Karl G. Yoneda papers, 1892-1998, bulk 1925-1989, bulk 1925-1989

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Summary

Creators:
Yoneda, Karl G., 1906-1999
Abstract:
Karl G. Yoneda was a Kibei-nisei, born in Glendale, California in 1906 and stayed in Japan between 1913 and 1926. He returned to the United States in 1927 and joined the American Communist Party. During World War II, Yoneda was incarcerated in the Manzanar War Relocation Center and volunteered to join the Military Intelligence Service Language School from the camp. He served for the China-Burma-India Theater as a member of the Psychological Warfare Team, the United States Office of War Information. Starting in the late 1960s, Yoneda gave lectures and talks at various classes and programs of academic institutions in the West Coast and Hawaii and authored publications in English and Japanese. The collection consists of materials related to Yoneda's involvement in the Japanese American left and labor movement, World War II internment, and the United States Military services. Includes original manuscripts, publications, correspondence, photographs, and photocopied testimonies and investigation case files.
Extent:
23 Linear Feet (46 document boxes, 1 map folder)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Karl G. Yoneda Papers (Collection 1592). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of materials related to Karl Yoneda's involvement in the Japanese American left and labor movement, World War II internment, and the United States Military services. It includes original manuscripts, publications, correspondence, photographs, and photocopied testimonies and investigation case files. Of note are leaflets and newspapers published and distributed by the Japanese Bureau of the American Communist Party, leftist groups, and labor union members between 1923 and 1939. The materials were distributed among Japanese communities in California, Seattle, Alaska, New York, Hawaii, Canada, Japan, and Shanghai for various purposes, including to call for community participation internationally in the political fight against Japanese imperialism and in the support of communists and the Soviet Union, and to advocate improvement of working conditions and higher wages of local labor workers in California.

The collection also contains materials related to the internment of Yoneda and his wife, Elaine Black Yoneda, in the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Materials Yoneda collected immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 depict the anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States, while the materials written by Yoneda and/or the Japanese American community groups express their faithful allegiance to the United States. During incarceration, Yoneda served as a block manager as well as a member of the Manzanar Citizens Federation; as a result, this collection also contains Yoneda's reports and letters describing the camp conditions, its organization and administration structure, jobs and wages, activities, and programs.

Propaganda materials included in the collection consist of ?? dentan [= airborne leaflets], newspapers, pamphlets, and a military song book produced by the United States Psychological Warfare Team, Office of War Information. The purpose of propaganda materials was to call on Japanese soldiers to surrender in the China-Burma-India Theater between 1944 and 1945.

Most of the collection is written in English and Japanese; some Japanese texts are attached with an English synopsis and annotations. A small portion of materials are written in Chinese, Korean, Burmese, and Russian.

Biographical / historical:

Karl G. Yoneda was born in Glendale, California in 1906 to Japanese immigrant parents. Because of his father's illness, the Yoneda family left the United States for Japan in 1913. During his stay in Japan, Yoneda received his education and was influenced by left-wing and socialist ideas. Escaping from Japanese conscription, he returned alone to the United States in 1926. In the United States he joined the American Communist Party, which launched his career as a labor and union organizer. As a longshoreman by trade, he was affiliated with the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), and also served as the vice president and delegate of the Congress of Industrial Organizations Alaskan Cannery Workers Union. He was an editor of ???? Rodo Shinbun [= Japanese labor news] in San Francisco, an official newspaper of the Japanese section of the American Communist Party, and a contributor to ?? Doho, a Japanese American leftist newspaper (a broad united front progressive paper) published in Los Angeles. He was also a poet, publishing poems under several pseudonyms.

During World War II, Yoneda and his wife, Elaine Black Yoneda, were interned in the Manzanar War Relocation Center in Independence, California. During incarceration, he served as a block manager and also formed the Manzanar Citizens Federation, which consisted of pro-American and pro-communist internees. Its purpose was to improve camp conditions, initiate leadership education, participate in war efforts, and prepare evacuees for postwar life. In the camp, he volunteered to join the Military Intelligence Service Language School and was enlisted in the Psychological Warfare Team, the United States Office of War Information (OWI), and served for the China-Burma-India Theater.

Starting in the late 1960s, Yoneda gave lectures and talks in various classes and programs of academic institutions on the West Coast and in Hawaii. He also authored publications in English and Japanese. In 1999, Yoneda passed away at age 92 in Fort Bragg, California.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Karl G. Yoneda, 1990.
Processing information:

Processed by Yoko Okunishi in theCenter for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, Megan Fraser, and Jillian Cuellar, 2011-2012.

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Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Communist/Labor Union Activities
  2. World War II Internment
  3. Military Service of Japanese Americans
  4. Manuscripts, Publications, and Lectures
  5. Japanese American/Canadian Redress and Reparations
  6. Investigation Case Files
  7. Japanese American Citizens League
  8. Correspondence
  9. Personal Memorabilia
  10. Political Subject Files

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS UNPROCESSED DIGITAL MATERIALS: Digital materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu. Includes: one CD-R, 700 MB storage capacity

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Karl G. Yoneda Papers (Collection 1592). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
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