During World War II, there were constant efforts to make Japanese-American internees and American POWs in Japan invisible. Each group resisted diversely. Both United States POWs and Japanese internees were negatively affected by World War II. Two examples of this are Louie Zamperini from Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and Miné Okubo. Louie—an American POW—and Miné—a Japanese-American internee—both experienced efforts being made to make them invisible by dehumanization and isolation in World War II camps and both resisted. During World War II, Louie Zamperini was isolated and dehumanized by guards in the POW camp. Despite this isolation and dehumanization, Louie resisted. Louie was isolated in many ways. As stated, “Louie begged for a blanket to sit on, but was ignored.” The Japanese guards were cruel and would not offer Louie any comfort, therefore isolating him. Also, stated, “As the native walked out the guard looked challengingly at Louie, lifted a flattened hand to his throat.” This was extremely dehumanizing. Threatening death upon somebody is an example of dehumanization. Despite this, Louie resisted. As stated, “Once, driven to his breaking point by a guard …show more content…
As stated, “The camps were designed to keep Japanese-Americans isolated from the rest of the world in remote areas.” Miné, along with many other Japanese-American internees, were isolated from the world. Miné was dehumanized. ”’As a result of the interview,’ she wrote, ‘My family name was reduced to No. 13660.’” +This act was dehumanizing. The Americans stripped her of her name, a form of her identity, and she became just a number. Despite this, she resisted. As stated, “Internees were not allowed to have cameras but Miné wanted to document what was happening inside the camps.” Miné knew full well what the repercussions of this could have been, but still did
Throughout humanity, human beings have been faced with ethnic hardships, conflict, and exclusion because of the battle for authority. Hence, in human nature, greed, and overall power consumes the mind of some people. Groups throughout the world yearn for the ability to be the mightiest one. These types of conflicts include ethnic shaming, racial exclusion, physical and verbal abuse, enslavement, imprisonment, and even death. Some of these conflicts were faced in all parts of Europe and the Pacific Region during World War II. During this dark time in history, people like Miss.Breed from Dear Miss Breed took initial action in what she thought was right, and gave hope to Japanese Internment Camp children by supplying books and
Fighting a war against the oppression and persecution of a people, how hypocritical of the American government to harass and punish those based on their heritage. Magnifying the already existing dilemma of discrimination, the bombing of Pearl Harbor introduced Japanese-Americans to the harsh and unjust treatment they were forced to confront for a lifetime to come. Wakatsuki Ko, after thirty-five years of residence in the United States, was still prevented by law from becoming an American citizen.
In The New York Times article “At Internment Camp Exploring Choices of the Past,” Norimitsu Onishi discusses Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated in Tule Lake, an internment camp during World War II that held Japanese-Americans who were particularly insubordinate. Now decades after the events that took place in Tule Lake, the children of detainees who have been there begin to ask questions that were never answered by their parents otherwise.
Twenty years after the First World War, humanity was, yet again, plagued with more hostility. September 1st, 1939 marked the start of World War II, this time, with new players on the board. Waves of fear and paranoia rippled throughout the United States, shaking its’ very foundation of liberty and justice for all. The waves powerfully crashed onto a single ethnic group, the Japanese-Americans, who had their rights and respect pulled away from them. They were seen as traitors and enemies in their own country, and were thrown into prison camps because of it. This event marks one of the absolute lowest points in United States history and has changed the course of the country as a whole.
What if entire families were suddenly evicted and thrown into prison just because of their ethnicity? What if thousands of people suddenly disappeared without a trace?
On the other perspective, Louie Zamperini, an American POW in Japan and the central character of the nonfiction novel Unbroken, had a much different experience than Jeanne. During his imprisonment, himself and others were often starved, beaten, emotionally strained, and forgotten about. A powerful description of his experience was stated as, “Now his Olympian’s body had wasted to less than one hundred pounds and his famous legs could no longer lift him. Almost everyone outside his family had given him up for dead” (Hillenbrand). Since then, he has dedicated his life to making peace with what happened. The emotional toll led by both parties has its similarities, however how they were reached is quite different.
