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United States War Relocation Authority Reports, 1942-1946
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- United States. War Relocation Authority.
- Title
- United States War Relocation Authority Reports
- Dates
- 1942-1946 (inclusive)19421946
- Quantity
- 0.50 cubic feet, (2 boxes)
- Collection Number
- MSS WRA
- Summary
- The United States War Relocation Authority Reports are comprised of more than fifty mimeographed reports detailing the operation of War Relocation Authority (WRA) concentration camps used to house Japanese American incarcerees during World War II.
The contents of Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, and Series 4 have been digitized and are available upon request. - Repository
-
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for use.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States Western Defense Command created two "exclusion zones," encompassing all of California and large portions of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Because of the perceived security threat attributed to individuals of Japanese ancestry by the federal government within these zones. Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from these zones and relocated to concentration camps by Executive Order 9066.
In March 1942, the War Relocation Authority (WRA) was created by executive order to oversee the internment of Japanese Americans removed from the exclusion zone. That spring, more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed to ten WRA-operated internment camps located on public lands in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. These camps were typically crude and lacking in many basic amenities. Work opportunities were available for incarcerees, but compensation was minimal. Education programs were offered in the concentration camps, but were often intended to foster pro-American sentiments among the incarcerees.
The Community Analysis Section (CAS) of the WRA was established in 1943. It was composed of social scientists assigned to study incarcerees within the concentration camps for the benefit of the federal government. The CAS staff produced reports on topics including self-governance, education, language, concentration camp labor, incarceree religious practices, and incarceree conflict.
The exclusion zone was eliminated in January 1945 and the WRA began closing camps in October of that year. The WRA was officially eliminated on June 26, 1946.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The United States War Relocation Authority Reports are comprised of four sets of mimeographed reports: Community Analysis Reports, Community Analysis Notes, a Project Analysis Series, and Quarterly and Semi-Annual Reports. Series 1 through 3 were produced by the War Relocation Authority's (WRA) Community Analysis Section (CAS). CAS was predominately staffed by sociologists and anthropologists who studied the concentration camps and their incarcerees. Topics reflect the interests of CAS and include topics such as incarceree daily life in the camps including forced participation in WRA programs, forced assimilation, and resistance to WRA activities; forced removal; and white American attitudes toward incarcerees. Also included are detailed reports on logistical issues, facilities concerns, and adverse living conditions at individual concentration camps.
Series 4 is comprised of bound reports created by the WRA to document its activities at a high level. These reports include budgetary data, information about concentration camp organization and operation, reports on incarcerees' daily life in the campus and population data, among other topics. Many of these reports are supplemented with maps, organizational charts, and other data visualizations.
The contents of Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, and Series 4 have been digitized and are available upon request.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
United States War Relocation Authority Reports (MSS WRA), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The United States War Relocation Authority Reports are arranged into four series: Series 1: Community Analysis Reports, 1942-1946; Series 2: Community Analysis Notes, 1944-1945; Series 3: Project Analysis Series, 1943-1946; and Series 4: Quarterly and Semi-Annual Reports, 1942-1946.
Acquisition Information
The United States War Relocation Authority Reports were transferred from the OSU Libraries general holdings to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in December 2016.
Processing Note
We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.
Please be aware that content within this collection may be disturbing or activating, and racist, derogatory language is used toward Japanese Americans and other groups. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.
[Date of acknowledgement: July 2023]
Related Materials
Materials related to Japanese American incarceration during World War II can be found in the Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon, Oral History Collection (OH 015). The OSU Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 026) includes an interview with Aya Fujii in which she describes her experience as an incarceree and an interview with Andy Landforce during which he describes the impact of incarceration on Japanese American students at Oregon State College. Additional materials documenting the operation of the War Relocation Authority can be found in the general OSU Libraries holdings. The Mildred and Frank Miles Scrapbook of the Santo Tomas Internment Camp (MSS Miles) documents the experience of Americans imprisoned at a Japanese camp in the Philippines.
Other collections with materials related to World War II include the Wesley Ross Memoir of World War II (MSS RossW), the Oregon State College History of World War II Project Records (MSS OSCWW2), the Oregon State Yank Collection (MSS Yank), and the Oregon State University Military Photographs Collection (P 002).
Preservation Note
Many of the items in this collection are printed on brittle paper susceptible to damage. Handling and scanning access may be limited accordingly.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Community Analysis Reports, 1942-1946Return to Top
Series 1 is comprised of 19 Community Analysis Reports generated by the WRA's Community Analysis Section (CAS) between 1942 and 1946. The series is comprised of reports on a broad set of issues facing the incarcerees and concentration camp administrators. Topics include cultural activities, religion, education, labor, assimilation, unrest in the centers, and reintegration (including analysis of community attitudes in California and Hood River, Oregon). The authors of the reports are largely anonymous, though the first two reports are attributed to anthropologist John F. Embree. The series also includes a six-part annotated bibliography of CAS reports.
