Final Report Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast 1942

Justification for the internment of American citizens during World War II.

“The action ultimately taken was based upon authority not then existing. It had become essential to provide means which would remove the potential menace to which the presence of this group under all the circumstances subjected the West Coast.” – pg. 9.

This uncomfortable reminder of American injustice was compiled by General John L. DeWitt and published by the Government Printing Office in 1943. It records and expounds upon the imprisonment of over 100,000 Japanese Americans, many of whom were legal citizens, from the West Coast during World War II. Hundreds of pages outline the justification, mechanisms for implementation, styles of confinement, and financial costs associated with physically relocating an entire ethnic group – men, women, and children – to remote internment camps.

Throughout the volume, prevailing contemporary racial attitudes are revealed through the indifference towards those affected – even going as far as to celebrate increased agricultural yields due to the implementation of modern technology and farming methods. In addition to numerous charts, photographs, and single-page maps, three fold-outs show Exclusion Areas, Assembly Center Destinations, and Relocation Center Destinations (see photos). From the Osher Map Library;

“The Japanese internment began in February, 1942, two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Executive Order 9066 signed by President Roosevelt forcibly committed innocent Japanese-Americans to isolated internment camps in rural California, Utah and other midwestern states. Conditions were inadequate, overcrowding and unsanitary also lacking education and medical care. In 1945 the Supreme Court declared the internments illegal. A final report submitted by General J.L. DeWitt in April, 1942 utilized maps, photographs and other visuals to justify the internments. The report was later revised for court cases regarding the internments.”

Further reading: Osher Map Library; Densho Encyclopedia; San Francisco Museum; United States National Archives