Breaking the Silence ─ Lessons of Democracy and Social Justice from the World War II Honouliuli Internment and POW Camp in Hawai'i

Breaking the Silence: Lessons of Democracy from the World War II Honouliuli Internment and POW Camp in Hawai’i is a collection of articles authored by University of Hawai’i-West O’ahu faculty from eight different academic disciplines and scholars and community partners from Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, Densho, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, and the National Park Service. The research amassed from oral histories, archival collections, and field work examines the archaeological, historical, sociological, political, psychological, and cultural aspects and impacts of World War II confinement in Honouliuli. The physical remains of Honouliuli Internment and POW Camp still lie hidden deep within a gulch located just a few miles inland from the famed World War II site of Pearl Harbor. That is not all that is hidden. The stories, experiences, and lasting influence of the internment of American civilians and resident aliens of Japanese and Okinawan ancestry, local “suspect” Europeans categorized as “Germans” and “Italians,” as well as POWS of Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Italian and Filipino origin remain largely unknown and untold. In this special issue of Social Process in Hawai’i we aim to uncover the facts of the Honouliuli internment and imprisonment experiences and the valuable lessons that can be learned, so that these harrowing injustices might never be repeated again.