World War II Japanese American Incarceration: Mass Removal and Incarceration

Department of Justice (DOJ) (Record Group 60)

The DOJ oversaw the domestic operations of the Alien Enemy Control Program, aided by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Case Files and Index

World War II Japanese Internee Cards, 1941–1947 (National Archives Identifier: 720246)

Class 146-13 (Alien Enemy) Litigation Case Files and Enclosures, 1938–1962 (National Archives Identifier: 636309)

Class 93 (Habeas Corpus) Litigation Case Files and Enclosures, 1912–1978 (National Archives Identifier: 1668013): Case file 93-1-1320 concerns Japanese Americans identified as alien enemies who were facing deportation.

Hawai'i Related Investigation Records

Class 146-10 (Japanese Propaganda) Litigation Case Files and Enclosures, 1940–1955 (National Archives Identifier: 20761599)

Class 146-100 (Official Investigations) Litigation Case Files and Enclosures, 1940–1982 (National Archives Identifier: 20761600)

Confidential Telegrams, 1930–1953 (National Archives Identifier: 5049351)

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (Record Group 85)

The INS administered the Department of Justice and many of the Department of State internment facilities. 

INS, San Francisco Office

Enemy Alien Deportation Case Files, ca. 1942–ca. 1948 (National Archives Identifier: 43434825): Only one file 12044/255 Ryoichi (Johnny) Yasui

INS, Los Angeles Office

Administrative Files Relating to Enemy Aliens, 1941–1948 (National Archives Identifier: 6217701)

Enemy Alien Case Files, 1941–1948 (National Archives Identifier: 6217699)

INS, Central Office, Washington, DC

Central Office Subject Files, 1957–ca. 1975 (National Archives Identifier: 1273013)

Subject and Policy Files, 1906–1957 (National Archives Identifier: 559947) and Index (National Archives Identifier: 4490783): 

• File 56,125/General to 56,125/999 consists of 142 boxes concerning primarily DOJ-INS Enemy Alien Internment Facilities. Files 56125/296 999, 56293/393 and 56213/929 include names and sometimes case files of repatriated enemy aliens.
• For further instructions on how to access this series, see INS Subject and Policy Files, 1906–1957

Alien Enemy Detention Facility Films, ca. 1942–ca. 1943 (National Archives Identifier: 13205)

Records Relating to Operations of More Than One Enemy Alien Internment Facility (World War II), 1941–1952 (National Archives Identifier: 5111285)

Field Reports Relating to Detention of Alien Enemies in District Numbers 1–21 (World War II), 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5120261)

Bedford, PA

General Files, 1945–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5170862)

Selected Records, June 1945–November 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5215956)

Camp Upton, NY

Case Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5717244)

Crystal City, TX

General Files, 1942–1948 (National Archives Identifier: 5285110)

Index to Names of Internees, ca. 1942–ca. 1948 (National Archives Identifier: 5297218)

Canteen Account Book, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5326583)

Medical Records, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5757310)

Fort Lincoln, ND

Index to Names of Internees, ca. 1941–ca. 1946 (National Archives Identifier: 5354471)

General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5439393)

Index to Clinical Records, ca. 1941–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 5757348)

Internee Medical Files, 1941–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5757377)

General Medical Records, 1943–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 5757419)

X-Ray Radiographs, 1941–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 5805367)

Outpatient Cards, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5805370)

Fort Missoula, MT

Index to General Files, ca. 1942–ca. 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5460697)

General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5461771)

Special Records, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5504713)

Medical Records, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5807380)

Kenedy, TX

General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5605348)

Index to Names, ca. 1942–ca. 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5605372)

Withdrawn Records from the General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5716571)

Medical Records, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5819196)

Fort Stanton, NM

Index to Names, ca. 1942–ca. 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5554461)

General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5554491)

Old Raton Ranch Camp, Fort Stanton, and Santa Fe, NM

Selected Records, 1943–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 5634005)

Index to Names, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5716624)

Seagoville, TX

Index to Names, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5716930)

General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5716972)

Medically Restricted Files Removed from the General Files, ca. 1942–ca. 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5717032)

Clinical Records, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5819394)

Internee Payrolls, 1943–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5819401)

Pay Cards, 1943–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5819430)

Tule Lake, CA

General Files, 1945–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 5717237): Records cover the period when the camp became a segregation center, and held those who renounced U.S. citizenship, and those seeking repatriation and expatriation to Japan.

White Sulphur Springs, WV

Index to Names, ca. 1942–ca. 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5585824)

General Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5585848): Does not contain internee case or medical files.

