Instructions To All People

During the Second World War individual civil rights were routinely denied. Many people were removed from their homes by force and relocated to “camps” where they were subjected to poor living conditions for years (or worse). Warsaw and other cities in Poland were depopulated of Jews. Europeans living in China were rounded up and moved to internment camps in rural areas.

Government orders, such as the one below, were typical. The instructions here are REAL. Can you guess where, and to whom, they were issued?

INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL PERSONS

“A responsible member of each family, preferably the head of the family, must report to the Civil Control Station to receive further instructions by 8:00 a.m.

All persons will be evacuated from the designated area by 12:00 o’clock noon, Tuesday, April 7.

No person will be permitted to enter or leave the above designated area without obtaining special permission from the Provost Marshal.

The following instructions Must be observed:

Evacuees must carry with them on departure the following property:

      Bedding and linens (no mattresses) for each member of the family.
     
      Toilet articles for each member of the family.

      Extra clothing for each member of the family.

All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions received.

The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual.

Agencies will provide for the storage at the sole risk of the owner of the more substantial household items. Private means of transportation will not be utilized.”

These instructions were NOT issued by the Nazi’s. They were delivered by the United States Army to citizens of this country - the Japanese-American families living peacefully on our west coast. Naturalized citizens, as well as those BORN in the United States, were denied their civil rights and gathered together for interment in “camps.” Yet no Japanese-American was ever prosecuted for being an enemy agent.