Letter to the Director of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment
7/24/1981
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In 1980, Congress appointed a Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to conduct an official study into Japanese-American internment during World War II. John McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, sent this letter to Mr. Paul T. Bannai, executive director of the commission, expressing his willingness to testify regarding the "relocation" program.
McCloy wrote that "it is important to keep in mind it was a relocation program and not an internment or punitive measure." And "I hope the Commission will find, as I believe to be the case, that the whole operation was as benignly conducted as wartime conditions permitted....[that] the action of the President of the United States and the United States Government in regard to our then Japanese population was reasonably undertaken and thoughtfully and humanely conducted."
This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2013 Summer Workshop in Washington, DC.
McCloy wrote that "it is important to keep in mind it was a relocation program and not an internment or punitive measure." And "I hope the Commission will find, as I believe to be the case, that the whole operation was as benignly conducted as wartime conditions permitted....[that] the action of the President of the United States and the United States Government in regard to our then Japanese population was reasonably undertaken and thoughtfully and humanely conducted."
This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2013 Summer Workshop in Washington, DC.
This primary source comes from the Records of Temporary Committees, Commissions, and Boards.
National Archives Identifier: 29915382
Full Citation: Letter to Mr. Paul T. Bannai, Executive Director of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, from John McCloy; 7/24/1981; McCloy, John, 1981 - 1983; Numerical Files, 1981 - 1983; Records of Temporary Committees, Commissions, and Boards, Record Group 220; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-to-bannai, May 13, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Japanese American Incarceration During World War II
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