Order 9066
Order 9066
APM Reports & The Smithsonian
Order 9066 chronicles the history of the WWII Japanese American Incarceration through vivid, first-person accounts of those who lived through it. The series explores how this shocking violation of American democracy came to pass, and its legacy in the present.
Chapter 8: Seeking Redress
Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War Two demand that the federal government take account of their suffering and make reparations.
Jul 1, 2018
34 min
Chapter 7: Leaving Camp
At the end of 1944, the U.S. government lifted the order barring people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. Many people freed from camp faced racism and poverty as they tried to rebuild their lives. Some found that leaving camp was even harder than being sent there.
Jun 24, 2018
32 min
Childhood at Heart Mountain
Two men who were imprisoned at Heart Mountain as boys remember their time in camp and how the experience shaped them as adults.
Jun 17, 2018
15 min
Chapter 6: Resistance
The Japanese Americans who protested their incarceration and defied the pressure to prove their patriotism.
Jun 10, 2018
36 min
Objects of Incarceration
A handmade pin tells an improbable love story from camp.
Jun 3, 2018
10 min
Chapter 5: Fighting for Freedom
More than 33,000 Japanese American men and women served in World War II. They fought as soldiers in Europe, and as translators in the Pacific.
May 27, 2018
34 min
Chapter 4: Gaman - Making Do
It was a time to persevere in the face of the unendurable, and to do so with dignity. The Japanese term for that is Gaman.
Apr 2, 2018
29 min
Music on Heart Mountain
Kishi Bashi, the renowned alt-rock musician, has been improvising music in places connected to the Japanese American incarceration. That includes the top of Heart Mountain, in Wyoming. Hear Kishi Bashi climb the mountain and perform a song that is part of his "songfilm" project, Omoiyari.
Mar 25, 2018
12 min
Chapter 3: Prison Cities
In the first months of incarceration, Japanese Americans were hit with the humiliating conditions of camp life. The U.S. government denied that people of Japanese ancestry living in the "assembly centers" were prisoners, but the first summer in these camps proved otherwise.
Mar 18, 2018
25 min
Songs of Incarceration
Musicians Julian Saporiti and Erin Aoyama perform songs about the incarceration in a former barrack at Heart Mountain in Wyoming. With a special appearance from Kishi Bashi.
Mar 11, 2018
17 min
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