The Internment Of Germans During World War II

Throughout history of the world , we have experienced many horrific occurrences, two of these being the Holocaust and Japanese Internment. Although both of these incidents are terrible, the Holocaust was much more miserable. The Jewish people were placed into Concentration camps by the Nazis, but Adolph Hitler was racist towards them. The Japanese were relocated to Internment camps. The way of life in these camps is way negligent.

With the outbreak of World War I immigration was put to a stop and Ellis Island was turned into a detention center for enemy aliens specifically German Americans or German immigrants. Many Americans during the first and second World War felt a sense of obligation to their country, it was this sense of obligation that drove people to participate in voluntary associations to aid the government in capturing enemy aliens. President Woodrow Wilson invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and “defined all male German citizens in the United States age fourteen and older as “enemy aliens.”” (Capozzola, Pg.177) Enemy aliens would face specific regulations including liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed. They would be forced to surrender any firearms, and weapons they own, they also were not allowed to live or travel within a half a mile of any “military installation”. Many organizations dedicated to German- American life closed shop during the war usually in fear of being seen as having multiply loyalties. The German language was removed from the schools’ curriculum along with German music being cut out of music books, even German dog breeds would be slaughtered in some states. There were four internment camps used to house these “enemy aliens” and the only visitors allowed to come to the camps were spouses, and a select group of ministers. “The Smith-Towner Bill introduced in October 1918, would create a department of education in Washington that would distribute

World War II is the most brutal war in the history of the world. Both the U.S. and Germany put innocent people in internment camps (in the U.S.) and concentration camps (in Germany). Both countries treated both groups differently, but both were the same. The United States gave the Japanese fairly normal lives with the exception of that the Japanese could not leave the “cage”, while Germany gave the Jews next to no rights at all. Japanese internment camps and Jewish concentration camps were the same because each country wanted to be safe from the cause of their problems, both countries were both racist to the society that they put in the camps, and the two countries were both afraid of the other race.

In many times throughout history groups of people have been discriminated against based on race or religion. These people receive inferior rights because of the discrimination. In some cases they do not get citizenship, in others they are segregated from others, and physically harmed. Two groups of people that faced discrimination near World War II (WWII) were the Jewish people and Japanese Americans. Both groups faced very different types of discrimination by different oppressors with different motives yet their treatment was very similar and many events paralleled each other. The treatment of Japanese in WWII internment camps was as harsh as the Holocaust's treatment of the Jewish people.

It wasn’t very long after Pearl Harbor that we succumbed to fear of the Japanese here in America, thinking they were spies, and still loyal their ancestral land. Sadly, even our president Roosevelt succumbed to this, in which he signed executive order 9066 which authorized the relocation of all Japanese citizens here in America to internment camps where they would spend 4 years of their life, and lose their homes, valuables, lifes savings,businesses, and much more. Japanese Americans were taken by bus and train to assembly centers such as racetracks and fairgrounds, after this there were camps were created in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. Over 127,000 United States citizens were imprisoned during World War II because

Two months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt authorized “Executive order 9066”. Which made More than 110,000 Japanese in the U.S to relocate to internment camps for reason of “national security”. The United States feared that they’re could have been Japanese spies inside America so the government relocated most Japanese immigrants to camps. It was one of the saddest moments in America that the government of America took actions on innocent people just because their heritage. America’s internment camps are similar yet different to Hitler’s concentrations camps.

WWII brought on a lot of social changes for many types of people, especially minorities in America. Japanese citizens in America around the coastal areas or military bases were forced to sell their homes and shops, to go to live in internment camps. The U.S. government tried to sell the idea that it was to protect Japanese Americans and send the out of harm’s way, when in actuality it was more because of the fear Americans had in the Japanese, especially since they looked different. (Document 2) The discrimination within many people because Japanese Americans were so easily identifiable is why that group of people were specifically interned and why German or Italian Americans weren’t. The government tried to make it seem like Japanese Americans were happy to leave their homes to live in the government camps set up for them to live in during the war. Women also

World War II was a war that the United States tried hard to stay out of, acting as the democratic nation they sought to be. But after the U.S. started fighting, and as the war escalated, the nation started using a not-so-democratic tactic that ultimately put down and targeted one specific group of people. The tactic of nationwide internment based on a certain ethnicity or race has never been used again since. Although it can be argued that Japanese Internment was necessary in the U.S. because it was a case of national security, the real truth to the matter is that it was an act of racial prejudice.

