I’ve Decided To Write A Book!

This week in class, we read letters written by children in Japanese Internment camps. These kids had written letters to their librarian back home asking for books, supplies, and comfort. What surprised me most was how awful some conditions sounded, yet the kids still tried to focus on the positive. Alec read a letter in which a girl was trying to make sense of a riot that had happened at one of the camps, and she was trying to make sense of why what she heard at the camp was different than what she had heard on the radio. This is extremely important because it is a direct example of how the government used propaganda. The letters give us the most accurate view of the camps because they came directly from the people there. However, the government wasn’t just using propaganda outside the camps; it was also occurring inside. A few of the letters mentioned how the children watched movies in the camps; however, all of these movies were about American history. It was almost as if the government was trying to erase their Japanese culture and replace it with false patriotism. These kids had no choice but to listen as the government spewed nonsense blindly, which undoubtedly had an impact because thousands of men went off to war to serve their country and gain respect. The government imprisoned people and took all they had, yet they still wanted to serve in the armed forces. America, to a lesser degree, did the same thing Hitler was doing, however, unlike the Germans, we have erased it from our history. This was my one takeaway from 8th-grade social studies. I remember my teacher telling me that in Germany, they learn exactly what Hitler did during the Holocaust to try and prevent it, not only that they are taught to have sham for it, but that it is a dark part of their history that should never be repeated, however in America we have become so obsessed with ourselves that we refuse to admit we’ve done anything wrong, which is why these letters and stories directly from the camp are so important.

The letter I chose for Thursday was written by a little girl named Katherine who reminded me of myself; she loved being creative, was always super enthusiastic, and even was interested in theater. In my letter, she wrote to Mrs. Breed to announce that she had decided to write a book. She asked all types of questions about publishing and printing and then announced it would be about a little Japanese girl like her, which made me ecstatic. Although, after further investigation, I learned that she never published a book, I began to think how important that book could have been. At the time, the only representation in the media Katherine saw was an extremely negative image, imagine the impact that story could have had. However, this brings up an important point; it is not other people’s job to educate us on their culture. Although the book would have been helpful in better understanding Katherine’s experience, we have mountains of letters we can read. Even though reading letter after letter may be more work, there is so much valuable history inside of them. These letters help keep America in check, and I hope one day they will be included in our history books because, as the saying goes, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.