Confinement Site Exhibit
curriculum guide
World War II Incarceration
A teacher's guide to enhance the museum visitors’ experience
Funded by the National Parks Service Confinement Site Preservation Grant
June 11, 2014
Dedication
This Teachers’ Guide is dedicated to the memory of Christina Lim, who lost a brave
battle against cancer. She was an extraordinary visionary who contributed much to
the mission of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, including the preliminary plans for this project. Christina’s passion to preserve and share the history of
Japanese Americans in the Silicon Valley were evident in her accomplishments, including “Return to the Valley,” an award-winning film. She was an inspiration to all.
Preface to this Guide
The purpose for this teaching guide is to enhance the visitor’s
experience when viewing the Japanese American Museum of San
Jose’s (JAMsj) “WWII Incarceration Camp” exhibit which tells the story
of 120,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated. The guide
targets teachers of middle and high school students. Many secondary grade teachers bring their students to the museum to supplement
their history-social studies curriculum.
Funding for the curriculum development and enhancement of the
exhibit was made possible through a grant from the National Parks
Service Confinement Site Preservation Project. A Curriculum and
Instruction (C&I) Committee composed of elementary, middle and
high school teachers, JAMsj Educator Director, and the NPS Project
Manager met to develop curriculum to support learning in three ways:
Into: Pre-visit background knowledge
Through: Interactive strategies in the exhibit during their visit
Beyond: Post-visit review and implications for today
The instructional process of assessing students and what they know,
asking what they want to learn, and finally, having them tell what
they learned (KWL) is a best teaching practice built into lessons to
ensure student success.
Appropriate terminology for the Japanese American experience was
addressed indepth. During the year of the C&I committee meetings, the Japanese American Citizens League adopted a resolution
to support more appropriate terminology. For example, “evacuation”
was more accurately described by “exclusion, or forced removal” and
“relocation center” as “American concentration camp.” See p. __ for a
Table Listing Various Euphemistic Terms and Their More Accurate Counterparts. However, at this time, the C&I committee determined that
this guide should be consistent with terminology used in current state
instructional materials. Instruction with a dual vocabulary system
would hamper optimal learning.
Alignment with the California Common Core Standards (English/
Language Arts for Gr. 8; History-Social Studies for Gr. 11) informed
the committee’s work. While the curriculum content focuses on the
secondary grades, it was noted that quality literature in the early
grades would provide exposure and awareness of the Japanese American experience. Therefore, a literature list and an elementary grade
lesson plan were included. For the lesson plans and activities herein,
the teachers‘ professional judgment to individualize instruction to
meet their students’ needs is honored and expected.
This guide is created for you by Curriculum Committee members Paul DeWill, Aggie Idemoto, Shirley Ota,
Margie Oyama, Ruth Kitayama Terao, Judy Tokubo, and Eric Wong
table of contents
forward /5
elementary guide /6
middle school guide /11
high school guide /17
resources /26
Table Listing Various Euphemistic Terms
and Their More Accurate Counterparts /26
Resources for Teachers /27
Scavenger Hunt /28
forward
The Japanese American Museum of San Jose is very happy
to be able to participate in this National Park Service supported project. The project’s goals go to the core of our mission to educate the
public, particularly students, about the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans and its implications for contemporary issues. Clearly,
the same forces that were responsible for the incarceration can be
stirred up anytime our country is severely stressed.
This teacher’s resource guide was created by a group of teachers,
both active and retired, who have a deep and continuing interest in
this civil liberties issue. Previously, many have independently designed material to cover this topic in their classes. Over many months,
they have collaborated and developed grade appropriate instructional
plans which not only meet California State Standards but, more importantly, engage the student before, during and after their visit to the
Museum. Moreover, the material has been developed so that it is easy
to implement by the classroom teacher.
By design, these instructional strategies encourage active interaction. Fortunately, the features of the Museum facility itself support
this type of approach. For example, the students will experience being
in an exact replica of a WWII camp barracks room. The materials in
this booklet will help students comprehend and emotionally connect
with their experience at the museum.
Finally, a considerable amount of supplementary resource material, both primary and secondary, is included with this package so that
both students and teachers can develop different and more in depth
approaches to the incarceration experience and its larger historical
and contemporary implications.
Steve Fugita, Ph.D.
jamsj board of Directors
5
elementary guide
The Bracelet
By Yoshiko Uchida
INTO
 Students will complete an Anticipation Guide regarding their perceptions of
friendship.