Reports 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, and 12 include cover letters authored by Dillon S. Myer, Director of the WRA. Report 7 includes a cover letter from Leland Barrows, Acting Director. A stamp on Report 11 indicates it was circulated to the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center.
This series has been digitized and is available upon request.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1.1 | Report No. 1: "Dealing with Japanese Americans" |
October 1942 |
| 1.2 | Report No. 2: "Causes of Unrest at Relocation Centers" |
1942 |
| 1.3 | Report No. 3: "Japanese Groups and Associations in the United States" |
March 1943 |
| 1.4 | Report No. 4: "Notes on Japanese Holidays" |
April 2, 1943 |
| 1.5 | Report No. 5: "Evacuee Resistance to Relocation" |
June 1943 |
| 1.6 | Report No. 6: "Nisei Assimilation" |
July 21, 1943 |
| 1.7 | Report No. 7: "An Analysis of the Segregation Program" |
October 16, 1943 |
| 1.8 | Report No. 8: "Japanese Americans Educated in Japan" |
January 28, 1944 |
| 1.9 | Report No. 9: "Buddhism in the United States" |
May 15, 1944 |
| 1.10 | Report No. 10: "Labor Relations in Relocation Centers" |
October 28, 1944 |
| 1.11 | Report No. 11: "Exploratory Survey of California Attitudes Toward the Return of the Japanese" |
April 4, 1945 |
| 1.12 | Report No. 12: "Effect of the Housing Shortage on Central Valley, California" |
May 14, 1945 |
| 1.13 | Report No. 13: "Prejudice in Hood River Valley: A Case Study in Race Relations" |
June 6, 1945 |
| 1.14 | Report No. 14: "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section, Part I: Community Analysis Trend Reports from the Relocation Centers" |
November 19, 1945 |
| 1.15 | Report No. 15: "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section, Part II: Community Analysis Mimeographed Series" |
February 28, 1946 |
| 1.16 | Report No. 16: "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section, Part III: Community Analysis Reports from the Central Utah, Jerome, Rohwer, Gila River, and Heart Mountain Relocation Centers" |
February 7, 1946 |
| 1.17 | Report No. 17: "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section, Part IV: Community Analysis Reports from Granada, Minidoka, and Manzanar Relocation Centers" |
April 23, 1946 |
| 1.18 | Report No. 18: "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section, Part V: Community Analysis Reports from Colorado River and Tule Lake Centers" |
1946 |
| 1.19 | Report No. 19: "Annotated Bibliography of the Community Analysis Section, Part VI: Washington Community Analysis Section Reports" |
June 30, 1946 |
Series 2: Community Analysis Notes, 1944-1945Return to Top
Series 2 is composed of 14 "notes" published by the Community Analysis Section (CAS) between 1944 and 1945. The notes are short reports on subjects including marriage customs, healing practices, and “block” self-governance within the concentration camps. The notes series includes several reports documenting interviews with incarcerees. It also includes a series of reports on areas within the exclusion zone including Fresno County, Imperial Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Joaquin County.
This series has been digitized and is available upon request.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1.20 | Note No. 1: "From a Nisei Who Said 'No'" |
January 15, 1944 |
| 1.21 | Note No. 2: "Engagement and Marriage Customs in a Relocation Center" |
February 29, 1944 |
| 1.22 | Note No. 3: "Traditional Japanese Therapeutics Practiced at Minidoka" |
April 7, 1944 |
| 1.23 | Note No. 4: "Social and Political Organization of the Block at Manzanar" |
March 7, 1944 |
| 1.24 | Note No. 5: "A Nisei Requests Expatriation" |
November 10, 1944 |
| 1.25 | Note No. 6: "Biography of a Nisei Celery Farmer from Venice, California" |
December 11, 1944 |
| 1.26 | Note No. 7: "Nisei Report on Their Adjustment to Tule Lake" |
December 20, 1944 |
| 1.27 | Note No. 8: "West Coast Localities: Sacramento County and City" |
March 1, 1945 |
| 1.28 | Note No. 10: "Boys' Day" |
March 13, 1945 |
| 1.29 | Note No. 11: "West Coast Localities: Fresno County" |
April 2, 1945 |
| 1.30 | Note No. 12: "West Coast Localities: Imperial Valley" |
April 9, 1945 |
| 1.31 | Note No. 13: "West coast Localities: San Francisco Bay Area" |
April 9, 1945 |
| 1.32 | Note No. 14: "West Coast Localities: San Joaquin County" |
April 16, 1945 |
| 1.33 | Note No. 15: "A Lexicon of Center Terms" |
July 18, 1945 |
Series 3: Project Analysis Series Reports, 1943-1946Return to Top
Series 3 is comprised of 23 Project Analysis Series reports produced by the Community Analysis Section. Topics include registration processes, security, resettlement, social structures, linguistics, and incidents of resistance in the concentration camps. Report 21 is attributed to Margaret L. Latnis. Reports 23 and 24 are attributed to G. Gordon Brown and J. Ralph McFaring, respectively. Report 7 was circulated to the Poston War Relocation Center and Report 21 was received by the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center.
