Finding aid of the Japanese American Relocation Collection
Special Collections Department staff
Occidental College Library
Special Collections Department
1600 Campus Road
Los Angeles, California 90041-3314
Phone: (323) 259-2852
Fax: (323) 341-4991
Email: specialcollections@oxy.edu
URL: http://departments.oxy.edu/library/geninfo/collections/special
© 2006
Occidental College. All rights reserved.
Finding aid of the Japanese American Relocation Collection
Collection number: scjar
Special Collections Department
Occidental College Library
Los Angeles, California
- Processed by:
- Special Collections Department staff
- Date Completed:
- May 2005
- Encoded by:
- Kathy Lo
© 2006 Occidental College. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Japanese American relocation collection
Dates: 1941-1947
Bulk Dates: 1941-1947 (bulk 1942-1944)
Collection number: scjar
Creator:
Mary Norton Clapp Library
Collection Size:
8 document boxes and 34 oversize boxes
224 online items
Repository:
Mary Norton Clapp Library
Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314
Abstract: The collection consists of correspondence, magazines, newspaper and journal articles clippings, and publications from the
War Relocation Authority, religious groups, as well as civil liberties organizations. It also has a series of correspondence
to and from Occidental President Remsen Bird's office, and meeting minutes and other publications from the National Japanese
American Student Relocation Council.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from holdings must be submitted in writing to the Special Collections Department.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
Japanese American relocation collection, scjar, Special Collections Department, Occidental College Library, Occidental College.
Processing Information
Since being assembled by College Librarian Elizabeth McCloy and her staff in 1946, the collection has been held, in closed
stacks, at Occidental College Library's Special Collections department. There is no record to indicate that McCloy, who served
from 1928 until 1957, or her successors had sought to acquire additional related materials after 1946. However, since Occidental
College belonged to the Federal Depository Library Program until 2002, a number of related post-World War II publications
by the War Relocation Authority are in the general library holdings.
In 1996, Jean Paule, retired Secretary of the College, returned to Occidental to serve as the College Archivist. Around this
time, Michael Sutherland, Special Collections Librarian since 1970, asked Paule to organize the collection in archival boxes.
Paule re-affixed folder and box labels without renaming the folders or boxes or disturbing the original order.
In 2004, while processing the collection for online access, Digital Archivist Dale Stieber came across a typed manuscript
describing the Library's holdings that appeared to be a submission for an article. The article, Japanese-American Relocation
Collection, was subsequently located in the September 1946 edition of CLA Bulletin (1946: 22), a publication of California
Library Association. In it Elizabeth McCloy describes the collection in terms of its scope and contents in order to share
information with colleagues in other libraries. The organization of the collection, when reviewed in 2004, reflects the arrangement
and scope described by McCloy in 1946.
Biography of Remsen DuBois Bird
(This Biography is adapted primarily from Joan P. Olson's Remsen DuBois Bird: A Biography, a Master of Arts thesis written
in 1977 when Olson was a graduate student at Occidental College's history department.)
At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Remsen Bird was the president of Occidental College, a position he had
held since 1921. Convinced that he and his colleagues shared a compelling obligation to help displaced Japanese American college
students, Bird and a few other educators were instrumental in laying the groundwork for what would become the National Japanese
American Student Relocation Council. This is all but one of the many projects Bird took on during his long career in academia,
and it conforms to his belief in the importance of an "open mind" throughout his life.
Born on January 3, 1888 in New York City, Remsen Dubois Bird lost his father at an early age and grew up in dire poverty.
Bird recalled in later years how his mother was forced to surrender their furniture to a landlord in order to avoid eviction.
From about the age 12, Bird lived periodically with an aunt and an uncle, who emphasized patriotism, hard work, and religious
faith in their home. When he was 13, he lost his older sister Daisy to consumption; this was followed four years later by
his mother's death. Bird later told friends that as he sat beside his gravely-ill mother, noting her worsening conditions
and her thoughtfulness of him, he resolved to lead a life of service in her memory.
In 1905, Bird left New York for Easton, Pennsylvania, where he entered the Presbyterian-founded Lafayette College and earned
an A.B. degree in 1909. (Lafayette College endowed him an honorary degree in 1919.) From 1909 to 1912, Bird matriculated at
the Princeton Theological Seminary, earning a B.D. degree in church history. Perhaps because of the difficult and humble beginnings,
Bird relished every opportunity to learn and to broaden his horizons, extending his studies in church history by another year
at the University of Berlin. Rumors and talks of the impending world conflicts did not dim Bird's enthusiasm for Berlin and
its vigorous intellectual as well as cultural life. At the end of the year abroad, Bird returned to Princeton Theological
Seminary to teach church history.
That Bird believed in an open and liberal mind is evidenced by his decision to move, with his wife Helen (they had married
in May 1914), from the east coast to the west. While developing a reputation as a good teacher at Princeton, Bird nevertheless
found himself at odds with fellow faculty members and the school's prevailing rigid, conservative, and closed-minded attitudes.
Bird was particularly disturbed by the Seminary's insistence on narrow interpretations of Presbyterian doctrines and its failure
to utilize the Christian faith in important social issues. Finally in the summer of 1915, Bird accepted an invitation to become
the California Chair of Church History at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California.
The Birds, who shared a passion for natural beauty, music, books, and friendships with people all over the world, found their
new surroundings in northern California immensely satisfying. Between 1915 and 1921, Bird taught with other devoted and like-minded
faculty, wrote poetry as well as plays, and when the need presented itself, filled temporarily empty pulpit in the area. (Bird
had been ordained as a minister in 1912.) This relatively idyllic period was, however, interrupted by a major world event:
World War I. The United States' entry into the war in 1917 was significant for Bird personally in at least one way: it was
the impetus for serious introspection. Bird, despite a patriotic upbringing, wrote that he was "anything but heroic and belligerent
and ... had no hatred of the Germans." As an ordained minister, Bird thought he might be called upon to serve as chaplain
but found no enthusiasm for that role either. At 30, he was within draft age and dutifully filled out a government questionnaire.
While awaiting a response, Bird learned unexpectedly that the Presbyterian Church of Pasadena had recommended him to serve
at YMCA's centers in France. For the second time in his life, Bird found himself crossing the Atlantic Ocean full of hope,
believing that he would well serve his country and his fellow men.
During his wartime service, Bird had been surrounded by people from various backgrounds --- people outside the circle of faculty
and students and their families which the Birds had built their lives around --- and after his return to California, he grew
increasingly aware that he enjoyed the company of people above everything else. His calling in life was not serious scholarly
research. Bird wrote, "I loved people, all kinds of them, wanted them around in great numbers ... And helping solve the complicated
problems of persons enmeshed in difficulties soon became for me the most satisfying of all." The opportunity to enable Bird
to utilize the talents he knew he possessed came in 1921 when the Board of Trustees of Occidental College asked Bird to become
its next president. It was a position he would hold for the next 25 years.
At the age 33, Bird was the one of youngest men ever to lead the school. He brought to Occidental, in the words of colleague
Robert Cleland, "spontaneous enthusiasm, extraordinary energy, capacity for making friends for the college, imagination, a
contagious love of beauty, and zeal for contributing to the common good." All of these qualities proved enormously beneficial
for the liberal arts college. Bird's appreciation for natural beauty led to large-scale projects which improved the physical
environment of the school, transforming the relatively barren landscape to one dotted with trees and vegetation.