 The teacher will do the “K” (What you know) and “W” (What you want to know)
parts of the KWL chart activity with the students to tap into their prior knowledge and set the stage for the reading of the book.
THROUGH
 Depending on the age and reading ability of the students, the class will read or
the teacher will read to the class, the children’s book The Bracelet.
California State Board of Education
College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading, Grades K-5
Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems
and myths from diverse cultures and different time
periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures
and elements.
 Students will visit the Japanese American Museum of San José and take a
guided tour of the Incarceration Exhibit.
BEYOND
 Using the KWL chart the teacher can guide students to see whether any of their
“W” (What you want to know) questions were answered by reading the book
and/or visiting the museum.
 The teacher can record their new learnings on the chart in the “L” (What you
learned) column.
 Returning to their anticipation guides, the students can review their initial
responses and examine whether they still feel the same way, or if the reading of
the book and/or visiting the museum has altered their perceptions in any way.
 The teacher can extend the lesson to include a discussion of human rights and
the basic concept of freedom, in the context of World War II and the incarceration of the Japanese American citizens.
6
LESSON 1: kwl chart
Materials needed
 KWL chart document
Procedure
Doing a KWL chart with students is a way to shape and direct their
understanding of a literature book. The chart taps into their prior
knowledge and stirs their natural curiosity. By coming back to the
chart after reading the book, the KWL chart can focus their learning
and summarize the major concepts and themes.
Below are some possible responses.
K: What do you know?
• A camp is a fun place.
• Science Camp
• Girl Scout/Boy Scout Camp
• Going camping with your family or friends
• You sleep in a tent.
• You camp at a lake or park, in the mountains
• There are lots of trees and animals
• It’s beautiful.
• You cook outdoors and eat things like hot dogs.
• Sometimes you get to go swimming or make crafts.
L: What did you learn?
• The American internment camp happened during WWII.
• Only the Japanese were put in camp.
• They were not at liberty to leave.
• They lived in barracks.
• It was out in the desert.
• They did not have any privacy.
• It was a violation of their civil rights.
LESSON 2: The Bracelet anticipation Guide
Materials needed
 Anticpation guide document
Procedure
An anticipation guide can spark student thinking about important
themes in a literature book before reading it. It gets students thinking.
W: What do you want to know?
• What is an internment camp?
• How is it different?
• Is it fun like Science Camp?
• Do you learn things?
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W: What do you want to know?
L: What did you learn?
THE BRACELET, by Yoshiko Uchida
KWL: What is a camp? What is an internment camp?
K: What do you know?
THE BRACELET, by Yoshiko Uchida
Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements and mark a plus (+) if you agree with the statement and a minus (-)
if you disagree with the statement.
_____ A friend is someone who is like you.
_____ A friend is always nice to you.
_____ A friend lives near you and you see them all the time.
_____ A friend gives you special gifts.
_____ A gift represents the friendship.
_____ Someone can be your friend even if they live far away.
_____ You can still care about a friend even if you have not seen them for a long time.
Books for elementary students
Bunting, Eve, So Far From the Sea
A girl and her family visit the grave of her grandfather at Manzanar
where he died while incarcerated there during World War II.
Cheaney, J.B., My Friend, The Enemy
This story takes place in Oregon, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A young girl discovers a Japanese orphan boy hiding out to
avoid being sent to an internment camp.
Conkling, Winifred, Sylvia & Aki
This is the true story of Sylvia Mendez and Aki Munemitsu, two
young girls from different cultural backgrounds, living in the extraordinary times of the Japanese American Internment.
Dallas, Sandra, Tallgrass
Tallgrass is a fictional Japanese internment camp in Colorado. The
story is told from the point of view of a thirteen year old EuroAmerican girl. It tells about the effect the camp has on both the
evacuees and the townspeople.
Larson, Kirby, The Diary of Piper Davis
Written as the diary of a young girl during WWII, this historical
fiction is based on the life of a pastor who moved from Seattle
to Twin Falls, Idaho, to be near his congregation of Japanese and
Japanese American congregation, all of whom had been incarcerated in Minidoka.
Lee-Tai, Amy, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow
This is a story about the author’s grandmother who was sent to
Topaz as a young girl.
Mochizuki, Ken, Baseball Saved Us
This is touching story, based on actual events, of a young boy
living in an American concentration camp during World War II.
