FORCED EVACUATION

The attack on Pearl Harbor heightened racial prejudice and fears that immigrants were still loyal to Japan. In a matter of months, all people of Japanese descent were “evacuated” from designated areas.

With little notice, they had to abandon their homes, businesses and possessions as they were rounded up by soldiers. They were taken to assembly centers where families stayed in temporary shelters in filthy living conditions for weeks or months waiting to move. People were then relocated to remote camps by train.