My familys wartime years in the utah internment camp. Julie otsuka on her familys wartime internment in topaz, utah. Mine okubo, the artist, wrote a book about her experiences living at topaz and later. The book is comprised mostly of the introduction, afterward, and the supplemental information that embelishes each days diary entries. Other individuals who figured prominently in topaz history were authors yoshiko uchida and toshio mori, and poet toyo suyemoto kawakami. His case made it all the way to the supreme court, where his attorneys argued in. Topaz history the camp opened on september 11, 1942 although many barracks as well as the schools were not completed. The topaz museum board is preserving the history of the topaz japanese american. The story of the japaneseamerican internment camp book. Japanese american wwii internment camp topaz museum.
In 1942, 23yearold fred korematsu was arrested for refusing to relocate to a japanese internment camp. Food and the japanese internment after pearl harbor, about 120,000 japanese americans were uprooted and forced to live for years in federal camps. Topaz japaneseamerican relocation center digital collection. The single internment camp located in utah was at topaz, utah, sixteen miles west of delta, utah. The story of the japanese american internment cases. Toshio asaeda, botanist, adventurer, and photographer. The topaz internment camp near delta, utah, housed mainly japaneseamericans from the san francisco area. An afterword covers the closing of topaz, along with the redress movement many years later.
Japanese americans interned at topaz camp share their. This photo of a historic image on display at the topaz museum shows a cartoon featured in an issue of the topaz internment camp newspaper, the topaz. Utah interurban railway history in photographs skiing in utah. The story of a japaneseamerican internment camp, based on. The topaz war relocation center, also known as the central utah relocation center topaz and briefly as the abraham relocation center, was an american concentration camp which housed americans of japanese descent and immigrants who had come to the united states from japan, called nikkei. The camps werent even ready for them, so the government collected them together at a racetrack in california. The diary entries of children from one particular class in an internment camp in topaz, utah, reveal what. Topaz japanese american internment camp museum, delta, utah. Pioneering 1971 novel by yoshiko uchida that was the first book for children on the forced removal and incarceration of japanese americans written by a japanese american. These and other items owned by utah state university library are being digitized as part of its topaz. The following books on the world war ii internment experience of japanese americans are available in many libraries and bookstores. Japanese americans interned at topaz camp share their stories.
The history of san francisco bay area japanese americans and their forced internment at topaz, ut. The children of topaz is a short book that arose from a diary of an elementary class at the japanese american internment camp in utah known as topaz. In addition to the images of the diary pages, the book is illustrated with general photographs of topaz, as well as images of miss yamauchi and the class itself. Topaz internment camp exhibit marriott library the university of. The number of people processed through the camp was over 11,000 with a peak population of about 8,100 to 8,300. This compelling book tells the history of japanese. Dubbed the jewel of the desert, the camp remained in operation until october 1945.
Digital library historical digital photographs, newspapers, maps, books, audio. Assembly center in san bruno, then off to the topaz internment camp in utah. Actor pat morita on being held in a japanese internment camp during wwii. Japanese americans from the san francisco area, who had been housed at tanforan race track since its hasty retrofitting for human inhabitants in march, were transported to delta, utah, by train. The government forced these individuals to abandon businesses, houses, and most of their possessions with very little notice. The internment of americans of japanese ancestry during wwii was one of the worst violations of civil rights against citizens in the history of the united states. The topaz museums interpretive exhibit is open monday saturday.
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