When there was very little to be thankful for, baseball becomes
a savior.
Osaki, Yoshito Wayne, My Dog Teny
This is the true story of the friendship of a boy and his dog during the time of the forced evacuation of the Japanese Americans
during World War II.
Say, Allen, Music for Alice
This picture book is based on the true story of Alice Sumida
and her experiences working on a farm instead of going to a
concentration camp. She and her husband overcome challenges
and eventually, operate the largest gladiola bulb farm in the
country.
Say, Allen, Home of the Brave
In dreamlike sequences, a man symbolically confronts the
trauma of his family’s incarceration in the Japanese internment
camps during World War II.
Uchida, Yoshiko, The Bracelet
The story of Emi and her family, evacuated from Berkeley, California in 1942. Emi loses her most prized keepsake, a bracelet,
given to her by her best friend. Eventually she realizes that she
doesn’t need a token to remember those who love her.
Uchida, Yoshiko, Journey to Topaz
This is the sensitive and thought-provoking story of an eleven
year old and her family who are uprooted from their California
home and sent to Topaz, a desert concentration camp.
10
middle school guide
Farewell to Manzanar
By Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston
CALIFORNIA COMMON CORE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH/LANGUAGE
ARTS, LITERACY IN HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES
California Department of Education Standards
English-Language Arts Content Standards for
California Public Schools, Grade 8
READING 3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
Students read and respond to historically or culturally
significant works of literature that reflect and enhance
their studies of history and social science. They clarify
the ideas and connect them to other literary works. The
selections in RECOMMENDED LITERATURE, KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE illustrate
the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by
students.
LITERARY CRITICISM 3.7 Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions,
attitudes, and beliefs of its author.
 Reading Literature for Grade 8
• Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what
the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and
plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
• Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between
individuals, ideas, or events (e.g. through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
 Reading Informational Text for Grade 8
• Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide
an objective summary of the text.
INTO
 Students will complete an Anticipation Guide about “What is a Nisei?”
Response to Literature
 Class will read Farewell to Manzanar
 The teacher will introduce the chronology of Japanese American history
from 1869—1952
11
THROUGH
 Scavenger Hunt at the JAMsj
 As they leave the museum, students will write what they learned
on sticky notes and leave them at the museum or they may write
thank you letters to the museum about their field trip.
LESSON 1: farewell to manzanar
anticipation Guide
Materials needed
BEYOND
 Anticpation guide document
 Upon returning to the classroom, students will be asked to
review their Anticipation Guides and consider whether their responses would change. If so, how? And why?
Procedure
 After the trip to the museum, the class can continue reading
Farewell to Manzanar and complete the discussion questions at the
end of the book.
 Following this discussion, students will be asked to reflect on what
they saw at the museum.
An anticipation guide can spark student thinking about important
themes in a literature book before reading it. It gets students thinking.
LESSON 2: kwl chart
 They will also read the two books included in the Teacher Packet.
Materials needed
 The class can follow-up the discussion and send thank you notes
to the museum.
 KWL chart document
 The class can also discuss the question: Can this happen again?
 Additional reading is available, but not required.
Procedure
A KWL chart is a way to shape and direct student understanding of
a literature book. The chart taps into their prior knowledge and stirs
their natural curiosity. By coming back to the chart after reading the
book, the KWL chart can focus their learning and summarize the
major concepts and themes.
Below are some possible responses.
K: What do you know?
• Ichi, ni, san are translated as one, two, three in Japanese.
• During WWII, a “camp” meant internment camp.
• There were 10 War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps in the
USA during WWII, of which two were in California. Manzanar
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• was located in the Owens Valley near Mt. Whitney. Tule Lake
was in Mono County in the Northeast corner of California near
the Oregon border. Counting the Department of Justice Camps
like Crystal City there were more.
W: What do you want to know?
• Who are the Issei, Nisei and Sansei?
• How is an internment camp different than a summer camp?
• Why were internment camps set up during WWII?
• What was life like in the internment camp?
L: What did you learn?
• Japanese aliens (Issei), Japanese Americans (Nisei and a few
Sansei) were forced to relocate into camps during WWII. Only
the Japanese were put in camp.
• The internment camps were also called relocation/prison/incarceration camps, which were set up in remote inland settings.
• Life was different in the camps:
- Most internees were not at liberty to leave.