The Second World War was an international event which drastically impacted the world as a whole. With the war came a new found sense of mistrust throughout society. American and Canadian communities were divided due to the fear of espionage and sabotage, forms of spying which could help aid the enemy in war. This division promoted distrust, discrimination and violence toward Japanese immigrants and their children. To offset these fears resulting from war, Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadian citizens were forced into internment camps, resulting in a heightened sense of tension upon arrival home and finally the compensations of both US and Canadian governments

     For over a century, the United States has been one of the most powerful and influential states on the globe. However, every nation has made mistakes in its past. Throughout our country’s history, certain groups have had to endure horrible injustices: the enslavement of African-Americans, the removal of Native Americans, and discrimination against immigrants, women, homosexuals, and every other minority. During World War II, the government crossed the line between defending the nation and violating human rights, when it chose to relocate Japanese residents to internment camps. The actions taken by the U.S. government against Japanese Americans and Japanese living in the

Humanity has seen great horrors throughout the course of history, one them being the Holocaust during World War II. As we look down upon the Germans of that time, the U.S. had their very own holocaust. President Roosevelt issued the Executive Order #9066 on February 19, 1942, which allowed the relocation of tens and thousands of Japanese Americans to internment camps, stripping them of their rights; the reason being that these U.S. citizens were of Japanese descent. There are other possible reasons Japanese were sent to these camps, such as being secure after the attack on Pearl Harbor; however, social and racial attitudes was most significant because Japan attacked, and there was a war going on, so what chances are there that more Japanese won’t follow, whereas the other two were formed from that discrimination and racism.

We shouldn't have internment camps because of their nationality of their race because if were are. Then why is it that we only sent the Japanese and not Germans or Italians we had a war with them

Just like during the First World War, United States wanted to stay neutral. After the Pearl Harbor attack, that wasn’t the case anymore. United States went full throttle into the war and everyday life was drastically changed. Everyday necessities such as food, gas, and clothing were dramatically rationed, women found jobs as electricians, welders, and riveters. People started to collect scrap metal to help build the proper equipment for the war effort. One major change in the United States was the treatment of German Americans. Everyone knows about the treatment of Japanese Americans, but German Americans had it just as bad if not worse.(Heinrich) German Americans had the property confiscated, had registration requirements, and travel restrictions. Even though German Americans had nothing to do with world war 2, They were still considered enemy aliens, put into internment camps, and had their civil liberties taken away.

The Japanese-American Internment was a necessary choice, made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It helped to make our nation secure during times of extreme emergency and it also helped the US government to keep their enemy under watch. “The story of how Japanese American soldiers from the war’s most highly decorated US military unit came to be there is just one part of a remarkable saga. It is also a story of one of the darkest periods in American history, one filled with hardship, sacrifice, courage, injustice, and finally, redemption. It began more than a hundred years ago” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). At the turn of the 21st century began the immigration of the Japanese to America for various reasons, but all with one thing in mind: freedom. “We talked about America; we dreamt about America. We all had one wish – to be in America” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). The decision by these many people was a grueling and tough decision, but they knew it would benefit them in the long run. “…like their European counterparts, they were willing to risk everything to begin life anew in what was regarded as a golden land of opportunity” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). When they came to America, they were employed and were able to begin their new lives for the first part of it.

Could you imagine being taken to camps because the color of your skin or race ? The relocation and internment of Japanese - American during WWII was not justified. It was not justified because they had to give up their homes and properties. Japanese - Americans also had to go into the camps even if their ancestors were Japanese, even if they were born in the U.S. Many Japanese had to live in poor conditions.