with graffiti and broken windows in seattle, on may 10, 1945. If you are interested in architecture, exhibition design, history or current events its worth a visit. War relocation authority photographs of japaneseamerican evacuation and resettlement, 19421945. United states, in which the court ruled 63 that japanese internment camps were necessary for the. Topaz was both an internment camp and a temporary city, with two.
The single internment camp located in utah was at topaz, utah, sixteen miles west of delta, utah. Japaneseamerican internment at manzanar during wwii. Students will explain why each information resource is a primary or a secondary source. Peter irons and karen korematsu talked about the 1944 u. Government shortly after the attack of pearl harbor. The topaz japanese internment camp was a dark time for utah. Topaz was the primary internment site in the state of utah. Japanese american internment, the forced relocation by the u. The main focus is on the war relocation authoritys relocation centers, but department of justice and u. The population peaked in march 1943 at 8, and topaz became the fifth most populous city in utah until its closure on october 31, 1945. The topaz museum board, a nonprofit, volunteer organization. Topaz japanese american internment campfacebook an investigation ordered by president carter in 1980 found that the internment of japanese americans was not justified and was simply due to racism. This website contains information about one of the wra camps, topaz, which was located 16 miles northwest of delta in central utah, on the lip of the great basin. The central utah relocation center topaz site, a national historic landmark, is located on west 4500 north, 15 miles northwest of delta, ut.
Japaneseamerican internment camps during wwii marriott. In journey to topaz, what is an army internment camp. It is included in an ourstory module entitled life in a wwii japanese american internment camp. The picture on the left shows one of the concentration camps, called the honouliuli camp. The camp administrative bureaus, under the jurisdiction of the war relocation authority wra, established a recreation department and a music department in each camp and employed teachers for various recreational and musical activities. Publications and documents produced by topaz internment camp residents, and memos from the war relocation authority to the staff of the central utah relocation camp concerning japanese culture. The camp housed virtually all of the japanese americans from the san francisco bay area of california. This kind of support was part of the wras strategy to regulate the. They also established recreation halls in each block and even amphitheaters in some camps. Video from the topaz, utah, japanese internment camp. Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges, and thus no trial. The story of a japaneseamerican internment camp by michael o. Chiura obatas art of the internment, edited by kimi kodani hill the children of topaz.
War time hysteria caused the relocation of 120,000 japanese americans to be relocated to one of ten inland camps. The central utah relocation center topaz site is open year round for selfguided tours. The collections also includes issues of the topaz times, the trek, the 1943 topaz high school yearbook. In general, a camp or group of camps is designated to the country whose government was responsible for the establishment andor operation of the camp regardless of the camps location, but this principle can be, or it can appear to be, departed from in such cases as where a countrys borders or name has changed or it.
Between 1942 to 1946 the topaz camp was home to about 10,000 japanese who were sent there by the u. Dubbed the jewel of the desert, the camp remained in operation until october 1945. Manzanar is also the best preserved of all japaneseamerican internment camps not only in terms of site preservation but also in terms of a pictorial representation of life in the camp in 1943. The museum is located at 55 main street in delta and is open monday through saturday from 11 am to 5 pm except for major holidays. Topaz japanese american internment camp museum, delta, utah. This collection provides access to digitized resources related to topaz relocation center including school yearbooks of topaz students and a camp literary magazine. A roster of 104,000 people of japanese heritage sent to us internment camps. Click here for the national historic landmark file. Topaz internment camp documents, 19421943 archives west. The exhibits detail the incarceration of japaneseamericans during wwii. Located west of delta, utah is the remains of the topaz internment camp.
An overview of world war ii japanese american relocation. Lesson plans and resources for journey to topaz free library of. Embree and two articles about the topaz internment camp arrington, price of predjudice and toelkin, cultural topaz internment camp documents, 19421943. List of concentration and internment camps wikipedia. Topaz recorded 11,212 people coming into the camp while it was in operation from september 11, 1942 to october 31, 1945. This camp near abraham in millard county, utah, is known by three names. Amateur films revision of japaneseamerican internment. Life in a wwii japaneseamerican internment camp ourstory. The topaz museum board is preserving the history of the topaz japanese american. A visit to the topaz site and new museum 522015 during world war ii, the united states forced u. The topaz museum is a modern, restrained design with beautifully proportioned elements. Works on paper from topaz 19421945, which is currently on display. Thus, while it can simply mean imprisonment, it tends to refer to preventive confinement rather than confinement after having been convicted of some crime. Their only crime was that they had japanese ancestry and they were suspected of being loyal to their homeland of japan.
Students will write their observations, reflections, and questions about a photograph of the topaz internment camp. The photograph was taken at tanofran internment camp one of the places the. Topaz relocation center central utah relocation center. Dave tatsuno smuggled a video camera into the japanese internment camp while he was staying in topaz, utah, from 1942 to 1945. The goal of the study has been to provide information for the national landmark theme study called for in. About 7,000 people from the san francisco bay areathe vast majority of whom were american citizenswere moved to an assembly center at tanforan racetrack and then to a concentration camp in topaz, utah. With few supplies and poorly maintained equipment, a skeleton crew of teachers ran camp schools, prepared handwritten instructional materials, and often held classes outside because of overcrowding and lack of. Topaz was originally known as the central utah relocation authority, and then the abraham relocation authority, but the names were too long for post office regulations. The topaz internment camp opened near delta, utah in september 1942 and was nearly 4 times larger than the more famous manzanar camp in california and most of the people sent there were from the san francisco area.
Army facilities where japanese americans were interned are also considered. The topaz war relocation center, also known as the central utah relocation center topaz. Since the original name, central utah relocation authority, and the subsequent name, abraham relocation authority, were too long for postal forms, the name changed to topaz, after topaz mountain, nine miles away. Japaneseamerican internment camp newspapers, 1942 to 1946.
We do have selfguided tours, but we strongly urge people to come to the museum before going to the site. Also included in this activity are links to other websites about the topic. Topaz was known as a relatively peaceful camp, but the internees frustration flared on occasion. This is a list of internment and concentration camps, organized by country.
These people had to leave and abandon their homes and jobs with very little notice. The final name, topaz, came from topaz mountain which overlooks the camp from 9 miles 14. Courtesy of the topaz museum via m ountain west digital library. The children of topaz is a short book that arose from a diary of an elementary class at the japanese american internment camp in utah known as topaz. Topaz japanese american internment camp museum home. Topaz is a 1945 documentary film, shot illegally though with the assistance of members of the camp staff, which documented life at the topaz war relocation center in utah during world war ii filmed by internee dave tatsuno 192006, it was deemed culturally significant by the united states library of congress in 1996, and was the second amateur film ever selected for the national.
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