- Whole families lived in a single room in unfurnished
barracks.
- Due to the communal dining and bathroom facilities, there was a breakdown of family structure.
- Individuals did not have any privacy.
• The internment experience was a civil rights violation.
13
FAREWELL TO MANZANAR, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston
Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements and mark a plus (+) if you agree with the statement and a minus (-)
if you disagree with the statement.
_____ Everyone in the camps was of Japanese ancestry.
_____ Interment camps were like motels.
_____ Families brought all their belongings to the camp.
_____ Families stayed together in the camps.
_____ All Japanese American males agreed to a loyalty oath while in camp.
_____ All Nisei were Japanese speaking citizens.
_____ Camp life was like being at home.
W: What do you want to know?
L: What did you learn?
FAREWELL TO MANZANAR by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston
KWL: What is Nisei?
K: What do you know?
Books for middle school students
Denenberg, Barry. The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp. Scholastic, Inc. New York. 1999.
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki and James Houston. Farewell to Manzanar. Bantam Book/ Houghton Mifflin. 1973 and 2000.
Larson, Kirby. The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis,
Seattle, WA 1941. Scholastic, Inc. New York. 2000.
Mix, Claire. The Girl With Hair Like The Sun. Class Books. Mountain View, CA. 2012.
Oppenheim, Joanne. Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese
American Incarceration during WWII and a Librarian Who Made A Difference. Scholastic, Inc. New York. 2006.
Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation. Creative Arts Book Company. Berkeley. 1985.
Uchida, Yoshiko. Desert Exile: Uprooting of a Japanese American Family. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA. 1982.
MIDDLE SCHOOL LITERATURE KIT available on loan,
which includes:
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
Anticipation Guide
KWL
KWL Notes
Copy of Western Defense Command and Fourth Army Wartime
Civil Control Administration Evacuation Orders
Map Showing Assembly Centers and Relocation Centers
(Internment Camps)
Chronology of Japanese American History from 1869—1952
Reading List for Middle School Students
Reading List for Middle School Teachers
Current Event Cartoon
Copy of Farewell to Manzanar
Copy of 2 other books for Middle School students
Contact JAMsj for a tutorial about these materials:
535 North Fifth Street
San Jose, CA 95112
1(408) 294-3138
[email protected]
16
high school guide
World War II
Japanese-American Internment Camps
What does it mean to be an American?
CALIFORNIA STATE STANDARDS
Common Core Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual
evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary
sources, connecting insights gained from specific details
to an understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate
multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in
words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 Integrate information
from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a
coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
 11.7 Students analyze America’s participation in World War II.
• (5) Discuss the constitutional issues and impact of events on the U.S.
home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans (e.g., Fred
Korematsu v. United States of America) and the restrictions on German
and Italian resident aliens
OBJECTIVES
 Students will gain an understanding of the basic causes and consequences of
the World War II internment of Japanese Americans.
 Students will understand Constitutional rights that were violated as a result of
Executive Order 9066, and will understand the correlation of those Constitutional rights and their rights as Americans.
 Students will be able to discuss and make their own decisions regarding issues
relating to tolerance and justice.
BIG IDEA
 How does a country’s government react when it is put under pressure?
 What does it mean to be a United States citizen?
 Does America treat all its citizens equally all the time?
17
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE / ANTICIPATORY SET:
 Students will answer the following free-write questions in their
notebook:
- What does it mean to be an American citizen?
- How can you tell if someone is an American citizen?
- What rights do American citizens have in the United States?
What gives us those rights?
- Do you think our government should be allowed to do
anything it wants if it is said to make our country a safer
place? Explain your answer.
The main points you want to get out of this discussion are:
• In America it is difficult to tell who is and is not a citizen because
we have such diversity.
• Citizens are guaranteed constitutional rights and privileges,
which are guaranteed to ALL citizens.
• Some of these rights include freedom of speech, freedom from
unreasonable searches, freedom to life, liberty and property, freedom to a speedy and public trial, right to equal protection under
the law.
• The last question about our government’s role with security will
usually lead to a lively discussion. As the teacher, you may want
to bring up current examples and issues arising from the Patriot
Act (email and cell phone tapping) and GITMO (holding 'terror'
suspects without a trial) to help the discussion along.
