Preparation

On March 2, 1942, Public Proclamation No. 1 began to appear on telephone poles and buildings. This was the first official notice Japanese Americans had of their immediate removal from the West Coast. The notices stated that they had six or seven days to prepare, and were to take only what they could carry. They were not told where they would be taken. People rushed to sell or store, in one week, property and belongings acquired over a lifetime. Some families tucked their valuables away in their attic or basement and locked the door, hoping to return soon.

World War II (219)
Mass removal ("evacuation") (623)
Preparation (339)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
Military Areas 1 and 2

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339 items
Document from scrapbook page (ddr-densho-72-41)
doc Document from scrapbook page (ddr-densho-72-41)
Document titled "Pertinent Facts About Relocation Centers and Americans of Japanese Ancestry," from page of scrabook titled "Scrapbook: 1943-45."
Registering for mass removal (ddr-densho-34-164)
img Registering for mass removal (ddr-densho-34-164)
Surrounded by U.S. army soldiers, Nisei men register their families during the exclusion from Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Japanese Americans registering for mass removal (ddr-densho-36-49)
img Japanese Americans registering for mass removal (ddr-densho-36-49)
These Japanese are being processed in preparation for exclusion from Seattle, Washington. The processing took place at a civil control station located at 2100 2nd Avenue. Original Seattle Post Intelligencer caption: "Waiting their turn--Members of Seattle's Japanese community in the course of being processed at the civil control station at 2100 2nd Ave. in preparation for …
Nihonmachi during mass removal (ddr-densho-36-12)
img Nihonmachi during mass removal (ddr-densho-36-12)
This is a window front in Seattle's Nihonmachi during the mass removal. Once the incarceration became inevitable, "evacuation" sales were commonplace. Japanese Americans, unsure of the future and knowing they could take into the camps only what they could carry, were forced to sell their real and personal property in one week. Many buyers, knowing the …
Mass removal processing center (ddr-densho-36-13)
img Mass removal processing center (ddr-densho-36-13)
Original caption from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Novel audience--Scene in the old theater at 1319 Rainier Ave. which has been converted into a civil control station for evacuation of Japanese from Seattle this week. The Japanese passed from table to table and when the "show" was over they were ready for their trip to the assembly center …
JACL mass removal registration (ddr-densho-36-30)
img JACL mass removal registration (ddr-densho-36-30)
The Seattle chapter of the JACL conducted emergency "evacuation" registration on or about March 14, 1942.
JACL mass removal registration (ddr-densho-36-29)
img JACL mass removal registration (ddr-densho-36-29)
The Seattle chapter of the JACL conducted emergency "evacuation" registration on or about March 14, 1942.
Packing items for the mass removal (ddr-densho-36-50)
img Packing items for the mass removal (ddr-densho-36-50)
This mother and daughter pack their belongings in preparation for mass removal.
Letter to Kinuta Uno at Fort Missoula (ddr-densho-324-9)
doc Letter to Kinuta Uno at Fort Missoula (ddr-densho-324-9)
Correspondence from Kinuta Uno's daughter discussing their evacuation instructions, being sent to Fresno Assembly Center, and being able to return to their land after the war.
License for the sale and transfer of goods (ddr-densho-324-12)
doc License for the sale and transfer of goods (ddr-densho-324-12)
Allows the Seattle-First National Bank to sell farm equipment, vehicles, and household furnishings for the Uno Family.
Letter to Kinuta Uno at Fort Missoula (ddr-densho-324-14)
doc Letter to Kinuta Uno at Fort Missoula (ddr-densho-324-14)
Correspondence from Kinuta Uno's daughter discussing life on the farm and going to Puyallup "Camp Harmony" Assembly Center.
Japanese American family preparing for the journey to the Pomona Assembly Center (ddr-densho-242-4)
img Japanese American family preparing for the journey to the Pomona Assembly Center (ddr-densho-242-4)
Caption by Ike Hatchimonji: "May 1942 - El Monte, California - In front of family store. Hatchimonji family about to leave for the Pomona Assembly Center then the WRA camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. L-R: Tasuke Ike, Megumi Mike, Kumezo father, Nobue mother, and daughter Gloria, wearing the family ID tags."
Two teen boys (ddr-densho-242-9)
img Two teen boys (ddr-densho-242-9)
Caption by Ike Hatchimonji: "Ike and Mike on day of departure to a camp May 1942."
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