WW2 Japanese American Incarceration: Resources for Instructors and Student-Researchers
You can use this online research guide as a jumping off point for your research!
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Digital Public Library of America
- Japanese American Internment During World War II (DPLA)Primary Source Set from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
- Prisoners at Home: Everyday Life in Japanese Internment Camps (DPLA)Exhibition from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Japanese American Organizations, Museums, and University Library Collections
- Densho"Preserving stories of the past for the generations of tomorrow." Densho is not only an online encyclopedia, but also contains numerous "primary resources that document the Japanese American experience from immigration in the early 1900s through redress in the 1980s, with a strong focus on World War II incarcerations."
- Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive (JARDA)JARDA exhibitions and collections accessed via Calisphere (University of California).
- California State University Japanese American Digitization ProjectThis collection includes camp newsletters, photographs, yearbooks, and oral histories among many other types of primary source materials.
Government Sources
- Personal Justice DeniedPDF available through National Archives. Personal Justice Denied is the report compiled by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). This report led to the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and is integral to the Redress Movement.
- The War Relocation Authority & the Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War IIThis collections is from the Harry S. Truman Library/Museum and National Archives.
- Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation SitesOnline book published by the Western Archeological and Conservation Center, National Park Service, and U.S. Department of the Interior.
- Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War IIA website based on an exhibit that was on view at the National Museum of American History from 2017-2019.
- Japanese American Incarceration Era Collection (National Museum of American HIstory)Links to the National Museum of American History's online collection of items related to Japanese American incarceration. To best view this collection use the hyperlinks listed under "Contents" on the right hand side of the page.
- Japanese Relocation and Internment (National Archives0A collection of links curated by the National Archives.
WRA Sites of Incarceration
- War Relocation Centers (National Park Service)Online article with basic information about each WRA camp as well as a map showing camp locations and peak populations.
- Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation SitesOnline book published by the Western Archeological and Conservation Center, National Park Service, and U.S. Department of the Interior.
- Amache (also known as Granada) - ColoradoLinks to the Amache Museum.
- Gila River: A History of Relocation at the Gila River Location Center (Arizona)HTML copy of this history made available through the Online Archive of California.
- Heart Mountain - WyomingLinks to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center's site.
- Poston - ArizonaLinks to the Poston Preservation site.
- Rising Above in Arkansas: Japanese American Incarceration at Rohwer and Jerome During World War II (Arkansas)A website from the University of Arkansas that explores both Rowher and Jerome Incarceration Camps.
- Rohwer: Japanese American Relocation Center (Arkansas)Links to the WWII Japanese-American Internment Museum website.
- Topaz - UtahLinks to the Topaz Museum.
Multimedia
- Japanese Relocation (1943)U.S. government-produced film defending the World War II internment of Japanese American citizens.
- Order 9066: PodcastA podcast from APM Reports and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
State Library Resources (Secondary Sources)
In order to access the State Library's databases, you'll need to use your library card. You can get this from your local public library and the best part? It's FREE!
Databases within the collection that will help students find secondary source materials like journal articles:
Additional Research Guides from Other Libraries
- Japanese-American Internment (Tufts)This online research guide from Tufts Libraries includes links to primary source documentation like Executive Order 9066. It also includes other websites, collections, and online exhibits that might be of interest to your research.
- Japanese Americans - Oral Histories: Internment Camps (Duke University Libraries)This link will take you to the Oral Histories subpage of the Duke University Libraries online research guide. Here you can see the numerous oral history projects that are accessible online. Oral histories are an incredible resource for this type of research!
- Japanese American Internment - Research Guide (Berkeley Library, University of Califronia)This online research guide from the Berkeley Library at the University of California has great information about finding primary sources, links to primary source websites, as well as books that you might want to check out from your local library. If you scroll to the bottom of the guide you'll even see some search term suggestions and strategies.