Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collections

Founded in 1946, The Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) was formed to serve the needs of Japanese immigrants and their American-born children coming to Chicago after leaving the World War II incarceration camps. Originally called the Chicago Resettlers Committee, the organization assisted with housing, jobs, and the re-forming of a community. JASC also works to archive the history of the Japanese American experience in Chicago for both scholars and the community with the JASC Legacy Center while continuing to provide social service and cultural programs for the greater Chicago area.

The Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) is a volunteer, non profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Japanese American community in Chicago. Through museum collaborations, historical research, and conservation,the CJAHS preserves the Japanese American legacy in Chicago.

Densho partnered with JASC and CJAHS in 2019 to make their oral histories available in the Densho Digital Repository. This work was generously funded by the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites program.

1 Collection

Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collection (ddr-chi-1)

Collection Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collection (ddr-chi-1)

This collection consists of interviews conducted during the "Then They Came For Me: Incarceration of Japanese Americans During WWII and the Demise of Civil Liberties" exhibit sponsored by Alphawood Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, along with additional interviews conducted subsequent to the closing of the exhibit. All interviews are held in the collections of the archival collections …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-chi-1/