Confidential Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5585894)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (Record Group 65)

The FBI was responsible for investigating and arresting enemy aliens that were brought before the Alien Enemy Hearing Board. Except for records that have been reviewed and made public, accessing FBI records requires requesting specific case files through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). For more information on FBI records held at the National Archives and how to access them, read this Overview on FBI Records. 

Publicly available lists and previously scanned files include:

FBI Records Declassified under the War Crimes Disclosure Acts

FBI Records: The Vault

War Relocation Authority (WRA) (Record Group 210)

Lists, Indexes, and Data

Evacuee Case Files, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 891305)

Evacuee Summary Data Cards, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1055737)

Basic Family Cards for Evacuees, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1544894)

Individual Exclusion Case Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 1541669)

Institutionalized Evacuee Cards, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1541660)

List of Changes in Names, Etc., Relating to Evacuees, 1945–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 5634184)

Lists of Evacuees at the Tule Lake Segregation Center, 1943–1944 (National Archives Identifier: 1541663)

Final Accountability Rosters of Evacuees, 1944–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1055789): Microfilm publication, M1865.

Records about Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1988–1989 (National Archives Identifier: 574045) 

• Available on Access to Archival Databases (AAD) with instructions page.

Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA)

Voluntary Evacuee Change of Residence Cards, 1942 (National Archives Identifier: 5605373)

Master Index of Evacuees, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1065524)

Evacuee Transfer Lists, 1942–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 1566650)

Social Data Registration Forms, 1942–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 5605391)

Tabulation Summaries, 1942–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 5605405)

Vital Statistics for Persons of Japanese Ancestry, 1942–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 5607266)

General Records

Drawings of Relocation Centers, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 305880)

Fixed Asset Inventories, 1942–1947 (National Archives Identifier: 5607276)

Subject Files,

• 1942 (National Archives Identifier: 1543537)
• 1943–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1544860)
• 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1534417): Selected documents filmed in microfilm publication M1342 - “Community Analysis Reports and Community Analysis Trend Reports of the War Relocation Authority, 1942–1946”.
• 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1543691)
• 1944–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1548862)
• 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1544889)

Office of the Provost Marshal General (Record Group 389)

Correspondence and Subject Files

Project file subjects include WRA camps used for the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

• Unclassified Decimal Files, 1941–1954 (National Archives Identifier: 645081)
• Subject Correspondence Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 645987)
• Historical Files, 1941–1958 (National Archives Identifier: 646880)

Classified Subject Decimal Files, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 654681): Includes records relating to the arrests and internment of enemy aliens from Hawai'i and protests at WRA camps.

Civilian Internment

Subject Files, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 833674): Records relating to the internment of enemy aliens in the United States, including 1,202 case files of internees of Japanese ancestry from Hawai'i.

Records Relating to Japanese Civilian Internees During World War II, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 872144): Includes files of Japanese nationals interned in the United States, including those who were apprehended from overseas (Peru, Guam, and Saipan).

Records Relating to Alien Civilian Internees During World War II, 1941–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 876995)

Civilian Alien Internee Case Files, 1941–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 837248)

Japanese American (Loyalty) Program

Subject Correspondence Files Relating to the Internal Security Program, 1941–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 895317): Includes records related to the Loyalty Investigation Program (Boxes 1828–1831) and the Japanese American Program (Box 1851).

Records Relating to Persons of Japanese Ancestry Residing in the United States, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 953563): Also contains a listing of Japanese American men eligible for military service.

Japanese American Personal Data Cards, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 953594)

U.S. Army Forces in the Middle Pacific (World War II) (Record Group 494)

Records related to the internment of enemy aliens residing in Hawai’i, including U.S. citizens, can be found on the Martial Law page.

U.S. Army Defense Commands (World War II) (Record Group 499)

Western Defense Command (WDC) and Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA) records concern the policy, administration and the public reaction to the program to forcibly remove Japanese Americans from the West Coast.

Assembly Center Branch

Index to the Records of Japanese Relocation Centers, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 22476359): Index to the Assembly Centers

Copy of Records of Japanese Relocation Centers, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 22476357): Assembly Centers records

Copy of Records of the Assembly Centers, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 22476356)

Copy of the General Correspondence of the Assembly Center Branch, 1942–1943 (National Archives Identifier: 22476358)

Copy of the Records of the Central and Area Supply Offices of the Assembly Center Branch, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 22476355)

Copy of the Records of the Finance Division of the Assembly Center Branch, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 22476354)

Copy of the Index of the Records of the Assembly Center Branch, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 22476353)

Correspondence and Other Records

Individual Exclusion Board and Program Correspondence, 1942–1943 (National Archives Identifier: 1075598)

Classified General Correspondence, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1076616)

Unclassified General Correspondence, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 1077404)

Seized Records of Japanese Societies, Religious Groups, Individuals, and Other Groups, 1942–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 22476360)

Publications Concerning the Internment of Japanese Americans, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 1077405)

Federal Agencies Supporting Removal and Confinement

Records also detail cooperation from agencies with indirect roles such as coordinating the use of incarcerated labor for agricultural and land management projects, as well as disseminating propaganda promoting the welfare of those confined.

