History Colorado

Take a look at snapshots from everyday life at the Granada Relocation Center.

Life in Amache

A young girl arrives at the Grananda Relocation Center in Amache, Colorado.

Japanese Relocation

The Aftermath of Amache

Once Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps, they were not allowed to leave without special permission. If they did leave, they needed to carry travel permits and tags.

A Life in Paperwork

The Granada Relocation Center, also known as Amache, was one of ten internment camps for Japanese Americans built during World War II and the only one in Colorado.

The Granada Relocation Center

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 Timeline

Explore Ralph Carr’s desk to find out more about his life.

Stand for Justice

Executive Order 9066 was signed in 1942 by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt and authorized the internment of tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and Japanese immigrants.

Democratic Principles in Conflict 

The federal government tore down or relocated the buildings that once made up the Amache-Granada Relocation Center, which at its peak housed 7,318 people.
The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Restoration and preservation efforts, along with archaeological research, have been ongoing since 2007.

The Amache-Granada Relocation Center: A  Historic Landmark

Ralph Carr was the Governor of Colorado from 1939 to 1943.

The Ralph Carr Story

By April of 1945, WWII was winding down. Hitler died on April 30, and victory in europe was formally declared on May 9. Amache officially closed in October, 1945, though Public Proclamation No. 21 was officially issued on January 2, 1945, allowing Japanese Americans to return home.
But where was home?
People had left homes, businesses, and farms behind. Now they were given very short notice that they had to leave Amache. They were given $25 and a train or bus ticket. Some people returned to California and the west coast and tried to rebuild their previous lives. They often returned to face more prejudice. Others, invited to stay in Colorado by Governor Ralph Carr, started over again in the only western state that welcomed them.

After the War: Leaving Amache

Objects can tell us a lot about a story from the past. Take a look at a few items that might have been brought to Amache from the perspective of a family who lived there. What do they tell us about daily life at Amache? 

Taking Personal Objects to Amache

Become acquainted with several democratic principles and consider the degree to which Coloradans throughout our history have accepted and demonstrated these principles. This list of principles is not complete. These simply represent a sample of key principles. As you review the definition of each principle, think about examples that show up in your own life.
During World War II, many of these principles came into conflict with one another when people of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes and forced to live in Internment Camps. Think about these principles as you learn more about Japanese Internment through the story of Amache in Colorado.    

Democratic Principles: An Introduction

Circle the objects that the father would have taken to Amache, star the objects that the mother would have taken, and put a square around the objects the children would have taken. What do you think some of these items could be used for? What would you take from your home if you suddenly had to move? How do these objects connect to Japanese-American culture?

Packing for Amache

The federal government tore down or relocated the buildings that once made up the Amache-Granada Relocation Center, which at its peak housed 7,318 people. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Restoration and preservation efforts, along with archaeological research, have been ongoing since 2007.

The Amache-Granada Relocation Center: A Historic Landmark

During World War II, 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps—including one in Colorado called "Amache." Explore the story of Amache through the lens of democratic principles and discover how they came into conflict in this historic case study.

Additional Resources, Books, Articles, and Photos

Teacher Resources, Colorado Biographies, and Secondary Level Books on Japanese Internment and Relocation

Japanese American Internment in Colorado Teacher Online Resources and Curriculum

Power of Words Handbook A Guide to Language about Japanese Americans in World War II

Letter from the Amache Historical Society 

1. Understand the nature of historical knowledge as a process of inquiry that examines and analyzes how history is viewed, constructed, and interpreted.

1. d. Identify and describe how major political and cultural groups have affected the development of the region.

2. Analyze historical time periods and patterns of continuity and change, through multiple perspectives, within and among cultures and societies.

2. c. Describe both past and present interactions among the people and cultures

3.  Apply geographic representations and perspectives to analyze human movement, spatial patterns, systems, and the connections and

4. Examine the characteristics of places and regions, and the changing nature among geographic and human interactions.

4. c. Analyze how people use geographic factors in creating settlements and have adapted to and modified the local physical environment.

Japanese Internment in Colorado

Civics and Government

Social Studies

U.S. History

World History

Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. The order allowed the military to declare certain areas of the country military areas, which then paved the way for the removal and internment of Japanese Americans. These military areas were along the West Coast.

The decision was called a “military necessity,” but the Japanese Americans affected were not charged with crimes or given judicial hearings. They were targeted because of widespread fear that they were spies and loyal to Japan, though they were American citizens.

Collection contains clippings, reports, and other material related to the Amache Japanese Relocation Center (also known as the Granada Relocation Center) located near the town of Granada in Prowers County, Colorado. One of ten relocation camps created by the Roosevelt administration after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Granada Relocation Center opened on August 27, 1942. Nearly all the residents of the camp were forcibly removed from the West Coast. At its peak, the camp held over 7,300 people. The camp closed on October 15, 1945. Today, portions of the camp, as well as the nine other relocation centers in the United States, are being restored as museums.

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Manuscript collection

Amache opened in August 1942 and closed in October 1945. In between, more than 10,000 men, women, and children passed through Amache. At its peak, the camp housed 7,318 people of Japanese ancestry, ⅓ of whom were Issei (Japanese-born) and ⅔ of whom were Nisei (American-born citizens).

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Amache Barracks

Internees lived in fiberboard or asbestos shingle-sided barracks arranged in military grids. The 200-acre site was surrounded by barbed-wire fences and guard towers staffed by armed military policemen.

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Women with Luggage

In 1943, all Japanese Americans who were interned were asked to fill out a questionnaire to determine if they were loyal or disloyal to the United States. The form was confusing to many, and asked people to “forswear any form of allegiance to the Japanese Emperor or any other foreign government, power, or organization.” Though the US was also at war with Germany and Italy, German and Italian Americans were not asked to fill out forms stating they were loyal to the US.

The internment camps (shown on this map with triangles and labeled WRA Relocation Center) were located in isolated areas where not many people lived, like deserts or swamps.

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Japanese Internment in Colorado

The Granada Relocation Center

Executive Order 9066