By the end of the discussion, the majority of the class should agree
that all United States citizens have certain inalienable rights and that
no matter what is happening with in or around our country those
rights cannot be taken away. This understanding will make the lessons from Japanese internment more powerful.
LESSON 1: Evacuation Poster Simulation
Materials needed
 Class set of “Attention all Juniors” signs (preferably on card stock)
 Q-Matrix question starters
Procedure
Lay out signs on each student’s desk. Once students walk in to class,
do not let them know what is going on. Let their curiosity build. At
the beginning of class, ask students to close their eyes and listen to
the following story:
Imagine you are walking home from school today at 4pm. Things
seem normal, except for these bright-colored signs everywhere.
As you continue to walk, you start seeing many of the signs
posted up on offices, tree posts, grocery stores, and light posts.
As you get closer to the signs, you start realizing it is saying
something about Fremont HS juniors. The information on the
signs are the only information you are given. Open your eyes
and read the sign in front of you.
After hearing the story, students (individually or in pairs) will create
ten questions they have after reading the sign. Using the Q-Matrix,
they are required to create at least one question for each of the sections in the matrix. Once they have their ten questions, students will
share them with the class. I have also shared out using a gallery walk
where there are six stations (one for each Q-Matrix) and students
write down their questions on a poster board at each station.
Here are examples of questions that have been asked:
• Where am I going after I meet at the train station?
• What happens to all my friends who are NOT juniors?
18
• If my significant other is NOT a junior, can they come with me if
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
they choose?
How long will I be gone?
What kind of weather should I pack for?
Will there be a place to shop once I arrive at my destination?
What about my pets?
If I don’t meet at the train station in one week, what will happen
to me?
Who is writing these posters and how do I know they are authentic?
How will they know that I am officially a junior at Fremont HS?
Is this happening to other juniors around the country or just at
my high school?
After discussing the questions and the many issues raised by the
posters, show an example of a real evacuation poster (these can be
found in Lesson Three’s gallery walk documents). Explain to students
that this is what was posted everywhere on the west coast of the
United States after Pearl Harbor was bombed and Executive Order
9066. Read them the following:
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December
1941, the United States was gripped by war hysteria. This was
especially strong along the Pacific coast of the U.S., where residents feared more Japanese attacks on their cities, homes, and
businesses. Leaders in California, Oregon, and Washington,
demanded that the residents of Japanese ancestry be removed
from their homes along the coast and relocated in isolated inland
areas. As a result of this pressure, on February 19, 1942, President
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the
forcible internment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. More
than two-thirds of those interned under the Executive Order
were citizens of the United States, and none had ever shown any
disloyalty. The War Relocation Authority was created to administer the assembly centers, relocation centers, and internment
camps, and relocation of Japanese-Americans began in April
1942. Internment camps were scattered all over the interior West,
in isolated desert areas of Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming, where Japanese-Americans were forced to
carry on their lives under harsh conditions. Executive Order 9066
was rescinded by President Roosevelt in 1944, and the last of
the camps was closed in March, 1946. In the upcoming days, we
will learn more about this time in our country’s history and more
importantly what we as a nation can learn from it?
LESSONS 2 and 3: Documentary and
Gallery Walk
Materials needed
 “Democracy Under Pressure” DVD (50 minutes)
 Gallery walk documents and guided questions
Procedure
Show “Democracy Under Pressure.” Have class discussion about documentary. Leads into class gallery walk where students will analyze
various primary and secondary documents related to the internment
experience. Students should complete guided worksheet.
19
Gallery Walk documents
Books for older students
and researchers
Ichioka, Yuji, (1988) The Issei: The World of the First Generation Japanese
Immigrants, 1985-1924, The Free Press, ASIN: 0029324351.
This is one of the most detailed books about the Issei generation,
why they left Japan, and what hardships they faced in America.
Nakano, Mei (1990) Japanese American Women: Three Generations 18901990. San Francisco: National Japanese American Historical Society and Berkeley: Mina Press Publishing, ISBN: 0942610067.
Nakano surveyed generations of Japanese American women and
shows how their cultural values helped them adapt to the hardships
of a new country. Nakano also describes the lives of Nisei women
whose experiences were shaped by World War II, and today’s Sansei
women who juggle tradition with American norms.
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) National Education
Committee, (2002) The Japanese American Experience, A Lesson in American History: Curriculum and Resource Guide, 4th Edition.
