In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued on February 19th, 1942, Executive Order 9066--which designated military zones along the United States coast and directed the army to remove all residents of Japanese ancestry from these areas. The president then created the War Relocation Authority (WRA), a federal agency tasked with caring for the approximately 110,000 Japanese-Americans uprooted by Executive Order 9066. The WRA saw to the planning and construction of long-term internment camps located in the interior of the country where the displaced population would be held for the duration of World War II. Two of the selected sites were located in the Arkansas Delta, one at Rohwer in Desha County--which operated from September 18, 1942-November 30, 1945--and the other at Jerome in sections of Chicot and Drew counties--which operated from October 6, 1942-June 30, 1944. The internment camps at Rohwer and Jerome would incarcerate over 16,000 Japanese-Americans between October 1942 and November 1945.
This collection exhibits materials from school administrators and superintendents, pastors, teachers, social welfare workers, and WRA administrators associated with the internment camps. Materials also source from the Homer Adkins’ gubernatorial papers, articles from the McGehee Times and Dermott News, and the official closing roster of the Rohwer Relocation Center.
All materials within this online exhibit are available for research at the Arkansas State Archives. These items were digitized by the Arkansas State Archives as part of a joint project entitled “Rohwer Reconstructed,” overseen by the University of Arkansas’ Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies and funded in part by a grant from the National Park Service through the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program.
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Newspaper article, "Another Japanese Driver Fined for Reckless Driving: Arrested by State Highway Patrolman"
Newspaper article discussing Japanese-American drivers in McGehee.
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Newspaper article, "Assistant to Ickes at Denson Today"
Newspaper article about the visit of an official from the Department of the Interior to Jerome Relocation Center in preparation for the center's closure.
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Newspaper article, "Between the Lines: There has been considerable speculation"
Newspaper article discussing plans for the buildings at Jerome Relocation Center after the center's closing.
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Newspaper article, "Citizens Vote To Form a Post War Planning Committee Here"
Newspaper article about the formation of a local post-war planning committee in the Dermott area.
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Newspaper article, "Closing of Jerome Center is Started"
Newspaper article about the movement of the remaining Japanese Americans and procedure for closing Jerome Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "Committee in First Move on Post-War Plans"
Newspaper article discussing the first plans made by post-war committee from Dermott.
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Newspaper article, "Congressmen Are Interested In Hospital Proposal"
Newspaper article discussing a congressional interest in establishing a hospital on the former site of the Jerome Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "Denson Doctor Says Malaria Easy To Control In This Area"
Newspaper article about the prevalence of malaria among internees at Jerome Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "Denson Resident Fails to Answer Draft Board Call"
Newspaper article about Joe Atsumi Yamakido not answering the draft board call from Little Rock.
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Newspaper article, "First Germans to Arrive at Jerome in Few Days"
Newspaper article discussing the conversion of the Jerome Relocation Center to a German prisoner of war camp and the arrival of the first German soldiers.
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Newspaper article, "Five Hundred Leave for Tule Lake Center"
Newspaper article about the first Jerome Relocation Center and Rohwer Relocation Center residents to Tule Lake Relocation Center in California.
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Newspaper article, "Five Million Dollar Jerome Camp Will Close Tomorrow After Being In Use for Less Than Two Years"
Newspaper article discussing the closing of Jerome Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "German Prison Camp at Jerome is Now Assured"
Newspaper article about the community reaction to the conversion of Jerome Relocation Center to a German prisoner of war camp as well as a discussion about contract agreements to convert the site.
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Newspaper article, "German Prison Camp at Jerome Seems Planned"
Newspaper article discussing the intention to turn the Rohwer Relocation Center into a German prisoner of war camp.
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Newspaper article, "Jap-Americans Wins Battlefield Promotion"
Newspaper article discussing Masuo Chomori's promotion to second lieutenant.
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Newspaper article, "Japanese-American Awarded Silver Star Visits at Rohwer"
Newspaper article about the awarding of the Silver Star to Bert Tanaka.
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Newspaper article, "Japanese-American Families Conduct Memorial Service"
Newspaper article discussing a memorial service held for soldiers from Rohwer Relocation Center that were killed in action.
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Newspaper article, "Japanese Americans Honor 5 War Dead"
Newspaper article about a memorial service for Japanese-American soldiers lost in World War II.
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Newspaper article, "Japanese-American Soldier Killed in Italy"
Newspaper article talks the death of a Japanese-American soldier in Italy.
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Newspaper article, "Japanese Arrested for Speeding Forfeits $50 Bond"
Newspaper article discussing the arrest of Keiji Onigaka for speeding.
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Newspaper article, "Japanese Leaving Centers at Rate of 400 Weekly: Indefinite Leaves Given to 339 from Rohwer in August"
Newspaper article discussing indefinite leaves granted to Rohwer residents.
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Newspaper article, "Jerome Center To Be Closed in June"
Newspaper article about the announcement of the closing of Jerome Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "Jerome Center to House German War Prisoners: Will Quarter 6,000 Enlisted Prisoners, 1,100 Officers"
Newspaper article discussing the quartering of German prisoners of war at the Jerome Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "J.H. Wells Names Assistant Director of Rohwer Center"
Newspaper article describing the appointment of J.H. Wells as Assistant Director of Rohwer Relocation Center.
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Newspaper article, "Last Japs [sic] Bound For Tule Lake Leave This Week"
Newspaper article about the final plans for relocating Japanese Americans at Jerome Relocation Center.