The Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo, will host an author discussion with Richard Reeves and Jan Jarboe Russell on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m.
For “Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment of World War II,” acclaimed historian Reeves has interviewed survivors, read numerous private letters and memoirs, and combed through archives to deliver a sweeping narrative. Men usually considered heroes — Franklin D. Roosevelt, Earl Warren, Edward R. Murrow — were in this case villains, but we also learn of many Americans who took great risks to defend the rights of the internees. Most especially, we hear the poignant stories of those who spent years in “war relocation camps,” many of whom suffered this terrible injustice with remarkable grace.
Russell’s “The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II” tells the little-known story of a secret, FDR-approved World War II prisoner exchange program in which German, Japanese, and Italian immigrants and their American-born children were forcibly brought to the U.S. from Latin America and traded for “more important” American prisoners of war stuck behind enemy lines.
Both authors will discuss their works. Copies of both books will be available for purchase and signing.
Free with museum admission. RSVPs are recommended. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.