From August 1942 until the fall of 1945, more than 7,000 Japanese-Americans were locked behind barbed wire in an isolated internment camp near Granada on Colorado’s eastern plains.
As war raged across Europe and Asia, Japanese-American families – most of whom were U.S. citizens – lived and worked in captivity. Couples married, babies arrived, children played in the dust and went to school. Stores opened; movies were shown. Calligraphy and flower-arranging classes were held. The camp even had its own newspaper.
More than 900 people from the Amache camp joined the armed forces to serve the country that had imprisoned them. Thirty-one were killed.
Today all that remains of the internment camp is a cemetery, a water well and tank, and the concrete foundations of the barracks that were once home to so many.
The past 13 years, a Granada High School teacher, John Hopper, 43, has quietly fought to keep memories alive. As unofficial guardians of history, he and his students gather and watch over the artifacts, put on presentations and mow and water the grass of what was once the camp site. Now the federal government has designated the site a National Historic Landmark and agreed to provide $38 million in grant money for internment camp sites across the country.
What is your connection to the camp?
I needed a social sciences project for my students. I wanted to gather oral histories from those who were at the camp before they started dying. I never expected the response I have received over the years.
What has become of the archives of the camps?
Most are letters and pictures that people have donated. I also have taped interviews. Some people have given me personal artifacts like woodworking projects they built while at the camp. They are now being stored in the old Granada City Hall.
Any favorites?
We have a picture journal from one family that includes photos that have never been seen before. I’ve become so emotionally attached to the project and the people.
Why is it important to preserve this piece of history?
It’s amazing how many people, even in Colorado, have no idea this happened here. Our main goal is to spread the word so it will never happen again.
What do the high school students of today think of what happened so many years ago in their back yard?
They’re shocked. In a lot of U.S. history classes taught today, it’s just a mention in passing. It helps them understand racial profiling. Sometimes we get people who say this was justified. I get pretty defensive about it. There was a book published recently, “In Defense of Internment: The Case for ‘Racial Profiling’ in World War II and the War on Terror,” by Michelle Malkin. I make my students read it and we talk about it.
What does the federal government grant money mean to the Amache site?
We have already applied for and got $30,000 from the National Park Service to build an information kiosk that will be administered by the city of Granada. We are hoping to apply for more grant money and eventually reconstruct the barracks and guard tower and build a museum.
