Chiune Sugihara's Contributions

There are many things that happened to Japanese-American immigrants during World War 2 that people in this time period aren’t really familiar with. A story from a Japanese woman, Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston, who was born and lived in this era, with help from her husband, James D. Houston, explains and sheds some light during the times where internment camps still prevailed. The writing piece titled “Arrival at Manzanar", takes place during her childhood and the Second World War. In the beginning, Jeanne and her family were living a calm and peaceful life in a predominantly white neighborhood, until disaster struck the world and they were forced to move due to escalating tensions between Japanese Orientals and white Americans. At the time, Japanese-Americans, like Jeanne, were forced to live in an internment camp, which is a prison of sorts, due to the war with Japan. The text is being told through a first person point-of-view in which Jeanne herself tells the story through her experiences during the war. In that story, which contains only a part of the original text, much of the setting took place either prior to and during the time she was sent to the internment camps and describes her struggle with it. This story clearly states the importance of family and perseverance which is shown through her use of pathos, definition, and chronological storytelling.

The Righteous Gentiles, also known as the Righteous among the Nation were people who stood out among the rest in the attempt to save the Jews and other victims of the holocaust. Although these people are recognized today as heroes for helping the Jews, how effective were the Righteous Gentiles in actually saving their lives? During the time of the Holocaust the Righteous among the Nation tried to stand up for what was right, through small or extreme actions. In doing so they accepted the consequences of getting thrown into a camp or of being executed if they were caught helping. They took it upon themselves to save people who at heart were just like them. Throughout the investigation, I will attempt to discover if the Righteous Gentiles actually made a difference in the amount of lives lost. To find an accurate answer, information regarding the Righteous Gentiles will be gathered and analyzed. Sources such as survival stories and rescue stories will be looked at. Some of these stories include the story of Mallgorzata and her children, and the story of Bartali. Along with these stories I will watch the movie Schindler’s List to further my understanding on the Righteous among the Nation. This information will then be analyzed and compared to sufficiently support evidence for the research question.

Russian Princess Sofka Skipwith, formally Sofka Dolgorouky, was a hero to Polish Jews everywhere during the Holocaust. Although she was a rich and royal princess, she had a heart of pure gold and was full of pure aggression that she put toward her goals. Skipwith was in contact with many people to help her plan help to save the Jews pull through, such as people in France and Japan to help get fake documents for many Jews to get them out of the country.

No one has survived to tell her story firsthand, but over many years historians have been able to piece together the incredible truth. Karolina Juszczykowska was born in Budków, Poland, in 1898. There is little information on Juszczykowska’s childhood, but we do know that she had a very modest one. During her testimony in court she was quoted as saying, "I never went to school. Until I was 13 years old I lived with my parents, and then went to Germany where I worked for 5 years for a farmer in Mecklenburg [a region in Northern Germany]… then I returned to Budkow, where I stayed with my sister until 1934. I helped my sister with farm work. In 1934 I moved to Tomaschow. Until the outbreak of the war I made a living in road construction. Subsequently I had different jobs, as laundress, maid, etc., and until my arrest I worked in the kitchen of OT (Organization Todt) in Tomaszow.” (http://www.yadvashem.org) Karolina told her interrogators that six weeks prior to her arrest she had met two young men on the street. They asked her to hide them, and they promised to pay her 300 Zloty per week for both of them. She decided to accept their offer. Karolina stated she hid them out of a need for money, not necessarily to help. They slept on the floor at night, and when she would go to work, she locked them in her small apartment. Juszczykowska told her interrogators that one of her

From 1937 to the end of world war 2 (WWII), Japan killed over 3,000,000 Prisoners of war(POWs). Some POWs including Louie Zamperini had escaped death from these camps. Back in America, Japanese-Americans, like Jeanne Wakatsuki had to face racial discrimination in the Japanese internment camps. This all happened because on December 7, 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Louie Zamperini from Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, is an Olympic running who joined the Air Force after WWII broke out. Jeanne Wakatsuki from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, is a Japanese-American that lives in America during WWII. Louie Zamperini and Jeanne Wakatsuki’s experiences from being a POW are very similar yet different in their involvement throughout the war, their resilience during the war, and their struggles after the war.

