Why were Japanese treated worse than German Americans during world war 2?
Answers
whole the German American population was not treated as infamously as the Japanese Americans. There were larger cities where the German American population was harassed, but not to the extent of the Japanese American population. Whereas the Japanese Americans from the West Coast were “relocated” (really they were internment camps,) the German American population was not treated the same way.
Were the German Americans ostracized in the US, like the Japanese Americans during World War II? If no, why?
Originally Answered: During World War II, were German US citizens treated like the Japanese?
As a whole the German American population was not treated as infamously as the Japanese Americans. There were larger cities where the German American population was harassed, but not to the extent of the Japanese American population. Whereas the Japanese Americans from the West Coast were “relocated” (really they were internment camps,) the German American population was not treated the same way.
German POWs who were sent to the states often were granted a sort of weekend liberty. I’ve heard from many of the older generation about a nearby German POW camp where the POWs worked the fields during the week, and were allowed to march into town on the weekend and watch movies, eat at a diner, etc.
Japanese POWs, and to a large extent, the Japanese American population were not granted a similar treatment.
Personally I believe the difference in treatment was largely based on two factors.
First, the United States had a sizeable population of German Americans, and those of German descent, the Japanese American population was nowhere near as large as the German American population. Because of this I believe there was some hesitancy to act against them in the same was as the Japanese American population, since there were many families who saw Germany as their ancestral homeland.