Register of the Gertrude King papers
Finding aid prepared by Supriya Wronkiewicz
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2010
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Gertrude King papers
Date (inclusive): 1941-1951
Collection Number: 2002C3
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
8 manuscript boxes
(3.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The papers primarily consist of correspondence, reports, memoranda, pamphlets, and serial issues, relating to internment of
Japanese Americans during World War II, and to placement of Japanese-American students in colleges. Also includes records
of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC) and collected materials directly related to the Japanese
American evacuation and relocation.
Creator:
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
Creator:
King, Gertrude
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2002, with an increment in 2018.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Gertrude King papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Historical Note
In the three months following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the subsequent declaration of war
on Japan and its allies, restrictions on Japanese Americans went into effect. Earlier restrictions first curtailed the activities
of Japanese Americans, culminating with Executive Order #9066, where President Franklin Roosevelt authorized relocation of
West Coast based Japanese Americans, immigrants and citizens alike. As a result, Japanese American students in the areas directly
impacted by Executive Order #9066 were forced to withdraw from universities and colleges in which they were enrolled.
In response, a student relocation committee consisting of members from the national Young Men's and Young Women's Christian
Association, West Coast college and university presidents, and other educators formed to assist Japanese American students
already enrolled in higher education so that they could continue their studies. Within two months, the War Relocation Authority
authorized the formation of a nationwide committee to address the issues facing Japanese American students that were pursuing
or wished to pursue higher education. As a result, on May 29, 1942, the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
[NJASRC] officially formed.
Within the NJASRC, the front line of student relocation and assistance was the Permit Department. This department assisted
students in securing permits to leave their assigned relocation center in order to attend school. The Permit Department also
worked directly with the students and universities to place qualified students in schools best suited to their needs, within
communities where they were least likely to face extreme prejudice and persecution.
One of the most vocal and active members of this department was supervisor Gertrude (Trudy) King (1916-1969). During her time
with NJASRC (June 1942-April 1944), Trudy King made a lasting impression on her colleagues and the students she helped to
relocate, as evidenced by the extensive correspondence with both sets of individuals during and following her time in the
NJASRC, even past the point when the NJASRC closed its doors in June 30, 1946.
Additional information regarding Gertrude King and the NJASRC was obtained from
From Concentration Camp to Campus: Japanese American Students and World War II, by Allan W. Austin, University of Illinois Press, �2004.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Gertrude King Papers primarily consist of correspondence, reports, memoranda, pamphlets, and serial issues, relating to
the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and to placement of Japanese-American students in colleges. The
papers also include records of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC) and collected materials
directly related to the Japanese American evacuation and relocation.
Gertrude King joined the NJASRC less than two months after its formation on May 29, 1942 and remained until April 1944. During
that time and in the years following, King maintained correspondence with several of her colleagues within the NJASRC and
outside of it. The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence between King, her colleagues within the NJASRC, various
individuals and groups that worked with NJASRC, colleges and universities, government organizations, relocation centers, and
students. Along with correspondence both of an official and personal nature, the collection also includes several administrative
and procedural documents for the NJASRC, including reports, college and student information lists, newsletters, memoranda,
procedures, and personal notes regarding her work with the students directly and within the organization.
King also collected materials and documents relevant to the agencies she worked with her role in with NJASRC as well as materials
related to the Japanese American evacuation and relocation during World War II and in the months immediately following.
The original order of the materials as they were when initially acquired was retained as much as possible. The final arrangement
for the papers is as follows:
Correspondence, National Japanese American Student Relocation Council Records, and Subject File and Collected Documents.