This 125 page loose-leaf notebook includes an historical overview,
important dates, resources and learning activities. Available from
Asian American Curriculum Project (AACP). Get the online catalog
at http://www.asianamericanbooks.com or call them at (800) 8742242 or (650) 357-1088. They re-located in San Mateo, California.
Abe, Frank (2004) Conscience and the Constitution: The Untold Story of
Japanese American Resistance During World War II. TV Books Inc. ISBN: 1575001705.
This book is based on Abe’s television documentary (see below in
Videos.)
Lydon, Sandy (1997) The Japanese in the Monterey Bay Region: A Brief
History, Capitola Books, ISBN: 093231905X.
Videos
Picture Bride, Kayo Hatta, director (1995) available from the National
Asian American Telecommunications Association
(www.naatanet.org)
This film dramatization tells the story of a young Japanese
woman, Riyo, who comes to Hawaii in 1918 as a picture bride to
wed Matsuji, an older farm laborer. The film shows in detail, the
lives of the Issei farm laborers, the hard physical job of farming,
and the everyday lifestyle of the Issei families. Riyo eventually
grows to accept and love her husband. There may be themes in
the film that are not appropriate for viewers under 12 years of
age. (95 minutes)
Farewell to Manzanar, Universal Studios, (1976).
This film, directed by John Korty is the cinematic adaptation of
Jeanne Houston’s book, Farewell to Manzanar and was probably
the first film on the internment made for television that tells the
story from the Japanese American perspective. The film is not
available currently for sale but 10,000 free copies and a teaching
guide, were made available in 2002 to educators in California
through the state library system. (1 hour, 40 minutes)
Beyond Barbed Wire, Terry De Bono and Steve Rosen (1996), available
from NAATA.
Veterans of the 442nd/100th Battalion and MIS units describe
their experiences as soldiers during some of the bloodiest campaigns of World War II. (57 minutes)
23
Go For Broke!, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, (1951).
Now available on DVD with a bonus feature, the original 1951
Hollywood film, starring Van Johnson, Warner Anderson, and many
Japanese American veterans playing themselves. (97 minutes)
Unfinished Business, Steven Okazaki, (1986).
This film tells the story of three Japanese-Americans, Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi and Minoru Yasui, who refused to be
interned and were imprisoned for violating Executive Order 9066. It
reveals efforts by the three men to reopen their cases and overturn
their convictions. (58 minutes) Available from the National Asian
American Telecommunications Association (www.naatanet.org)
Websites and Organizations
Abe, Frank, Official site for Frank Abe’s Conscience and the Constitution
documentary at www.resisters.com, contains historical information and updates. Also available, the PBS site for the documentary
at www.pbs.org/conscience. Download the on-line teachers
guide and get information for school reports.
Asian American Curriculum Project (AACP). For over 33 years, AACP
has featured and extensive collection of Asian American books
and educational materials. Get the online catalog at http://www.
asianamericanbooks.com or call them at (800) 874-2242 or (650)
357-1088. They relocated in San Mateo, California.
California Civil Liberties Public Education Program at
http://www.library.ca.gov/cclpep/. The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) was created in 1999 as
the result of the passage of the California Civil Liberties Public
Education Act sponsored by Assembly member Mike Honda. The
legislation creates the California Civil Liberties Public Education
Program, (CCLPEP). Its purpose is to provide competitive grants
for public educational activities and the development of educational materials to ensure that the events surrounding the exclusion, forced removal and incarceration of civilians and permanent
resident aliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered and so
that causes and circumstances of this and similar events may be
illuminated and understood.
Densho Project, The Japanese American Legacy Project. This archive
tells much of the story of Japanese Americans in the Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane region. There are many great photos as well.
http://www.densho.org
Exploring the Japanese American Internment Experience through
Film and the Internet, co-sponsored by the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA) and the California
Civil Liberties Public Education Program.
http://www.jainternment.org
Go For Broke Education Foundation, www.goforbroke.org is an
excellent resource for educators. Check out the links.
Japanese American Museum of San Jose, a community-based
museum and website. KTEH’s educational partner on the
Return to the Valley documentary and educational project.
http://www.jamsj.org
Japanese American National Historical Society, located in
San Francisco, the Historical Society has a large photo collection
and archives which include oral histories. http://www.njahs.org
Japanese American National Museum, located in Los Angeles and the
repository of a great deal of archival material on the Japanese
American experience in the United States. http://www.janm.org
24
www.katonk.com is a website that includes historical background
on the 442nd and 100th Batallion as well as other units that Japanese Americans served in. Be sure to check out the links menu.
