April 01, 2015
Exhibit about Japanese American internment comes to Sandy Springs
The Commission is bringing the exhibition “The Tragedy of War: Japanese American Internment” to Sandy Springs. It will be on display at Anne Frank in the World from April 15 until May 5, 2015. Admission is free.
During World War II, approximately 120,000 ethnic Japanese on the west coast of the U.S. were forced into a series of camps to live under armed guard. Two-thirds of those interned were American citizens.
This exhibit revisits the injustice of Japanese-American confinement by telling personal stories. It poses a question that resonates today: At what point should the rights of citizens be limited or denied to ensure our nation is secure?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized Japanese-American confinement. It was also supported by Congress and the Supreme Court. Authorities feared that Japanese residents were disloyal and might aid in a Japanese invasion of the United States. Japanese Americans contested these charges throughout the war and later sought formal redress.
In 1983, a bipartisan congressional committee concluded that confinement was based on war hysteria, failure of government and military leadership, and racism against those of Japanese ancestry.
This exhibit is on loan from the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University. It was was curated by public history students under the direction of Dr. Julia Brock.