Related Materials
Thomas Ray Bodine Papers, 1941-1982, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
John W. Nason Papers, 1921-2001, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council Records, 1942-1946, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Separated Materials
The issues of the following publications have been separated from the collection due to duplication in the Hoover Institution
Library:
Communique;
Denison Tribune;
Granada Pioneer;
Manzanar Free Press;
Pacific Citizen;
The Rohwer Outpost;
Topaz Times;
The Tulare News.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- United States
World War, 1939-1945 -- Education and the war
Correspondence
1942-1951
Scope and Contents note
Letters, both handwritten and typewritten primarily of a personal nature from relocated students other colleagues working
with and part of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council; includes postcards, greetings cards, and 1 envelope
of photographs. Materials are arranged alphabetically by correspondent. If a last name is not available, arrangement was made
by first name.
box 1, folder 3
Blumental-Bennett, Martha
1942-1950
box 1, folder 4
Emlen, Betty
circa 1945-1947, undated
box 1, folder 5
Cosgrave Margaret
circa 1942-1946, undated
box 1, folder 7
Fukushima, Tosh
1946-1947
box 1, folder 8
Handa, Connie
circa 1946-1951
box 1, folder 10
Hayashi, Terri
1950, undated
box 1, folder 12
Inouye, Mary
1946-1951, undated
box 1, folder 13
Ishida, Gladys
1948-1949, undated
box 1, folder 15
Lee, Minnie
circa 1944-1947
box 1, folder 17
Murase, Ken
1950, undated
box 1, folder 18
Megillian, Mary
1944, 1950
box 1, folder 21
Nishimoto, Katsuma
1944-1945
box 2, folder 2-3
Oshiki, Kaz
circa 1943-1948
box 2, folder 4
Ota, Lillian
circa 1943-1944
box 2, folder 7
Rhoads, Esther
1942, 1948, undated
box 2, folder 11
Stevens, Ken and Stevens, Dottie
circa 1942-1947
box 2, folder 12
Stevenson, Bill
circa 1942-1947
box 2, folder 17-18
Watanabe, Frank
circa 1943-1950, undated
box 2, folder 21
Yamada, Tamaichi
1942, undated
box 2, folder 22
Yamashita, Kay
circa 1944-1948
box 3, folder 1
Miscellaneous correspondence
1942-1949, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes an envelope with greeting cards and postcards
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC) Records
1942-1949
Scope and Contents note
Letters, administrative materials and forms, writings, lists, memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, and documents generated
for the organization and by the organization. The bulk of this material consists of correspondence within the organization
and with entities working with the organization such as similar organization, local and state government offices, church groups,
colleges and universities, and the students seeking relocation at all stages of the relocation process.
Arranged into the following subseries, Internal Correspondence; General Correspondence; Colleges, Universities, and Academic
Professionals Correspondence; Student Correspondence; Miscellany Correspondence; Materials and Procedures.
Internal Correspondence
circa 1942-1945
box 3, folder 10
American Baptist Home Mission Society
1942-1944
box 3, folder 11
American Friends Service Committee
1942-1944
box 3, folder 12
Art Students League of New York
1942-1943
box 3, folder 13
Churches and Other Religious Organizations
1942-1943
box 3, folder 14
Friends General Conference
1942-1943
box 4, folder 1
Local city, county, and state correspondence
1942-1943
Scope and Contents note
Usually pertaining to community acceptance of incoming students
box 4, folder 2
Haines, Ruth
1942, undated
box 4, folder 4
Relocation Centers
1942-1943
box 4, folder 5
Relocation Centers
1942-1943
Scope and Contents note
Includes information specifically pertaining to Manzanar and correspondence from counselor Helen Ely
box 4, folder 6
Various groups/individuals pertaining to funding and community support
1942-1943
box 4, folder 7
Various organizations
1943
box 4, folder 8-14
War Relocation Authority
1942 August-1943 November
box 4, folder 15
Wartime Civil Control Administration
1942
box 4, folder 16
Young Mens/Women's Christian Association
1942-1943
