George Shihei Shitamae papers, 1942-1944, 1983

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, pulling the United States into World War II. Deemed a potential threat to the security of the United States, Italian and German immigrants, as well as those of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, were forcefully relocated to incarceration and internment camps further inland, two of which were located in Idaho. Though Italian and German immigrants were also targeted, those of Japanese ancestry, including many American citizens, faced forced removal in larger numbers.

Approximately 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans were affected by the forced removal. Those forced to relocate were ordered to report to temporary detention centers, called assembly centers. There were 15 of these centers spread throughout Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona. Operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), these temporary detention centers were located on fairgrounds, horse tracks, and other makeshift facilities. While living in the detention centers for months, the incarcerated often faced food shortages and unsanitary conditions, until more permanent detention centers, called relocation centers, were finished further inland. These more permanent camps began receiving evacuees in May 1942, with the final transfer to relocation centers occurring in October 1942.

Idaho was home to one WRA relocation center in southern Idaho, near Hunt. The Minidoka War Relocation Center extended over 33,000 acres, with 900 of those acres used to house (at its peak) approximately 9400 individuals incarcerated there. The remaining land was used either for administrative work or agriculture.

When the first incarcerees arrived at Minidoka in August 1942, the camp was not finished, there was no running water, and a sewage system had not been installed. Those who arrived were discouraged and unhappy with their living conditions. Families faced cramped living quarters; it was common for a family of 8 or 9 people to live in a one bedroom apartment. The majority of the incarcerees were from the Pacific Northwest and were not prepared for the harsh winters and summers of southern Idaho. Even with these conditions, incarcerees worked to improve the camp conditions by planting trees, flowers, and shrubs, as well as keeping gardens for fresh produce.

The camp closed in October 1945 and the land was later offered for homesteading to veterans. Today, much of the former site is occupied by farmhouses and irrigated fields, but in 2001, 72 acres of the site were established as the Minidoka National Historic Site. Its purpose today is to educate the public about the experiences of incarcerees.

Prior to the United States entering World War II, the Shitamae family ran a hotel in Seattle. In 1942, when the forced removal of those of Japanese ancestry began, they were sent to the temporary detention center in Puyallup, Washington. This center was referred to as Camp Harmony. They were later sent to the Minidoka Relocation Center near Hunt, Idaho.