NIE and Densho: The WWII Odyssey of King County's Japanese Americans

Sponsored Newspapers In Education Content | APRIL 12, 2015 5 What should we call the camps? During World War II, the U.S. government used euphemisms — words that made things sound better than they are—to describe the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. For instance, the government said that Japanese Americans were “evacuated” to “relocation centers”— implying that this was being done for their protection, as in a natural disaster—while the camps were surrounded by barbed wire with armed guards posted with their guns facing into the camp. This educational supplement uses the term “concentration camp” to refer to the facilities in which Japanese Americans were held. These camps fit the dictionary definition of “concentration camps” and were referred to in that way by many people at the time, including President Franklin Roosevelt. Use of this term is not meant to compare what happened to Japanese Americans to what happened in Europe, where the term “concentration camp” might itself be considered euphemistic. We avoid the use of “internment camp” as a general term because it causes confusion with the camps that imprisoned (or interned) Japanese, German and Italian aliens who were considered more dangerous and were treated like prisoners of war but protected under international law. Rohwer Jerome da “ASSEMBLY CENTERS” To provide temporary housing for evicted Japanese Americans, the army quickly repurposed existing facilities such as horse racing tracks or fairgrounds, most of them near the areas Japanese Americans had been removed from. Euphemistically dubbed “assembly centers” or “reception centers,” they held Japanese Americans for periods ranging from a few weeks to a few months in the spring and summer of 1942 while the more permanent facilities were being constructed. INIDOKA inidoka was ted on the Snake lain in south central apanese Americans attle who were sent lup Assembly Center ter moved here. Its pulation was 7,318; all were from the fic Northwest or Alaska. WRA CAMPS Ten long term concentration camps were built in the spring and summer of 1942 and were administered by the newly created War Relocation Authority. Located in desolate areas in the West and in Arkansas, Japanese Americans were moved to these camps from the “assembly centers” throughout the summer and fall of 1942. “Assembly Center” Camp Exclusion Zone Executive Order 9066 SEE, THINK, WONDER What can you learn from a map a graph or a historic image? The key is to take the time to look at it very closely. Select something that particularly strikes you, then ask yourself: • What do I see? • What do I think is going on? • What does it make me wonder? Although these prompts seem simple, let them evoke careful observation, enrich your interpretations, and raise new questions. “See, Think, Wonder” is from the Visible Thinking Project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This and other thinking routines are found at www.visiblethinkingpz.org and in “Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners”, by Ron Ritchhart, Karin Morrison and Mark Church, published by Jossey-Bass, 2011. Courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum. TY