Colleges, Universities, and Academic Professionals Correspondence
circa 1942-1943
Student Correspondence
1942-1946
box 5, folder 1-5
Incoming correspondence
1942-1946, undated
Scope and Contents note
Also includes excerpts from letters sent by students and letters pertaining to students
box 5, folder 6-9
Outgoing correspondence
1942-1944 January
box 5, folder 10
Letters to students from colleges and universities
1942-1943
box 5, folder 11
Miscellany Correspondence
1942-1944, undated
Office Records and Procedures
1942-1946
box 5, folder 12
Administrative procedures
circa 1942
box 5
College lists and information
circa 1942-1944
box 5, folder 13
Approved colleges
circa 1942-1944
Scope and Contents note
Includes lists of colleges approved by the Army and Navy
box 5, folder 14-15
College information sheets
1943 February-1944 January
box 6, folder 1
Colleges submitted for and pending approval
circa 1942-1943
box 6, folder 2
Lists of colleges favorable to Japanese students
circa 1942-1943, undated
box 6, folder 3
Lists of colleges with accepted Japanese students
circa 1942, undated
box 6, folder 4
Statistics and information pertaining to student placement in colleges
circa 1942-1944, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes map titled "Nisei students in colleges and universities outside restricted areas : 1941-1943"
box 6, folder 5
Documents generated for or by NJASRC
circa 1942-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes "Final Audit of Japanese American Student Relocation Council, 1946", information regarding NJASRC projects and other
statistics
box 6, folder 6
Forms and pamphlets for student council use
1942, undated
box 6, folder 7
Minutes of meetings
1942-1945
Scope and Contents note
Includes minutes of Council meetings, 1944-1945, Plenary meeting, 1943, and Executive Committee meetings, 1942, 1945
box 6, folder 8
Memoranda
circa 1942-1945
Scope and Contents note
Includes memoranda sent between NJASRC staff, groups within NJASRC, and NJASRC as a whole
box 6, folder 10
Reference and personal notes pertaining to students and/or NJASRC
circa 1942-1943
box 6, folder 12
Student lists
circa 1942-1943
Scope and Contents note
Includes lists of students who have been either FBI or Department of War approved, accepted in college, which students have
permits and which students are still waiting for permits
Subject File and Collected Documents
1942-1945
box 6, folder 13
American Civil Liberties Union
1942-1945
Scope and Contents note
Includes memoranda, monthly bulletins, and copies of Civil Liberties Quarterly
box 6, folder 14
American Friends Service Committee
1942-1945, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes publications, information bulletins, memoranda, newsletters, and correspondence
box 6, folder 16
Committee on the Resettlement of Japanese Americans
1945, undated
box 7, folder 1
Executive Order #9066, 1942 February 19; Executive Order 9102, 1942 March 18;
Text of White House Statement on Treatment of Persons of Japanese Ancestry
1942-1943
box 7, folder 2
Extracts from the Testimony of J. Edgar Hoover Before the Subcommittee of the Committee of the Appropriations House of Representatives, 1943, February 18,
Evidence of Americanism Among Japanese Americans, 1943, July 7
1943
box 7, folder 3
Japanese American evacuation and relocation
1942-1944, undated
Scope and Contents note
includes articles, pamphlets and small publications
box 7, folder 4
Midget Tribune,
1944-1945
box 7, folder 5
O'Brien, Robert
1943-1944
box 7, folder 6-7
Relocation center generated documents
1943-1944
Scope and Contents note
arranged alphabetically by relocation center
box 7, folder 8
Statements regarding Japanese American loyalty
circa 1942-1943
box 7, folder 9-10
War Relocation Authority
1942-1943
box 7, folder 11
Miscellany
1943-1944, undated
2018 Incremental Materials
1941-2018
box 8, folder 2
Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund Award
1982
box 8, folder 3
Victoria Denson High School Yearbook
1944
box 8, folder 4
Correspondence
1941-1951
Scope and Contents note
Contains letters between Gertrude King and her Vassar classmate, Hale Jabri.
box 8
Photographs of American Friends Service Committee Training Camp
1941-1942