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 (277)
Concentration camps (1771)
Living conditions (1870)

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1870 items

doc Lordsburg Times number 15 (ddr-densho-536-16)

Included is a list of pets kept at Lordsburg, including: crows, kangaroo-rats, horned-toads, and a scorpion.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-536-16/

doc Lordsburg Times number 21 (ddr-densho-536-22)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-536-22/

doc Lordsburg Times issue (ddr-densho-536-147)

Likely issue number 148.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-536-147/

doc Lordsburg Times issue (ddr-densho-536-146)

Likely issue number 147.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-536-146/

doc Lordsburg Times number 20 (ddr-densho-536-21)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-536-21/

doc Lordsburg Times issue (ddr-densho-536-18)

Likely issue number 17.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-536-18/

doc The Newell Star, Vol. I, No. 2 (March 16, 1944) (ddr-densho-284-7)

Selected article titles: "Mar. 20 Life Mag. to Have Center Story" (p. 1), "Farm Program Drafted-Jarret: Two Unit Farm Plan Covers 1252 Acres" (p. 2), "3 Day Event Slated: Centerwide Program to Be at Auditorium" (p. 3), and "Spain Counsul Does Not Act for Nisei" (p. 3).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-284-7/

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 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 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 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/

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 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 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 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-356-253)

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 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 Letter from D.S. Myer to Charles Ernst answering questions regarding Crystal City (ddr-densho-356-979)

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-356-979/

doc WRA Employee Driver's license (ddr-densho-356-807)

Yuriko Domoto's WRA Driver's License

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-807/

doc Housing assignment (ddr-densho-356-808)

Housing assignment forms for the Domoto family.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-356-808/

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/