Japanese-American Civilian Prisoner Exchanges and Detention Camps, 1941-45
The important and previously undocumented event in the history of the Second World War: the negotiation of 'prisoner' exchanges between the United States and Japan during 1941 to 1943, is examined here by Bruce Elleman.
Approximately 7000 American citizens had been arrested by the Japanese authorities while visiting Japan as tourists, conducting business, teaching English or carrying out missionary work. The same amount of Japanese citizens living illegally in the United States had to be repatriated to secure the Americans' release.
Challenging the conventional perceptions regarding the role and justification of the detention camp, this insightful book addresses questions regarding the diplomatic agreement between Japan and the United States, the Japanese-American detention camps and the role of one of the most successful minority groups in the United States today: the Japanese-Americans.
Bruce Elleman is Associate Professor at the Maritime History Department of the U.S. Naval War College. He received a BA from UC Berkeley, and the MA, MPhil and PhD from Columbia University. His published research includes numerous articles on the USSR's and China's secret diplomacy surrounding the Chinese Eastern Railway, Outer Mongolia, and the United Front policy. He is the author of Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 (2001), and other books on Sino-Soviet relations and Chinese military and naval history.