Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe: Complicity and Conscience in America's World War II Concentration Camps

Muller, Eric L. Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe: Complicity and Conscience in America's World War II Concentration Camps. 2023. 304p. ISBN 9781469673974.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Americans living on the West Coast became suspicious of their Japanese neighbors. Many of the Japanese Americans were first generation immigrants who had come over for a better life, but others were second or even third generation Americans. Regardless of their citizenship, the U.S. government elected to intern and displace all Japanese to avoid sabotage and the presence of a fifth column as it prosecuted the war in the Pacific.

Tens of thousands of Japanese Americans found themselves in camps, away from their property and the comfort of a life now behind them. Each camp was run by the War Relocation Authority, and a civilian lawyer was attached to each with contradictory orders. First, they were to provide legal advice to any of the internees who needed it. They could provide divorces, sell assets, attempt to resolve banking issues caused by the forced relocation, and deal with any civilian law enforcement. Second, they were mandated to ensure that the camps kept operating, and were not disturbed by strikes or protests. The fact that order in the camps often violated civil rights, and the wholesale imprisonment was a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, added to the burden of these lawyers.

Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe explores the lives of three of these lawyers, who served the U.S. government but attempted to negotiate the best of a bad situation for the detainees. Navigating a racist system that implemented a structure to deal with a perceived lack of loyalty, these lawyers fought the Japanese Americans' exclusion from their own rights, and shone a light on a dark page of American history. 

Sisters Matsumoto

 Gotanda, Philip Kan. Sisters Matsumoto. 2019. ISBN 9781682660850. 

The three Matsumoto sisters have always been close-knit. They grew up on a prosperous farm in California, but when the U.S. was Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, their world suddenly changed. Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were ordered to report to train stations, where they were loaded in trains with blinds to prevent them seeing where they were heading. They soon found themselves in an internment camp. As the war rolled towards its conclusion, the Matsumoto family was released, and the sisters returned to California minus their father, who died in the camp.

Back home, they soon realize that life will not return to what it was before Pearl Harbor. For one, their father, worried about who would take care of the farm while they were gone, and needing money to support his family, sold the farm while they were in the camp, and never told his daughters. Their house still stands filled with memories, but it will soon be occupied by someone else. As the sisters pick up the pieces of their pre-war life, they begin contemplating what their future holds.

Pair this audiobook with We Hereby Refuse and Displacement for a well-rounded view of the Japanese-American war experience in the 1940s.

We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration

Abe, Frank and Tamiko Nimura. We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration. 2021. 160p. ISBN 9781634059763. 

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States government mandated the internment of all Japanese living on the U.S. West Coast, regardless of their citizenship status. For the first time in its history, the United States was imprisoning people without due process. 

Three Japanese families find themselves sent on trains away from their homes, businesses, and farms, and to concentration camps in the interior. Faced with injustice and oppression, Japanese-Americans fought back. Some, having been denied their rights, refused to be drafted and serve in the military. Others refused to sign a loyalty oath. Some contested their illegal imprisonment all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite court rulings that found the internment a legal measure in war, Japanese-Americans never stop seeking redress.

Released near the end of the war, they returned to lives ruined. Businesses had been sold, homes grabbed by jealous neighbors, and jobs filled by others. An entire community was despoiled. Still they fought, and in 1988 the U.S. government recognized its actions had been wrong, and provided compensation to survivors. 

Beautifully illustrated from historical records, this book showcases a viewpoint that is oftentimes ignored. Fans of history will appreciate the author's attention to detail and his accurate portrayal of life in the camps. This book can be paired with Displacement for another view on the internment of Japanese-Americans.