The After Math
The Japanese Internment was over on January 2,1945 which meant that the Japanese Americans were able to leave the camps to start over their lives and find new homes. After more than two years of being trapped in camps, the people there were able to be out, living like before the Internment happened. Once the war was ending so was the horrible events it contained in its history. All these problems ended up happening due to some words, paranoia, and a very important signature. The Japanese Internment of Japanese Americans in World War II was and still will be an event that is a part of the "dark times" that were going on then.
The End of the Tragedy
By 1946, Japanese Americans were liberated from the camps, but they still had memories of the injustices during the war. Japanese Americans strived to create public knowledge of the injustices they had endured. Forty years after internment, the United States government finally admitted its mistake. This was done with a formal apology to the Japanese American community (A More Perfect Union). library.think quest.org/trio/.../aftermath/aftermath.htm
The letters were sent saying - the internment was “motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership” (Sakurai) Also, in 1988, the U.S. Congress passed a law which awarded formal payments of $20,000 each to the surviving internees. These things may have been okay for some people, but it still angered a lot of other people whose lives were completely changed. After the internment, many had trouble finding jobs and getting money loans. However, after years went by, they started farms and bought new houses, while others were damaged for life because many were killed and others were wounded forever.
The letters were sent saying - the internment was “motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership” (Sakurai) Also, in 1988, the U.S. Congress passed a law which awarded formal payments of $20,000 each to the surviving internees. These things may have been okay for some people, but it still angered a lot of other people whose lives were completely changed. After the internment, many had trouble finding jobs and getting money loans. However, after years went by, they started farms and bought new houses, while others were damaged for life because many were killed and others were wounded forever.
After the Japanese were let out of the camps, a majority of them returned to the Pacific Coast. They began to start new lives and try to forget what happened. Many of them lost there land when they were brought to the camps, so when they returned they tried to regain what they had lost. Finally, the Japanese began to live a normal life, except many had trouble finding jobs and getting money loans. After years went by, they started farms and bought new houses. Others were damaged for life. This tragic event left different people, with different emotions. Many were killed and other wounded forever. Today many are suing to be paid back what their family lost. This is the price we pay for racism. This teaches us all that we are all people, no matter what color or race."Finally getting out of the camps was a great day. It felt so good to get out of the gates, and just know that you were going home…finally. Home wasn't where I left it though. Getting back, I was just shocked to see what had happened, our home being bought by a different family, different decorations in the windows; it was our house, but it wasn't anymore. It hurt not being able to return home, but moving into a new home helped me I believe. I think it helped me to bury the past a little, to, you know, move on from what had happened." ~ Aya Nakamura [November 18, 2000.] (http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312008/)
When they got home
Finally, in December 1944, Japanese-Americans were allowed to return to
the West Coast, and internees were gradually allowed to leave the camps.
Life couldn't immediately go back to normal for most of them, however.
In many cases, the internees' property and businesses had been
neglected, vandalized or taken over by others [source: Min].
The government estimated that these people's financial losses amassed
to $400,000,000 (in 2009, that's roughly equal to $5,219,852,760.80)
[source: Sowell].
Could this happen again?
In conclusion, the Japanese-American
internment never had to be done if we only trusted each other. Those 120,000
people didn’t have to suffer nor have their lives changed forever. All of this
happened due to racism and a bad decision. Therefore, we should always be
careful of the decisions we make in life and all our ways because even just a
single signature- can change the lives of thousands of people. Because if we
don’t change our ways, what would happen? Is it possible another race would be
discriminated and a bad decision would once again put people in misery? Only we
could answer these questions.