His genuine interest in and love for people meant that he was comfortable with persons of status --- and that he was a prodigious
fundraiser. The Birds counted as their friends politicians, people in the entertainment and finance industries, members of
the church, and of course, colleagues in the academia. Occidental's registrar during Bird's administration once said of him,
"He had charisma before that word became overworked." Bird's ability to utilize his contacts raised much-needed funds for
Occidental, especially during the Great Depression years when the school seemed to be perpetually mired in dire financial
straits.
Those who worked with Bird would recall most vividly his enormous energy in both utilizing his talents and inspiring those
around him. Ideas poured out of him so fast that others at times found it difficult to keep up with him. Bird's mind was always
engaged in visions of how to make the school better: an auditorium/theater on campus, the building of a second campus, fundraising
campaigns, recruitment of faculty, relationship with local communities, strong interests in student affairs, and so on. Olive
Hutchison, Bird's personal secretary from 1928 until 1945, remembered working with the president with fondness and amazement
--- fondness because of Bird's kindness and amazement because of the zest he brought to his work, exemplified by his voluminous
letter writing. At one point in the 1930s, the workload grew to a point where her doctor ordered it to be reduced.
Bird's long tenure at Occidental was not without its critics. Admittedly and proudly an idealist, Bird often approached situations
with emotions and not much analysis --- his contemporaries have described him as a "great dreamer" who "engaged in flights
of fancy." He had been known to envision a large project, convince colleagues and community members to join the endeavor,
and then dash off to another project leaving the details to others. At times potential donors found his fundraising tactics
distasteful. Bird's feelings were hurt by some of the criticism, particularly the publication in 1939 of After Many a Summer
Dies the Swan by Aldous Huxley, whom Bird had regarded as a friend. In his satirical novel, Huxley portrays the character
based on Bird as a college president wholly preoccupied with the pursuit of the rich and well-connected, speaking in an "oily
manner, like vaseline with a flavour of port wine". According to Hutchison, Bird "went right to town and told Huxley just
what he thought of him!"
Bird's 25-year tenure covered tumultuous times in history; his leadership took the College through first the Great Depression
and then World War II. It is his idealism, however impractical or imperfect, that prompted him to defend liberalism and academic
freedom (when George Day, professor of sociology and economics, was accused of being pro-communist, Bird resisted calls for
Day's resignation and threatened to resign if the Board of Trustees fired Day), to refuse a large but questionable donation
(businessman George Pepperdine had proposed to support the school's religion program with the condition that he would exert
considerable influence by naming faculty members), and to become involved with the Japanese American student relocation.
Bird announced his resignation from Occidental College in 1945, citing health reasons. For the next 25 years he and Helen
resided in Carmel, California where he remained active in preserving the natural beauty of the Monterey Bay area and in the
founding of the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies in 1955. Remsen Bird died of heart disease on April 9, 1971.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Japanese American Relocation Collection consists of correspondence, magazines, newspaper and journal articles clippings,
and publications from the War Relocation Authority, religious groups, as well as civil liberties organizations. The subject
of Japanese American internment is vast and widely-studied. This collection, though not possessing the breadth and depth of
holdings found at repositories such as the National Archives and Records Administration, the Hoover Institution at Stanford
University, and the Bancroft Library at University of California at Berkeley, still reflects the tenor of the times. College
Librarian Elizabeth McCloy clearly chose not to "take sides" in her endeavor; using neutral languages, she wrote to organizations
on both sides, those sympathetic and those hostile to Japanese Americans. Additionally, researchers will find publications
authored or sponsored by the War Relocation Authority, which offer some insight to the civilian agency charged with the day-to-day
operations at various relocation camps.
An unique and significant portion of the collection consists of a series of correspondence to and from College President Remsen
Bird's office, reflecting the flurry of activities aimed at establishing a national program which would assist Japanese American
college students displaced by the evacuation orders. To that end, in addition to the letters, the collection also contains
meeting minutes and other publications from the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council. This will draw researchers
interested in how educators responded to the Japanese American internment during World War II, particularly in the little
known history of Bird's efforts.
Arrangement
The filing system of this collection has been kept substantially in its original form; the original folders and their titles
are retained. As a result, researchers will find that a given Series may contain boxes and folders whose numbers are not in
numeric order.
The collection is organized in 4 record series, some of which are further divided into subseries:
- Series: Letters and papers of Remsen Bird
- Series: Contemporaneous publications
- Series: Assembly and relocation center publications
- Series: War Relocation Authority and other U.S. government publications
Series I is divided in three subseries:
- Subseries: Concerning students, relocation, and return
- Subseries: Establishing the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
- Subseries: Establishing the collection
Series II is divided in two subseries:
- Subseries: Newspaper clippings and magazines
- Subseries: Civil liberties, community, and church organizations
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Concentration Camps -- United States -- Newspapers
Japanese American college students
Japanese Americans - Education (higher)
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Education and the war
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
United States. War Relocation Authority
Bird, Remsen Du Bois, b. 1888
McCloy, Elizabeth
Folders 1A-1D, 1Ea, 1Eb, 1Ec, 1Ed, 1F-1G
Series I:
Letters and papers of Remsen Bird
Scope and Content
In the winter of 1942, shortly after the Pearl Harbor bombings and the proposed internment of over 110,000 Japanese Americans,
President Remsen Bird of Occidental College became concerned with the educational prospects of thousands of college-age students
who had their education involuntarily interrupted. A member of the Association of Colleges and Universities of the Pacific
Southwest (later renamed Western College Association), Bird began a series of correspondence with members of the Association,
other educators, and government officials, attempting to establish "a proper centralizing of authority and approach" (Letter
to Earl R. Hedrick, April 1, 1942) to facilitate the relocation of students to colleges outside the military zones on the
West Coast.
Folders 1Ea, 1Ec, 1Ed
Subseries 1:
Concerning students, relocation, and return
Scope and Content
The earliest letter in the collection dates December 10, 1941. Barely three days after the Pearl Harbor attack, Occidental
College student Sinpachi Kanow wrote to College President Bird, relating an incident of the previous day when his brother
was prevented from boarding a bus in Los Angeles. Worried that what happened would not be an isolated case, Kanow decided
to withdraw from school, noting that "I am bitterly disappointed in not being able to continue with my schooling". On December
11, Bird wrote Kanow back, urging him not give up his plans.
Throughout spring and early summer of 1942, hundreds of letters from Bird's office reached various individuals and organizations:
To presidents of colleges in the interior inquiring whether they would accept Japanese American students; to the same groups
recommending former students forced to leave Occidental; to former Occidental students sending messages of encouragement;
to California Governor Culbert Olson urging further discussion on internment matters; to colleagues at the Western College
Association and leaders at Christian education groups attempting to coordinate student relocation efforts.
Notably on April 4, 1942, E. R. Hedrick, provost of the University of California and chairman of the Committee on American-born
Japanese and Aliens of the Western College Association, wrote to Bird and invited him to become a member of the Committee.
Bird accepted the invitation four days later. On April 23, Bird wrote to Lieutenant General John DeWitt, Commander of the
Western Defense Command, expressing an interest in assisting with student relocation. It can be surmised that Bird had high
expectations of what Western College Association could accomplish and hoped to play a large role in that.
Folder 1Ea
Folder 1Ea:
Concerning Japanese students
Folder 1Ec
Folder 1Ec:
Internment/Relocation: 1942-1945
Folder 1Ed
Folder 1Ed:
Bird's personal correspondence/misc.
