Then They Came For Me: Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II

Then They Came for Me: Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II examines a dark episode in US history when, in the name of national security, the government incarcerated 120,000 citizens and legal residents during World War II without due process or other constitutional protections to which they were entitled. Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, set in motion the forced removal and imprisonment of all people of Japanese ancestry (citizens and non-citizens alike) living on or near the West Coast. This exhibition features works by renowned photographers Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and others documenting the eviction of Japanese Americans and permanent Japanese residents from their homes as well as their subsequent lives in incarceration camps. Also included are photographs by incarcerated photographer Toyo Miyatake. This timely exhibition reexamines this history and presents new research telling the stories of the individuals whose lives were upended due to racial bigotry.

In Order of Appearance:
Dorothea Lange
San Francisco, California, April 11, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Dorothea Lange
San Francisco, California, April 25, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Yaeko Yoshihara interview courtesy Densho Digital Repository

Clem Albers
Arcadia, California, April 5, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Dorothea Lange
Woodland, California, May 20, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Nancy Iwami interview courtesy Densho Digital Repository

George Morihoro interview courtesy Densho Digital Repository

Dorothea Lange
San Francisco, California, April 25, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Dorothea Lange
Mountain View, California, March 30, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Russell Lee
Los Angeles, California, April 1942
Courtesy Library of Congress

Dorothea Lange
San Francisco, California, April 4, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Michi Weglyn interview from Conscience and the Constitution, Courtesy Frank Abe

Toyo Miyatake
Memorial Service, July 1944
Courtesy Toyo Miyatake Studio

Ansel Adams
Owens Valley, California, 1943
Courtesy Library of Congress

Dorothea Lange
San Francisco, California, April 20, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

Dorothea Lange
San Francisco, California, April 20, 1942
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration