Final answer:
The treatment of Japanese, German, and Italian Americans during WWII was a mix of military necessity and racial prejudice, with the internment of Japanese Americans being a grave violation of civil rights. A congressional commission and later government actions acknowledged the injustice, and the period was pivotal for civil rights advancements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The internment of Japanese Americans, and the differential treatment of German and Italian Americans during World War II, raise complex questions about the balance between civil rights and military necessity. The government's actions toward these ethnic groups involved a mixture of legitimate concerns about national security and prevailing prejudices and racism of the time. A notable point is that over 10,000 German nationals and a smaller number of Italian nationals were interned based on actual suspicion of membership in pro-Nazi and fascist organizations, contrasting with the treatment of Japanese Americans, who were interned en masse based not on individual suspicion but rather their race and community associations.
The internment of Japanese Americans was a stark violation of civil rights, as confirmed by a congressional commission which declared the causes to be "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." Although initially justified by the government on grounds of military necessity, the internment is now widely recognized as a grave injustice. In 1988, an official apology and reparations were extended by the US government to survivors. This episode serves as a cautionary tale about the necessity of guarding against the erosion of civil liberties even during times of crisis.
During World War II, African Americans, Native Americans, and other minority groups were able to use their wartime service to challenge discriminatory practices and to demand equal rights, laying the groundwork for the later civil rights movements. Thus, World War II had a significant impact on the progression of civil rights in the United States, although the journey toward equality and justice was and is ongoing.