[Japanese-American Internment]. [U.S. Department of Justice - Alien Enemy Control Unit]

Application for Permission to Renounce United States Nationality [with Unused Cover Letter]

Newell, Ca. November, 1944. [1],3pp., mimeographed forms printed on rectos only. Minor wear, small paper clip rust stains to top edges. Very good. Item #3153

A cover letter datelined "November [blank], 1944 Newell, California" intended to accompany the attached blank version of the actual application, intended for use by Tule Lake internees wishing to renounce their United States citizenship. The cover letter is pre-addressed to the Attorney General and Edward J. Ennis, the director of the Justice Department's Alien Enemy Control Unit in Washington, D.C. The form letter begins, "I wish to renounce my United States nationality in accordance with the recent government promulgation, so I am enclosing a typewritten copy of this application form, executed by me." A blank copy of the application is included here, numbering three pages. The application includes a renunciation statement intended to be signed by applicants, followed by ten questions pertaining to the applicant's history of birth, residence, last point of entry into the U.S., close relations, education, military service, Selective Service classification, and a declaration that the applicant has given "true and correct" answers, intended to be dated and signed at the end.

Tule Lake became the holding center for Japanese American internees viewed as disloyal after the issuance of the infamous loyalty questionnaire in the summer of 1943. These "disloyal segregees" were sent to Tule Lake, where they suffered ostracization from fellow internees, poorer living conditions, inferior food, and harsher treatment from American military guards, among other indignities. There were even disagreements among the segregated internees, as some of them truly wished for repatriation to Japan and identified as Japanese, while others viewed this group as disloyal and undeserving of assistance or relief. In other words, not only were these internees seen as disloyal by their own government, but also by some of their fellow internees. Their feeling of dislocation ran deep. Eventually, many of these segregees sought to renounce their American citizenship and repatriate to Japan. The present forms were many internees' first step in this process.

Price: $450.00