Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation

Prior to America’s involvement in World War II, many Japanese immigrants (Issei) and their American-born children (Nisei) lived on the West Coast, where they formed tight-knit communities. These immigrants were productive members of society, operating businesses and farms throughout the region. However, a series of xenophobic laws prevented Issei from becoming naturalized citizens, and this trend culminated in the 1922 landmark case, Ozawa v. United States, in which the United States Supreme Court declared that Issei were not eligible for citizenship because they were not white or of African descent. The ruling was codified in the Immigration Act of 1924, which barred further immigration from Japan.

America entered World War II after the Japanese attack on the American military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. People of Japanese descent, many of whom were patriotic Americans, were branded as foreign adversaries. Issei were seen as “enemy aliens,” and many were arrested without due process and sent to concentration camps throughout the country, such as Fort Missoula Internment Camp in Montana. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 into law on February 19, 1942, ordering the forced removal of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent from the West Coast to concentration camps throughout the country. This order was the result of a xenophobic fear of espionage and racism that caused the government to question the loyalty of people of Japanese heritage based on nothing but their ethnicity. While some Germans and Italians were incarcerated as well, many were quick to point out that the response disproportionately targeted America’s Japanese population.

The Issei and Nisei were forced to sell their property and possessions and to give up hard-earned homes and careers. Many were unable to reach the levels of prosperity they had enjoyed before Executive Order 9066 or to reclaim their homes and businesses. Families were “evacuated” to a series of 10 concentration camps that were operated between 1942 and 1945. Topaz War Relocation Center was located in the Sevier Desert of central Utah. One of the lowest populated concentration camps, Topaz housed 81,300 prisoners at its peak, nearly all of whom were relocated from the San Francisco Bay area.