PARTNER
Densho
Visit partner
COLLECTION ID
ddr-densho-67
DESCRIPTION
This collection consists of selected papers collected by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), which was created on July 30, 1980 by an act of Congress. Formed mainly to investigate matters surrounding the incarceration and to recommend appropriate remedies, the CWRIC had no power to correct grievances and was viewed as a "copout" by those fighting for more immediate redress. Still, hearings were conducted in 20 cities across the nation beginning in 1981, and in 1982 the CWRIC issued its report 'Personal Justice Denied.' It was an exhaustive work that combined the testimonies of former camp inmates given at the hearings and research conducted by a team led by Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig. Herzig and legal historian Peter Irons discovered declassified documents verifying that the government had withheld information showing that there was no military necessity in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. Ultimately, the CWRIC recommended, among other things, $20,000 individual compensation to those incarcerated and a formal government apology. This recommendation would be the basis for the many redress bills that were to follow. The collection also includes a selection of written testimonies submitted to the Commission in 1981 for the Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D.C., hearings. Also included are selected written testimonies submitted for hearings on the Civil Liberties Act of 1983, H.R. 4110 and S. 2116.
INCLUSIVE UNIT DATE
c.1940s-1980s
BULK UNIT DATE
c.1940s and 1980s
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
353 documents
CONTRIBUTOR
Densho
CREATORS
PREFERRED CITATION
Courtesy of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
RIGHTS
352 Objects









