The Topaz Internment Camp opened near Delta, Utah in September 1942 and was nearly 4 times larger than the more famous Manzanar Camp in California and most of the people sent there were from the San Francisco area. These people had to leave and abandon their homes and jobs with very little notice. When the "prisoners" arrived they found very uncomfortable living conditions and some of the housing was not even done being built for them. They had cracks in the walls that dust blew through and there was no heating or cooling. There were bare wood floors and no drywall on the walls. Some of the barracks did not even have glass installed in the window spaces. Even though they had a barbed-wire fence all around the camp and 7 guard towers, they tried to make life here as "normal" as possible and they built 2 elementary schools, one high school and a hospital in the camp for the prisoners. The children attended school and parents could work at one of these buildings, but earned very little money. The even created a mascot for the high school and they became known as the Topaz High Rams. After Topaz Camp closed in October 1945, all of the land was sold off and all of the buildings were auctioned off. It is hard to tell that it was ever really there. Some of the buildings are still being used as farm buildings but most of the general area is now owned by the Topaz Museum, and some land has been used for residential sites.
Executive Order 966 called for all Japanese Americans to be deported to internment camps throughout the western United States. Signs were posted in communites giving Japanese Americans 48 hours to report to be relocated to camps. People were removed from their homes by the Army and National Guard and were taken to live at racetrack stables until camps could be finished for them to move in to. Some people were taken hundreds or even thousands of miles away from their homes and could only take with them what they could carry.
Just like prisoners today, the residents at Topaz were not allowed to go near the barbed-wire fence that surrounded the camp because guards thought they may be able to escape. If someone got too close, the guards would fire a warning shot. If the prisoner did not move away from the fence, they would be shot. In 1943 a 63 year old man names James Hatsauki Wakasa was shot dead when he did not hear the warning shot because he was deaf. After this incident, the security at the camp was reevaluated and relaxed somewhat.
In 1944 President Roosevelt announced that the camps would be closing in 1945 and people would be able to return to their homes. At the end of the war some prisoners remained in the United States to rebuild their lives. Others were unforgiving of how they were treated and returned to Japan to live.
In 1980 President Jimmy Carter conducted an investigation to see whether or not Americans were justified in placing Japanese Americans in the camps. The investigation found there was no disloyalty of these citizens and ordered the government to pay each survivor of these camps $20,000. It took until 1988, when President Ronald Reagan signed this into legislation, for the U.S. Government to pay out more than $1.6 billion to Japanese internment camp survivors.
Just like prisoners today, the residents at Topaz were not allowed to go near the barbed-wire fence that surrounded the camp because guards thought they may be able to escape. If someone got too close, the guards would fire a warning shot. If the prisoner did not move away from the fence, they would be shot. In 1943 a 63 year old man names James Hatsauki Wakasa was shot dead when he did not hear the warning shot because he was deaf. After this incident, the security at the camp was reevaluated and relaxed somewhat.
In 1944 President Roosevelt announced that the camps would be closing in 1945 and people would be able to return to their homes. At the end of the war some prisoners remained in the United States to rebuild their lives. Others were unforgiving of how they were treated and returned to Japan to live.
In 1980 President Jimmy Carter conducted an investigation to see whether or not Americans were justified in placing Japanese Americans in the camps. The investigation found there was no disloyalty of these citizens and ordered the government to pay each survivor of these camps $20,000. It took until 1988, when President Ronald Reagan signed this into legislation, for the U.S. Government to pay out more than $1.6 billion to Japanese internment camp survivors.
Topaz Camp was 19,800 acres in size and had 42 blocks of buildings. Each block had 12 barracks, where people lived, a recreation hall, men's and women's bathrooms and a cafeteria called a "mess hall." The living areas were heated by coal stoves, but they were not allowed to cook there. The only furniture they had were army cots, matresses and blankets. Those living here were treated poorly and really had no rights at all. Because the camp was so bare and dusty, the "prisoners" eventually began planting gardens to help make the surroundings more comfortable.
Those interned at the camp overcame many difficult living conditions and tried to live their daily lives as best they could. Most of the documented photographs we have of the camps show the prisoners with smiles on their faces. That is not because they were happy with their situation, but because the government sent special photographers to document the times with what they wanted people to see and not what was really happening, because these camps soon became compared to the concentration camps in Germany for the Jews.
Those interned at the camp overcame many difficult living conditions and tried to live their daily lives as best they could. Most of the documented photographs we have of the camps show the prisoners with smiles on their faces. That is not because they were happy with their situation, but because the government sent special photographers to document the times with what they wanted people to see and not what was really happening, because these camps soon became compared to the concentration camps in Germany for the Jews.