The Camp Experience

Part I

- Temporary Detention Centers -
1.) Were Japanese Americans given adequate care and accommodations as they were rounded up? Were they given assurances and clear information on what the future held for them?
- The Japanese Americans were given inadequate meals, and the medical care was very small. With Barbed fences and guard towers with guards who had weapons, these camps were considered Prisons.

- Permanent WRA Camps -
2.) Discuss the claim by the U.S. Government that the camps were for the protection of Japanese Americans. Were the barbed wire fences and guard towers meant to keep vigilantes out or Japanese American inmates in?
- The barbed wire fences and guard towers were meant to keep the Japanese American inmates inside the camps. They feared that any of the Japanese Americans were spies, so the government took precautionary measures to prevent them from planning anything that could harm the U.S.

- Camp Life -
3.) Were the camps "resettlement communities," or prisons? What's the difference between the two?
-- The camps that the Japanese Americans were sent to were worse than resettlement camps. They were actually considered prisons, with barbed wire fences and armed guards watching their every move.  the Japanese inmates who lived there waited for the day that they will be free from these camps. Some created riots, but were injured afterwards. Some were too impatient and took their own lives.

4.) Did the War Relocation Authority take measures to protect family life and privacy?
- WRA did not take and privacy measures. The inmates had no privacy whenever they took showers or use the bathroom. They also had to strip their clothes to get sprayed by a chemical powder called DDT. They did not take any measures to protect families either. When the inmates started a riot, they were attacked by the guards; leaving many inmates injured or killed.

- Questions of Loyalty -
5.) How did the Japanese Americans respond after being incarcerated without due process of law, to questions asking them whether or not they were unquestioningly loyal to this country?
- The Japanese American inmates were outraged to the fact that they had to prove that they were loyal citizens. Those who were loyal to the country were divided  from those who were not loyal. Inmates wondered if they could leave the camps if they were loyal to the country.

- Tule Lake Segregation -
6.) Were those who answered "no" to the loyalty questions clearly "disloyal" or were they voicing discontent with their treatment?
- Based off of the treatment that the Japanese were getting, their anger would answer that question instead of their actual minds. The ones that were disloyal were sent to the camps in Northern California,. while the ones that were loyal stayed.

- Draft Resisters -
7.) Why did these young men resist being drafted into the military? Write or improvise a conversation between two brothers in an internment camp who make two different opposing decisions on the draft: one enlists, the other resists. what are their points of agreement, if any? How do they differ? Is one brother more patriotic than the other?
- Some young men  resisted the draft because they had rights, and they had family members that have been violated in the camps. However, the men who resisted were put in jail for three years due to draft resistance.
This is an example of a conversation between two brothers in an interment camp with two different decisions about the draft:
Lee: Brother, what is your decision about being drafted into the military.
Chang: I refuse to be of any help to those people. They imprisoned our people in camps and they expect us to serve their country?
Lee: I can understand that you are furious for the way they have been treating us, but you cannot let your anger decide your answer.
Chang: So you're siding with the Americans now? Are you going to their military?
Lee: I have decided that i will enlist in the military. I would like to serve my country, and i hope that you will change your decision.
Chang: I will never change my mind. You have brought dishonor to our family Lee.
     In a way it is patriotic for Lee to enlist in the military to serve his country, but it does not make him more patriotic than Chang. Chang decided not to go because he does not want to serve the country when they have hurt and imprisoned his people. Lee has found a way to look past that and enlist in the military. They have their own personal reasons for enlisting or resisting the draft.

- Military Service -
8.) What did it take to fight for a country that kept your family interned behind barbed wire?
- Many men left to fight fore their country just to prove that they were loyal to their country.
They fought with everything they had in hopes that if they win, their families will be free from the internment camps.

Part II

1.) How do we prevent the injustice of internment from happening again? Perhaps it starts with learning about this historic mistake, as well as working to eliminate the causes for continuing racial prejudice today.
- To prevent the injustice of internment from occurring again, we need to succeed in our political leadership. We also need to show the whole world about this event in hopes that it will be prevented in the future.

2.) What do you think? What is your responsibility? What can you do as one individual? Your voice and actions can be an important part not only of preventing the gross injustice of internment from happening again, but also preventing the other negative effects of racial hatred and prejudice.
- By getting the word out about the historical mistakes that has happened in the past, i will be doing my part on preventing this from happening again. I can also get my word out by social networking. By doing this i can inform teens or adults about racial prejudice and how it can be prevented.

Part III

Henry Hanawa, Mechanic
Photographer: Ansel Adams

Memorial Day Serviced
Photographer: Francis Stewart

Richard Kobayashi, Farmer with Cabbages
Photographer: Ansel Adams

U.S. Naval Cadet Nurse, Kay Fukuda
Photographer: Ansel Adams

Mr. Matsumoto and Children
Photographer: Ansel Adams