'Locked up in prison': Morton Grove storyteller describes World War II Japanese American internment camps
“Locked up in prison, surrounded by barbed wire.”
That's how Morton Grove storyteller Anne Shimojima described her parents’ and grandparents’ experiences in World War II internment camps.
With photos from her family and the National Archives, the retired educator turned storyteller and workshop presenter gave “Hidden Memory: An American Story” on Tuesday, April 1, at Lincoln Inn Banquets in Batavia. She was guest speaker at the Aurora Area Retired Teachers Association bimonthly membership luncheon.
Shimojima recounted how during World War II, the U.S. forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent — about two-thirds were U.S. citizens — in 10 concentration camps. Internees were not afforded due process of law.
Camps were operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. These actions were initiated by Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, following the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.
According to Shimojima, her relatives and other internees were prohibited from taking more than they could carry into the camps.
Many internees were given two weeks to sell some or all of their property, including their homes and businesses, at great losses. With overcrowded barracks with minimal furnishings, the camps were surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by armed guards.
On Dec. 17, 1944, a U.S. Supreme Court decision rescinded the exclusion orders and nine of the 10 camps were shut down by the end of 1945.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which officially apologized and authorized a payment of $20,000 to each former detainee who was still alive when the act was passed. The legislation admitted that the government’s actions were based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”
A professional storyteller since 1982, Shimojima said “Hidden Memory” developed out of her decision to create a photo book about the incarceration camps. In 2005, she interviewed her 91-year-old aunt about her experiences in a camp. From this, she developed her family story, which Shimojima presents with photos from her family and the National Archives.
A third generation Japanese American, she was born and raised in Chicago. An award-winning elementary school library media specialist of 35 years, she first discovered the power of story with her students, using storytelling to enrich and expand the curriculum and develop a deep emotional connection with her listeners.
Shimojima taught graduate courses in storytelling for National-Louis University and for eight years served on the board of the Wild Onion Storytelling Festival in Chicago.
Last year, she received the Circle of Excellence ORACLE Award from the National Storytelling Network, given to storytellers who are recognized by their peers to be master storytellers who set the standards for excellence and have demonstrated, over a significant period of time, a commitment and dedication to the art of storytelling. In 2022, she was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays, conferred by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, for promoting Japanese culture in the United States and promoting friendly relations and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.
Other highlights of her storytelling career include a week as Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee (2014, 2019, 2024) and performing at the National Storytelling Festival, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Illinois Storytelling Festival, Talk Story Storytelling Festival in Honolulu, Storytelling Arts of Indiana, Hans Christian Andersen Statue in Central Park, Chicago Botanic Garden, and at three Tokyo high schools, sharing her family's World War II story as a guest of the government of Japan.
Her CD “Sakura Tales: Stories from Japan” was awarded a Storytelling World Resource Honor Award in 2019. Her repertoire includes folk tales from around the world and historical pieces that help audience members find their place in the world today.
About AARTA
Founded in 1958, Aurora-based Aurora Area Retired Teachers Association is a nonprofit social-service group that includes about 350 retirees from Fox Valley school districts. Membership is open to retired teachers, administrators, support staff and spouses.
Membership luncheon meetings are held at 11:30 a.m. on the first Tuesday of February, April, June, October and December at Lincoln Inn Banquets in Batavia. Prospective members are invited. For information, call (630) 921-1307 or email aurorartdtchrs@outlook.com.