Representing Identity, World War II Japanese American Prison Camps
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced removal and imprisonment of Americans of Japanese descent from the West Coast, allegedly in the interest of national security. About 120,000 men, women, and children—the majority of them U.S. citizens—were affected. In 1988, Congress formally apologized for this violation of civil rights and paid restitution to over 60,000 survivors.
Time:
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Location:
National Air and Space Museum
Exhibit Hall: Treasures of American History
Independence Avenue and 4th Street, SW
Metro:
Smithsonian or L’Enfant Plaza
As part of the Curator’s Choice series, Noriko Sanefuji of the Museum’s Division of Work and Industry spoke about the lives of the men, women, and children in the camps. How did they make homes out of these barracks with tar paper walls? What was it like to live and work there? What kind of activities took place behind barbed wire? What happened to their families?
Curator’s Choice talks are short discussions that focus on the history, collection, or personalities related to a specific artifact in exhibitions at the National Air and Space Museum.
Discussion