When we open the dark books of history, one among many stories is overlooked every time: the living situation of people in Japanese American Internment Camps of WWII. These camps weren’t regular countryside camps set up for hiking, but they were surrounded by long fences topped with barbed wires, and the people were under the watch of guards 24/7.

You might be wondering why these camps were there in the first place.

It all started when Japan attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, bringing the U.S. into the Second World War. This created a conflict among the people of America, and they started being suspicious of anyone with a Japanese background. The people started doubting Japanese Americans as being spies, even when most of them were just regular American citizens.

Hence, the government took a harsh decision and forced many Japanese Americans to abandon their lives and come live in camps surrounded by fences and guards. This article will discover what life was like in Japanese American Internment Camps. Read on.

Harsh Conditions of the Internment Camps

In the War Relocation Centers, families lived together in quarters resembling military barracks, which were cramped and poorly equipped. Described in a 1943 report by the War Relocation Authority, these living conditions featured tar paper-covered barracks without plumbing or cooking facilities. Severe overcrowding was common, with spaces meant for four accommodating up to twenty-five people, resulting in a lack of privacy.

Disease and Overcrowding

Family apartments, consisting of single rooms approximately twenty by twenty-four feet in size, had shared external bathroom facilities, showers, and laundry amenities. These rooms suffered from inadequate insulation and ventilation, relying on wood stoves for warmth and experiencing poor airflow. In such close quarters, contagious diseases like typhoid and dysentery spread rapidly, overwhelming already understaffed and under-resourced medical facilities. Sanitation challenges were further compounded by frequent outbreaks of food poisoning and the insufficiency of bathroom facilities.

Resistance and Resilience

Within the confines of oppression, seeds of resistance took root. Some individuals refused to accept their fate passively, challenging the unjust treatment through acts of protest and defiance. They organized strikes, petitions, and legal battles, demanding recognition of their rights and dignity. They spoke out against how they were being treated and demanded that they be seen as loyal Americans.

Rebellion Through Art

Others found subtler forms of resistance, using creativity as a tool of defiance. Through art, music, and literature, they reclaimed their voices and asserted their humanity in the face of dehumanization. These expressions of cultural pride and resilience served as acts of resistance, preserving the spirit of community and identity within the camps.

In “The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone,” Paul E. Doutrich writes about how Donnie and Cat went to a Japanese camp and bought folk art for an exhibition, helping the internees. The book has both fictional and nonfictional elements, but reading about this experience might make you feel something for the people who were living in those barbaric camps and, most importantly, people like them suffering today in the same conditions.  

You can find your copy on Amazon, or other leading publishing platforms, or order from here.