303
●
(WORLDWARTWO.)
Report on the Evacuation of Persons of Japanese
Ancestry from the Northern California Sector.
Oblong folio scrapbook, cover slightly
worn; includes 52 captioned 8 x 10 photographs, 10 statistical tables, numerous mimeograph
reports and memoranda, and title page signed by eight officers and soldiers, with a total of
approximately 300 pages.
Vp, April to December 1942
[2,000/3,000]
AN ALBUM OF OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND REPORTS ON THE INTERNMENT OF
JAPANESE
-
AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA
.
This volume documents one of the more shameful
episodes in American history, when more than a hundred thousand American citizens and
legal immigrants were removed from the Pacific coast and restricted to relocation camps.
The volume was compiled by First Lieutenant RobertW.McKnight of the Northern California Sector
of theWestern Defense Command. It begins with a detailed summary report of the evacuation by
Major GeneralWalter K.Wilson.Detailed tables track each trainload of evacuees, down to the name
of the train commander and the two designated Japanese liaisons on each of the hundreds of trips.
The report is followed by 52 official photographs, each stapled in place with extensive typed captions,
some stamped by the United States Signal Corps.The photographs are carefully selected to present a
positive view of the evacuation process. Judging solely from these photographs, one might conclude that
these Japanese-Americans saw their removal from their lawful homes as a pleasant weekend vacation.
The photographs are followed by a series of military memoranda issued during the evacuation process,
showing in minute detail the logistics involved in rounding up and transporting so many passengers.
The volume as a whole is a vivid insider’s view of the Japanese internment process.A complete
list of the photographs is available upon request.