Japanese American Incarceration: Camps and Coerced Labor during World War II

This is an in-person program.

Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S. government wrongfully imprisoned tens of thousands of Japanese American citizens and profited from their labor, coercing them into harvesting crops, digging irrigation ditches, paving roads, and building barracks for little to no compensation – all in the name of national security.

Join Stephanie D. Hinnershitz, author of Japanese American Incarceration: The Camps and Coerced Labor during World War II, as she discusses how the U.S. government used incarceration to address labor demands during World War II and how Japanese Americans responded to the stripping of their rights.

This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Presidential History at SMU and in conjunction with our current special exhibition, Courage and Compassion: The Japanese American World War II Experience, on view at the Museum through June 12, 2022. The special exhibition will be available to view beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Register here.

About Stephanie Hinnershitz
Stephanie Hinnershitz, PhD, is a historian specializing in the American home front during World War II, particularly Japanese American incarceration, civil-military relations, and race. She received her Ph.D. in American History from the University of Maryland and was an assistant professor at Valdosta State University and Cleveland State University before becoming a Historian with the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans in 2021. She is the author of several books, including Japanese American Incarceration: The Camps and Coerced Labor during World War II.