Here is the sequence of events from the Granada Relocation Center’s opening in 1942 to its closing in 1945, and the events that occurred after.

Amache Closes

President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9102 which establishes the War Relocation Authority (WRA), the US civilian agency responsible for the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.


Executive Order 9102

President Roosevelt calls the ‘relocation centers’ ‘concentration camps’ during a press conference even though the WRA has repeatedly denied the term ‘concentration camps’ in describing the camps.

President Roosevelt Says ‘Concentration camps’

Idaho Governor Chase Clark is often credited with the idea to confine Japanese Americans during the war. He told a congressional committee in 1942 that the Japanese would only be welcome in Idaho if they were in ‘concentration camps under military guard.’


Internment Camps Begin

The war ends in Europe with the surrender of Germany.


World War II Ends

The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, and three days later a second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. WWII ends on August 14.


Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Empire of Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.


Pearl Harbor

The first detainees arrive at Granada, or Amache, Colorado.


Amache Opens

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 which authorizes the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones.


Executive Order 9066

President Ronald Reagan signs into law H.R. 442 which provides individual payments of $20,000 to each surviving Japanese internee as well as a $1.25 billion education fund.

Standards for Amache Timeline