internment camps

11 Stories

The Book Weighs 25 Pounds. Inside: 125K Names

First comprehensive list of Japanese internment camp victims moves museum visitors

(Newser) - It's a book so large it weighs 25 pounds. But it has to be big: it holds 125,284 names. For the first time, the names of every person of Japanese descent incarcerated in US internment camps during World War II, the majority of whom were American citizens, can...

After 78 Years, Calif. Will Apologize to Japanese Americans

State will apologize for its role in internment

(Newser) - Les Ouchida was born an American just outside California's capital city but his citizenship mattered little after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the US declared war. Based solely on their Japanese ancestry, the 5-year-old and his family were taken from their home in 1942 and imprisoned far away in...

Secret Documents Blow Lid Off Hidden China Policy

Beijing is detaining ethnic minorities 'before they commit a crime'

(Newser) - The watch towers, double-locked doors, and video surveillance in the Chinese camps are there "to prevent escapes." Uighurs and other minorities held inside are scored on how well they speak the dominant Mandarin language and follow strict rules on everything down to bathing and using the toilet, scores...

Mystery of Mountain Skeleton May Be Solved
Big Lead in Mystery of
Skeleton Found Near Summit
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 27, 2019 9:31 AM CDT

Big Lead in Mystery of Skeleton Found Near Summit

Giichi Matsumura's body was found, buried in the area in 1945

(Newser) - Authorities may be close to solving the " huge mystery " of a full human skeleton found buried under rocks on California's second-tallest mountain. NBC Los Angeles reports the Inyo County Sheriff's Office will attempt to identify the body using DNA from a relative of a Japanese American...

Takei: In One Way, Border Separations Are Worse Than Internment

Actor recalls his days in an internment camp—when he, at least, still had his family

(Newser) - The thousands of migrant children separated from their parents at the US border and held in old warehouses and Walmarts is a situation many have compared to the internment camps where thousands of Japanese-Americans were sent during World War II. But "at least during the internment"—words that...

Zinke Tried to Say 'Hello.' He Should've Stuck to English

Interior secretary slammed for acting 'juvenile' at hearing on Japanese-American internment camps

(Newser) - Perhaps Ryan Zinke wanted to show off his foreign language skills at a hearing Thursday, but it ended with reprimands in very plain English. Politico and HuffPost report the Interior secretary attended a gathering of the House Natural Resources Committee and was asked about a commitment to $2 million in...

Executive Order 9066 Was Signed 75 Years Ago Today
Executive Order 9066 Was
Signed 75 Years Ago Today
the rundown
Feb 19, 2017 3:51 PM CST

Executive Order 9066 Was Signed 75 Years Ago Today

Paved way for internment of more than 120K people

(Newser) - There's one date that will live in infamy, per President Roosevelt, but Feb. 19, 1942, might qualify, too. It was on this day 75 years ago that FDR signed Executive Order 9066, which laid the groundwork for the internment of Japanese Americans. NBC News reports that some 80,000...

North Korean Gulag Survivor Tells His Tale

Book recounts his sending his own mother and brother to execution

(Newser) - Born in North Korea's largest and most infamous internment camp, Shin In Geun was raised behind electrified, barbed-wire fences in some of the most horrid conditions imaginable—constantly malnourished, beaten regularly, and forced to endure backbreaking labor every day. When Shin was just 13, he ratted out his older...

Hidden WWII Report: Japanese Americans No Threat

Neal Katyal 'sets the record straight' at event honoring Asian Americans

(Newser) - Though widely condemned by scholars and judges, the World War II internment of Japanese Americans has never been formally denounced by the Justice Department—until yesterday. Acting Solicitor Gen. Neal Katyal, the top US government courtroom attorney, admitted US misconduct and harshly criticized the actions of one of his predecessors....

Cambodians Raped, Killed at UN-Backed Camp

So-called 'social affairs center' really internment facility: human rights groups

(Newser) - Cambodians being held at a UN-funded internment camp are frequently beaten and raped, treatment that has resulted in at least three deaths. Guards at the “social affairs center” say its residents are free to leave when they choose—but human rights watchdogs and ex-inmates say Prey Speu is an...

WWII Internees Finally Get Degrees

Ceremony honors Japanese-American students forced into camps

(Newser) - UC Berkeley righted a wrong yesterday, issuing honorary degrees to Japanese-American students whose studies were cut short by confinement in World War II internment camps. Surviving students, now in their 80s or older, opted for celebration over recrimination. “There is a Japanese saying, 'shikata ga nai,' which means,...

11 Stories