Folders 1A-1D
Subseries 2:
Establishing the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
Scope and Content
In April 1942, the State Department held the Conference of Advisors of Foreign Students in Cleveland, where educators presented
the relocation of students to colleges and universities outside the restricted zones as a possible solution. On May 5, 1942,
Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy asked Clarence Pickett of the American Friends Service Committee to undertake, with
other organizations, an extensive program of student relocation. On May 29, 1946 individuals representing the government,
institutions of higher education, the Japanese American Citizens League, and other organizations gathered in Chicago to form
the National Student Relocation Council (renamed the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council in March, 1943).
Bird, in a May 18 letter to Pickett, expressed his regret for not being able to attend the meeting due to commencement at
Occidental. On the same day, Bird also sent Guy Snavely of the Association of American Colleges a letter, stating, "I would
not select them [American Friends Service Committee] as the agency through which college students should be relocated. I think
this type of doing should come out of college administrations as such".
That the government had chosen the American Friends Service Committee to spearhead a student relocation program disappointed
Bird, who might have felt that his and his colleagues' efforts were negated. In a May 27 letter to Pickett, Bird wrote, "I
wish very much that Mr. Eisenhower [Milton Eisenhower, the first Director of the War Relocation Authority] had gone over the
matter with the Western Association of Colleges and the Association of American Colleges in laying his plans, in that we were
already 'on the alert'." However, he added, "This is no time to stand on any degree of sensitivity. It is a moment when all
who believe in the American faith should put it in practice." In letter after letter, while commending the military's execution
of the blanket evacuation order, Bird also stressed the importance of student relocation as a matter of principle, as a way
of upholding "American democracy and faith".
Folder 1A
Folder 1A:
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
Folder 1B
Folder 1B:
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council - printed matter
Scope and Content
This folder contains the following records:
- "Directory of American Students of Japanese Ancestry in the Higher Schools, Colleges, and Universities of the United States
of America". June, 1943.
- "How to help Japanese American Student Relocation". September 1, 1943.
- "Japanese American Student Relocation: An American Challenge". Circa 1943.
- "The test of a free country: A talk given by Dr. Robert Gordon Sproul... on June 29, 1944".
- "From Camp to College: The Story of the Japanese American Student Relocation". Circa 1945.
Folder 1C
Folder 1C:
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council - minutes
Folder 1D
Folder 1D:
National Student Relocation Council - war relocation
Folders 1Eb, 1F, 1G
Subseries 3:
Establishing the collection
Scope and Content
The genesis of the collection can be traced to a letter Bird wrote to College Librarian Elizabeth McCloy some eight months
after the Pearl Harbor attack, on August 18, 1942. Noting that "[s]omething tremendous is happening in our times of which
we are all aware", Bird wrote, "I would like very much to keep as full a record as possible of all the documents and material
dealing with this particular phase. Will you please help me?" McCloy and her staff honored this request, and from 1942 until
1947 the Occidental College Library collected a wide range of materials related to the Japanese American internment during
World War II.
Folder 1F
Folder 1F:
Background for the Japanese relocation collection
Folder 1G
Folder 1G:
Miscellaneous
Scope and Content
This folder contains the following:
- A copy of the
Los Angeles School Journal, vol. XXV, no 26, April 13, 1942, which contains an article entitled, "Evacuation Information".
- "Nisei Students in Junior College: A Symposium", reprinted from
Junior College Journal, September 1943, Vol. XIV, no. 1.
- A map, entitled "Nisei Students in Colleges and Universities Outside Restricted Areas: 1941 and 1943", published by the Department
of Sociology, University of Washington, circa 1943.
- "Section of Anthropology", reprinted from
Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences Series II, vol. 5, pp. 106-124, March 1943.
- A newspaper clipping from the
Pasadena Chronicle, Sept 29, 1944, which mentions Japanese-American student Esther Takei, and includes an article entitled: "What Shall be Done
With the Nisei?"
Boxes 2, 3B, Folders 3B, 3C, 7A, 7B, 7D, 7E, 7G, 8B-8D
Series II:
Contemporaneous publications
Scope and Content
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, anti-Japanese sentiments surfaced in many spheres and Japanese Americans
on the West Coast were confronted with confusion, fear, and hysteria. This would persist throughout the war and its immediate
aftermath. However, many individuals and organizations took the opposite view, advocating and working for the rights as well
as the well-being of a displaced people. The tenor of the times is reflected in the collection of newspaper clippings, magazine
articles, pamphlets and other publications from civil liberties, community, as well as church organizations.
Boxes 2, 3B
Subseries 1:
Newspaper clippings and magazines
Scope and Content
The collection contains an assortment of newspaper clippings and reprints of periodical articles. The majority of clippings
are from the
Los Angeles Times and the rest from other West Coast publications, including
San Francisco Chronicle,
Santa Barbara Star News-Press,
Pasadena Star News,
Sacramento Bee,
San Diego Union, and others. The opposing sentiments and views regarding the Japanese American internment can be found in these clippings.
The February 28, 1945 edition of the
Los Angeles Times, for example, carry stories of "Bullets fired into home of returned Jap" and "Jap-American's war record given praise". Organizations
such as the Anti-Japanese League and the Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, two groups on the opposing sides,
are covered by newspapers in the collection.
Box 2
Box 2:
Background for collection clippings
Scope and Content
Box 2 contains newspaper clippings organized in 34 envelopes; typed on the outside of each envelope is a list of items inside,
designated by names of the articles. The number of items contained in each envelope range from 1 to 41. In all, the 34 envelopes
contain approximately 760 items. The dates of clippings range from 1942 to 1947, with the bulk date being 1944 and 1945. The
clippings are fragile, and many items are torn where the pages are folded.
Of note to the Occidental community is a May 17, 1944 article in
Occidental titled "SPACtivity" by Urb Whitaker. SPAC (Student Political Action Committee), according to this short article, has taken
on the merchants in the vicinity of York Boulevard and 42nd Avenue near campus. SPAC urges students to boycott merchants who
have displayed the "We don't want the Japs back here, EVER" sign on their storefront windows.
Box 3B
Box 3B:
Original copies of magazines
Scope and Content
Box 3B contains original copies of
The American Legion Magazine,
The American Magazine,
Coronet,
Collier's,
Country Gentleman,
The Intercollegian,
The Commonweal, and
The Wellesley Magazine. All have articles related to the Japanese American internment. Please see the citations below.
- Murray, Frederick G. "Japs in Our Yard".
The American Legion Magazine, June 1943: 12-13, 42, 46.
- Sinclair, John A. "California: On the Alert!"
The American Legion Magazine, April 1942: 28-29, 56-58.
- Eddy, Don. "What Shall We Do with Our 150,000 Japs?"
The American Magazine, March 1942: 14-15, 101-103.
- Lin, Yutang. "The Chinese Gun at Nippon's Back",
The American Magazine, March 1942: 24-25, 112-113.
- Robinson, William. "Outcast Americans",
The American Magazine, September 1942: 30-32, 96-98.
- Evans, Michael. "Concentration Camp --- USA Style",
Coronet, October 1942: 51-54.
- Davenport, Walter. "Holy Harold",
Collier's, 11 October 194: 13, 44, 49-50.
- Marshall, Jim. "West Coast Japanese",
Collier's, 11 October 1941: 14-15, 71.
- Marshall, Jim. "The Problem People",
Collier's, 15 August 1942: 50-52.
-
The Commonweal, 10 March 1944: vol. 39, no. 21.
