Living conditions

All of the camps were constructed according to the War Department's specifications, which included barbed-wire fences, guard towers, and armed guards around the perimeter. The camps were organized in "blocks" consisting of twelve to fourteen barracks, a mess hall, communal showers and toilets, laundry facilities, and a recreation hall. Each barracks was divided into four or six rooms with each room housing one family, no matter how large, and there was no running water. The furnishings that Japanese Americans found on their arrival were canvas cots, a potbellied stove, and a single bare light bulb. The thin walls offered little protection from the harsh weather, which ranged from 110 degrees in the summer to 25 degrees below zero on winter nights. The flimsy construction allowed no privacy and made normal family life difficult. Camp inmates improved their own living conditions by creating interior walls and partitions, constructing furniture from scrap lumber, and planting gardens.

World War II (283)
Concentration camps (2384)
Living conditions (1897)

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1897 items

img Gila River incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-42-220)

A photograph of the Gila River incarceration camp. It is taken from the center of the camp, facing south. The caption reads: [= Gila River incarceration camp]. Title from caption. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_02_06_002

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-220/

img Heart Mountain incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-42-228)

A photograph of the Heart Mountain incarceration camp. The handwritten note on the back side reads: Heart Mountain. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_02_06_010

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-228/

img Gila River incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-42-225)

A photograph of the Gila River incarceration camp. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_02_06_007

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-225/

doc War ration book no. 3, OPA form no. R-130, Itsuhei Takano (ddr-csujad-42-119)

A ration book issued to Itsuhei Takano incarcerated at the Gila River camp in Arizona. Includes the instructions for use. Unused stamps remain. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_01_67_001

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-119/

doc War ration book no. 3, OPA form no. R-130, Yoneko Takano (ddr-csujad-42-127)

A ration book issued to Yoneko Takano incarcerated at the Gila River camp in Arizona. Includes the instructions for use. Unused stamps remain. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_01_67_009

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-127/

doc War ration book four, OPA form R-145, Itsuhei Takano (ddr-csujad-42-120)

A ration book issued for Itsuhei Takano incarcerated at the Gila River camp in Arizona. Includes the instructions for use. Unused stamps remain. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_01_67_002

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-120/

img Barracks with birds at Tule Lake (ddr-csujad-44-57)

A photograph of barracks at Tule Lake with birds, possibly cranes, on the ground and in the air. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: csumb_ms15_0057

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-44-57/

img Nisei women standing outside with barracks in the background (ddr-csujad-44-7)

A photograph of two young Nisei women incarcerated at Tule Lake, California. One is standing slightly in front of the other. They are outside and barracks can be seen close behind them and in the distance. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: csumb_ms15_0007

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-44-7/

img Home Makerettes (ddr-csujad-44-43)

A photograph of five young Nisei women incarcerated at Tule Lake, California. They are the members of a women's club, the Home Makerettes. They are standing outside posing together for the camera. Barracks are visible behind them. Photo inscription on back: "The Home Makerettes." Title from inscription. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-44-43/

doc War ration book four, OPA form R-145, Tomeyo Takano (ddr-csujad-42-121)

A ration book issued to Tomoye Takano incarcerated at the Gila River camp in Arizona. Includes the instructions for use. Unused stamps remain. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tak_01_67_003

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-42-121/

img [High school graduation] (ddr-csujad-5-46)

A group photograph of the incarcerees standing in front of a barrack, 27-12-D, in the Rohwer incarceration camp, Arkansas. It appears to be taken during the high school graduation ceremony. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: oki_01_05_032

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-5-46/

img Ishii family; Frank, Hisa, Frances, Kiyo (ddr-csujad-50-4)

The Ishii family, parents Frank and Hisa, daughters Frances and Kiyo, standing in front of a building at Jerome camp labeled "3-07-D." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: hslb_ish_0004

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-50-4/

img Nisei men gathered in front of barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-7)

A group of men in front of barracks at Manzanar. The caption printed in the Long Beach Independent reads, "Japanese Roundup: This was the scene 18 years ago as many Nisei were herded into an alien reception center at Manzanar. Many were American Citizens and others were aliens. The first to arrive helped prepare the camp …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-7/

img Two girls sitting on beds in the barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-10)

