Living conditions

The "assembly centers" were hastily erected quarters located throughout the West Coast at fairgrounds, racetracks and other similar facilities. Conditions at these locations were appalling. People were housed in animal stalls and barracks with communal bathrooms and mess halls. Privacy was next to nonexistent. Most families lived in a 20-by-20-foot room separated from the next "apartment" by wood partitions that did not reach the ceiling. Shortages of food and deplorable sanitation were common. Overcrowding, uncertainty, and stress created tension in the "assembly centers," even as the demoralized camp inmates tried to improve living conditions.

World War II (239)
Temporary Assembly Centers (234)
Living conditions (399)

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399 items
Takeharu Inouye Diary (ddr-densho-365-1)
doc Takeharu Inouye Diary (ddr-densho-365-1)
Takeharu Inouye's first diary documents his family's forced move to the Sacramento Assembly Center, followed by their move to the Tule Lake concentration camp. Since his mother, Miyoe Inouye, was a teacher, thirteen-year-old Takeharu's diary focuses on his classes in the Japanese and American schools at Tule Lake. His struggles with his schoolwork, as well as …
Letter from Martha Masako Nozawa to Tomoye Takahashi (ddr-densho-423-6)
doc Letter from Martha Masako Nozawa to Tomoye Takahashi (ddr-densho-423-6)
Charles Ernst, Topaz camp director, came to St. Louis and invited the former Topaz internees to dinner. Discussed the shooting at camp.
doc "This Isn't Japan" (ddr-densho-423-151)
Article written by Mary Oyama describing the Santa Anita Assembly Center and emphasizing that the Japanese incarcerated there are Americans. Reprinted from Common Ground
List, document in Japanese, with envelope addressed to Tomoye Takahashi from S. Ozawa (ddr-densho-423-353)
doc List, document in Japanese, with envelope addressed to Tomoye Takahashi from S. Ozawa (ddr-densho-423-353)
Pages 1-2: List of ideas for decorating barrack homes. Pages 3-4: Address for Yasinori Nozawa at Camp Livingston. Pages 5-7: document in Japanese.
Kaneji Domoto Diary, 1942 (ddr-densho-329-950)
doc Kaneji Domoto Diary, 1942 (ddr-densho-329-950)
Kaneji's diary from March 6, 1942 - October 7, 1942, spanning the Domoto family's time from being at home in California to about a month after arrival at Amache. Early pages of the diary resemble a notebook loosely structured by date and containing a mixture of daily activities, accounting, notes from work at the nursery, and, …
Louise Kashino Segment 12 (ddr-densho-1000-31-12)
vh Louise Kashino Segment 12 (ddr-densho-1000-31-12)
Leaving Seattle: packing extra food just in case; first impressions of the Puyallup Assembly Center

For the first hour of this interview, an additional camera crew from KCTS Television was also present.

Louise Kashino Segment 16 (ddr-densho-1000-31-16)
vh Louise Kashino Segment 16 (ddr-densho-1000-31-16)
Working as a "tray girl" in Puyallup Assembly Center

For the first hour of this interview, an additional camera crew from KCTS Television was also present.

Louise Kashino Segment 13 (ddr-densho-1000-31-13)
vh Louise Kashino Segment 13 (ddr-densho-1000-31-13)
Health concerns, bad Vienna sausages in Puyallup Assembly Center

For the first hour of this interview, an additional camera crew from KCTS Television was also present.

Akio Hoshino Segment 8 (ddr-densho-1000-26-8)
vh Akio Hoshino Segment 8 (ddr-densho-1000-26-8)
Memories of Puyallup Assembly Center: friendly guards, ice skating, and arguing over steel cots
Joe Yamakido Interview Segment 5 (ddr-densho-1000-167-5)
vh Joe Yamakido Interview Segment 5 (ddr-densho-1000-167-5)
Unpleasant memories of Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, working as a trashman
Nobu Suzuki Interview I Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-84-26)
vh Nobu Suzuki Interview I Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-84-26)
Attitude toward violation of rights, "There was nothing we could do about it because they had the guns"

References are made to several of Nobu Suzuki's personal papers, which are currently available for public perusal at the University of Washington's Manuscripts and University Archives.

Nobu Suzuki Interview I Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-84-24)
vh Nobu Suzuki Interview I Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-84-24)
Memories of Puyallup Assembly Center: setting up a makeshift hospital without medical equipment

References are made to several of Nobu Suzuki's personal papers, which are currently available for public perusal at the University of Washington's Manuscripts and University Archives.

Nobu Suzuki Interview I Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-84-25)
vh Nobu Suzuki Interview I Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-84-25)
Conditions in Puyallup: getting chicken pox, army looks for contraband in a chocolate cake brought by visitors

References are made to several of Nobu Suzuki's personal papers, which are currently available for public perusal at the University of Washington's Manuscripts and University Archives.

Tsuguo
vh Tsuguo "Ike" Ikeda Interview I Segment 10 (ddr-densho-1000-123-10)
Memories of the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon: working to distribute dairy products, help people settle

As a teenager prior to World War II, began keeping scrapbooks with newspaper articles and memorabilia, a lifetime habit.

Hideo Hoshide Interview I Segment 43 (ddr-densho-1000-184-43)
vh Hideo Hoshide Interview I Segment 43 (ddr-densho-1000-184-43)
Dealing with difficult living conditions in Pinedale: no privacy, incredible heat, shared facilities
Hideo Hoshide Interview I Segment 41 (ddr-densho-1000-184-41)
vh Hideo Hoshide Interview I Segment 41 (ddr-densho-1000-184-41)
Impressions of Pinedale Assembly Center; working for the newspaper, the Pinedale Logger
Yukiko Miyake Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-49-26)
vh Yukiko Miyake Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-49-26)
Challenging the guards at Puyallup Assembly Center: "What are you going to do? Kill us?"
Art Abe Interview Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-206-17)
vh Art Abe Interview Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-206-17)
Feeling bitter upon being removed: "I couldn't believe what the government was doing to us"
Fumi Kaseguma Interview Segment 11 (ddr-densho-1000-203-11)
vh Fumi Kaseguma Interview Segment 11 (ddr-densho-1000-203-11)
Life in the Portland Assembly Center, a former livestock exposition area
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