and we did round up current and former German nationals (and their U.S. born children) and put them in internment camps as well (11,000 total) versus 110,000 total Japanese (62% American citizens). I obviously wish we had never done it - it made us weaker as a nation and left a legacy of resentment that still festers.
As a percentage of the population Germans were a much greater percent, they were obviously not as ethnically identifiable, and on average those of German ancestry were in the U.S. longer (a significant population dating back to the founding of the country).
I never said it was right, and I don't like to bring up how the Japanese and Germans treated the civilians of other nations. You could count on one hand the number of individuals with roots to the U.S. that were in Japan at the start of the war- I haven't a clue how first and second generation individuals were treated (my guess would be they were all rounded up). Obviously the Japanese were brutal to captured American citizens (and Koreans, Chinese, Filipinos, etc.). In general Japan did not let non-ethnic Japanese become citizens before the War (and it is still very difficult to become a citizen - ask the Zainichi how they were treated during World War II). I don't think a single Japanese detainee would want to exchange his lot with a Zainichi.
I recognize we aspire to be better. Our public school textbooks do not gloss over what happened. How many other nations step up to their mistakes in such a fashion? Canada also held their citizens of Japanese descent.
I think understanding why it happened and how to prevent such abuse of American citizens in the future goes a lot further than screaming racism and being done with it. How do you feel about Lincoln - he trampled on the civil rights of the copperheads. How about Wilson (who I consider one of our worst presidents because of his racism) who threw Germans into internment camps in World War I. Adams and his Alien and Sedition Act.
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