Thanks for this. Incredible, unthinkable story overall. That we somehow didn't find it ironic and perhaps a major sign that maybe, just maybe, what we were doing in imprisoning our own citizens in camps was wrong, considering that we were fucking going to war against a regime that used prison camps, is just ...

Were there no voices in government or otherwise - these people's non-Japanese neighbors, friends, coworkers - screaming that this was senseless and wrong? It's maddening to think of.

I have a painting by Chiura Obata that has always had prominent place in our family's home, which he painted at the Topaz Utah camp. This painting is admired because it was painted by a master but the story and history of it is always told, passed on, wept over. He established an art school within that camp while he was there. He was a friend separately of both my grandmother and grandfather, and this injustice a tragedy never forgotten in our family. Aside from all the every day folks who were interned, we were told there was a community of artists and intellectuals.
These works of art and craftings of every day life serve to educate all of us about the impact of this time period as well as the grace of spirit invoked by their beauty. People DID protest, both non-Japanese and the communities themselves. The groundswell was not great enough at the time and the hysteria over Pearl Harbor was all pervasive.

I'm trying to imagine, too, what could possibly have gone through the mind of a man whose family was treated this way, only to then learn he'd been drafted and was about to be forced to fight and risk his life for this same country. Again, it's truly maddening.

I am thinking of Roger Shimamora as a young boy in the camp taking it all in and turning it all into pop art power.

@1: "Were there no voices in government or otherwise - these people's non-Japanese neighbors, friends, coworkers - screaming that this was senseless and wrong?"

Probably. In Canada, the government did the same thing, despite evidence from the RCMP and the Department of National Defense saying that the internment was unwarranted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Ca…

I've been planning to watch Ken Burns' documentary, The War. There's an episode focused on Japanese-American soldiers in particular. Some felt it was an opportunity to disprove the negative aspersions cast upon them; others resented their loyalty being questioned.

http://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_war_democra…