Posted on 02/20/2010 10:46:51 AM PST by Starman417
On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. There was no mention of relocation centers in the EO, because initially none were envisioned. The purpose was for those of Japanese ancestry to relocate voluntarily, anywhere within the interior, away from the West Coast and areas of strategic military importance.
On April 25, 1992, as a UCLA student, I went by bus from campus on a pilgrimage to Manzanar, 230 miles northeast of Los Angeles on the 50th Anniversary of the internment of 110,000 Japanese-Americans into relocation camps during WWII.
As sympathetic as I am to the Japanese-American experience (my mom being Japanese, I identify more with ...Japanese-American culture than Thai/Thai-American), I'm going to go ahead and anger a lot of people and extol some of the non-PC merits of Michelle Malkin's book, In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror
Whether you agree or disagree with Malkin's points in the end, I see nothing at all that is "racist" about her book, unless one knee-jerks into PC-induced sensitivities as substitution for thinking.
It is revisionist dishonesty (or unfortunate ignorance) for anyone to claim there were no instances of Japanese issei or nisei who displayed commitment to the ultra-nationalistic tradition of "doho" (unbending loyalty to the Emperor regardless of residence or citizenship status). Malkin provides a number of examples of where there was evidence of Japanese-American disloyalty.
Even moreso than racism and prejudice, the possibility of fifth column saboteurs and the dangers of further attacks on the West Coast were very real, and supported by the best military and civilian intelligence analysis at the time. This included the MAGIC messages which were intercepted diplomatic communications that revealed Japan's espionage activities in regards to the West Coast, Hawaii, and the southern border.
Throughout Europe and the South Pacific, there were instances of Japanese immigrants who consorted with their ancestral homeland, revealing where their loyalties lay. Same held true with Germans who no longer lived in Germany (which brings up the point that it wasn't just those of Japanese ancestry who were interned by the Department of Justice- of the 31 thousand enemy aliens from Axis nations, nearly half were European).
The conventional perspective, of course, is exemplified by the following passage from "Yankee Samurai", by Joseph D. Harrington- a perspective that rings heroic for me, with selfless patriotism, bitter sorrow, honor and conflicted loyalty, and unconditional love and service to country:
Read more at floppingaces.net...
Those damn Republicans were/are such RACISTS!!!! How dare they condemn a whole race of people because their country of origin declared war on the United States!!!
...oh, wait a minute...
A lot of Germans were interred too
There is a difference between detention centers and relocation camps.
Detention centers were intended for those living here deemed hostile to the US. There were nearly as many Italians/Germans in detention centers as Japanese.
All were offered an opportunity to be deported to their homelands. Thousands of those in detention centers chose this option, as did many of those in relocation centers after they were closed.
Relocation centers were mandatory for those people of Japanese ancestry who were not able to move themselves east of the Rockies. Those who could make such an arrangement were free to go. Relocation centers were open for about 2.5 years before the SCOTUS ruled them unconstitutional.
What happened to innocent American citizens was a blot on our history. But I'm amazed at how many people are ignorant on this subject - they seem to think what happened here was similar to what happened in Nazi Germany.
There were overreactions in the general public, too. I remember one California town passed a law banning all people of Japanese nationality or race from living in the city.
There is of course another issue. What happened to the property both personal and real of these American citizens who were relocated? It is my understanding it was taken with little if any compensation.
The detention centers were alien detention centers. Relocation applied to US citizens.
“A lot of Germans were interred too”
I don’t know if they were intered but Italians weren’t allowed to go down to the waterfront in Eureka Ca.
Nah, thats just to prevent oil slicks.
//sarc
Shakes head...Oh my...I’m not going there. ;0)
lol.
Obviously I was kidding.
I read an online article somewhere about the internment of Germans in camps across the country, even here in Texas. The Nazi sympathizers were easily evident among them.
A friend of my dad owned a bar in Eureka and was only allowed to go across the street from it. Italians were not allowed past 3rd or 4th street(i don’t recall wich it was).
The authorities wouldn’t allow Joe Dimaggio’s father to take his fishing boat out from Fisherman’s Wharf during WWII.
My wife's grandfather, his siblings and his parents were sent to Heart Mountain in Wyoming. They lost everything. Her grandfather and siblings were American citizens by birth. They had no record of being anything other than simple folks who wanted to be left alone. Her grandfather, wanting to escape the camp, lied about his age and joined the Army and fought in north Africa and Europe, along with other American citizens who were of Japanese ancestry.
The camps were not blissful places, but were nothing short of prisons for these people. People weren't exterminated, but there was rampant disease and poor living conditions. Not exactly something you do to those who have had no trial and have been convicted of nothing.
For those who think it was the right thing to have been done, would you think the same thing should the socialists here declare conservatives the enemy?
There was a camp south of Nampa, Idaho by a few miles (highway 45). The guard tower for it was still standing 6 years ago.
My grandfather, the youngest of his siblings, and the only brother not to actually be in the war, worked with the German prisoners of war (at least that was the story, they may have been interned citizens, but they were always referred to as German prisoners) on the farms in the area, since most of the farmers were fighting.
Is there anything factually wrong with what I said?
Nope. I was just adding to it.
I see. IMO one thing many Americans need to STOP is the tendency to squelch discussion whenever it strays from the currently acceptable story line, the truth be damned. I thought maybe that was the case here.
There is a legal distinction between interning enemy aliens, and imprisoning, without charge, American citizens who are not even alleged to have committed a crime.
The former is allowed.
The latter was illegal from the get go.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.