- Bird, John. "Our Japs Have Gone to Work",
Country Gentleman, August 1942: 7, 22-24.
- Fante, John. "Mary Osaka, I Love You!"
Good Housekeeping, October 1942: 40-41, 167-178.
- Reith, Marian. "Crisis on the West Coast",
The Intercollegian, May 1943: 151-154.
- Robinson, Marianne. "The War Relocation Authority, Tule Lake, California: Extracts of Letters by Marianne Robinson, '39",
The Wellesley Magazine, February 1943: 147-149.
Folders 3B, 3C, 7A, 7B, 7D, 7E, 7G, 8B-8D
Subseries 2:
Civil liberties, community, and church organization publications
Scope and Content
The collection contains publications from various organization involved in activities concerning first the internment and
then the resettlement of Japanese Americans, including the American Friends Service Committee, the Japanese American Citizens
League, Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, Home Missions Council of North America, and others. Throughout the
war, many church organizations were involved in various activities related to the evacuation and resettlement of Japanese
Americans; and publications became one of the means through which these organizations sought to convey their messages and
carry out their mission.
Folder 3B
Folder 3B:
The Japanese American Review
Scope and Content
This folder contains 7 issues of The Japanese American Review. It was established in 1900 and published by Nippon Publishing
Co. Inc. in New York. The publication measures 11"-by-17 1/2" and runs from 8 to 14 pages. This folder has:
- Vol. 41, No. 2116 (July 12, 1941)
- Vol. 41, No. 2117 (July 26, 1941)
- Vol. 41, No. 2118 (August 9, 1941)
- Vol. 41, No. 2119 (August 23, 1941)
- Vol. 41, No. 2120 (September 6, 1941)
- Vol. 41, No. 2122 (October 4, 1941)
- Vol. 41, No. 2122 (October 18, 1941)
The October 4 and October 18 edition share the same issue number.
Folder 3C
Folder 3C:
The Open Forum
Scope and Content
This folder contains 46 issues of
The Open Forum, which was published in Los Angeles by the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. At one time,
The Open Forum had noted writers Upton Sinclair and John Packard as its contributing editors. This publication is 11"-by-16",
with each 2-page issue printed on both sides of a page. This folder has:
- Vol. XX, Nos. 17-20, 27-29, 35, 44, 47-51. (April - December, 1943)
- Vol. XXI, Nos. 2-3, 5-12, 14-15, 17, 21-24, 29-30, 32-33, 35-38, 47.(January - November, 1944)
- Vol. XXII, Nos. 38-41, 47. (September - November, 1945)
Folder 7A
Folder 7A:
Resettlement Bulletin (and Committee on Resettlement)
Scope and Content
Resettlement Bulletin was published in New York by the Home Missions Council of North America. For three years beginning in early 1943, the Committee
on Resettlement of Japanese Americans put together this monthly paper (the first three issues were published bi-monthly and
thereafter monthly) with George Rundquist and then Toru Matsumoto as its editors.
The paper is a collection of articles, announcements, and editorials concerning Japanese American resettlement. Contributors
include representatives from the Japanese American Citizens League as well as church organizations, Dillon Myer (Director
of the War Relocation Authority), Thomas Bodine (National Student Relocation Council), and relocation center residents/ evacuees.
This folder contains 18 issues of
Resettlement Bulletin. Each issue measures 81/2"-by-11". The length varies from 8 to 16 pages. The following is a list of the issues.
- Vol. I, No. 3 (June 1943)
- Vol. I, No. 4 (July 1943) "Evacuees speak on resettlement" issue
- Vol. I, No. 5 (September 1943) "Evacuees speak on resettlement" issue, part two
- Vol. I, No. 6 (October 1943) "The Churchs role in resettlement" issue
- Vol. II, No. 1 (January 1944)
- Vol. II, No. 2 (February 1944) "To the 96". This refers to the 96 Japanese American
soldiers killed, based on figures supplied by the War Department on January 20, 1943
- Vol. II, No. 3 (March 1944). This issue devotes one page to "Japanese Canadians Today"
- [Vol. II, No. 4] (April 1944)
- Vol. II, No. 5 (June 1944)
- Vol. II, No. 6 (July 1944)
- Vol. II, No. 7 (September 1944)
- Vol. II, No. 8 (October 1944) "Student Returnee Reports" by Frank T. Inouye. This is a summation of various students' experiences
in their capacity as returnees to their relocation centers. The article mentions the National Japanese American Student Relocation
Council
- Vol. II, No. 9 (November 1944). "From Camp to Campus" by Thomas Bodine
- Vol. II, No. 10 (December 1944)
- Vol. III, No. 1 (January 1945)
- Vol. III, No. 2 (March 1945)
- Vol. III, No. 3 (May 1945)
- Final Number (April 1946). "Towards the True Meaning of Democracy" by Dillon Myer.
Folder 7B
Folder 7B:
Return to West Coast
Scope and Content
As the war progressed, it became increasingly clear to some government authorities that keeping over 110,000 Japanese Americans
in confinement for prolonged periods of time would be undesirable. As early as March 1943, Dillon Myer, Director of the War
Relocation Authority, wrote to Secretary of War Stimson recommending a relaxation in the West Coast exclusion orders. (This
was rejected by Stimson.) Nevertheless, through leave programs selected evacuees were able to leave relocation centers for
employment and college education outside the restricted zones.
The issue of resettlement became more urgent in December 1944, when Myer announced that all relocation centers would be closed
before the end of 1945. In particular resettlement on the West Coast, where the overwhelming majority of evacuees had had
their homes and properties, stirred much discussion and debates. This folder contains documents dealing with this topic, including
views of both pro- and against- Japanese American resettlement.
This folder contains the following 18 items of varying formats and lengths.
- Ford, Julia Ellsworth. "Something to Think About". Date unknown.
- Ford, Julia Ellsworth. "Supplement to 'Something to Think About'". Date unknown.
- Schuyler, Lambert. "The Japs Must Not Come Back!" Winslow, Wash: Heron House, 1944.
- Lechner, John R. "Playing with Dynamite: The Inside Story of our Domestic Japanese Problem". Date unknown.
- Lechner, John R. "Race Discrimination or not?" Los Angeles: Americanism Educational League. Date unknown.
- "Community Preparation for Resettlement of Japanese Americans." New York: The Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans.
Date unknown.
- "A petition to restrict the rights of Japanese Americans." Sponsored by the Japanese Exclusion Association. Los Angeles: Japanese
Exclusion Association. Date unknown.
- "Resolution on the Return of American Citizens and Resident Aliens of Japanese Ancestry to the West Coast". Adopted by the
Los Angeles CIO [Congress of Industrial Organizations] Council. 5 Jan. 1945.
- "Brief Facts About the Japanese Americans". [Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans]. January 1943.
- "War Department Views on Japanese Returning to Pacific Coast. Letter from Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy to William
G. Merchant, President of the Down Town Association of San Francisco". Date unknown.
- MacNair, Mary. "Report on Democracy in Action". Pasadena, CA: Friends of the American Way. Date unknown.
- "Pasadena, CA: Friends of the American Way". Date unknown.
- "Considerations Favoring the Release of Japanese Americans from Relocation Centers with Complete Freedom to Reestablish Themselves".
Pasadena, CA: Friends of the American Way. Date unknown.
- "Poulson Reports from Washington". June 3, 1943.