Office of the Secretary of Agriculture (Record Group 16)

Program Correspondence Files, 1937–1952 (National Archives Identifier: 650946): Box 24 includes files related to the forced removal of Japanese American farmers from Bainbridge Island and other Pacific Northwest locations, and the impact on agricultural production.

Bureau of Land Management (Record Group 49) 

War Relocations Centers, CA, 1946–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 516466)

Operating Plans for Civilian Public Service Camps, 1942–1944 (National Archives Identifier: 2364409)

Project Plans and Reports, 1942–1966 (National Archives Identifier: 4893302)

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) (Record Group 75)

Office of the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner

National Defense Program Records Relating to the War Relocation Authority, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 613629): Relate mainly to the Poston (Colorado River) WRA Camp.

Office Files of Commissioner John Collier, 1933–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 611812): Includes two boxes of records related to the WRA incarceration sites on Indian lands.  

• This series is available online from the ProQuest History Vault’s “American Indians and the American West” collection, which can be accessed for free onsite at National Archives research facilities.

Office Files of Joseph C. McCaskill, 1939–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 644032): Includes files related to incarceration.

Correspondence and Reports Relating to the Employment of Indians, 1940–1944 (National Archives Identifier: 2194623): Include documents related to Japanese farm laborers on tribal reservations during the war.

Minneapolis Area Office

Records Relating to Agencies, Offices, and Tribes in Other Jurisdictions, 1949–1952 (National Archives Identifier: 60453149): Include files related to the Poston (Colorado River) WRA camp.

Haskell Institute

Correspondence of the Superintendents, 1890–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 2143367): Includes a letter noting that the Office of Indian Affairs assumed some duties of supervising incarcerated Japanese Americans within the Colorado River jurisdiction.

Portland Office

Irrigation Project Case Files, 1910–1960 (National Archives Identifier: 566154): Includes one file, “War Relocation Authority File No. 9.”

Office of the Chief of Engineers (Record Group 77)

Construction Completion Reports, 1942–1943 (National Archives Identifier: 2641873)

• Minidoka War Relocation Area Completion Report (National Archives Identifier: 7820143)

Construction Completion Reports, 1917–1944 (National Archives Identifier: 6277808)

• Minidoka War Relocation Area (National Archives Identifier: 6792360)

Civil Works Project Photographs, ca. 1900–ca. 1987 (National Archives Identifier: 580875): Includes photographs from the Puyallup Fairgrounds and the proposed Toppenish detention center.

National Park Service (RG 79) 

Central Files, 1925–1975 (National Archives Identifier: 296390): One folder concerns the use of incarcerated Japanese labor at Tule Lake Segregation Center for park projects, and other matters related to the camp.

Farmers Home Administration (Record Group 96) 

General Correspondence, 1935–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 296535): Files include emergency approval for housing for incarcerated Japanese to pick cotton in Arizona; and to harvest crops near Tule Lake Segregation Center. 

General Correspondence of the Office of the Director, 1935–1947 (National Archives Identifier: 4719283): Includes records related to work with the War Relocation Authority and the Wartime Civilian Control Administration. From the Region 11 (Portland) office.

Office of the Secretary of War (Record Group 107)

Visit the Military and Civilian Service page.

Office of the Chief Signal Officer (Record Group 111)

Motion Picture Films Relating to the Relocation of Japanese Aliens, 1942–1942 (National Archives Identifier: 36246)

Bureau of Reclamation (Record Group 115)

Records Relating to the Tule Lake Civilian Conservation Corps Camp and Japanese American Internment Camp, 1936–2010 (National Archives Identifier: 5134297): Includes documentation on use of incarcerated labor on reclamation projects as well as the disposition of property after the war.

Records Relating to the War Relocation Authority and Protection of Structures, August 27, 1940–July 6, 1953 (National Archives Identifier: 894528): Includes agreements and disposal records related to the Heart Mountain WRA camp. Also includes documentation on prisoners of war (German, Italian, and Japanese) and construction projects.

General Administrative and Project Records, 1919–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 562769): Includes several boxes of related records, filed under “386.05 National Defense - Evacuation of Aliens; Establishment of Concentration Camps, etc.”

U.S. Attorneys (Record Group 118)

Records Relating to National Defense and Enemy Aliens, 1941–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 4477113): Includes FBI investigative reports and other documents relating to enemy aliens (German, Italian, and Japanese) in New Hampshire.

