Dear Miss Breed: Letters from Camp

JAPANESE AMERICAN
NATIONAL MUSEUM

Daily Life | Basic Necessities | Family Separation | Reflections
Postcard | Letter

Tetsuzo Hirasaki's and Fusa Tsumagai's families were two of many Japanese American families that were separated during the war. Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the FBI began arresting leaders in the Japanese American community. Over 2,000 Issei were detained by the Justice Department and denied the right to a fair trial. None was ever charged with espionage or sabotage against the United States. More than two-thirds of the Issei arrested were separated from their families for the duration of the war. Those who were released were "free" to join their families in concentration camps administered by the War Relocation Authority.