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 (231)
Concentration camps (1435)
Living conditions (1764)

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1764 items

doc Writing about growing old in camp (ddr-densho-383-605)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-605/

doc Draft of writing about camp life, young men discussing enlisting (ddr-densho-383-574)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-574/

doc Continuation of printed text of speech from 2004 Minidoka Reunion (ddr-densho-383-483)

Section II, Introduction to Minidoka

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-483/

doc Thoughts of trees, dance (ddr-densho-383-603)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-603/

doc Printed copy of text of speech from 2004 Minidoka Reunion (ddr-densho-383-482)

Section II, Introduction to Puyallup, by Tama Tokuda, completed text of object ddr-densho-383-481

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-482/

doc Notes and general outline of proposed story/book about internment (ddr-densho-383-608)

Includes clipping: "1,000 Japanese seek Army duty"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-383-608/

img Family photo (ddr-densho-356-64)

Photograph of a family of five (two adult women and three children) outside a barrack.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-64/

doc Amache Pamphlet (ddr-densho-356-812)

Pamphlet about the Granada Relocation Center made by the detainees. Details how the camp is administered and the layout.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-812/

doc Letter from D.S. Myer to Charles Ernst answering questions regarding Crystal City (ddr-densho-356-980)

Letter from WRA Director D.S. Myer to Central Utah Relocation Center Director Charles F. Ernst responding to a series of memos requesting information about Crystal City Camp. Myer directs further questions to the officer in charge at Crystal City, advises that internees who transfer to Crystal City should not expect to be granted permanent leave until …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-980/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Yoshito Shibata (ddr-densho-356-223)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Yoshito Shibata in which he recalls a month long recruitment trip to some of the WRA camps for qualified Niseis to join MIS. His writing includes a mention for being present to an incident at Poston (possibly the Poston Strike or the incidences that lead to the strike). He talks …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-223/

img Two adults (ddr-densho-356-58)

Photograph of two adults outside a barracks.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-58/

doc Memo regarding living conditions at family internment camp (ddr-densho-356-982)

Memo from E.M. Rowalt to all Project Directors regarding the living conditions at Family Internment Camp run by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The memo recommends advising applicants for family reunification at a INS camp of how many items they are allowed to bring with them, that the housing units are small, and teenaged children may …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-982/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Margaret Saito (ddr-densho-356-340)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Margaret Saito in which Margaret details her time in Tule Lake, her reason for transferring to Topaz and her desire to relocate to Philadelphia. Margaret also provides details about several mutual friends and her family, and asks about Yuri's. Item tied together with all objects between ddr-densho-356-321 and ddr-densho-356-413.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-340/

img Barracks (ddr-densho-356-59)

Photograph of barrack.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-59/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Yoshito Shibata (ddr-densho-356-253)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Yoshito Shibata in which he recounts reading a pamphlet she sent him, and wonders if she or someone shouldn't write a book about the real camp experience.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-253/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Mitsuko Nakamura (ddr-densho-356-381)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Mitsuko Nakamura in which Mistuko tells about her first days in Crystal City and how it differs from Amache. Item tied together with all objects between ddr-densho-356-321 and ddr-densho-356-413.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-381/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Yoshito Shibata (ddr-densho-356-232)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Yoshito Shibata in which he acknowledges receiving two letters from Yuri, what the Christmas celebration was like at Camp Savage, the response to his report on the recruitment trip to WRA camps, meeting Chris Ishii, the change in daily routine at Camp Savage to include more physical training, inquires into …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-232/

doc Letters to Yuri Domoto from Kayoko Riusaki and Sonoko Riusaki (ddr-densho-356-342)

Two letters to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada mailed together, one from her niece Kayoko Riusaki and one from her sister Sonoko Domoto Riusaki. In the first letter Kayoko tells about joining the girl scouts, a cancelled scouting trip, and preparations on starting the 5th grade. In the second letter Sonoko writes about life in Gila River, being …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-342/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Min Yonekura (ddr-densho-356-295)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from Minoru "Min" Yonekura. In the letter Min writes about his first few days at Topaz and the trip there. Item tied together with all objects between ddr-densho-356-277 and ddr-densho-356-320.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-295/

doc Memos and forms related to housing assignments in Amache (ddr-densho-356-893)

Memo from James G. Lindley to all personnel regarding the quartering unit being transferred from the Employment division to the Welfare Section. Attached were policy notes and questions about housing reassignment requests.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-893/

doc Memo to Project Directors from Leland Burrows (ddr-densho-356-981)

Memo from Leland Burrows, Acting Director to all Project Directors. The memo advises all camps that about 50 families will be approved for family reunification and transfer to Crystal City in the following months. Burrows details requests to camps to review and vet any possible families applying for reunification, what requirements they need to meet, and …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-981/

doc Letter to Yuri Domoto from Tomi Domoto (ddr-densho-356-300)

Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from her cousin Tomi Domoto in which discusses the first month at Jerome and general news about mutual friends. Item tied together with all objects between ddr-densho-356-277 and ddr-densho-356-320.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-300/