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Empire had declared war on the United States by planning and carrying out a devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor killing 2388 people and wounding 1178. (I) This horrible act provoked the U.S. to take part in WWII and because of the threat of espionage by Japanese Americans on February 19th, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This order authorized military commanders to designate areas for internment camps where people of Japanese ancestry who might pose a danger would be held. “…The Roosevelt administration was pressured to remove persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast by farmers seeking to eliminate Japanese competition, a public fearing sabotage, politicians hoping to gain by standing against an unpopular group, and military authorities.” (II) Congress supported the Executive Order by authorizing a prison term for those who do not obey.
"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour US naval base left the nation reeling in shock. For the past 3 years and even before, the United States had succeeded in keeping out of the war in Europe and the Pacific. Then, all of a sudden, the country was in the throes of a second world war, one that had scarred many nations already. The war had ravaged most of Europe and the American people feared a similar fate. Many Japanese-American citizens inhabited the island of Hawaii, shared by Pearl Harbour. This coincidence led to the thought that the Japanese in America might
A Japanese American Tragedy Farewell to Manzanar, written by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Japanese American, and James D. Houston, describes the experience of being sent to an internment camp during World War II. The evacuation of Japanese Americans started after President Roosevelt had signed the Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. Along with ten thousand other Japanese Americans, the Wakatsuki was sent on a bus to Manzanar, California. There, they were placed in an internment camp, many miles from their home, with only what they could carry. The lives of the Japanese Americans in the internment were a struggle.
Isolated and alone, many attempts from both sides, America and Japan, to force the feeling of invisibility on their POWs or Japanese-American internees. Separated from friends, denied human rights and on the brink of starvation demolishing their dignity. Louie Zamperini was a POW who was originally an Olympian athlete. He was taken captive by Japan while laying raft for over a month. Miné is a Japanese-American intern who had been condemned to an intern camp during World War Two. The experience that Louie and Miné have undergone are those that challenge the two in a very psychological way. However, they have recovered showing their resilience and how humans can recover even from scarring events.
Dundes Renteln, Alison. "A Psychohistorical Analysis of the Japanese American Internment." Human Rights Quarterly 17, no. 4 (1995): 618-48. doi:10.1353/hrq.1995.0039.
Japanese internment was the capturing of Japanese-Americans into Internment Camps, or a prison camp for the “aliens”, prisoners of war, political prisoners etc. It started after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 127,00 Japanese- Americans were imprisoned. The only reason they were imprisoned was because of their Japanese ancestry. Even without evidence Japanese Americans were suspected of still being loyal to their ancestral land. The camps were permanent and the internees, Japanese-Americans staying at the camps, had to do anything and everything to otherewn will. The US Government evacuated any Japanese person from their homes and took them to the buses and train (Uchida 20).
Pearl Harbor was a very vicious attack by the Japanese on the US. On December 7, 1941 US Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese fighter jets. United States had been aware of a possible attack since the 1920s; the US became more involved when the Japanese invaded Manchuria. Attack on Pearl Harbor was the beginning of something big, a bloody war between the Japanese and the United States. United States was not expecting such an event; it was such an unannounced attack on the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That unexpected attack on December 7, 1941 was originally just a preventive effort for keeping the US from interfering with military action the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia. Japan wanted to cripple the pacific fleet so they wouldn’t foil their plan to create a defense perimeter in the Southwest Pacific. Japanese aircraft launched two aerial attack waves sinking four US Navy battleships and damaging two other battleships. The attacks also led to a high number of deaths. There original plan was to attack all of the US aircraft carriers. The attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in US entry into World War 2.
But we all know the real reason why they were really put there and if you don’t it is because they were considered enemies, terrorists, and even spies how did the U.S. dare make such a discriminating act. Just because they are the same color and same race we put them in these camps. We watched them all the time to see if they were up to any good we just treated them like criminals and kept them under surveillance in a high security camp. They were forced to stay in this dreadful place until the war was over are you serious is this even legal even with the act but yet even if it wasn’t it was still committed. Every time I think of this I can only think of one thing that this is what Hitler did to the Jews and how they were treated because of skin color and race. This is one of the many reason why the Japanese internment camps was bad and how this affected the Japanese Americans in a big
Japanese American internment in the United States during World War II affected thousands of lives for generations yet it remains hidden in historical memory. There have been surges of public interest since the release of the internees, such as during the Civil Rights movement and the campaign for redress, which led to renewed interest in scholarship investigating the internment. Once redress was achieved in 1988, public interest waned again as did published analysis of the internment.