Japanese Internment
The Reality vs. The Propaganda
The American Government's Portrayal of the Japanese Internment Camps was FALSE
The "Cheerful" Evacuation
This photo demonstrates a group of Japanese people in America, happily leaving on a bus from the station. As they leave, friends are seen waving and the two groups exchange jolly goodbyes with each other. As the Japanese depart from the station, friends watch them cheerfully get on their way to the internment camps, when in reality, this experience was quite the opposite.
A Healthy Food Supply?
Here the interned Japanese American population are portrayed with "plenty of healthful nourishing food for all," (1943 Japanese American Internment and Relocation Centres Video). As a matter of fact, the Japanese Americans in these camps actually had little amounts of food. As stated in the book The Tragic History of the Jampanese-American Internment Camps, it is stated that "There is no milk for anyone over 5 years of age... No meat at all until the 12th day when very small portions were served... Anyone doing heavy or outdoor work states they are not getting nearly enough to eat and they are hungry all the time, this includeds the doctors" (Kent 52). The average servings consisted of potatoes and bread, and the Japanese Americans were definitely not receiving healthy food like the U.S. had described, let alone a proper nutrition.
Harsh Labor
Japanese workers are now seen working on crops and farming in the internment camps, all for the benefit of the people who put them in this unwanted situation, the U.S. In a propaganda video made by the U.S. which explains what was going on inside these camps, Japanese people in the camps are actually stated to have "immediately wanted to go to work." Clearly this is not true due to the fact that they were not being paid, not recieving good care, and did not want to be there altogether. It is only of human nature not to want to do these task, so it only makes sense that most of the internees probably wouldn't want to get to work at all. These Japanese Americans were actually forced to work for the U.S. in this manner and it was not something that was voluntary. The U.S. most likely wouldn't have been able to accomplish all of the construction for these camps without Japanese American force labor.
Poor Housing
Housing was terrible for the Japanese Americans in the camps. They were left with tiny quadrants which often times didn't have enough space for the entire family. The photo demonstrates the type of material used to build the houses and the relative size of them. Evidently, this was not a proper shelter for these people, especially when most of them are used to proper houses with at least two floors. The material of these houses were weak and it surely wouldn't take much force to tear down most of the shelters in the camp. This is all in all, no way to forcefully treat other human beings outstandingly if it's from their own government.