Bill Yoshino JACL Midwest Regional Director, Email Interview, January 10th, 2014
1. Are you descended from a internee? Yes, my parents were confined at Heart Mountain in Wyoming during World War II. 2. What were the living conditions of camp life? The camps contained approximately 10,000 people and were located in desolate areas of the country. Heart Mountain was a semi-arid desert where it was extremely cold in the winter and hot in the summer. They lived in barracks that each housed three families. The barracks were without furnishings and had a stove for heating. Initially, there were no walls and blankets had to be hung on clotheslines as wall partitions. All the toilet and shower facilities were common with little privacy. Food was served in a mess hall. 3. How did they distract themselves from the terrible living conditions? Some of the internees had jobs in the camps; however they were paid very low wages. They formed sports teams, held dances, published a camp newspaper. Schools were established where many of the internees served as teachers. 4. How did you feel about the loyalty questions?Would you answer to the 27th and the 28th question to be loyal to America? Read more......
Kanji Sahara JACL Pacific Southwest District's Civil Rights Chair and Board Member, Email Interview, January 18th, 2014
7. How does the internment of the Japanese Americans compare to the Holocaust? There is no comparison between the Internment Camps for the Japanese Americans and the Holocaust. The Internment Camps were “Concentration Camps” while the Holocaust Camps were “Death Camps”. 8. How did the internment of the Japanese Americans affect the future of the United States? The Japanese people lost much financially because of the incarceration. I think some Japanese never recovered financially. During the war, the farmers in California made out financially. The Japanese farmers missed out on this. Before the war, Nisei graduates from college could not get jobs as engineers or school teachers. During the war, because of labor shortage, if the Nisei graduates did not have to go to camp, they could have got jobs as engineers and school teachers. 9. What do you think about the internal security act of 1950, do you think that was right? The Internal Security Act of 1950 is also called the McCarran Walters Act. It allowed the Issei to become Citizens of the United States. Until then, the Issei were “aliens ineligible for citizenship”. The Internal Security Act was very important and the correct thing to do. Do you think the internment of the Japanese Americans effected it? Read more....