The Topaz Japanese Internment Camp

6 Locations | Curated by Intermountain Histories

A collection of stories about the history of the World War II Japanese Internment Camp at Topaz, Utah.

The histories told of World War II are often told in tones of patriotism, justice, and progress. However, popularized narratives often leave out some of the more complicated and messy events of the time. The history of Japanese Internment at Topaz, Utah is one such story.
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On September 11, 1942, the first group arrived at Topaz War Relocation Center. That day, over 500 people of Japanese descent entered in Delta by train and were loaded onto buses that brought them to the internment site. There were more arrivals throughout the three-year period Topaz operated, all…
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The young, second-generation Japanese immigrants (Nisei) relocated to the Topaz Mountain Internment Camp during World War II faced a unique challenge. Born in American to the children of Japanese immigrants, they were forced to negotiate between being legal citizens and being seen as outsiders.…
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Japanese internment reached its long fingers deep into the interior states of the U.S. not sparing the state of Utah. Utah's contribution to this program came in the form of Topaz. Located 15 miles from Delta, Utah, Topaz was created by the War Relocation Agency to house up to 9,000…
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