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 (231)
Temporary Assembly Centers (231)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
Assembly centers, Fresno (detention facility), Marysville (detention facility), Mayer (detention facility), Merced (detention facility), Owens Valley (detention facility), Parker Dam (detention facility), Pinedale (detention facility), Pomona (detention facility), Portland (detention facility), Puyallup (detention facility), Sacramento (detention facility), Salinas (detention facility), Santa Anita (detention facility), Sites of incarceration, Stockton (detention facility), Tanforan (detention facility), Tulare (detention facility), Turlock (detention facility)

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231 items
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Misaki Aki (ddr-densho-498-34)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Misaki Aki (ddr-densho-498-34)
Letter to Robert Inglis from Misaki Aki requesting that he come to Tanforan to lead a church service.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Kay Yamashita (ddr-densho-498-47)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Kay Yamashita (ddr-densho-498-47)
Letter to Robert Inglis from Kay Yamashita explaining what life in Topaz looks like. She also asks for help for Seichi Adachi who is looking to continue his education.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from The Tanaka Family (ddr-densho-498-39)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from The Tanaka Family (ddr-densho-498-39)
Letter to Robert Inglis from the Tanaka Family thanking him for his kindness and letting him know that they are making the journey to Topaz, Utah. Mention of Mr. and Mrs. K. Saito and their son who are taking up the offer to go to St. Louis.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Isao Tanaka (ddr-densho-498-38)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Isao Tanaka (ddr-densho-498-38)
Letter to Robert Inglis from Isao Tanaka explaining that most of the people from Tanforan Assembly Center have been or will be transported to Topaz, Utah. Tanaka thanks Inglis for his kindness.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Kay (ddr-densho-498-33)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Kay (ddr-densho-498-33)
Letter of gratitude to Robert Inglis from Kay Uchida from Tanforan Assembly Center. Uchida explains what life is like in the assembly center.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Mas Wakai (ddr-densho-498-17)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Mas Wakai (ddr-densho-498-17)
Letter to Robert Inglis from Mas Wakai at Tanforan Assembly Center, discussing his and George Aki's ordination
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Shigeyuki Kusuda (ddr-densho-498-11)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Shigeyuki Kusuda (ddr-densho-498-11)
Letter to Robert Inglis from Shigeyuki Kusuda from Tanforan Assembly Center. He arrived May 7 and is settling in as comfortably as possible.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from George Aki (ddr-densho-498-22)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from George Aki (ddr-densho-498-22)
Letter to Robert Inglis from George Aki discussing a church schedule.
Postcard to Rev. Robert Inglis from Teizo Sato (ddr-densho-498-12)
doc Postcard to Rev. Robert Inglis from Teizo Sato (ddr-densho-498-12)
Postcard to Robert Inglis from Teizo Sato from Tanforan Assembly Center. Sato is thanking Inglis for his kindness and letting him know that he made it safely to Tanforan.
Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Hideko Nakazawa (ddr-densho-498-35)
doc Letter to Rev. Robert Inglis from Hideko Nakazawa (ddr-densho-498-35)
Letter to Robert Inglis from Hideko Nakazawa letting him know that she will be joining her family at Tanforan Assembly Center and to address all letters to her there.
Page of Hisa Nimura Horiuchi Scrapbook (ddr-densho-325-7)
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.
Letter to Yuri Domoto from Yoshito Shibata (ddr-densho-356-220)
doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Yoshito Shibata (ddr-densho-356-220)
Envelope and letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Yoshito Shibata in which he tells Yuriko about his transfer to Camp Savage to study Japanese and the general schedule of the language school. He inquires about her family's adjustment to life in the Assembly center and provides her with his new address.
Postcard to Yuri Domoto from Rosie Suyeyama (ddr-densho-356-294)
doc Postcard to Yuri Domoto from Rosie Suyeyama (ddr-densho-356-294)
Postcard to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Rose Suyeyama in which she talks about the preparations for the move from Tanforan to Topaz. Item tied together with all objects between ddr-densho-356-277 and ddr-densho-356-320.
Scrapbook (ddr-densho-361-1)
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."
American Concentration Camps VOLUME 6 June, 1942- December, 1942 (ddr-densho-372-6)
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 …
American Concentration Camps VOLUME 5 May, 1942 (ddr-densho-372-5)
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 …
Women and girls behind barbed wire at Camp Harmony (ddr-densho-383-464)
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".
Tamako Inouye's 1942 Diary (ddr-densho-383-627)
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.
Journal (ddr-densho-383-626)
doc Journal (ddr-densho-383-626)
Journal in English and Japanese from 1942.
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