Related Archival Collections at the University of Arkansas Special Collections
- MC 1715 Charles Sharum WWII P.O.W. MaterialsThe collection includes the diary that Sharum kept documenting his experiences as a P.O.W., correspondence, and other peripheral material relating to Sharum
- MC 2053: Adelbert W. Duskin WWII PapersAdelbert W. Duskin graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1934 and served in World War II, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. This collection is primarily comprised of correspondence written from Adelbert to his wife, Dorothy, and son, Joel, during World War II.
- MC 629: Jerome Relocation Center CollectionDuring World War II, the United States Government began an effort to forcibly remove Japanese Americans from the West Coast and other areas near the Pacific, to relocation camps across the country. The Jerome relocation center was one of two Japanese internment camps built in southeast Arkansas. This collections includes correspondence and memoranda of Phillip M. Glick and Robert Leflar, censuses of Japanese-Americans at the camps at Jerome (Chicot County) and Rohwer (Desha County), reports, and pamphlets.
- MS G88 257: U. S. War Relocation Authority, Rohwer Relocation Center RecordsNathaniel R. Griswold (1901-1991) served as Superintendent of the Community Activities Section of the Rohwer Relocation Center at McGehee, Ark. from 1943-1945. This collection includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, bulletins, lists, budgets, and scrapbooks.
Arkansas in WWII
What was happening in Arkansas during the World War II period? How were Arkansans responding to the war?
World War II created important social and economic changes across the state of Arkansas. During the war, six military ordnance plants were developed and produced war materials, alleviating the job loss the state had suffered during the Great Depression of the 1930s. About 10% of the 1940 population of the state served in the armed forces, and many left the state during the war to seek better economic opportunities in other states. The presence of prisoners of war from Germany and Italy, as well as the Japanese Americans incarcerated in internment camps in the Arkansas Delta created racial and nationalist tensions.
Below you'll find resources that will help you learn more about Arkansas' connections to WWII.
| Following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, and the United State’s declaration of war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the War Relocation Authority (WRA), which established ten camps to incarcerate more than 100,000 Japanese Americans, the majority of whom were U.S. citizens. Two of these camps were in the Arkansas Delta, Rohwer (Desha County) and Jerome (Chicot and Drew counties). From 1942 and 1945 thousands of Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes in California to incarceration camps in Arkansas. The site of the camp at Rohwer is now on the National Register of Historic Places. |
- Encyclopedia Arkansas entry on Japanese American Relocation CampsThe Encyclopedia of Arkansas provides a helpful overview about WWII-era prisoner of war camps located in the state.
- Rising Above: Rohwer Reconstructedoffers more than 500 documents and photographs, 3D visualizations, and timelines. A collaborative project from the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections, University of Arkansas Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), Arkansas State University, the Central Arkansas Library System, and the National Park Service.
- Japanese American IncarcerationThis subject guide helps students and researchers access archives and other special collections resources related to the history Japanese American incarceration and concentration camps in Arkansas during World War II.
- World War II Japanese American Internment MuseumThe WWII Japanese American Internment Museum opened in 2013 and is located in McGehee, AR. The museum offers exhibits detailing the experiences of Japanese Americans incarcerated at internment or "relocation" camps in Arkansas.
| During World War II more than 20,000 German and Italian prisoners of war were held in Arkansas. Most of the camps were in central and eastern Arkansas, where some prisoners were hired out to farmers and businessmen to perform manual labor. Among the largest prison camps in the Delta was Camp Dermott, where several thousand prisoners labored on area farms to help relieve the labor shortage created by WWII. |
- Encyclopedia Arkansas entry on World War II Prisoner of War CampsThe Encyclopedia of Arkansas offers a helpful overview on the WWII prisoner of war camps that were located in the state.
- “German Prisoner of War Letters”
Offers a collection of 10 letters sent after the war by former German prisoners at Camp Dermott to a prominent farmer and merchant near Parkdale in Ashley County, Mr. E.D. Gregory, on whose farm the men had labored as prisoners.
| During WWII, Arkansas was home to Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock (Pulaski County). First built for training troops in WWI, the camp was expanded and used for basic training and the training of medics during WWII. Part of the camp was also used to house German POWs. |
- Encyclopedia Arkansas entry on WWIIThe Encyclopedia of Arkansas provides a helpful overview of Arkansas' involvement in WWII, including the state's involvement in and contribution to the U.S. military.
- Arkansas National Guard MuseumThe Arkansas National Guard Museum offers an overview of military bases in Arkansas during WWII and Arkansans involvement in the armed forces.
| Racism and segregation were ongoing issues in Arkansas during the WWII period. Jim Crow laws in the South, including in Arkansas, continued to be enforced and even intensified during this period, due to the influx of Black soldiers in southern military camps and bases. Black Americans were increasingly pushing back on the hypocrisy of fighting for a country in which their rights were severely limited and in which they were actively oppressed. The WWII period had an important impact on the Civil Rights era that would follow. |
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for FreedomThe Library of Congress's digital project, The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom, provides a helpful overview of the segregation period that preceded the Civil Rights movement.
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on Segregation and DesegregationSpecific to Arkansas, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas provides a useful overview of segregation and desegregation in Arkansas, which includes links to related resources and lesson plans.