Why did we put Japanese, and not Germans or Italians into internment camps during WWII?

Answer 1

Many German & Italian Americans were put into internment camps, but not as many as the Japanese. There were appx. 11,000 people of German decent and 10,000 of Italian decent. put into camps and most others were subject to curfews in their communities.

Answer 2

Sadly, no one here is correct and no one here really wants to be correct. Japanese were sent to internment camps within the 48 United States as a matter or national policy because Japanese immigrants COULD NOT BECOME CITIZENS. In the 1880's, with the influx of Chinese labor for the trans-continental railroads, Congress passed a law that no one of Asian or Oriental origin could become a naturalized citizen. Children born in the United States of Japanese parents were citizens, but their parents could not be (this law was not reversed until well into the 1950's.

It is NOT because the Japanese were visually distinct as everyone thinks (because that is what the government wants us to think). Yes, the normal person could tell the difference between a Japanese person and a Dutch person, but the average person probably could not tell the difference between a Japanese person and a Cambodian or Chinese person. Obviously, the FBI did not have cars racing around California and scooping up everyone who looked Oriental. All of the people to be interned received a letter from the government telling them when and where they had to make themselves available for internal deportation (this is also so the government could have relative certainty that everyone to be in the camps was actually there). The names and addresses for the letters were collected from the supposedly 'confidential' information provided to the Census Bureau (this is why the government wants us to believe the other story, so we will think the government is just a bunch of stupid racists rather than something far more methodical and synister).

Conversely, Italian and German immigrants who were not yet naturalized were interned, and persons of German and Italian prior citizenship who were found to have committed crimes in favor of the Axis were interned as well (Italian nationals without a criminal reason for internment were released in 1943 when Italy formally switched sides and became an Allied partner).

Oh, and one other little item. Only those Japanese persons who were living in the 48 contiguous states were interned. Those Japanese living in Hawaii were not interned because Hawaii was not a state, and was under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior.

Answer 3

At the time Germans and Italians made up close to 10-15% of the general population in US. It would have been impossible to remove that large of population and relocate them to another location.
Also, Japanese internment was a way to clamping down on general public hysteria. Many Americans were genuinely terrified of possible Japanese Invasion of WestCoast. While this was not a possibilities (As matter of fact Japanese never planned invasion of mainland US) government had to act or do something to quell the public hysteria. One solution was to internment camps. The fact that there were only 110,000 Japanese certainly made it easier.

It was truly a blunder and hopefully never repeated.

Answer 4

It was racial profiling at its worst. There were many German spies and sabetuers (sp), but they were dealt with case-by-case by the FBI, not wholesale internments of Italians/Germans. The German spies in the Manhatten project let the secret out to the Soviets and did more harm than the mom and pop japanese corner store owner in San Francisco. It just demonstrates the degree to which civil liberties can be taken away by the government in the name of national security.

Now jump to today, it does seem appropriate to deport all the Muslim terrorists (even though not all are terrorists), but to what point do we cross the line? After 9/11, the lines between freedom, civil liberty and need to protect ourselves become pretty blurry. Looking at what we're facing with WMDs and international terrorists, can you imagine what the West Coast was thinking back in 1941 after Pearl Harbor...hmmm.

At least i feel proud (as an American) of the achievements of the 442nd Combat Regimental group which was the most decorated unit in all the war.

Answer 5

A very good question. Since Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor they became more hated by the general public and one of the reasons given for the internment was their security. They would have been attacked or even murdered by those who hated Japan. My personal opinion is, that it was racially motivated. Germans blended in better, they looked like most white Americans and Italians were considered no problem at all.

Answer 6

Racism of the day. Asians were looked upon as being monky-ish and subhuman.

Physical features. Its much easier to tell who is Jap rather than Germ or Ital, especially when the Euro ones start changing their last name to appear more "American"

Retribution for Pearl harbor

Distrust. While the Euro societies were combining at this point, the asian and black community was being pushed aside (shift in racism from white against other white to all whites against everyone else). Because of this, asians were unable to merge into society and therefore had their own smaller communities within the city-this pretty much always leads to distrust. It was assumed that they would try to help their relatives in the East over the Americans.



Check out Dr. Seuss Goes to War. Its a great book and will definately let you see the difference in the perception of the Germans and the Japanese.

Answer 7

There were, during the period during just prior to and for a while after the begining of WWII, a number of small but very nationalistic newspapers/magazines published specifically for Japanese Americans (called "shimbuns") in which outrageous sorts of pro-imperialist Japanese propaganda were published. No one with a lick of sense would have taken anything they said seriously, but they did attract the attention of the J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, who have never be accused of having much sense anyway. This was only a small part of the reason why Nisei citizens were eventually detained and their property confiscated, but it did figure in the process.

Answer 8

Even though the Germans and Italians were banded with the Japanese, the Japenese were the ones "we" felt the most threatened by, because they are the ones who brought the war to our soil.

It was wrong, but that's the reason.

Answer 9

We were attacked by the Japanese on our home soil, for the first time in a hundred years, not Germans or Italians. It made feelings towards Japanese Americans very bitter. Foolish of us? Yep. But also understandable.

Answer 10

Not only were there suspicions that they might be harmful to the nation, but they were also causing panic among the american people. Unfortunetly, the japanese could be recognized immediately and make people nervous, and germans and italians could blend in.