Day of Remembrance: Photographs of Japanese American Internment During World War II

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The Executive Order applied to all people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, forcing nearly 120,000 people to leave their homes on the Pacific coast.

Perhaps no picture can adequately capture the stark reality of this troubling episode, but various organizations and individuals photographed aspects of the evacuation and internment that help to tell the story.

Karen Chittenden of the Library of Congress reminds us of all this in a sobering piece–with pictures–here: Day of Remembrance: Photographs of Japanese American Internment During World War II | Picture This: Library of Congress Prints & Photos.

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