Topaz Internment Camp 

National Historic Landmark

Nearest town: Delta, Utah 16 miles.
Location: Northwest of Delta on well-maintained gravel roads near Abraham.
Contact: Topaz Museum, P.O. Box 241, Delta, Utah  84624
www.topazmuseum.org 

In 1942, more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, were uprooted from their West Coast homes and incarcerated by their own government. Following Pearl Harbor, wartime hysteria was at its peak. The Japanese Americans, including women and children, were imprisoned in ten inland concentration camps where they remained behind barbed wire, under suspicion and armed guard for up to 3 ½ years. Topaz, Utah, located 16 miles from Delta, was one of the ten camps. By April 1, 1943, Topaz, named after a nearby mountain, housed 8,316 internees, making it Utah’s fifth largest city at the time.

Though Topaz was not a forced labor camp or a death camp like the ones American soldiers were uncovering in Nazi Germany, the imprisonment was an act of injustice since the internees had neither hearings or trials. Their incarceration was based solely on the color of their skin and their country of birth. They were victims of wartime hysteria, racial animosity and economic opportunism on the West Coast. Told their internment was “for their own safety,” America’s fear and distrust of these citizens was placated.

Within this rush to judgment was the denial of constitutional rights, major losses of personal property and the stigma of being labeled potential saboteurs. Ironically, though this mass incarceration was spearheaded by the assumption of disloyalty, not a single case of espionage against the U.S. was ever discovered.

Indeed, the 442nd RCT and 100th Battalion, composed entirely of Japanese-American boys (many of whom volunteered from internment camps), suffered major war casualties and became the U.S. Army’s most highly decorated combat unit for its size in history.

After an internee was killed by a guard at Topaz, the director relaxed the surveillance when it became obvious that internees were not engaged in subversive activities. Without security they were free to roam beyond the barbed wire fences into the desert. People could travel into Delta to shop
or work.

Despite the hardships of incarceration, the Japanese made Topaz a community. There were three schools, churches, adult education classes, a well-staffed hospital, sporting leagues and a newspaper. Delta and Topaz even exchanged talent programs.

Topaz closed October 31, 1945. The internees were free to begin rebuilding their lives.

The memory of Topaz remains a tribute to a people whose faith and loyalty was steadfast – while America’s had faltered.

After the war, the government dismantled all the barracks or sold them. Many were moved into Delta and used as sheds or remodeled into houses. At camp, the remains of foundations, cinder walkways, gardens, outlines of where the buildings stood and small artifacts are all that remains. It is worth a trip to the site to experience the solitude and reflect on the magnitude of this nearly forgotten piece of American history. Please refrain from removing artifacts from the site and only drive on established roads.

In Delta, half of a recreation hall has been restored to its 1943 condition and is on display at the Great Basin Museum. Walking inside, visitors can imagine the living conditions at Topaz, look at photos from the camp and see a typical apartment used by internees.

The Topaz Museum Board was established in 1990 as a non-profit organization to preserve the history and educate people about the camp. The Board has raised funds for the restoration of the recreation hall, re-printing “The Price of Prejudice” by Leonard Arrington and purchasing 525 acres of what was the city of Topaz. The Board continues to raise money to build a Museum.

The Central Utah Relocation Center (Topaz) was designated as a National Historic Landmark March 29, 2007. National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction with only 13 such places in Utah.

May this grim episode of basic American principles gone astray remind us to work for understanding, goodwill and justice for all citizens.

Sources: Topaz Interpretive Site
Delta Historic Marker
Topaz Museum exhibits