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Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites
Confinement and Ethnicity documents in unprecedented detail the various facilities in which persons of Japanese descent living in the western United States were confined during World War the fifteen “assembly centers” run by the U.S. Army’s Wartime Civil Control Administration, the ten “relocation centers” created by the War Relocation Authority, and the internment camps, penitentiaries, and other sites under the jurisdiction of the Justice and War Departments. Originally published as a report of the Western Archeological and Conservation Center of the National Park Service, it is now reissued in a corrected edition, with a new Foreword by Tetsuden Kashima, associate professor of American ethnic studies at the University of Washington.
Based on archival research, field visits, and interviews with former residents, Confinement and Ethnicity provides an overview of the architectural remnants, archeological features, and artifacts remaining at the various sites. Included are numerous maps, diagrams, charts, and photographs. Historic images of the sites and their inhabitants -- including several by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams -- are combined with photographs of present-day settings, showing concrete foundations, fence posts, inmate-constructed drainage ditches, and foundations and parts of buildings, as well as inscriptions in Japanese and English written or scratched on walls and rocks. The result is a unique and poignant treasure house of information for former residents and their descendants, for Asian American and World War II historians, and for anyone interested in the facts about what the authors call these “sites of shame.”
Based on archival research, field visits, and interviews with former residents, Confinement and Ethnicity provides an overview of the architectural remnants, archeological features, and artifacts remaining at the various sites. Included are numerous maps, diagrams, charts, and photographs. Historic images of the sites and their inhabitants -- including several by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams -- are combined with photographs of present-day settings, showing concrete foundations, fence posts, inmate-constructed drainage ditches, and foundations and parts of buildings, as well as inscriptions in Japanese and English written or scratched on walls and rocks. The result is a unique and poignant treasure house of information for former residents and their descendants, for Asian American and World War II historians, and for anyone interested in the facts about what the authors call these “sites of shame.”
472 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
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February 21, 2016
Western Archaeological and Conservation Center, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1999.
This is an extremely interesting book which is basically an archaeological examination of the various internment camps and other camps relating to the Japanese-Americans in World War II.
The book starts out with some of the history of what happened, and then discusses the types of work involved in the production of the book. The book has an incredible number of pictures of the remains that are still standing of the camps. It also shows the types of things that were made and/or used at the camps relating to the Japanese culture and even includes photographs of Japanese writing found in the remains of the camps.
The second chapter is a "Contemporary report of one relocation center by an outside observer: Eleanor Roosevelt." Chapter 3 is a summary of the relocation movement; chapters 4 through 13 look at the individual camps; chapter 14 discusses Moab and Leupp Isolation centers; chapter 15 covers other temporary facilities that were used; chapter 16 covers the assembly centers, chapter 17 the Dept. of Justice and Army Internment Camps, and chapter 18 covers three Federal prisons involved in the program.
Chapter 3 has a great deal of information in it, even covering the problems at Tule Lake and other internment camps. The chapters on the camps follow a pattern where the physical nature of the area is discussed, the construction and layout of the camp is covered, maps are included, and numerous photos from the time and from today fill out each chapter.
This is not the type of book you sit down and read cover to cover. Actually, for most people the book probably wouldn't be that interesting, but if you want to know about the physical structures of the camps and the areas they were in and see photos from that time and photos showing the remains of the camp then this is basically the book for you. The majority of the material in this book is not covered in any of the other books on the subject ( of course, that's because the exact nature of the information is not covered in other books, though.)
This is an extremely interesting book which is basically an archaeological examination of the various internment camps and other camps relating to the Japanese-Americans in World War II.
The book starts out with some of the history of what happened, and then discusses the types of work involved in the production of the book. The book has an incredible number of pictures of the remains that are still standing of the camps. It also shows the types of things that were made and/or used at the camps relating to the Japanese culture and even includes photographs of Japanese writing found in the remains of the camps.
The second chapter is a "Contemporary report of one relocation center by an outside observer: Eleanor Roosevelt." Chapter 3 is a summary of the relocation movement; chapters 4 through 13 look at the individual camps; chapter 14 discusses Moab and Leupp Isolation centers; chapter 15 covers other temporary facilities that were used; chapter 16 covers the assembly centers, chapter 17 the Dept. of Justice and Army Internment Camps, and chapter 18 covers three Federal prisons involved in the program.
Chapter 3 has a great deal of information in it, even covering the problems at Tule Lake and other internment camps. The chapters on the camps follow a pattern where the physical nature of the area is discussed, the construction and layout of the camp is covered, maps are included, and numerous photos from the time and from today fill out each chapter.
This is not the type of book you sit down and read cover to cover. Actually, for most people the book probably wouldn't be that interesting, but if you want to know about the physical structures of the camps and the areas they were in and see photos from that time and photos showing the remains of the camp then this is basically the book for you. The majority of the material in this book is not covered in any of the other books on the subject ( of course, that's because the exact nature of the information is not covered in other books, though.)
Displaying 1 of 1 review