This series also includes a memorandum to the head project director concerning the Project Analysis Series.
The materials in this series have been digitized and are available upon request.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1.34 | Report No. 1: "Registration at Central Utah: 14-17, February, 1943" |
February 1943 |
| 1.35 | Report No. 2: "Army Registration at Granada" |
March 19, 1943 |
| 1.36 | Report No. 3: "Registration at Manzanar" |
April 3, 1943 |
| 1.37 | Report No. 4: "The Fence at Minidoka" |
April 1943 |
| 1.38 | Report No. 5: "Preliminary Evaluation of the Resettlement Program at Jerome Relocation Center" |
May 1943 |
| 1.39 | Report No. 6: "Report on an Unorganized Relocation Center" |
June 1943 |
| 1.40 | Report No. 7: "Notes on Some Religious Cults at Topaz" |
June 15, 1943 |
| 1.41 | Report No. 8: "Factors Influencing Low Enrollment in Certain Adult Education Courses" |
July 1943 |
| 1.42 | Report No. 9: "Preliminary Survey of Resistances to Resettlement at Tule Lake Relocation Center" |
June 23, 1943 |
| 1.43 | Report No. 10: "English Words in Current Use at Minidoka Center That Have Been Given a 'Japanized-English' Pronunciation or Have Been Translated into a Japanese Equivalent" |
July 1943 |
| 1.44 | Report No. 11: "Notes on Evacuee Family Patterns" |
November 24, 1943 |
| 1.45 | Report No. 12: "Studies of Segregants at Manzanar" |
February 3, 1944 |
| 1.46 | Report No. 13: "A Preliminary Survey of the Boilermen's Dispute at Minidoka" |
March 3, 1944 |
| 1.47 | Report No. 14: "The Tule Lake Incident" |
March 27, 1944 |
| 1.48 | Report No. 15: "The Reaction of Heart Mountain to the Opening of Selective Service to Nisei" |
April 1, 1944 |
| 1.49 | Report No. 16: "The Significant Factors in Requests for Repatriation and Expatriation" |
April 19, 1944 |
| 1.50 | Report No. 17: "Relocation at Rohwer Center, Part I: The Relocated Population" |
July 24, 1944 |
| 1.51 | Report No. 18: "Relocation at Rohwer Center, Part II: Issei Relocation Problems" |
September 2, 1944 |
| 1.52 | Report No. 19: "Community Government in the Relocation Centers, Part I: One Year of Community Government at the Gila River Relocation Center" |
November 6, 1944 |
| 1.53 | Report No. 21: "Relocation at Rohwer Center, Part IV: Prospects for Resettlement of Rohwer Farmers" |
February 22, 1945 |
| 1.54 | Report No. 22: "A Typical Block at Tule Lake Center" |
April 17, 1945 |
| 1.55 | Report No. 23: "Final Report on the Gila River Relocation Center as of May 20, 1945" |
September 24, 1945 |
| 1.56 | Report No. 24: "Stresses and Strains of Center Life" |
February 20, 1946 |
| 1.57 | Memoranda to Wade Head, Project Director, re: Project Analysis Series |
May 11, 1943 |
Series 4: Quarterly and Semi-Annual Reports, 1942-1946Return to Top
Series 4 is comprised of 10 bound quarterly and semi-annual reports documenting the activities of the War Relocation Authority from its genesis in 1942 to its dissolution in 1946. The reports include information on the WRA's work and educational programs, camp organization and operation, activities and behavior of incarcerees, population data, property issues, unrest, and camp management, among other topics. The reports also include organizational charts, timelines, maps, graphs, and data tables detailing the work of the WRA. The first two reports in this series also include manuscript annotations.
The materials in this series have been digitized and are available upon request.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 2 | "First Quarterly Report: March 18 to June 30, 1942" |
1942 |
| 2 | "Second Quarterly Report: July 1 to September 30, 1942" |
1942 |
| 2 | "Quarterly Report: October 1 to December 31, 1942" |
1943 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: January 1 to June 30, 1946" |
1946 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: January 1 to June 30, 1943" |
1943 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: July 1 to December 31, 1943" |
1944 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: January 1 to June 30, 1944" |
1944 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: July 1 to December 31, 1944" |
1945 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: January 1 to June 30, 1945" |
1945 |
| 2 | "Semi-Annual Report: July 1 to December 31, 1945" |
1946 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Japanese Americans--Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
- World War, 1939-1945--Forced removal of civilians--United States.
Corporate Names
- United States. War Relocation Authority
Finding Aid Authors: Trevor Sandgathe.
2017
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