In accordance with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order, he has the Japanese-Americans moved to internment camps because he wants to keep them safe from other Americans who are against anyone that is Japanese; however, when claiming that the military is going to protect the Japanese-Americans, the guns are faced inwards towards the Japanese-Americans, not outwards to anyone that can intrude and hurt them (Teaching With Documents: Documents and Photographs Related to Japanese Relocation During World War II). Oskar Schindler, a historical figure shown in Schindler’s List, is well aware of the plans that the Nazis and Hitler have for the Jews; he knows they are going to be killed because of their religion. Schindler, like the military in the United States, knows information that they are keeping disclosed. The United States military wants to hurt the Japanese-Americans or to use them in the European theater so that they will not ally with Japan (Teaching With Documents: Documents and Photographs Related to Japanese Relocation During World War II). Schindler lies to the Jews that works for him because he knows that they are going to be murdered, but he does not think he is meant to be their hero. He is a part of the Nazi party and is not supposed to care for the Jews, so he just uses them for money, giving them the false hope of security. That

Fred Korematsu also an American citizen of Japanese descent was convicted of not reporting to his concentration camp. His reason was that he was unwilling to leave his sweetheart, Endo. Fred Korematsu was arrested, convicted and also obtained a certiorari of the Supreme Court just like Gordon Hirabayashi.

Her story is an example of a person who struggled with adversity but searched for a reason to hope. She has used her remarkable survival as an inspiration for those who have no reason to believe they can overcome struggles. She has a foundation named Citizenship Counts which teaches students about their rights and the importance of their citizenship. She has written many books about her experiences and her belief that hope will help a person overcome darkness. She travels the world today telling people her story to increase their knowledge of the Holocaust. Her story of survival serves of as an inspiration to people who are suffering and are looking for a reason to have hope.¹

The Japanese-American author, Julie Otsuka, wrote the book When the Emperor was Divine. She shares her relative and all Japanese Americans life story while suffering during World War II, in internment camps. She shares with us how her family lived before, during, and after the war. She also shares how the government took away six years of Japanese-American lives, falsely accusing them of helping the enemy. She explains in great detail their lives during the internment camp, the barbed wired fences, the armed guards, and the harsh temperatures. When they returned home from the war they did not know what to believe anymore. Either the Americans, which imprisoned them falsely, or the emperor who they have been told constantly not to believe, for the past six years imprisoned. Japanese-Americans endured a great setback, because of what they experienced being locked away by their own government.

The daughter of Japanese immigrants to the United States, Mitsuye Yamada was born in Japan during her mother’s return visit to her native country. In 1942, she and her family were incarcerated and then relocated to a camp in Idaho. The Executive Order 9066 signed by President Roosevelt in February 1942 was the reason Mitsuye and her family were incarcerated. The Japanese attack on Pearl Habor in December 1941, gave military authorities the right to remove any and all persons from “military areas.”

One of the many important and most memorable incidents of World War Two would be the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, the Germans who were known as the Nazis, considered the Jews to be “enemy aliens”. As part of this, the Nazis thought that “Aryans” were a master race. Therefore, they decided to destroy the Jewish race, and created genocide. The Jews were put into unbearable torture at many concentration and death camps. In fact, 6 million Jews were killed in this incident; however, there were many victims who survived this anguish. One of the many survivors was Simon Wiesenthal, who survived the Nazi death camps and began his career as a Nazi hunter.

Yoshiko one of the many Japanese Americans in the book “ Wartime mistakes” opened her door to three F.B.I. agents. They arrested her and sentenced her into a prison camp with more than 120,000 others. In the other story

During the years of World War, Two more than 5 million Jews were unjustly taken from their families and placed in concentration camps in which they would often be killed by the German Government. Jews were helpless and were desperately in need of some help because of the fact that they were slowly becoming extinct in the result of the cruel and evil acts of the German Government. Sadly, not too many people were bold enough to stand up for the Jews at this time. Luckily one man was able to overcome the possible outcomes of helping Jews at the time. Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat, and his wife Yukiko were one of few who made real efforts to help aid Jews during this time. From July 18 to August 28, 1940, Chiune Sugihara, would spend his

As the Nazis thought that their goal was fulfilled, the Jewish people did not understand what was happening while others had a clear understanding of what was going on. While some knew the pros and cons of this event this created a resistance against the Nazis that led to saving alot of Jewish people. Well known names like Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, Frank Foley (etc.) have helped Jewish people escape and hide from the chains of the Nazis dragging people in by the thousands. These names in histrory have supported many Jewish people and risked their lives to save many people from

On October 27th, 1930, 300 aborginal soldiers attacked the Japanese army and killed 130 men. Their leader was Mona Rudao and he is responsible for carrying out the attack.