American Corner Yerevan

The Internment of Japanese-Americans During World War II

1:00pm 21.11.2009

On November 21, 2009, the Yerevan American Corner hosted an "Americans at the American Corner" public lecture entitled "The Internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II." The lecture featured guest speaker and U.S. Embassy Economic Officer Marko Velikonja.

During his lecture, Mr. Velikonja discussed the story of the evacuation and relocation of many U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry on the west coast of the United States during the Second World War, totally nearly 122,000 men, women, and children. He noted that during the evacuation, Japanese-Americans were forced by government decree to leave their homes, businesses, jobs, school, and friends. More than 30 years later, the United States officially recognized that the internment of Japanese-Americans was a violation of the U.S. Constitution and civil rights. In 1988, Congress passed, and President Ronald Reagan, signed legislation which apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government.

There were more than 45 people present at the lecture, including many students from Yerevan State University, the State University of Architecture and Construction, and faculty members from various universities. During the question and answer session, participants asked about the economic impact of the internment. Students were also curious about the rise of racial discrimination during wartime.

The lecture organized at the American Corner prompted participants to learn new facts about U.S. history. To learn more about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment. For research purposes, visit the National Archives webpage at: http://www.archives.gov/.