Temporary Assembly Centers

In spring 1942, the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA) hastily prepared temporary "assembly centers" to house the individuals of Japanese ancestry who were removed from their homes after the signing of Executive Order 9066. The centers were surrounded by barbed-wire fences and patrolled by armed military police. People were housed in animal stalls and barracks with communal bathrooms and mess halls. After spending up to six months in the "assembly centers," Japanese Americans were moved inland to permanent concentration camps.

World War II (283)
Temporary Assembly Centers (254)

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254 items

doc Letter to Molly Wilson from Sandie Saito (May 2, 1942) (ddr-janm-1-8)

Handwritten letter to Molly Wilson from Sandie Saito (May 2, 1942) from the Santa Anita Assembly Center in Arcadia, California. Letter has return address in the upper left hand corner but not stamped nor postmarked.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-janm-1-8/

doc Letter (with envelope) to Molly Wilson from June Yoshigai (August 31, 1942) (ddr-janm-1-86)

Handwritten letter to Molly Wilson from June Yoshigai (August 31, 1942). Envelope is postmarked September 1, 1942 from the Santa Anita Assembly Center in Arcadia, California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-janm-1-86/

doc Postcard to Molly Wilson from June Yoshigai (October 1, 1942) (ddr-janm-1-87)

Postcard to Mollie Wilson from June Yoshigai (October 1, 1942). It is postmarked October 2, 1942 from the Santa Anita Assembly Center in Arcadia, California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-janm-1-87/

doc Letter (with envelope) to Molly Wilson from June Yoshigai (June 26, 1942) (ddr-janm-1-85)

Handwritten letter to Molly Wilson from June Yoshigai (June 26, 1942). Envelope is postmarked June 29, 1942 from the Santa Anita Assembly Center in Arcadia, California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-janm-1-85/

doc Letter (with envelope) to Molly Wilson from Sandie Saito (July 8, 1942) (ddr-janm-1-10)

Handwritten letter to Molly Wilson from Sandie Saito (July 8, 1942). Envelope is postmarked July 8, 1942 from the Santa Anita Assembly Center in Arcadia, California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-janm-1-10/

doc Letter to Kinuta Uno at Pinedale Assembly Center (ddr-densho-324-54)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-324-54/

doc Letter to Kinuta Uno at Pinedale Assembly Center (ddr-densho-324-53)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-324-53/

doc Page of Hisa Nimura Horiuchi Scrapbook (ddr-densho-325-7)

Poems from Hisa's friends. Ms. Whilhite writes that the Nimura family and their neighbors were sent to Arboga, California, most likely they were sent to the Marysville Temporary Assembly Center which was located near Arboga. After spending just over a month in the assembly center Hisa and her family were sent to Tule Lake Concentration Camp.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-325-7/

img Scrapbook (ddr-densho-361-1)

Written on tape on cover: "This scrapbook is original--1942 Nobuko Omoto (Sakai) Bainbridge Island, WA. Please handle with care."

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-361-1/

img Group photograph at Merced Assembly Center (ddr-densho-390-20)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-390-20/

doc Sketch of Tanforan Assembly Center (ddr-densho-392-58)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-392-58/

doc American Concentration Camps VOLUME 6 June, 1942- December, 1942 (ddr-densho-372-6)

Volume 6 divides into six sections. Description about this volume reads directly from the book as follows: Section 1 presents archival documents from June 1942 that show the first major modifications of relocation policies and depict the resistance by Western Defense Command to any amelioration of the condition of the Japanese Americans. Section 2 contains selected …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-372-6/

doc American Concentration Camps VOLUME 5 May, 1942 (ddr-densho-372-5)

Volume 5 divides into two sections. Description about this volume reads directly from the book as follows: The first half of volume 5 includes archival documents from May 1942 which show the Army making California and the other West Coast areas "free" of Japanese, as first the Assembly Centers and then the Relocation Centers began to …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-372-5/

doc Takami Hibiya's individual record (ddr-densho-381-133)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-381-133/

doc Yoshi Hibiya's individual record (ddr-densho-381-170)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-381-170/

doc Journal (ddr-densho-383-626)

Journal in English and Japanese from 1942.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-626/

doc Tamako Inouye's 1942 Diary (ddr-densho-383-627)

Tamako (Inouye) Tokuda's daily diary from 1942. She discusses forced removal from Seattle, time at Puyallup Assembly Center and time at Minidoka.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-627/

img Women and girls behind barbed wire at Camp Harmony (ddr-densho-383-464)

Tamako Inouye on far right. Written on back of photograph: "Camp Harmony, Puyallup, Washington, 1942".

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-464/

doc Letter from Tetsuro Sumida to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-25)

Letter from Tets Sumida to his father describing life at Santa Anita Assembly Center from the perspective of a young school-age Nisei. He expresses his hope that there will be college-level classes during internment, but in their absence he hopes to take practical classes like typing and bookkeeping.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-25/

doc Letter from Marjorie Yohko Sumida to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-30)

Yohko Sumida describes life at Santa Anita from the perspective of a young teenager. She mentions the new meal system which staggers the meal time with the use of tickets, her grades at school, and the group exercise sessions .

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-30/

doc Letter from Grace Sumida Nagai to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-29)

Grace Sumida's letter to her father, Chimata Sumida regarding life at Santa Anita Assembly Center. She mentions that 5 adults occupy a 12' x 20' room in their barracks. She mentions that all Japanese reading material with the exception of Bibles, hymnals and dictionaries were contraband, and Japanese records were off limits as well.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-29/

doc Letter from Emmy Sumida Ito to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-32)

Letter shares writer's request that Chimata be able to join the family in Santa Anita very soon before they are split up.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-32/

doc Letter from Ken Ito to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-24)

Ken Ito apologizes to his new father-in-law, Chimata Sumida, for not writing in awhile because of all the chores of packing and unpacking after arriving at Santa Anita Assembly Center.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-24/

doc Letter from Yuri (Alice) Sumida Endo to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-31)

Letter shares that there were rumors that the family would be sent to Arkansas, and shares where other friends were going. She itemizes the monthly clothing allowance that each person receives. She also shares that a driving range was built and most of his old golfing buddies were playing. She also shares that their family plays …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-31/

doc Letter from Rayko (Grace) Sumida to Chimata Sumida (ddr-densho-379-33)

Letter shares news that Emmy Sumida Ito and her husband Ken will be leaving for the Amache Relocation Center the next day, and the rest of the immediate family would be leaving for Arkansas on the 6th of October. She requests that he wire them when he finds out an actual date of transfer because they …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-33/