Returning home

When the camps closed, Japanese Americans were handed $25 and put on trains headed for the places they had been forcibly removed from nearly four years earlier. Harassment was common -- many returning Japanese Americans were greeted with signs reading "No Japs Allowed." Other discovered their property had been vandalized or stolen. Homes and businesses that had been boarded up or left in the care of others were abandoned and stripped of furnishings and goods. For the majority, who did not have homes to return to, housing was the most serious problem. Housing discrimination was severe in many areas and persisted to varying degrees until the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Former camp inmates with no other options moved into hostels and converted community institutions with conditions not much better than the camps they had just left. Although this period was stressful, it is remembered as a time when people came together to share what they had.

World War II (231)
Leaving camp (287)
Returning home (1049)

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1049 items

vh Barbara Reiko Mikami Keimi Segment 11 (ddr-densho-1000-459-11)

Grand Uncle's difficulties getting his prewar hotel back after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-459-11/

vh Bacon Sakatani Interview Segment 19 (ddr-densho-1000-298-19)

Difficult times after returning to California

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-298-19/

vh Mitsuko Hashiguchi Segment 62 (ddr-densho-1000-12-62)

Shock at condition of family farm upon returning after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-12-62/

vh Mitsuko Hashiguchi Segment 64 (ddr-densho-1000-12-64)

Rebuilding family's farm and finances after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-12-64/

vh Mitsuko Hashiguchi Segment 16 (ddr-densho-1000-12-16)

Caucasians reach out to the Japanese Americans returning home from the camps

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-12-16/

vh Mitsuko Hashiguchi Segment 63 (ddr-densho-1000-12-63)

Struggling to rebuild the family farm, finally deciding to sell

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-12-63/

vh Hank Shozo Umemoto Interview II Segment 9 (ddr-densho-1000-462-9)

Attending high school with other Nisei returning from the camps

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-462-9/

vh Hank Shozo Umemoto Interview II Segment 7 (ddr-densho-1000-462-7)

Life with mother and sister in Los Angeles

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-462-7/

vh Hank Shozo Umemoto Interview II Segment 3 (ddr-densho-1000-462-3)

First impressions of Los Angeles soon after the city was reopened to Japanese Americans returning from camps

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-462-3/

vh Hank Shozo Umemoto Interview II Segment 8 (ddr-densho-1000-462-8)

Description of the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles immediately following World War II

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-462-8/

vh Hank Shozo Umemoto Interview II Segment 11 (ddr-densho-1000-462-11)

Discussion of Japanese Americans in the immediate postwar period

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-462-11/

vh Hank Shozo Umemoto Interview II Segment 6 (ddr-densho-1000-462-6)

Living in a hotel upon first returning to Los Angeles

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-462-6/

vh Mary Kageyama Nomura Interview Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-255-24)

Leaving camp and returning to California, living in a hostel run by the Quakers

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-255-24/

vh Mako Nakagawa Segment 19 (ddr-densho-1000-66-19)

Parental discussions and anxiety surrounding where to go after leaving camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-66-19/

vh Mako Nakagawa Segment 23 (ddr-densho-1000-66-23)

Issues of racism and identity, learning a meaningful poem in school

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-66-23/

vh Mako Nakagawa Segment 21 (ddr-densho-1000-66-21)

Parents' struggles to reestablish their lives and find work

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-66-21/

vh Ron Osajima Interview Segment 12 (ddr-densho-1000-486-12)

Joining a Japanese American club called the Squires

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-486-12/

vh Ron Osajima Interview Segment 9 (ddr-densho-1000-486-9)

Living in the Evergreen Baptist Church hostel after leaving camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-486-9/

vh Ron Osajima Interview Segment 10 (ddr-densho-1000-486-10)

Rebuilding life in Boyle Heights after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-486-10/

vh Ron Osajima Interview Segment 8 (ddr-densho-1000-486-8)

Father's decision to return to Southern California

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-486-8/

vh Ron Osajima Interview Segment 11 (ddr-densho-1000-486-11)

Attending school with non-Japanese American peers

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-486-11/

vh Ron Osajima Interview Segment 14 (ddr-densho-1000-486-14)

Attending dances, meeting other Japanese Americans

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-486-14/

vh Hal Keimi Segment 14 (ddr-densho-1000-458-14)

Living conditions in a trailer park after leaving camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-458-14/

vh Hal Keimi Segment 15 (ddr-densho-1000-458-15)

Mother finds a job working for a white family

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-458-15/

vh Hal Keimi Segment 13 (ddr-densho-1000-458-13)

Family members split up and leave camp at different times

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-458-13/