Discover the History ofWWII Incarceration
120,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. Learn about this unprecedented denial of civil liberties and why it still matters today.
Explore Personal Stories
Learn about Japanese American history and the legacy of WWII incarceration by exploring personal stories from those who lived through it.
Promote Equity Today
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Join us in putting the lessons of Japanese American WWII incarceration into action today.
Densho Catalyst: History, Essays, & Opinion
Dive into hidden histories and learn why these stories matter today with the latest essays and opinions from Densho and other community voices.
Why Educators Should Teach the History of Japanese American WWII Incarceration — Now More Than Ever
As educators, we have a moral responsibility to teach the full and honest history of our country — especially the stories that disrupt dominant narratives of freedom, justice, and democracy....
The Labor History of Japanese American Incarceration during WWII
This May Day—also known as International Workers’ Day—we take a look back at the intersection of labor history and Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Japanese Americans were expected...
Densho’s Commitment to Rejecting Censorship and Preserving Truth in the Archives
At Densho, we know what it means to have your history distorted or silenced. Our organization was founded to ensure that the stories of Japanese Americans, especially those forcibly removed...Upcoming Events
Community Archives: Preserving & Protecting AAPI History
Virtual Event
How do AAPI-led community archives preserve and protect forgotten AAPI history, and protect community stories from being lost? How are community archivists navigating a changing funding climate, and how can general-interest in-language and community news outlets partner with AAPI community archives to contextualize today’s changing political landscape and to engage their audiences?
Join us for a special discussion and interactive workshop with Filipino American, Japanese American, and South Asian American community archivists, as we commemorate AAPI Heritage Month.
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Campu: A Podcast
Campu weaves together the voices of survivors to spin narratives out of the seemingly mundane things that gave shape to the incarceration experience: rocks, fences, food, paper. Follow along as hosts Hana and Noah Maruyama move far beyond the standard Japanese American incarceration 101 and into more intimate and lesser-known corners of this history.
Encyclopedia
Thousands of articles about the history of the Japanese American WWII exclusion and incarceration experience. Here are a few to get you started:
Documentary films/videos on incarceration
The following is an attempt at a comprehensive listing of documentary films/videos that include a significant treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II, broken up into several broad categories.
Scene (magazine)
Japanese American pictorial monthly magazine that ran from 1949 to 1955. Largely produced by and for Nisei, Scene magazine highlighted "successful" Japanese Americans as well as Japanese culture.
Owens Valley (detention facility)
The Owens Valley Reception Center—later the Manzanar Reception Center—was the first of the WCCA -administered short-term detention camps to open when the first "volunteers" from the Los Angeles area arrived on March 21, 1942.
