Trying To Make A Home

During the three years that the Rohwer camp operated, babies were born, children went to school, adults worked, and some people died there. The camp's communal living conditions threatened the traditional Japanese family structure, as family life deteriorated and parental authority diminished. To combat the monotony of camp life, the War Relocation Authority provided recreational activities, and children stayed busy with judo, music classes, Boy Scouts, and school. Internees had little privacy, as barracks housed several families and included only canvas cots, some bedding, a pot-bellied stove, and bare lightbulbs. Internees provided their own cooking utensils, housekeeping items, and any other furnishings. Communal bathrooms, initially built without dividers, were particularly humiliating for many internees.

Arkansas · United States