Two girls sit on beds in the barracks at Manzanar, in front of shelves containing their personal belongings. A caption, printed in the Feb. 25, 1983, edition of the Long Beach Independent reads, "1942 photo showed Japanese-Americans apparently happily interned at Manzanar camp. The accompanying caption said a picture of Gen. Douglas MacArthur hung in a …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-10/

img New arrivals at Manzanar fill mattresses with straw (ddr-csujad-52-27)

Caption pasted on reverse of image reads, "Japanese evacuees who arrived at the alien reception center at Manzanar, Calif., Mar. 24, 1942, fill mattresses with straw as they prepared to spend their first night in their new homes. The emigres were among the first in the greatest forced migration in the nation's history." See this object …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-27/

img Large crowd of people are gathered outside at an incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-52-42)

A large group of people gathered in an open area with a building to the left and many buildings in the background. The buildings appear to be rows of barracks with other buildings between the rows of barracks. There is a mountain with little vegetation off in the distance. See this object in the California State …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-42/

img Two children running between the barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-18)

Two children appear to be running in an otherwise empty area at Manzanar. One can see barracks on either side of the image and a building in the center of the photo, behind a flagpole with the United States flag. Caption above the image reads, "MANZANAR, Clif. Nov. 11 -- RELOCATION CENTER -- This California Historical …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-18/

img Sumi Seki and three of her friends in front of barracks (ddr-csujad-52-41)

Sumi Seki, left, with three friends outside of a barracks at an incarceration camp. Seki became an activist for human rights after the war. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: hslb_npc_0045

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-41/

img Three girls in their quarters at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-9)

Three young women in barracks at Manzanar. One sits at a desk, writing in a notebook. The other two look on, one with her hands on the back of the woman at the desk, the other bends at the waist to wash her hands in a white bowl. Caption on back of photograph reads, "Japanese Girls …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-9/

img Sumi Seki at Jerome incarceration camp during construction (ddr-csujad-52-46)

Sumi Seki, wearing a knee-length coat, is standing on rubble at Jerome, Arkansas, incarceration camp. She appears to be standing on building materials, and there are more materials scattered on the ground behind her. There is some snow layering the ground. This is a photograph of a photograph, taken by Tom Shaw of the Independent Press-Telegram. …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-46/

img Two young women standing in front of barracks (ddr-csujad-52-22)

Two young women standing in front of barracks at Minidoka incarceration camp in Hunt, Idaho. Caption next to image reads, "OUTSIDE--Sharon Aburano, 16, left, stands outside the barrack where she was confined in a Japanese American interment camp in Hunt, Idaho during World War II. The upper part of the barrack behind her is covered with …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-22/

img Barracks at Manzanar with Mt. Whitney in the background (ddr-csujad-52-35)

Caption next to image reads, "NEW EVIDENCE--Homes used for the internment of alien and American Japanese during World War II are situated near Mt. Whitney, Calif., in this 1942 file photo. A key military report that led to the internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans during the war was based upon 'intentional falsehoods,' say attorneys planning …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-35/

img Two men in front of a residential barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-3)

Two men in front of a building at Manzanar. One man is standing with a broom in his hand, the other is sitting on a rock. The men appear to be having a conversation. There is a fence made of sticks and a wooden arbor in front of the building. A partially obstructed sign on the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-3/

img Sumi Seki wears a white shirt and plaid skirt while standing in front of barracks (ddr-csujad-52-45)

Sumi Seki, wearing a white blouse under a plaid skirt, leans against the railing in front of barracks. This is a photograph of a photograph, taken by Tom Shaw of the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram. The caption used in the newspapers reads, "Sumi Seki was a junior at San Pedro High School when she and her …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-45/

img Tanforan Assembly Center barracks (ddr-csujad-52-20)

Caption above image reads, "TANFORAN INTERNMENT CAMP--Looking from the grandstand of the old Tanforan Race Track, some 170 barracks can be seen that housed Japanese-Americans during World War II. The Tanforan internment camp was located near present-day San Bruno. A government report has been released recently and it blames the internment on prejudice and hysteria." See …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-20/