Guerre

16493 — World War II Original Departure Document from the closing of the camps. Single page typed representing the difference between interment and freedom for forcibly relocated Japanese-American citizens. Has spaces for the Date Time Name of the Family and a checklist before departure. The fact that entire families were forcibly relocated is reflected in the simple question "Will Individual or Family Depart As Scheduled" <br/><br/>About 120000 people were incarcerated and interned in the camps from 1942-1946 of which 30000 were children. Colonel Karl Bendetsen the architect behind the program went so far as saying anyone with "one drop of Japanese blood" qualified. In 1943 Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes wrote "the situation in at least some of the Japanese internment camps is bad and is becoming worse rapidly." Many camps were built quickly by civilian contractors during the summer of 1942 based on designs for military barracks making the buildings poorly equipped for cramped family living. Throughout many camps twenty-five people were forced to live in space built to contain four. Armed guards were posted at the camps which were all in remote desolate areas far from population centers. Medical conditions and in-camp schooling was similarly poor. The phrase "shikata ga nai" loosely translated as "it cannot be helped" was commonly used to summarize the interned families' resignation to their helplessness throughout these conditions an attitude adopted to shield children from the massive trauma experienced by their parents. Provenance: Emily Brown a general's daughter who worked for the camps and wrote reports on their closing. Toning. Two hole punches presumably from original clipboard at top. Clean. In near-fine condition. unknown books