- "The Return of Those of Japanese Ancestry to California - A talk given by Dr. Monroe E. Deutsch, Vice-President and Provost
of the University of California, before the County Superintendents of Schools of this State, in the Courthouse, Oakland, California,
on Wednesday, January 10, 1945".
- "Keep the issue clear!", "Why this organized campaign of hatred of Americans", and "A personal word". Author unknown. Date
unknown.
- "America is raising questions about some Californians". Author unknown. Date unknown.
- "Protecting newspapers?" and "District attorney disavows promptly, completely and emphatically!". Author unknown. Date unknown.
Folder 7D
Folder 7D:
Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, Friends of the American Way
Scope and Content
This folder contains 15 items issued by the Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, mostly letters to members regarding
issues such as housing for the tens of thousands of returnees. Most items measure 21 1/2 cm-by-28 cm, varying in length from
1 to 14 pages. Of note is a personal letter to Remsen Bird which included an October 9, 1944
Los Angeles Times article. The paper reports on a sermon delivered by a Reverend Bell in support of 19-year-old Esther Takei's enrollment at
the Pasadena Junior College.
Folder 7E
Folder 7E:
American Friends Service Committee
Scope and Content
This folder contains 9 items from the American Friends Service Committee, including news bulletin, correspondence, reports,
and an "application for employment" (designed to help returnees secure employment). Most documents measure 21 1/2 cm-by-28
cm, varying in length from 1 to 4 pages. Of note is a letter from Esther Rhodes to Remsen Bird, expressing the wish for Bird
to act as the chairman of a yet-to-be-formed coordinating committee which would replace the Southern California Student Relocation
Committee.
Folder 7G
Folder 7G:
Japanese American Citizens League
Scope and Content
This folder contains 16 items, including a three-part report called "The Dies Committee, the Hearst Press, and Their Japanese
Nightmares", 7 "News Release", and an executive secretary's report. Two documents (a flier advertising a concert and a pamphlet
called "Japanese People's Emancipation League") are from an organization called Japanese American Committee for Democracy;
whether this organization is associated with the JACL is unclear.
Most items measure 21 1/2 cm-by-28 cm, varying in length from 1 to 30 pages. Dates range from 1942 to 1944.
Folder 8B
Folder 8B:
Miscellaneous pamphlets and printed matter
Scope and Content
This folder contains a miscellany of documents in various formats published by civilian organizations, including Post War
World Council, Citizens Committee for Resettlement, and others. The following is a partial list.
- "You Can Win the Peace Now". N.Y: Post War World Council, 1943.
- "What we were fighting for". Salt Lake City: Japanese American Citizen's League. Date unknown.
- Sproul, Robert Gordon. "The Test of A Free Country". Los Angeles: California Club, June 29, 1944.
- "American Fighting Men Speak Out". Berkeley: Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, circa 1944.
- "Town Meeting: Should All Japanese Continue to be Excluded from the West Coast for the Duration?" Bulletin of America's Town
Meeting of the Air. Vol. 9, no. 11. Broadcast by Stations of the Blue Network, July 15, 1943.
- "You Can Do something About It! 70,000 American Refugees". St. Louis: Citizens Committee for Resettlement. Date unknown.
- "Text of American Legion Protest on Racial Discrimination". American Legion. Circa 1943.
- Foote, Caleb. "The Third Evacuation?" Reprinted from
Fellowship, June, 1945.
- "Aliens in our Midst: A radio discussion by Ernest Colwell, Carey McWilliams, Louis Wirth". The University of Chicago: Round
Table. May 10, 1942.
- McWilliams, Carey. "What about our Japanese Americans?" NY: Public Affairs Committee. American Council, Institute of Pacific
Relations, 1944.
-
The International Quarterly. NY: International House. Vol. 6, no. 4. Autumn 1942.
- Provinse, John H. "Relocation of Japanese American College Students: Acceptance of a Challenge".
Higher Education. Vol. 1, no. 8. April 16, 1945.
-
Pacific Pathfinder. Los Angeles. Vol. I, No I, June, 1944.
- Foote, Caleb. "Outcasts! The Story of America's Treatment of Her Japanese American Minority". NY: Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Date unknown.
- Phinney, Milton C. "The Story of the Nittas: A Touching Human Document". Reprinted from
NOW, through co-operation with the Congregational Committee on Christian Democracy from original manuscript supplied by the Reports
Division of the War Relocation Authority, Los Angeles, July, 1945.
- "The Japanese are Tough". By the Honorable Joseph C. Grew, Former United States Ambassador to Japan. A radio Address on August
30, 1942. Printed by the U.S. Government.
- Fisher, Galen M. "Resettling the Evacuees".
Far Eastern Survey. Vol. XIV no. 19, September 26, 1945.
- Van Patten, Louise Merrick. "Japan: An American Problem".
Far Eastern Survey. Vol. XIV No.9, May 9, 1945.
- Bisson, T.A. "Japan Prepares for offensive".
Far Eastern Survey. Vol. XIII No. 16, August 9, 1944.
- Fisher, Galen M. "Japanese Evacuation from the Pacific Coast".
Far Eastern Survey. Vol. XI No. 13, June 29, 1942.
- "A Victorious New Year to You--America!"
Manzanar Free Press. January 1, 1944.
- "United we stand". Pasadena: Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, 1943.
- Shivers, Robert L. "Cooperation of Racial Groups in Hawaii During the War". Honolulu: Territorial Emergency Service Committees,
1946.
- "American Refugees." Berkeley: Fellowship of Reconciliation. Date unknown.
- "Emergency Service Committee". Honolulu: YMCA, Date unknown.
- "Out of the Many - One: A plan for Intercultural Education". NY: Service Bureau for Intercultural Education. Date unknown.
-
Midpacifican. The Armed Forces Newspaper in the Pacific Ocean. Vol. III, no. 17. August 19, 1944.
- "Evacuation! A selected Bibliography on the Japanese Evacuation". Berkeley: Fellowship of Reconciliation. January 22, 1943.
- "Relocating a People". Printed by the U.S. Government. Date unknown.
Folder 8C
Folder 8C:
Churches and religious organizations
Scope and Content
This folder contains a miscellany of 24 items in various formats published by church organizations, including Church Federation
of Los Angeles, The First Methodist Church of Santa Maria, and others.
Folder 8D
Folder 8D:
Churches and religious organizations II
Scope and Content
This folder contains 13 pamphlets published by church organizations, including Colorado Council of Churches, Council for Social
Action of the Congregational Christian Churches, and others. The following is a partial list.
- "A touchstone of Democracy: The Japanese in America". NY: Council for social action of the Congregational Christian Churches.
1943.
- Douglass, Truman B. "70,000 American Refugees: Made in USA". St. Louis: Citizens Committee for Resettlement. Circa 1944.
- "The Japanese in our Midst". Denver: Colorado Council of Churches, 1943.
- "The Churches and the Japanese in America". NY: Commission on Aliens and Prisoners of War, March 30, 1942.
- "How can Christians Help? Our Japanese-American Number". American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Envelope Series, Vol. XLV, no. 4. Oct, 1942.
- Carlson, Kenneth A. "So I went to Manzanar". Sermon at Central Methodist Church in Glendale, CA, in May, 1944.
- "The Japanese on the Pacific Coast: A factual Study of Events Dec. 7, 1941 - September 1, 1942 with Suggestions for the Future".
Statement for the Los Angeles County Committee for Church and Community Cooperation. Prepared by the Executive Secretary,
Dr. George Gleason. September, 1942.