National Japanese American Historical Society, located in
San Francisco s Japantown and also has a small exhibit area.
http://www.nikkeiheritage.org
National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA)
distributes many of the cited videos on Japanese American history. http://www.naatanet.org
War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese American
Evacuation and Resettlement at the Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CalHeritage/. This is one of two
large digital collections of War Relocation Authority photographs
that are part of the National Archives (www.archives.gov).
They have many of the same photographs, though the National
Archives collection is more comprehensive. The large majority of
photos in both collections has been digitized and are available
on-line. To view photographs at the Bancroft site of basic training
at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, type in Camp Shelby in the search
engine and photos of the men who would make up the units of
the 442nd Regimental Combat Team will be presented.
25
resources
Table Listing Various Euphemistic Terms and Their More Accurate Counterparts
(from national jacl)
14
VOC A BUL ARY R EL ATED TO W W II INC ARCER ATION OF JAPA NESE A MER IC A NS
SUMMARY TABLE OF ACCUR ATE TERMS
The table below, constructed from Ishizuka’s list (Ishizuka, 2006,
p.72), summarizes the various euphemistic terms and their
more accurate counterparts.
EUPHEMISM
ACCUR ATE TERM
evacuation
exclusion, or forced removal
relocation
incarceration in camps; also used after release from camp
non-aliens
U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry
civilian exclusion orders
detention orders
any or all persons
primarily persons of Japanese ancestry
may be excluded
evicted from one’s home
native American aliens
renunciants (citizens who, under pressure, renounced U.S. citizenship)
assembly center
temporary detention facility
relocation center
American concentration camp, incarceration camp, illegal detention center;
inmates held here are ‘incarcerees’
internment center
reserve for DOJ or Army camp holding alien enemies under Alien Enemies Act 1798
26
Resources for teachers
Armor, John and Peter Wright. Manzanar: Photographs by Ansel Adams and John Hersey. Vintage Books/Random House. 1988.
Bill of Rights and the Japanese American World War II Experience: Teacher’s Guide for grades 4-12. National Japanese American Historical Society. San Francisco. 1992.
Cao, Lan and Himilice Novas. Everything You Need To Know About Asian-
American History. Plume Book/Penguin Group. New York. 1996.
Conrat, Maisie and Richard. Executive Order 9066. California Historical Society. Los Angeles. 1972.
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki and James Houston. Farewell to Manzanar. Bantam Book/Houghton Mifflin. 1973 and 2000.
Iritani, Frank and Joanne. Ten Visits: Accounts of Visits to all the Japanese American Relocation Centers. Japanese American National
Museum. Los Angeles. 1999.
Matsuoka, Jack. Camp II, Block 211: Daily Life in an Internment Camp.
Japan Publications. San Francisco. 1974.
National Japanese American Memorial: Lessons for Classrooms
(received April 2008).
Otsuka, Julie. The Buddha in the Attic. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. 2011.
Patriotism, Perseverance, Posterity: The Story of the National Japanese American Memorial. National Japanese American Memorial Foundation. Washington, D.C. 2001.
Stand Up For Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story. Visual Communications For NCRR, Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress.
AACP (Asian American Curriculum Projects, Inc.)
529 East 3rd Street
San Mateo, Ca 94401
650.375.8286
www.asianamericanbooks.com
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
535 North Fifth Street
San Jose, CA 95112
408.294.3138
www.jamsj.org
Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.625.0414
www.janm.org
National Japanese American Historical Society
1684 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.921.5007
www.njahs.org
Otsuka, Julie. When the Emperor Was Divine. Anchor Books/Random House, Inc. New York. 2002.
