The Japanese Relocation
What our nation's leaders did not want us to see
What do we "know"?
What we were told was that the Japanese Americans were happy to relocate because they wanted to do anything to help the war effort. Without resistence or grudge, they packed up their belongings and moved their lives half way around the country. This is not what really happened. What really happened is that the Japanese were not sure where they were going but they knew that they would not return for a long time.
Oppurtunity
Here is a great example of what the average American saw of the relocation. These two boys are too innocent and young to know what is happening. They are probably optimistic about a new potential opportunity. The war relocation authority took advantage of these boys because it is not hard to make two children who do not know what is going on look happy.
Uncertainty
Here are two very similar boys (A bit older) that are wiser and can grasp the situation. They are not optimistic (As you can tell by the look on their faces) because they know they won't come home for a long time. They look depressed as if life will not be the same anymore (Which is correct).
Armed Guards
Here is a picture of armed guards accompanying civilians to the trains. It seems a little to intense for people who are "happy" to relocate. The Japanese are pressed against the train as if they are afraid of the guards and they are trying to create as much distance between them as they can.
Why was Propaganda Used?
Propaganda is the only reason that the relocation program stayed alive for as long as it did. Many "false" pictures were taken in a sense that people were instructed or maybe even paid to look happy. Other Americans were content because they believed the propaganda. The pictures above show the contrast of two opposing views and bring to life how minds outside the internment camps were tampered with.