Topaz Internment Camp & Museum

Utah

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Topaz Internment Camp & Museum

From 1942 to 1945, during WII, 120,000 men, women, and children, Americans with Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes and interned into ten remote camps throughout the American West. The government and the US Army, falsely citing “military necessity”. None of the people of Japanese ancestry were ever convicted or even charged with sabotage or espionage, yet were confined, some up to four years, in camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Topaz Camp, located near Delta, Utah, held around 8,000 of these individuals. This is one of the worst violations of civil rights against citizens in the history of the United States.

Elevation:

4751 ft

Camping: None

Notes

Historical

Exploring

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Read about the Topaz Internment Camp by visiting the Museum as well at the National Archive. Internees were not allowed to have cameras so there are few pictures of every day events. However Masaharu "Dave" Tatsuno who was staying in the camp from 1942 to 1945, smuggled in a video camera. His footage was accepted into the Library of Congress archive. You can check out this VIDEO that contains segment of the full 48-minute film, courtesy of the special collections section of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. A high school teacher, by the name Eleanor Gerard Sekerak took candid photos of her students. Those photos are part of the Topaz Digital Library. See her photos: Eleanor Gerard Sekerak Photo Collection.

Here is a another video, an interview with Masaharu "Dave" Tatsuno