- "Planning Resettlement of Japanese Americans". NY: The Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans. July, 1943.
- "Resettlement Handbook". NY: The Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans. December, 1942.
- "The Concern of the Church for Christian and Democratic Treatment of Japanese Americans". NY: The Committee on Resettlement
of Japanese Americans. April, 1944.
- "Democracy Demands Fair Play for America's Japanese". NY: The American Baptist Home Mission Society. Circa 1944.
Boxes Box 6, 6B, Folder 7F
Series III:
Assembly and relocation center publications
Scope and Content
In
The Relocation Program: A Guidebook for the Residents of Relocation Centers, it is stated that "At all centers, the WRA encourages the evacuee residents to assume the fullest possible responsibility
for publishing a newspaper that meets the community needs..." Indeed, residents of relocation centers produced numerous publications,
describing and documenting their experience.
Box 6
Box 6:
Relocation center publications I
Scope and Content
This box contains 20 publications from seven relocation centers (Gila River, Tule Lake, Poston, Rohwer, Jerome, Granada, and
Manzanar) as well as the Santa Anita Assembly Center. They include high school yearbooks, newsletters, magazines, and others.
Relocation center residents contributed personal essays, poems, editorials, and short stories. The following is a partial
list of items.
- Gila Rivers, Arizona, 1943 Calendar.
- A Tule Lake Interlude: First Anniversary. May 27, 1942-1943.
- The First Year: Story of the Red Cross in Poston. September 1, 1943.
- The Service Division: Santa Anita Assembly Center. November, 1942.
- 'Lil Dan'l: One year in a Relocation Center. A Rohwer Outpost Publication. 1943.
- Denson Magnet: Jerome Relocation Center. Vol. 1, no. 1. April, 1943.
- Pulse. Granada Relocation Center. Circa 1943.
- Amache. Granada Relocation Center. Circa 1943.
- The Pen. Rohwer Relocation Center. November 6, 1943.
- Graduation Exercises. Denson High School. Class of 1943.
- Baseball: Tule Lake Center. Published by Newell Star Sports Department. December 31, 1944.
- Manzanar Adult Education with Special Emphasis on Vocational Training: Spring Semester, 1943.
- Tulean Dispatch Magazine. Vol. 1 no. 5. December, 1942.
- Tulean Dispatch Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 7. February 1943.
- Tulean Dispatch Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 11. July, 1943.
- Second Year at Gila. Rivers, Arizona. July 20, 1944.
- Santa Anita Pacemaker. 1942.
- Condensor. Denison High School class of 1943.
- A Newspaper without a Name. Santa Anita [Assembly Center]. Vol. I, No. A. April 18, 1942.
Box 6B
Box 6B:
Relocation center publications II
Scope and Content
This box contains the following:
- Year's Flight. Butte High School. Gila Rivers Relocation Center. 1943.
- Year's Flight. Butte High School. Gila Rivers Relocation Center. 1944.
- Year's Flight. Butte High School. Gila Rivers Relocation Center. 1945.
- 1944 Calendar. Compiled and drawn by Noborw Yamakoshi. Poston Chronicle.
Folder 7F
Folder 7F:
Relocation centers
Scope and Content
This folder contains 7 items, including "By-laws of Gila River Cooperative Enterprises, Inc.", "Constitution" (Butte Community,
Gila River Relocation Center), "Leadership Training: to the officers of the clubs and organizations and Nisei block leaders",
a memorandum on the use of the terms "Japanese", "camps", and "internment", and a "Dear Friends" letter from a couple named
Earl and Hazel describing their visit to the Poston camp.
Most documents measure 21 1/2 cm-by-28 cm, varying in length from 2 to 19 pages.
Of note is an 83 cm-by-58 cm "Segregation" diagram illustrating the three possible outcomes for an evacuee: "Japan", "A Relocation
Center", and "Relocation Into American Communities". Where an evacuee would end up is contingent upon, amongst other factors,
his or her answer to the so-called loyalty question. The date and author or provenance of this diagram is unknown.
Box, Folders Box 4, Folders 3A, 5A-5E, 7C, 8A, Box, Folders Box 4, Folders 3A, 5A-5E, 7C, 8A
Series IV:
War Relocation Authority and other U.S. government publications
Scope and Content
The War Relocation Authority (WRA) is a civilian agency created by Franklin Roosevelt on March 18, 1942 with the signing of
Executive Order 9102. The agency is responsible for the relocation and internment of over 110,000 Japanese Americans during
World War II. Milton Eisenhower served as WRA's Director for the first three months; after his resignation, Roosevelt appointed
Dillon Myer to the post on June 17, 1942.
From beginning to end, about 3,000 people worked in the evacuation centers, regional offices, and the headquarters in Washington.
The War Relocation Authority received appropriations of over $190 million, of which it spent $160 million. In February, 1944,
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9423 which transferred WRA to the Department of the Interior. The War Relocation Authority
was officially terminated on June 30, 1946. In all, the agency was in charge of 10 relocation centers in 7 states.
Throughout its relatively brief existence, the War Relocation Authority authored studies, issued statements, and sponsored
reprints of articles. Taken together, these publications aim to dispel misconceptions about Japanese Americans, raise public
awareness of the bravery of Nisei soldiers, address issues concerning returnees to the West Coast, and state as well as explain
the agency's policies in relocation centers.
Folder 3A
Folder 3A:
Reprints of periodical articles
Scope and Content
The War Relocation Authority, in addition to authoring studies and surveys of conditions at relocation centers (see Box 4),
appears to have also assembled, reprinted, and published articles from various journals, magazines, as well as newspapers.
This folder contains the reprints of such articles.
In terms of newspaper reprints, this folder contains publications from every region of the country, including
San Francisco Chronicle,
Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota),
Banner (Nashville, Tennessee),
Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
Salt Lake Tribune,
Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa),
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), and many more.
A group of newspaper reprints are devoted to the Hood River incident. In December 1942, the Hood River (Oregon) post of the
American Legion removed the names of 16 Nisei soldiers from the post's roll of honor. The move sparked protests across the
country; the resulting newspaper articles as well as editorials are part of this collection.
In all, this folder contains approximately 240 reprints of newspaper articles.
In terms of journal and magazine reprints, this folder contains 27 articles; the formats include pamphlets and newsletters,
varying in lengths from 8 to 20 pages. The following is a list of the articles.
- "Japanese Americans in Hawaii: The Story Behind the Nisei Combat Teams". Reprinted by special permission of
Harper's Magazine. 1943.
- Morimitsu, George. "These Are Our Parents". Reprinted by permission from the October, 1943, issue of
Asia and the Americas.
- "A voice that must be heard". Subtext: "Extracts from statements, regarding Americans of Japanese Ancestry, by: President
Roosevelt, Hon. Henry L. Stimson, Hon. Joseph C. Grew, J. Edgar Hoover, Paul V. McNutt and others".
- Malcolm, Roy. "Evacuation of the Japanese". Reprinted from The
World Affairs Interpreter, January, 1943.
- Malcolm, Roy. "The Japanese Problem in California". Reprinted from
The World Affairs Interpreter, April, 1942.
- Fisher, Galen M. "A Balance Sheet on Japanese Evacuation". Subtext: "Untruths about Japanese-Americans; Our two Japanese-American
Policies; Are the Evacuees being Coddled?; What Race-Baiting Costs America". Reprinted from
The Christian Century of August 18 and 25, and September 1 and 8, 1943.
