Japanese American Internment in Literature Since 1946

Introduction

Japanese internment is a dark chapter of American history. The literature about it changed its tone overtime from analytical to a study of civil rights. The findings show that events such as the World Trade Center attacks and improvements in psychology. With time the publications became more critical of the government actions and focused on the human experiences of survivors to humanize the issue. The themes of human rights, prejudice affecting policy, and the consequences of Japanese internment also become more common in later decades. A great number of publications from throughout history were examined during the preparation process for this assignment. This paper will present three publications from three specific eras on the topic and the themes that were common to them, as well as how they were affected by contemporary events to show how this event was perceived over time.

Publications From 1946 to 1965

The first theme concerned the medical research that was performed with the participation of the victims of internment. The majority of research was conducted in the late 1940s and concerned such topics as malnutrition, morbidity, mortality, and various other negative consequences for the health of the victims. One of the representative articles on this matter was written by Emmet Pearson in 1946 and was dedicated to the research of morbidity and mortality in an internment camp Santo Tomas.¹

The second theme that can be seen in early publications is the examination of how the Executive Order 9066 was created and what arguments were used to enable it. This type of publication is often approaching the topic from an analytical perspective and does not have a political message outside of the examination of facts. However, during such research, moments when policymakers were guided by false information and public opinion, instead of facts and evidence are clearly shown and are not ignored. One of the larger works on this matter is a book by Morton Grodzins titled “Americans Betrayed: Politics and the Japanese Evacuation,” which was published in 1949. The book goes into detail about the political leaders that contributed to the order and which arguments they used to support their decisions.²

The third theme during this era gained prominence in the 1950s, and it was related to the point of view on the issue more concerned with the civil rights of the victims, rather than justifications for the act. One such book was released in 1954, and it examined both causes and consequences of the Japanese internment. It was written by Jacobus tenBroek, Edward Barnhart, and Floyd Mason. It provides an early analysis of the consequences of this action, including those of legal variety. The issue of prejudice is examined from the position of the major deciding groups, and the consequences of lawmaking by utilizing stereotypes, rather than evidence are presented.³

Publications From 1965 to 1990

The literature on the subject of Japanese Internment from the 1970s is surprisingly rare. However, a new theme becomes prominent during this era, and it concerns the human experiences of people who lived in the internment camps during their operation. An article by Betty Mitson from 1974 retells the personal stories of people who were forcefully relocated during those events. Her article holds a more somber tone as the consequences of these actions become not only apparent but also humanized through the retold stories.⁴

A massive shift in the discussion of the topic occurs during the 1980s. Perhaps it is related to the economic boom that Japan experienced which put it in the American public zeitgeist once more. A major theme during this period is the injustice committed by the government during the war. The investigative book by Peter Irons examines a series of suppression campaigns, evidence tampering, and other factors that allowed such a situation to occur. The author openly critiques these actions and examines how they could have been avoided.⁵

The late 1980s and early 1990s introduced a new theme of psychological examination of the survivors of internment camps. Psychology became not only a much larger concern during this time, but also became a much more commonly discussed topic among the non-professional public. One of the more common concerns in the literature on this topic was about how the trauma of parents that survived the internment camps can transfer to their children across generations. Theo Doreleijers and Denis Donovan published a study on this topic in 1990 and found that this theme is extremely underrepresented in past research of Japanese internment.⁶

Publications From 1990 to the Present

In the 1990s publications, the theme of showcasing the experiences of the victims was continued and extended to a wider audience as publications aimed at younger people began to appear. The topic of Japanese internment could be discussed freely, but a clear picture of this event needed to be delivered to generations who were born long after it ended. Jerry Stanly published one such book called “I Am an American: A True Story of Japanese Internment.” The book is told from the perspective of younger people which allows younger people to better relate to the characters.⁷

Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were a turning point in American history. One of the measures to prevent further terrorist attacks was the implementation of racial profiling. This issue brought back the discussion of Japanese internment. A new theme emerged, and it concerned how the spread of racial profiling could lead to the same consequences as Japanese internment. Scott Michaelsen published an article titled “Between Japanese-American Internment and the USA PATRIOT Act: The Borderlands and the Permanent State of Racial Exception” in 2005. He examined how the ideas behind the PATRIOT act have a historical connection to Japanese internment. He proceeds to call for a higher level of criticism toward such actions to avoid issues in the future.⁸

During the Japanese internment, the Japanese community experienced a near complete collapse as people lost their loved ones, neighbors, and a connection to America. A common theme of the modern literature on the topic of Japanese internment is how the Japanese-American community was destroyed and only partially recovered in the following decades. David Neiwert book “Strawberry Days” examines this issue from a community level and show both the rise and destruction of it.⁹

Conclusion

The themes of literature on Japanese internment changed with time. They were often informed by historical factors such as the Japanese economic boom of the 1980s, the profiling that became common after the World Trade Center attacks, greater interest and advancements in psychology research, as well as a more critical point of view towards the government. Hopefully, this topic would continue to gather attention in the future.

Bibliography

Doreleijers, Theo, and Denis M. Donovan. “Transgenerational Traumatization in Children of Parents Interned in Japanese Civil Internment Camps in the Dutch East Indies during World War II.” The Journal of Psychohistory 17, no. 4 (1990): 435–447.

Grodzins, Morton. Americans Betrayed: Politics and the Japanese Evacuation. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1949.

Irons, Peter. Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese-American Internment Cases. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1983.

Michaelsen, Scott. “Between Japanese American Internment and the USA PATRIOT Act: The Borderlands and the Permanent State of Racial Exception.” Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies 30, no. 2 (2005): 87–111.

Mitson, Betty E. “Looking Back in Anguish: Oral History and Japanese-American Evacuation.” The Oral History Review 2 (1974): 24–51.

Neiwert, David A. Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2015.

Pearson, Emmet. “Morbidity and Mortality in Santo Tomas Internment Camp.” Annals of Internal Medicine 24, no. 6 (1946): 988–1013.

Stanley, Jerry. I Am an American: A True Story of Japanese Internment. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1994.

tenBroek, Jacobus, Edward N. Barnhart, and Floyd W. Matson. Prejudice, War, and the Constitution: Causes and Consequences of the Evacuation of the Japanese Americans in World War II. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1954.

Footnotes

1. Emmet Pearson, “Morbidity and Mortality in Santo Tomas Internment Camp,” Annals of Internal Medicine 24, no. 6 (1946): 988–1013.
2. Morton Grodzins, Americans Betrayed: Politics and the Japanese Evacuation (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1949), 203.
3. Jacobus tenBroek, Edward N. Barnhart, and Floyd W. Matson, Prejudice, War, and the Constitution: Causes and Consequences of the Evacuation of the Japanese Americans in World War II (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1954), 11.
4. Betty E. Mitson, “Looking Back in Anguish: Oral History and Japanese-American Evacuation,” The Oral History Review 2 (1974): 24–51.
5. Peter Irons, Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese-American Internment Cases (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1983), 11.
6. Theo Doreleijers and Denis M. Donovan, “Transgenerational Traumatization in Children of Parents Interned in Japanese Civil Internment Camps in the Dutch East Indies during World War II,” The Journal of Psychohistory 17, no. 4 (1990): 435–447.
7. Jerry Stanley, I Am an American: A True Story of Japanese Internment (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1994), 4.
8. Scott Michaelsen, “Between Japanese American Internment and the USA PATRIOT Act: The Borderlands and the Permanent State of Racial Exception,” Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies 30, no. 2 (2005): 87–111.
9. David A. Neiwert, Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community (New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2015), 16.