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Memories of wwii internment camps revived Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2004/01/28/news/local/news10.txthttp://www.journalnet.com/articles/2004/01/28/news/local/news10.txt
Memories of WWII internment camps revived after Sept. 11
By Courtney Cobb - Journal Writer
POCATELLO - The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, a morally repugnant chapter in U.S. history, not only scarred many American citizens, but it should serve as a lesson for the present, said Dr. Robert Sims, Boise State University history professor.
During a noon session Monday, Sims and Idaho State University's political science faculty, Dr. Mary Jane Burns and Sean Anderson, discussed how the Japanese- American internment remains a relevant topic today.
In the events following Sept. 11, 2001, the Patriot Act was soon introduced to Americans. Looking back to WW II, Congress spent little time discussing a similar law.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created Public Law 503 which authorized the relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans living in Western states.
Sims said the subject of internments was very real after Sept. 11 and some referenced the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho which later was made a national monument under President Clinton.
"There's been a lot of debate about it and it reopened all of the issues surrounding the decisions lawmakers made during World War II," he said.
In a slide show presentation, Sims examined the camps' history and showed how and when American resentment toward the Japanese started to occur.
He said in 1882 the anti-Asia sentiment began, and would escalate.
In 1921, Idaho passed a law to prevent marriage between an Asian person and a Caucasian.
Resentment toward Asians increased dramatically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many were afraid of Asians living on the West Coast, Sims said.
He said the officer in command of the West Coast operations might have been harsh on Japanese-Americans because he didn't want to be criticized as his colleagues in Hawaii were due to the debacle at Pearl Harbor.
Japanese-Americans would be shipped across the West to different holding facilities. In Idaho, the Minidoka internment camp was located in about a 3-mile area and featured administrative buildings, guard towers, barracks, dining halls and laundry facilities.
"Dust and mud was the plight of the people at Minidoka," Sims said.
The first Japanese detainees arrived by train from Puyallup, Wash., in 100 degree weather in late August and early September, he said.
Sims described other aspects of the internment including enlisting regiments of Asian-American soldiers and how Japanese Americans had to struggle to regain their citizenship after the war.
Sims believes the internment resulted from race prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political leadership. He said today's leaders need to learn from history so similar mistakes aren't repeated again.
Courtney Cobb covers education issues for the Journal. She can be reached at 239-3127 or by e-mail at ccobb@journalnet.com.
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