- "The Displaced Japanese-Americans". Published by the American Council on Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. The text of this
pamphlet originally appeared in
Fortune Magazine, April 1944, under the title of "Issei, Nisei, and Kibei".
- "Issei, Nisei, Kibei". Subtext: "Fortune Magazine reviews the program of the War Relocation Authority and the problems Created
by the Evacuation from the west coast of 110,000 people of Japanese descent".
Fortune, 1944.
- Myer, Dillon S. "Democracy in Relocation". Reprinted from
Common Ground, Winter, 1943.
- Davis, Maxine. "The Truth about Jap Camps". Reprinted from
Liberty, August 7, 1943.
- Wada, Yori. "Beyond the Horizon". Reprinted from
California Monthly, December, 1943. (University of California Alumni Association.)
-
Yank: The Army Weekly. August 25, 1944. Vol. 3, no. 10.
- Casey, Gene. "G.I. Japyank". Reprinted from
Collier's from the issue of August 5, 1944.
- "Ku-Kluxism on the West Coast".
Colliers, July 14, 1945.
- "Nisei Soldiers".
Collier's, March 20, 1943.
- O'Brien, Eileen. "Making Democracy Work: Hawaii's Handling of its Japanese Problem Sets and Example for the Entire World".
Reprinted with permission of the Editors of
Paradise of The Pacific. Article appeared in the Holiday issue.
- Douglas, Henry H. "American Finances Japan's 'New Order'". Reprinted from
Amerasia, July 1940.
- McWilliams, Carey. "Japanese Evacuation: Policy and Perspectives". Reprinted from
Common Ground, Summer 1942.
- McEvoy, J.P. "Our 110,000 New Boarders." Condensed for
Readers Digest from
The Baltimore Sunday.
The Readers Digest, March 1943,Vol. 43, no. 251.
- Clark, Blake and Oland D. Russell. "Hail Our Japanese-American GIs!" Condensed for
Readers Digest from
The American Mercury.
The Readers Digest, July 1945.
- Clark, Blake. "The Japanese in Hawaii". Reprinted from
The New Republic, September 14, 1942.
- Rowell, Chester. "Much Hysteria About Japanese-Americans". Reprinted from
San Francisco Chronicle. Date unknown.
- Hall, Anton L. "Letter to the editor re: Japanese Americans". Reprint from
Santa Ana Register, May 17, 1943.
- Rundquist, George E. "Unfinished Business". New York: Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans. Reprinted from
Christian World Facts. Date unknown.
- Foote, Caleb. "Have We Forgotten Justice?" Reprinted from
Fellowship, May 1942.
- Fisher, Galen M. "Japanese Colony: Success Story". Reprinted from
Survey Graphic, February 1943.
- Anderson, Margaret M. "Get the Evacuees Out!" Reprinted from
Common Ground, Summer 1943.
Box 4
Box 4:
War Relocation Authority, Community Analysis Section, Project Analysis Series
Scope and Content
Largely as a result of protests at the Poston and Manzanar centers in late 1942, Director Dillon Myer appointed "community
analysts" to study and compile data on the social structure of relocation centers. These analysts were for the most part social
anthropologists who had no direct responsibilities for the administrative aspects of relocation centers. The War Relocation
Authority hoped that their studies would point to the "most important trends of evacuee thinking" and "probable evacuee reactions
to proposed policies" (
WRA: a story of human conservation, p. 187), thereby assisting the agency in formulating policies.
The resulting documents --- Community Analysis Report, Project Analysis Series, and Community Analysis Notes --- would "provide
a wealth of highly valuable material for social scientists and others interested in studying the social patterns of a displaced
minority in government-operated camps." (
WRA: a story of human conservation, p. 187)
This box contains 45 documents prepared by the Community Analysis Section of the War Relocation Authority, including 17 Community
Analysis Report, 19 Project Analysis Series, 8 Community Analysis Notes, and 1 unidentified report. All documents are photocopies.
They vary in length from 2 to 81 pages. The dates of documents range from 1943 to 1946, with the bulk being 1943 and 1944.
The following is a list of the documents. "CAR" denotes Community Analysis Report. "PAS" denotes Project Analysis Series.
"CAN" denotes Community Analysis Notes.
- CAR No. 2. Embree, John F. "Causes of Unrest at Relocation Centers". Date Unknown.
- CAR No. 3. "Japanese Groups and Associations in the United States". March, 1943.
- CAR No. 4. "Notes on Japanese Holidays". April 2, 1943.
- CAR No. 5. "Evacuee Resistances to Relocation". June 1943.
- CAR No. 6. "Nisei Assimilation." July 21, 1943.
- CAR No. 7. "An Analysis of the Segregation Program". October 16, 1943.
- CAR No. 9. "Buddhism in the United States". May 15, 1944.
- CAR No. 10. "Labor Relations in Relocation Centers". October 28, 1944.
- CAR No. 11. "Exploratory Survey of California Attitudes Toward the Return of the Japanese". April 4, 1945.
- CAR No. 12. "Effect of the Housing Shortage on Central Valley, California: Attitudes Toward the Return of the Evacuees". May
14, 1945.
- CAR No. 13. "Prejudice in Hood River Valley: A Case Study in Race Relations." June 6, 1945.
- CAR No. 14. "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section. Part I: Community Analysis Trend Reports From the Relocation
Centers." November 19, 1945.
- CAR No. 15. "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section. Part II: Community Analysis Mimeographed Series." February
28, 1946.
- CAR NO. 16. "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section. Part III: Community Analysis Reports from the Central
Utah, Jerome, Rohwer, Gila River, and Heart Mountain Relocation Centers." February 7, 1946.
- CAR No. 17. "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section. Part IV: Community Analysis Reports from Granada, Minidoka,
and Manzanar Relocation Centers. April 23, 1946.
- CAR No. 18. "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section. Part V: Community Analysis Reports from Colorado River
and Tule Lake Centers." Date Unknown.
- CAR No. 19. "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section. Part VI: Washington Community Analysis Section Reports."
June 30, 1946.
- PAS No. 1. Embree, John F. "Registration at Central Utah: 14-17, February, 1943". February 1943.
- PAS No. 3. "Registration at Manzanar". April 3, 1943.
- PAS No. 5. "Preliminary Evaluation of the Resettlement Program at Jerome Relocation Center". May, 1943.
- PAS No. 6. "Report on an Unorganized Relocation Center". June, 1943.
- PAS No. 7. "Notes on Some Religious Cults at Topaz". June 15, 1943.
- PAS No. 8. "Factors Influencing Low Enrollment in Certain Adult Education Courses". July, 1943.
- PAS No. 9. "Preliminary Survey of Resistances to Resettlement at the Tule Lake Relocation Center". June 23, 1943.
- PAS No. 10. "English Words in Current Use at Minidoka Center That Have Been Given a 'Japanized-English' Pronunciation or Have
Been Translated Into a Japanese Equivalent". July 1943.
- PAS No. 11. "Notes on Evacuee Family Patterns". November 24, 1943.
- PAS No. 12. "Studies of Segregants at Manzanar". February 3, 1944.
- PAS No. 13. "A Preliminary Survey of the Boilermen's Dispute at Minidoka". March 3, 1944.
- PAS no. 15. "The Reaction of Heart Mountain to the Opening of Selective Service to Nisei". April 1, 1944.
- PAS No. 16. "The Significant Factors in Requests for Repatriation and Expatriation". April 19, 1944.
