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

doc The Newell Star, Vol. I, No. 38 (November 16, 1944) (ddr-densho-284-40)

Selected article titles: "Renunciation Bill: Initial Procedures Clarified by Legal Aid" (p. 1), "2 Fires Result from Overheated Coal Stoves" (p. 2), and "Evacuee Property Office: Real Estate Problems Aired for Evacuees" (pp. 2, 4).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-40/

doc The Newell Star, Vol. I, No. 20 (July 13, 1944) (ddr-densho-284-25)

Selected article titles: "Denationalization Bill Signed: Legislation Enables Citizens to Renounce US Citizenship" (pp. 1-2), "Colony Irrigation System to Augment Water Supply" (p. 1), and "Leave Clearance: Appeals Board to Consider Cases Filed Before July 14" (p. 2).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-25/

doc The Tule Lake WRA Center Information Bulletin (February 22, 1944) (ddr-densho-284-4)

Selected article titles: "Gov't to Continue Efforts to Reunite Those Interned" (p. 1) and "Welcome, Manzanites!" (p. 2).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-4/

doc The Newell Star, Vol. I, No. 3 (March 23, 1944) (ddr-densho-284-8)

Selected article titles: "Myer Expresses Satisfaction on Gradual Return to Normalcy" (p. 1), "Dependents of Stockaders to Receive Aid" (p. 2), and "Life Carries Story on Center in Latest Issue" (p. 3).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-8/

doc The Newell Star, Vol. II, No. 35 (August 31, 1945) (ddr-densho-284-83)

Selected article titles: "Less Work: Tule to Go on 40-Hour Work Week from Sept. 9" (p. 1), "Ration-Free Shoes May Be Available" (p. 1), "Return of Evacuees Topic of Renton, Wash. Meeting" (p. 3), and "Survey Shows Many Tuleans Now in Sacramento Area" (p. 4).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-83/

doc Report on Groups Possibly Requiring Special Housing Accommodations (ddr-densho-329-986)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-329-986/

doc Housing assignment for Kaneji, Sally and Mikiko Domoto (ddr-densho-329-991)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-329-991/

img Mess hall (ddr-densho-37-247)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-247/

img Family on barracks steps (ddr-densho-37-661)

Original WRA caption: Mack Kaneko and family

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-661/

img Japanese Americans coping with dusty conditions (ddr-densho-37-475)

Original WRA caption: Poston, Arizona. Jim Morikawa sprinkling in an attempt to settle the dust at this War Relocation Authority center for evacuees of Japanese ancestry.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-475/

doc The Newell Star, Vol. I, No. 29 (September 14, 1944) (ddr-densho-284-35)

Selected article titles: "8000 Attend Undokai; Ward VIII Wins Title" (pp. 1, 6), "First Escheat Action Filed in Orange County" (p. 1), and "WRA Policy on Eye Glass Indemnity Given" (p. 1).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-35/

doc Memorandum to Community Council from John J.O. Moore (ddr-densho-329-985)

Subject: Special Housing Needs. Report on accommodations for incarcerees with dietary needs. With attached note to Kaneji Domoto

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-329-985/

doc Clipping from The Denver Post title: Post Tells Facts of Life in Jap (ddr-densho-329-1051)

Denver Post February 14, 1943

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-329-1051/

img Barracks and Castle Rock (ddr-densho-37-239)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-239/

img Camp Butte in the desert (ddr-densho-37-1277)

Included annotation: C-305, Butte Camp Views, Sept 1943 Oct 1943.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-1277/

img Views of Butte (ddr-densho-37-1275)

Included annotation: 210-CB-C-303, Butte Camp Views, Sept 1943 Oct 1943.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-1275/

img Camp entrance (ddr-densho-37-726)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-726/

img Camp administration buildings (ddr-densho-37-778)

Original WRA caption: Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. A review of the administrative area after a December snow storm. At the left is the post office and the two buildings at the right are administrative office buildings.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-778/

img Camp garden (ddr-densho-37-233)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-233/

img Muddy conditions (ddr-densho-37-350)

Original WRA caption: Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, California. Thaws turn the streets and firebreaks into seas of mud, and makes difficult motor transportation through the center.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-350/

img Japanese Americans in mess hall (ddr-densho-37-738)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-738/

img Children playing on a playground (ddr-densho-37-1063)

Included annotation: K-405, Playground.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-1063/

img View of camp fence (ddr-densho-37-235)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-235/

img Japanese American children in a victory garden (ddr-densho-37-781)

Original WRA caption: Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. Fourth grade children weeding their victory garden.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-781/

img View between barracks (ddr-densho-37-747)

Original WRA caption: Looking down the rows of barracks westward from block 44. At extreme left is a corner of the dining hall where 275 to 300 residents of the block eat. At center background is the sanitization building including showers, lavatories, toilets, and washtubs. Nearly all the residents planted flowers and vegetable gardens in front …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-37-747/