“Forever foreigners”: Intergenerational impacts of historical trauma from the World War II Japanese American incarceration.

Abstract

J apanese immigrants arriving in the United States in the late 19th century worked hard to establish their lives in a new country despite facing signi ficant discrimination and challenges (Daniels, 2004). On December 7, 1941, however, Japan's military attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, marked the begin ning of a particularly powerful and historic racial trauma. Within weeks of declaring war against Japan, the U.S. government portrayed all people of Japanese ancestry living along the Western mainland as potential threats to national security because of their proximity to Japan and ordered them into incarceration 1 camps. Under President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 (EO9066), more than 117,000 Japanese Americans 2 were confined in the deso late camps for up to 4 years (United States Commission on Wartime Relo cation of Civilians [USCWRIC], 1997). Two thirds were U.S.born citizens, and although the country was also at war with Germany and Italy, neither German nor Italian Americans were targeted for mass incarceration. Further more,

Historical Trauma and Descendants' Well-Being

“…• Investigate potential biological mechanisms of HT transmission in light of emerging findings on the role of epigenetic transmission of stress in Holocaust survivor families. 34 Although previous studies have found that those who directly experienced the trauma (such as parents of Sansei, 13,14 SEA refugee parents 28 ) suffered physiological consequences, there is a dearth of literature examining the physical ramifications of HT on subsequent generations. • Emphasize qualitative methodology.…”

“…13 In turn, Sansei experienced a loss of identity, family history, and a selfconsciousness about their ethnicity. 11,13,14,15,16 This struggle was exacerbated by insufficient coverage of the trauma in the broader society. For example, 2 analyses of history books published between 1988 and 1992 and between 2002 and 2003 that were used in public high school curricula found that the internment was justified solely in terms of national security with no mention of racism or discrimination, 17 and, in the media in the 1960s, Japanese Americans were portrayed as a "model minority" that overcame the wartime experience.…”

“…13,15 While the information helped close the gap in information that Sansei experienced growing up, survey data indicate that increased knowledge about the hardships suffered by their own parents and grandparents is associated with greater levels of sadness and anger. 13,14 Knowledge about the internment also engenders distrust of the government: those who have a parent who had been interned are less confident about their rights in the United States than those for whom neither parent had been interned. 13,14 Sansei are also, however, positively inspired by viewing their parents as role models of resilience.…”

“…13,14 Knowledge about the internment also engenders distrust of the government: those who have a parent who had been interned are less confident about their rights in the United States than those for whom neither parent had been interned. 13,14 Sansei are also, however, positively inspired by viewing their parents as role models of resilience. Some have been motivated to fulfill their parents' lost dreams by pursuing the degree or career a parent had missed or by entering a legal career or community activism to prevent future injustices.…”

“…Some have been motivated to fulfill their parents' lost dreams by pursuing the degree or career a parent had missed or by entering a legal career or community activism to prevent future injustices. 12,13,14 Southeast Asian Americans The severe traumas experienced by Southeast Asian (SEA) groups are also linked to HT transmission. Starting in 1975, the Pol Pot regime implemented the Cambodian genocide, which resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million individuals and over 100 000 US refugees.…”