- PAS No. 17. "Relocation at Rohwer Center. Part I: The Relocated Population". July 24, 1944.
- PAS No. 18. "Relocation at Rohwer Center. Part II: Issei Relocation Problems". September 2, 1944.
- PAS No. 19. "Community government in the Relocation Centers. Part I: One Year of Community Government at the Gila River Relocation
Center". November 6, 1944.
- PAS No. 20. Lantis, Margaret. "Relocation at Rohwer Center. Part III: Background for the Resettlement of Rohwer Farmers".
February 7, 1945.
- PAS No. 23. Brown, G. Gordon. "Final Report on the Gila River Relocation Center as of May 20, 1945". September 24, 1945.
- PAS No. 24. McFarling, Ralph. "Stresses and Strains of Center Life". February 20, 1946.
- CAN No. 1. "From a Nisei Who said 'No.'". January 15, 1944.
- CAN No. 2. "Engagement and Marriage Customs in a Relocation Center". February 29, 1944.
- CAN No. 3. "Traditional Japanese Therapeutics Practiced at Minidoka". April 7, 1944.
- CAN No. 5. "A Nisei Requests Expatriation". November 10, 1944.
- CAN No. 6. "Biography of a Nisei Celery Farmer from Venice, California". December 11, 1944.
- CAN No. 7. "Nisei Report on their Adjustment to Tule Lake". December 20, 1944.
- CAN No. 14. "West Coast Localities: San Joaquin County". April 16, 1945.
- CAN No. 15. "A Lexicon of Center Terms". July 18, 1945.
- Unidentifiable report about labor relations in the relocation centers.
Folder 5A
Folder 5A:
War Relocation Authority
Scope and Content
This folder contains 35 documents prepared, assembled, reprinted, and/or released by the War Relocation Authority. They vary
in length from 1 to 10 pages; most are mimeographs. The dates of most documents are unknown.
It includes several reprints from periodicals which have previously published accounts of Nisei soldiers. An excerpt of a
story from the
C.B.I. Roundup (Army newspaper of the China-Burma-India theater) is in this folder, quoting soldiers on their ordeals in battles. Another
reprint is from an editorial in the
New York Herald Tribune, asking, "What more conclusive test of patriotism is there?" Also in this folder is the text of "Presidential Citation to
100th Infantry Battalion", a unit comprised entirely of Japanese Americans who fought in Italy.
Also included is a copy of the statement issued by Major General H. C. Pratt on December 17, 1944, announcing the lift of
blanket exclusion order for Japanese Americans on the West Coast. In response on December 18, Secretary of Interior Harold
Ickes issued a statement outlining War Relocation Authority's roles to help the massive resettlement efforts. Ickes' statement
is also in the folder.
After the last of the relocation centers closed at the end of 1945, the War Relocation Authority shifted its focus to the
preparation of a series of special reports dealing with the various phases and functions of the agency. In all, 10 such reports
were published. This folder has two: "Prospectus of Published Final Reports" and "Additional Information on WRA Final Reports".
Folder 5B
Folder 5B:
War Relocation Authority II
Scope and Content
This folder contains 34 items prepared, assembled, reprinted, and/or released by the War Relocation Authority. They vary in
length from 1 to 21 pages; most are mimeographs. The dates of most documents are unknown.
Materials in this folder are very similar in nature to those in folder 5A: statements, press releases, and reprints. Subject
matters covered include Nisei soldiers and policy statements.
In addition, this folder contains the mimeograph of a 4-page War Relocation Authority form titled "Request for Transportation
of Property". This is an example of an official War Relocation Authority form in the collection.
A mimeographed copy of Executive Order 9102, which establishes the War Relocation Authority, is also in this folder.
Folder 5C
Folder 5C:
War Relocation Authority pamphlets
Scope and Content
This folder contains 15 items, mostly pamphlets published by the War Relocation Authority. They vary in lengths from a postcard
to a 57-page document. Many are in fragile condition. The following is a list of the documents.
- "Questions and Answers for Evacuees". Circa 1942.
- "Pertinent Facts About Relocation Centers and Japanese-Americans". Date unknown.
- "What We're Fighting For: Statements by United States Servicemen about Americans of Japanese Descent". Circa 1944.
- "Relocation of Japanese Americans". May 1943.
- "The Relocation Program: A guidebook for the Residents of Relocation Centers". May, 1943.
- "Relocating Japanese Americans". May, 1945.
- "Relocation Communities for Wartime Evacuees". September, 1942.
- "Challenge to Democracy." (An advertisement for a film produced by the WRA on the subject of the Japanese Relocation, circa
1943.)
- "Nisei in Uniform". Circa 1944.
- "Nisei in the War against Japan". April 1945.
- "Myths and Facts about the Japanese Americans: Answering Common Misconceptions Regarding Americans of Japanese Ancestry".
April 1945.
- Postcard. "I desire to serve as a member of the Eagle Rock Chapter [of Friends of the American Way] and pledge the sum of".
- "Pertinent facts about relocation centers and Americans of Japanese ancestry".
- "Issei, Nisei, Kibei: Fortune Magazine reviews the program of the WRA and the problems created by ...."
- Ringle, K. D. "The Japanese Question in the United States: A Compilation of Memoranda". Date unknown.
Folder 5D
Folder 5D:
House Un-American Activities Committee
Scope and Content
In May of 1943, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (popularly known as the Dies Committee) appointed a three-member
sub-committee to conduct a special investigation of the War Relocation Authority and its programs at the relocation centers.
The Sub-Committee held hearings in Los Angeles and visited relocation centers; and subsequently the Committee heard testimonies
of top officials of the War Relocation Authority in Washington D.C.
Throughout the investigation, the War Relocation Authority believed that a large volume of false and misleading statements
about the agency were regularly making rounds at the nation's press. In order to counter these charges, the agency prepared
a series of informational materials for use at the Washington hearings.
This folder contains 18 items from the series and the Dies Committee reports, varying in length from 1 to 24 pages. All items
are in fragile condition.
Folder 5E
Folder 5E:
Dillon S. Meyer
Scope and Content
Dillon S. Myer succeeded his friend Milton Eisenhower as the Director of the War Relocation Authority on June 17, 1942. He
would serve as the Director until the agency's termination in June, 1946. The items in this folder are records of some of
the speeches and statements made by Myer throughout his tenure. It contains 16 mimeographed items, varying in length from
1 to 13 pages. All items are in fragile condition.
Folder 7C
Folder 7C:
Miscellaneous letters, addresses, etc.
Scope and Content
Contents in this folder can be divided into two major categories: statements and letters made or written by government officials
(mostly from the Department of War), and letters and statements from individuals. A few documents are authored by non-government
organizations.
The government statements deal mostly with issues related to the creation of Japanese American combat teams, internees' return
to the West Coast, and the question of loyalty. Individual statements are concerned with more personal matters, such as an
internee's first impression of an assembly center and a Nisei soldier's letter to his father.
This folder contains 45 items, varying in length from 1 to 16 pages and most of them mimeographed. Some are in fragile condition
and are hard to read.
Folder 8A
Folder 8A:
Government publications
Scope and Content
This folder contains a miscellany of 21 government publications from the Western Defense Command, the Senate of the State
of California, the United States Senate, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and others.
An item of note is a 51cm-by-71cm poster issued by the War Information Office. With the image of an eagle on top, the poster
features the text of a statement made by President Roosevelt on February 3, 1943. It includes this famous line, "Americanism
is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry."