From the spring of 1942 through 1946, the United States government relocated over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry from Pacific coast states to War Relocation Centers. These collections document the relocation experience with an emphasis on San Joaquin County evacuees.
indicates online access to digitized materials.
Claire B. Sprague Collection
Sprague taught in Stockton public schools. This collection includes letters written to Sprague by her former students who were sent to Relocation Centers.
Elizabeth Carden Papers
Carden was a teacher at Stockton High School and her papers contain letters from former students who were sent to the Rohwer Relocation Center.
El Joaquin Collection
This is a collection of newspapers from the Stockton Assembly Center. They were collected by Grace, William and George Kagawa.
Frank M. Nakata Collection
Nakata was relocated to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. The collection consists of letters that Nakata received from friends and families in other camps. Many of the letters come from his nephew Wataru Oye, who was drafted, and trained in Kansas.
Guy and Marguerite Cook Nisei Collection
Cook was a vice-principal and teacher at Tri-State High School at the Tule Lake Relocation Center. This collection contains correspondence, reports of the War Relocation Authority, memoranda, pamphlets and clippings from camp newspapers.
Harold S. Jacoby Nisei Collection
Jacoby was in charge of security at the Tule Lake Relocation Center. This collection includes War Relocation Authority reports, field notes, yearbooks, clippings, and other materials relating to Tule Lake and other camps.
Mercedian Collection
James Tanji was at the Merced Assembly Center, and collected copies of center's newsletter, the Mercedian, from June-August, 1942.
Japanese American Citizens League Oral Histories
(Western Americana books stacks E184.J3)
This collection contains eight oral histories conducted in the late 1990s with San Joaquin County Japanese-Americans who were part of the relocation during World War II.
Japanese-American Internment Oral Histories
This collection contains the interviews (conducted in 2001), transcriptions, photographs, genealogical information, letters and clippings from 13 Japanese-American who were part of the relocation during World War II.
Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives
(off site)
Additional digitized materials from archives throughout California.
Marie Mitsuda Papers
Mitsuda was relocated to Rohwer as a high school student. This collection consists of Relocation Center school and reunion materials.
May and Seisaku Tanaka Collection
The collection consists of newspapers, calendars, yearbooks, official paperwork and other materials from Rohwer Relocation Center and the Stockton Assembly Center.
Nagai Collection of Japanese-Americans in Stockton
Retired Delta College history professor Nelson Nagai's collection of copy photographs include scenes from Stockton Assembly Center, Rowher Relocation Center, and Western Defense Command posters for Stockton.
Pacific Weekly, Spring 1942
(University Archives)
These student newspapers for Pacific contain articles concerning the 51 student of Japanese descent that were on campus and sent to Relocation Centers.
Paul Hanna Collection
Correspondence, reports and papers concerning education at the Japanese American Internment Camps during World War II. Most letters are between the WRA (War Relocation Authority) and administrators of Stanford University.
Pearl Shaffer Sweet Collection
Sweet maintained scrapbooks on various ethnic minorities. The material related to Japanese-Americans contains mostly articles from the Stockton Record from immediately before World War II through the 1950s.
Roy Nakatani Papers
Nakatani was relocated to Granada Relocation Center in Colorado, where he served as a farm worker. His papers include correspondence, reports, business accounts, and documents on farm production at Granada.
Stockton Assembly Center Roster
This roster documents Japanese-American evacuees at the San Joaquin county fairgrounds from May 10-October 17, 1942.
Suellen and Ted Yoneda Maps
Maps of Japanese-American Relocation Centers including: Crystal City, Texas; Manzanar, California; Gila River, Arizona; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Tule Lake, California; and Twin Falls, Idaho. Also, map of the Stockton Assembly Center.
Tulean Dispatch Collection
This is a collection of newspapers from the Tule Lake Relocation Center, also called the Tule Lake Segregation Center. This material was collected by Dr. Jacoby. Dr. Harold Jacoby was a Professor of Sociology and Dean of the College of the Pacific (1933-1969). Jacoby was also a member of the staff of the Tule Lake Relocation Center in California (1942).
Western Defense Command Posters
Civilian exclusion order No. 41, and "Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry" from the Western Defense Command and Fourth Army to San Francisco residents.
Yoshikawa Family Collection
Richard Yoshikawa owned a photography studio in Stockton and was relocated to Rohwer. The Papers includes correspondence, personal papers, camp publications, and many photographs of camp life.
