Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps

"You may think that the Constitution is your security-- it is nothing but a piece of paper. You may think the statutes are your security-- they are nothing but words in a book. You may think that the elaborate mechanisms of government are your security-- it is nothing at all, unless you have sound and uncorrupted public opinion to give life to your Constitution, to give vitality to your statutes, to make efficient your government machinery."-- Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes So opens Ms. Weglyn's haunting report on the Japanese-American (J-A) internment camps of WW2. No book has made me so nauseuous, to think that our country, our government, could betray its own citizens in such a way. The scarier thing-- we're only two steps from something similar happening again, despite all our "progress". As an Asian-American-- a Sansei whose mother survived the internment camps-- I will never feel safe again in my own country. Ms. Weglyn's style is journalistic. She reports what she uncovers with an objective viewpoint. Her word-choice, especially with respect to summarizing government documents, makes the reading slightly awkward at times. But her use of "concentration camps" is accurate. J-A interned were treated less well than POWs-- since the internees were American citizens they were not protected by the Geneva Convention. Not only were they subjected to intolerable living conditions-- families sharing rooms, public facilities with no walls around the toilets, scarce food even for women and children-- they were subject to repeated psychological torture. All covered up under the "national security and political expediency" aegis. Ms. Weglyn does not need to get outraged in her narrative. The stories and the details do that themselves. She very meticulously has gone through the governmental and public accountings to put together this recounting of a truly black mark on American history. After being told that the J-A were being moved as protection for themselves from an angry US public, the US Government *repeatedly* asked their J-A citizens Catch-22 questions about their loyalty. The J-As could not know who to trust-- they had already just been betrayed-- property, savings, possessions all taken from them. The only way out was to volunteer to serve in combat (women and children, too!), or to renounce citizenship and be deported to Japan. But those that answered loyally to the USA were deemed "liars" and possible spies, and those that just wanted to get out were felt to be traitors. It was a no-win that repeated itself again and again in camps where people were already being treated like slaves. Literally, slaves. They were used to save various crops around California and the Pacific Northwest at less than penal rates of pay. They were called on for all sorts of manual labor tasks. All while the government hushed up the atrocities of the camps while at the same time fanning the flames of anti-Japanese sentiment among public opin

Michi Weglyns' YEARS OF INFAMY refutes once and for all the idiocy that President Roosevelt's Executive Order # 9066 was a necessary means to make the U.S. secure. Mrs. Weglyn's book makes a shambles out of this thesis, and her book presents "chapter and verse" anecdtotes which refute the contention that somehow these innocent men, women, and children were somehow a threat to the U.S. during World War II. Of partuclar note is Mrs. Weglyn's citation of the Munson Report which was issue on November 7, 1941. This report was based on government unwarranted spying and snooping of Americans of Japanese, the AJAs, and the report clearly stated that these people showed a "remakrable, even extrodinary degree of loyalty of this generally suspect ethnic group." Mrs. Weglyn examines the corrpution of legal standards and fair justice by both government officials and jurists. She is clear that, while these events took place in the 1940s, this is a systematic government policy any time when government officials see a chance to persecute a target minority any time they desire. One should note that California officials were actively involved in persecuting AJAs as these cowards saw a chance to loot and dispossess AJAs, innocent people, of their wealth and property. This episode should be a warning to U.S. citizens who think they are safe. Mrs. Weglyn proves that those Japanese who lost everything to an unjust government persecution were even criminalized after World War II. If these innocent people challenged the Almighty Government for the theft of their wealth and property, they could get ten year prison terms and fines of thousands if they did not cross every "t" and dot every "i." This is the way the government tries to cover their criminality. What may anger those who still think the government criminals had any basis for this attack on basic civil liberties is the fact that many of these AJA's recovered from all the persecution and loss and recovered. Many of the AJAs became professionals who were successful after World War II was over. There are some minor weaknesses in this book. For example, Mrs. Weglyn could have enhanced her book by extending her text to include the heroism of the all AJA units that were recruited during World War II. These men were the most highly decorated units during World War II and fought bravely while thier wives, children, parents, and loved ones suffered in concentration camps in the United States stretching from California to Arkansas. No less a figure than General Douglas Mac Arthur stated that without the AJA units intelligence work behind Japanese lines, his forces may not have been able to defeat the Japanese Empire during World War II. These men in the AJA units operated behind enemy lines gathering intelligence, posing as Japanese troops to free American prisoners of war, and providing outstanding intelligence that abled U.S. forces to defeat the Japanese. Someone may remember the all AJA unit, the

This is a must read, it covers americas darkpast which needs to be seen so it wont happen again.

Years of Infamy is a product of diligent research and passion. The use of words, such as "concentration camps" and "inmates" showed a strong bias. Michi Weglyn had the opinion that the internment process was unnecessary, and, rather than keep the country safe from sabotage, it only made thousands of people bitter, the author included. But though the author had an obvious bias, she represented both sides well. She noted that the government had intentions of keeping the country safe when internment began, and she also noted that, in this time of war, paranoia of sabotage and unpatriotic events caused a low tolerance in the authorities.Weglyn supported her thesis well. She made known that many people objected to the internment, including Harold Ickes and Attorney General Clark in Chapter 2, the Quakers in Chapter 3, Norman Thomas in Chapter 7, and Ernest Besig in Chapter 10, among others. The U.S Government's want of revenge was specifically mentioned in Chapters 1 and 2, where she noted that Japan had kept Americans from returning home, and the U.S. Government decided to match (and multiply by 100) the hostage amount; it was generally echoed throughout the course of the book. She also made known that those who objected did know the true situation, which was racial prejudice.Weglyn provided the reader with a large quantity of valid information. Approximately 25 pages of appendixes, 10 pages of photos, 30 pages of notes, a thorough bibliography, Dramatis Personae, and an index for quick reference proved a large amount of research. In every chapter, sections of personal accounts were included, and they made the book more personal, especially since Weglyn herself was interned. Also included is the perspective that many have never been given insight to: that of the internee. Before this book was published, many Japanese kept quiet, and very little of the relocation events are taught in public schools. Reading a book such as this could broaden one's historical horizons.This book would be best suited to researchers or those with great interest in the time period. Much like a newspaper article, fact after fact is thrown at the reader. While that may derail the casual reader, one reading for informational purposes rather than enjoyment would find the book pleasurable.

While the book may seem to be about old business, it is a storyas timely today as it was 23 years ago. Michi Weglyn tells a story ofterrible deeds in simple and unpretentious language. Her Kafkaesque tale of betryal and political hubris is a reminder to all of us of how fragile freedom really is. I would recommend it to anyone who seeks to understand the corrosive and immoral effects of both racism and its handmaiden, the mass media. This book should be read by all students, of any age who still believe that truth and justice are more than sound bites.