World War II Internment Camps

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About World War II Internment Camps

This group is to share photos of the assembly/detention centers and internment camps that held people of Japanese, German, and Italian descent, mostly in the United States of America. Some people were sent to these camps from Latin America and thus photos from detention centers in those countries are also welcome.

Bits from Wikipedia:
Executive Order 9066, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, allowed authorized military commanders to designate "military areas" at their discretion, "from which any or all persons may be excluded." These "exclusion zones", unlike the "alien enemy" roundups, were applicable to anyone that an authorized military commander might choose, whether citizen or non-citizen. Eventually such zones would include parts of both the East and West Coasts, totaling about 1/3 of the country by area. Unlike the subsequent detainment and internment programs that would come to be applied to large numbers of Japanese Americans, detentions and restrictions directly under this Individual Exclusion Program were placed primarily on individuals of German or Italian ancestry, including American citizens.

During World War II, over 7,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese from Latin America were held in internment camps run by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, part of the Department of Justice.

Civilian Assembly Centers
* Arcadia, California (Santa Anita Racetrack, stables)
* Fresno, California (Big Fresno Fairgrounds, racetrack, stables)
* Marysville / Arboga, California (migrant workers' camp)
* Mayer, Arizona (Civilian Conservation Corps camp)
* Merced, California (county fairgrounds)
* Owens Valley, California
* Parker Dam, Arizona
* Pinedale, California (Pinedale Assembly Center, warehouses)
* Pomona, California (Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, racetrack, stables)
* Portland, Oregon (Pacific International Livestock Exposition, including 3,800 housed in the main pavilion building)
* Puyallup, Washington (fairgrounds racetrack stables, Informally known as "Camp Harmony")
* Sacramento / Walerga, California (migrant workers' camp)
* Salinas, California (fairgrounds, racetrack, stables)
* San Bruno, California (Tanforan racetrack, stables)
* Stockton, California (San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, racetrack, stables)
* Tulare, California (fairgrounds, racetrack, stables)
* Turlock, California (Stanislaus County Fairgrounds)
* Woodland, California

List of internment camps
* Gila River War Relocation Center, Arizona
* Granada War Relocation Center, Colorado (AKA "Amache")
* Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming
* Jerome War Relocation Center, Arkansas
* Manzanar War Relocation Center, California
* Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho
* Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona
* Rohwer War Relocation Center, Arkansas
* Topaz War Relocation Center, Utah
* Tule Lake War Relocation Center California

Justice Department detention camps
These camps often held German and Italian detainees in addition to Japanese Americans:
* Crystal City, Texas
* Fort Lincoln, North Dakota
* Fort Missoula, Montana
* Fort Stanton, New Mexico
* Kenedy, Texas
* Kooskia, Idaho
* Santa Fe, New Mexico
* Seagoville, Texas

Citizen Isolation Centers
The Citizen Isolation Centers were for those considered to be problem inmates.
* Leupp, Arizona
* Moab, Utah (AKA Dalton Wells)
* Old Raton Ranch/Fort Stanton, New Mexico

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Detainees convicted of crimes, usually draft resistance, were sent to these camps:
* Catalina, Arizona
* Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
* McNeill Island, Washington

US Army facilities
These camps often held German and Italian detainees in addition to Japanese Americans:
* Angel Island, California/Fort McDowell
* Camp Blanding, Florida
* Camp Forrest
* Camp Livingston, Louisiana
* Camp Lordsburg, New Mexico
* Camp McCoy, Wisconsin
* Florence, Arizona
* Fort Bliss
* Fort Howard
* Fort Lewis
* Fort Meade, Maryland
* Fort Richardson
* Fort Sam Houston
* Fort Sill, Oklahoma
* Griffith Park
* Honolulu, Hawaii
* Sand Island, Hawaii
* Stringtown, Oklahoma