Naval Districts and Shore Establishments (Record Group 181)

Records include files concerning the removal of the Japanese communities from the West Coast; the impact on the fishing and farming industries; the condemnation of land; and post-war hysteria toward the Japanese communities upon their return.

• Formerly Classified Correspondence Files, 1921–1947 (National Archives Identifier: 295420): Relates to Terminal Island, CA
• Central Subject Files, 1924–1958 (National Archives Identifier: 295430): Relates to Terminal Island
• Central Subject Files, 1923–1952 (National Archives Identifier: 295618): Relates to Southern California and Imperial Valley

Records Relating To Japanese Americans (National Archives Identifier: 314993816): One folder relates to Japanese Americans in Hawai’i, and deals with loans issued by the Farm Security Administration; employment on the Honolulu waterfront; proposed removal from restricted military areas on Oahu; and concerns over food production.

Publications

Publications for Overseas Distribution, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 782704)

Posters, Pamphlets, Booklets, and Publications, ca. 1942–ca. 1945 (National Archives Identifier: 1018105)

Feature Stories, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 976318)

Images

Photographs Depicting "Life in the United States", 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 535735)

Photographic Prints of Life in the United States, 1942–1946 (National Archives Identifier: 535732): Includes images from Manzanar WRA camp.

Photographs of the Allies and Axis, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 535523): Includes the 100th Infantry Battalion and Hawai’i-related images.

Photographs of Allied and Axis Personalities and Activities, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 535773): Includes Japanese American soldiers in Italy and Japanese Americans returning to California

Photographs of American Military Operations, 1942–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 535762)

Collections

Records related to mass removal and incarceration can also be found among the personal papers held at the Harry S. Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Libraries.

Official Files (Truman Administration) (Collection HST-OFF)

Harry S. Truman Papers: Presidential Official Files, 1945–1953 (National Archives Identifier: 201124)

• War Relocation Authority (Department of the Interior), OF 6k (National Archives Identifier: 724799)

Harry S. Truman Papers as U.S. Senate and Vice President (Collection HST-SVP)

Harry S. Truman Papers as U.S. Senator and Vice President, 1935–1945 (National Archives Identifier: 602137)

• Collection Description

Edwin G. Arnold Papers (Collection HST-EGA)

Subject Files, 1933–1959 (National Archives Identifier: 201212)

• Collection Description

Philip Glick Papers (Collection HST-PG)

Subject Files, 1926–1990 (National Archives Identifier: 6997559)

• Collection Description

Dillon S. Myer Papers (Collection HST-DSM)

Dillon S. Myer Papers, 1934–1966 (National Archives Identifier: 594737)

• Collection Description

Cooperative League of the United States (Collection HST-CLUS)

Subject Files, 1936–1949 (National Archives Identifier: 646470)

• Collection Description

Raymond R. Zimmerman White House Files (Truman Administration) (Collection HST-RRZWHF)

Raymond R. Zimmerman's Subject Files, 1945–1947 (National Archives Identifier: 646425)

• Collection Description

Franklin D. Roosevelt Papers as President

Selected Documents on Japanese American Incarceration, 1935-2005

• Collection Description
• This "artificial" collection is arranged in four series, each reflecting the original archival collection from which the documents draw: FDR Papers as President - Official File (OF); FDR Papers as President - President's Personal File (PPF) (Collection FDR-PFF) ((National Archives Identifier: 1183); FDR Papers as President - President's Secretary's File (PSF); and Materials from Other Collections.

Charles Fahy Papers (Collection FDR-Fahy)

Charles Fahy Papers, 1933–1957 (National Archives Identifier: 200963888)

• Office Of Solicitor General Papers, 1940–1945: Includes files on Japanese “relocation” cases, boxes 36–37.
• Collection description

Philleo Nash Papers (Collection HST-PN)

White House Files, 1936–1953 (National Archives Identifier: 1125612): Records document Phileo Nash's role involving racial and ethnic minorities, including Japanese Americans.

• Nash, Philleo Papers: Collection description

"March of Time" Collection (Collection MT)

"March of Time" Motion Picture Newsreel Releases, 1935–1953 (National Archives Identifier: 97522):

• The West Coast Question (National Archives Identifier: 97624): Includes scenes of Japanese and Japanese Americans sent to incarceration camps.

Paramount Pictures, Inc., Collection (Collection PARA)

Motion Picture Newsreel Films, October 1941–March 1957 (National Archives Identifier: 98600):

Paramount News [Feb. 26] (National Archives Identifier: 98751): Includes scenes of Japanese Americans joining the Army while incarcerated in WRA camps, taking jobs in war plants, and attending classes in WRA camps.