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 (1434)
Living conditions (1751)

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1751 items

vh Mitsuye May Yamada - Joe Yasutake - Tosh Yasutake Interview Segment 67 (ddr-densho-1000-135-67)

Mitsuye's first impressions of barrenness of Minidoka; "this is the end of the earth"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-135-67/

vh Frank Saburo Sato Interview I Segment 14 (ddr-densho-1000-445-14)

Remembering Minidoka: "What an awful place"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-445-14/

vh Jim Akutsu Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-2-25)

A growing anger over conditions in camp plants seeds of resistance

Interview was conducted over two days because of delays caused by technical difficulties.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-2-25/

vh Gene Akutsu Segment 11 (ddr-densho-1000-1-11)

Minidoka concentration camp: armed MPs, housing and camp layout; finishing school, drafted for military service, and mail censoring

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-1-11/

vh Isami Nakao - Kazuko Nakao Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-68-18)

Arrival at Manzanar concentration camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-68-18/

vh Masao Watanabe Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-103-17)

Reaction upon moving to Minidoka: "they were treating us like dogs"

At the time this interview was taped, Mr. Watanabe was recovering from a recent series of cancer treatments.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-103-17/

vh Tomio Moriguchi Interview I Segment 6 (ddr-densho-1000-59-6)

Taking Japanese language classes in Tule Lake

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-59-6/

vh Tomio Moriguchi Interview I Segment 7 (ddr-densho-1000-59-7)

Mother copes with raising several children in camp, including newborns

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-59-7/

vh Roy Nakagawa Interview Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-358-25)

Coping with weather extremes in camp

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-358-25/

vh Miyoko Tsuboi Nakagawa Interview Segment 9 (ddr-densho-1000-421-9)

First impressions of Minidoka

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-421-9/

vh Betty Morita Shibayama Interview Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-152-18)

Initial recollections from Tule Lake concentration camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-152-18/

vh Rick Sato Segment 9 (ddr-densho-1000-80-9)

Impressions of Heart Mountain concentration camp: "Out in the middle of nowhere"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-80-9/

vh Tom Akashi Interview Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-164-18)

Arrival at Topaz concentration camp: "desolate, dry, dusty"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-164-18/

vh Mutsu Homma Segment 36 (ddr-densho-1000-24-36)

A soldier's question: "Are you a human being?"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-24-36/

vh Mutsu Homma Segment 38 (ddr-densho-1000-24-38)

Impressions of Amache concentration camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-24-38/

vh Paul Bannai Interview I Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-128-18)

Making the best of life in Manzanar concentration camp, California

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-128-18/

vh Sue K. Embrey Segment 1 (ddr-densho-1000-6-1)

First impressions upon arrival at Manzanar concentration camp

This interview was conducted at the Voices of Japanese American Redress Conference, held on the UCLA campus and sponsored by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research. Because of the full conference schedule, our interviews were limited to one …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-6-1/

vh Marjorie Matsushita Sperling Interview Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-273-17)

Early impressions of Heart Mountain

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-273-17/

vh Fumiko Uyeda Groves Segment 19 (ddr-densho-1000-10-19)

First impressions of Minidoka concentration camp, rattlesnakes underfoot

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-10-19/

vh Tokio Yamane Interview Segment 22 (ddr-densho-1000-432-22)

Living conditions in the Jerome concentration camp (Japanese language)

This interview was conducted in Japanese. The transcript is a translation of the original interview. This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-432-22/