Japanese Americans and the Concentration Camps

Overview

The Asian American Encyclopedia, 6 vol. (1995)
Ref E184.06 A827
Good overview article in volume 3 under "Japanese American Internment".

Subject Headings in Oscar

You can find numerous books in Oscar using the following terms in a subject search:

• Japanese Americans Evacuation and Relocation
• United States. War Relocation Authority
• World War 1939 1945- Concentration Camps-United States
• World War 1939 1945 - Japanese Americans

To find books on the camps that were located in California, use:

• Manzanar War Relocation Center
• Tule Lake Relocation Center

Here are a few examples of the books available at Orradre Library:

• Executive Order 9066: the internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans by Maisie and Richard Conrat D769.8 A6C6
• The Great Betrayal by Audrie Girder and Anne Loftis, D769.8 A6 G5 1969
• Legacy of Injustice by Donna Nagata D769.8 .A6 N33 1993
• Prisoners Without Trial by Roger Daniels D769.8 .A6 D37 1995
• View From Within: the Japanese American evacuation and resettlement study by Yuji Ichioka D769.8.A6 V53 1989
• With Liberty and Justice for All!: the story of San Jose Japanese Community. (California Collection)
• Years of Infamy: The untold story of America’s concentration camps by Michi Weglyn D769.8.A6 W43

Bibliographies

The Evacuation and Relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II: a bibliography (1989)
Ref Z1361.J2 M55
Asian American Studies: An annotated bibliography and research guide (1989)
Ref E184 06 K55

Primary Sources

Japanese American World War II Evacuation Oral History Project (1991- ) Part 1: Internees; Part 2: Administrators; Part 3: Analysts; Part 4: Resisters
Folio D769.8.A6 J363
Interviews with former internees and administrators, and analysts

Japanese Relocation Camp Newspapers
These newspapers were published by Japanese Americans during World War II, 1942-1945 and document their respective lifestyles in the camps, as well as their personal involvement in the war. The newspapers can be found in OSCAR by searching for 'Japanese Camp Papers' as a title and are all located in the Microfilm area in the Periodical Room.
Orradre Microfilm : D769.8 .A6 J27.

American Concentration Camps. 10 vols. (1989)
Folio D753.8 .A77
This 10 volume set contains materials documenting the role of the government in the evacuation and relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. Most documents come from the War department and are organized chronologically.

United States. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Papers of the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. 1984 (35 microfilm reels)
Microfilm Z1361.J2 U53
A guide to this microfilm collection is located at the reference desk: Ref Z 1361 J2 U53

United States. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Personal Justice Denied: report of the Commission on Wartime and Relocation and Internment of Civilians. (1983)
Govt. Docs Y 3.W 19/10: J 98

Journal Articles

To find journal articles, the best database is probably America: History and Life. You can also use Academic Search Elite. Ask a reference librarian for help!

Newspaper Articles

If you want to find newspaper articles from the period (1939-45), use the New York Times Archives database which provides access to the full text and full image of NYT articles. The library has the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle on microfilm, but there is no index for that time period. It means that you will have to browse numerous issues on microfilm to find relevant articles.

World Wide Web Resources

Use the Santa Clara University Diversity Site to connect to various web sites related to the Japanese Americans and the internment camps. First connect to the site at the following address: http://www.scu.edu/diversity
Click on "Electronic Resources on Diversity", then click on "Asian Americans" and finally on "Hotsites with a focus".
Go under the section History, Politics and Activism. Some of the sites available are:

Japanese American Internment - Santa Clara Valley
Online exhibit depicting the internment camp life of the many local Santa Clara Valley Japanese Americans who were interned. (This exhibit is on permanent display at the Japanese American Resource Center in San Jose.)

Japanese American Internment Website
This site includes all kind of documents relative to the Japanese internment camps: a detailed time line, photographs, maps, government documents, etc.

Maintained by Helene Lafrance and Elizabeth Fullerton
Santa Clara University
Updated: December 4, 2003