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“Recognizing the great injustice that took place, they carry with them the legacy of their parent’s internment. Time has not severed the psychological ties to events that preceded them, nor has the fact that their parents will not openly discuss the internment. On the contrary, the vast majority of Sansei, feel that the incarceration has affected their lives in significant ways - (Donna K. Nagata, Legacy of Injustice, 1993)
Generally, the Sansei are baby boomers and their history has yet to be written. Some of the older Sansei were born in the internment camps and may not remember those dark years enclosed behind barbed wire fences. Very few Sansei know the details of their parent’s experiences in the internment centers or in the military or civil service. Many, if not nearly all Nisei parents were ashamed by their war time experiences, or angry or reticent about sharing their memories, but slowly the veil is being lifted.
With little official documentation or traditional textbooks about internment, the children of the Nisei have had to ask their parents about the void in their heritage and culture.
This dialogue between the two generations helped to bring about a movement in the 1970’s to rectify the wrongs. There was initial opposition from some veterans groups and others. With time the redress movement gained support in Congress. On February 19, 1976, President Ford signed Proclamation 4177 which referred to the evacuation as a “national mistake.” It was not a formal apology but the first step in healing wounds. Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. A check of $20,000 was issued to each survivor of the internment centers. Although in the 1988, Civil Liberties Act, President Reagan made a formal apology to all former internees and their descendants, his efforts can never repair the psycho historical damage that was done.
