This series consists of case files of Japanese aliens and Japanese American residents on the West Coast who were interned in relocation centers maintained by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) during World War II. The centers were in the states of California (Tule Lake and Manzanar Centers), Idaho (Minidoka Center), Utah (Central Utah Center), Colorado (Granada Center), Arizona (Colorado River and Gila River Centers), Wyoming (Heart Mountain Center), and Arkansas (Rohwer and Jerome Centers). Most of the case files consist of personal history records (individual interview record and basic family fact sheet), that provide detailed information about the evacuee such as: name, names of individual and family members, birthplace, birth date, religion, marital status, educational accomplishment, linguistic ability, employment history, military service record, previous addresses (including any abroad), dates of entrance into assembly and relocation centers, and parents' and relatives' names and countries of origin.
The files also contain health records (hospital, dispensary, and dental); property records (property lists and bills of lading); relocation center occupational records (employment and earning record cards); leave records; applications for leave clearance; recommendations of leave clearance boards; notices of leave action to applicant; short-term and work leave papers; and related correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, and teletypes.
In addition, the case files may contain some or all of the following types of documents: school records; medical social service case histories; death notices; funeral arrangement papers; requests for center storage of property and release of contraband; receipts for property issued to and received from evacuees; records of evacuee property sales; transcripts of leave clearing hearings; petitions to join or reunite with families in alien enemy internment camps; requests and withdrawals of requests for repatriation or expatriation; notices of repatriation action; and refusals of offers of repatriation.
