Day 41: Topaz Detention Camp, Delta, Utah
📌APIA Every Day (41) - The Topaz Detention Camp, also known as the Central Utah Relocation Center, Topaz War Relocation Center, and briefly Abraham Relocation Center, was a concentration camp established in Delta, Utah, during World War II. Authorized by Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, it served as a residence for 11,212 Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants, mostly from the San Francisco Bay area, covering 19,800 acres and operated over three years until October 31, 1945. Before their transfer to Topaz, individuals were temporarily detained at the Tanforan and Santa Anita Racetracks in California, where many were forced to live in horse stalls for six months while awaiting the completion of Topaz.
The camp presented harsh conditions characterized by extreme temperature fluctuations and uninsulated barracks. Internees engaged in various activities and were employed at the camp, earning monthly wages ranging from $14 to $16. Tensions reached a climax during the winter of 1942–1943, marked by a loyalty questionnaire that led to the relocation of those deemed "disloyal" to the Tule Lake Segregation Camp in California. Simultaneously, the Japanese American men who were considered "loyal" were drafted for military service. This period also saw tragic incidents, such as the fatal shooting of the 63-year-old internee, James Wakasa, who was killed by a military sentry while walking his dog near the fence surrounding the Topaz concentration camp, prompting a large funeral and a work stoppage.
Following Topaz's closure in 1945, the campsite's buildings were either relocated throughout Utah or dismantled. In 2007, Topaz received National Historic Landmark status, leading to preservation efforts, including the establishment of the Topaz Museum in Delta in 2017.
LEARN MORE:
National Park Service: Central Utah Relocation Center (Topaz) Site
Cyark: The Central Utah Relocation Center Digital Preservation Archive
Topaz Museum: Topaz Japanese American WWII Confinement Site
YouTube: Japanese Americans Interned at Topaz Camp Share Their Stories
Friends of Topaz: The Wakasa Memorial Rediscovery
50 Object: The Demolished Monument: James Hatsuaki Wakasa and the Erasure of Memory
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