27
Japanese American Museum of San Jose SCAVENGER HUNT QUESTIONS 1. When referring to Japanese Americans, what was an “alien”? What was a “non-­‐alien”? 2. List the states where the ten War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps for Japanese and Japanese Americans were located. 3. Identify two environments and geographic characteristics where most of the internment camps were located. 4. How and why were the barracks at Gila River and Poston built differently from the barracks in the other camps? 5. Why was so much of the jewelry made by the internees created from seashells? 6. How did the internees heat their tarpaper barracks rooms during cold weather? 7. List five crops cultivated by the internees. (35 choices) JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT CAMPS EXHIBIT 8. What problem did the spaces between the floorboards and walls cause the internees? How did the internees solve this problem? 9. What did the WRA issue for each barracks room? 10. List three things the internees did to make their barracks room more livable. BARRACKS ROOM RESISTANCE TO INTERNMENT 11. The Army assumed an internee who answered “No” and “No” to questions #27 and #28 meant they were ___________________toward the United States. 12. Identify one reason why Issei men would respond “No” to either question #27 or #28. 13. Identify one reason why Nisei men would respond “No” either question #27 or #28. 14. How many men were convicted of draft resistance? 15. Which camp had the highest number of draft resisters? 16. Identify one Supreme Court case challenging the U.S. government action against Japanese Americans during World War II. 28
Japanese American Museum of San Jose SCAVENGER HUNT ANSWER KEY JAPANESE AMERICAN INTENMENT CAMPS EXHIBIT 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
When referring to Japanese Americans, what was an “alien” (not a person from outer space)? A “non-­‐alien”? -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ An alien is the first generation of Japanese (Issei) who came to America. A non-­‐alien is a person of Japanese ancestry, an American citizen. List the states where the War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps for Japanese and Japanese Americans were located: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming. Identify two environmental and geographic characteristics where most of the internment camps were located: dry desert areas; far from large urban areas; extremely hot in summer (120 degrees F) and cold (32 degrees F) in winter; frequent dust and sand storms. How and why were the barracks at Gila River and Poston built differently from the barracks in other camps? -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ The double roofs provided insulation during the hot summers. Why was so much of the jewelry made by the internees created from seashells? -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐The camps were located on deserts that were once the floors of oceans. The shells were first found by internees in ponds or creeks running through the camps. How did the internees heat the rooms in their tarpaper barracks during cold weather? -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ Internees heated their stoves with coal, wood, or gas. List five crops cultivated by the internees: beets, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, celery, corn, cucumber, daikon, eggplant, gobo, green onions, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, mizuni, mustard greens, napa cabbage, onions, parsley, peas, peppers, pumpkins, radish (red or white), rutabaga, seed potatoes, shiguki, spinach, squash (summer or winter), Swiss chard, takana, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon. BARRACKS ROOMS 8. What problem did the spaces between floorboards and walls cause the internees? How did the internees solve this problem? -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ During frequent dust and sand storms, dust and sand blew in through the openings between the floorboards and in the walls, making the barracks dirty and sandy. At some camps, internees laid linoleum or carpeting to cover the floor spaces and stuffed toilet paper in the wall spaces to prevent the blowing dirt and sand to enter. There were differences at the various camps. 9. What did the WRA issue for each barracks room? -­‐-­‐-­‐Metal Army cots without mattresses; two Army blankets per cot, while at Tule Lake, a third blanket was issued; one gas or wood-­‐burning stove; one electric light. 10. List three things the internees did to make their barracks more livable: covered floors with linoleum or carpets; used scrap lumber to build chairs, tables, cabinets, desks, and dressers; created paintings and craft items to decorate the room; sewed curtains for windows and placed drop cloths around beds; insulated walls using sheetrock; painted sheetrock to make the barracks room look and feel more like home. RESISTANCE TO INTERNMENT 11. The Army assumed an internee who answered “No” and “No” to questions #27 and #28 meant that they were ______________to the United States. -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ Answer is “disloyal”. 12. Identify one reason why Issei men would respond “No” to either question #27 and #28. -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ They were too old to fight as soldiers in the military. They were the heads of households and did not want to desert their families. They would not give up loyalty to the Japanese emperor because they would lose their citizenship. They were not allowed to become American citizens. 13. Identify one reason why Nisei men would respond “No” to questions #27 and #28. -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ Some Nisei men had a draft status of 1A before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the bombing, the 1A status was changed to 4C, enemy alien. They thought they had lost their citizenship and would not fight for a country that took away their citizenship. They would not serve because some were in internment camps. They were not loyal to the Japanese emperor in the first place. 14. How many men were convicted of draft resistance? Choose one set of numbers: less than 100; 100-­‐199; 200-­‐299; 300+ -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ Answer is 300+. 15. Which camp had the highest number of draft resisters? -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐ Poston 16. Identify one U.S. Supreme Court case. -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐Ex Parte Endo; Hirabayashi vs. United States; Korematsu vs. United States; Yasui vs. United States.