By: Madison Horne

These Photos Show the Harsh Reality of Life in WWII Japanese American Internment Camps

More than 100,000 Japanese Americans were sent to 'War Relocation Centers' between 1942 and 1946.

Japanese Internment Camps
Corbis/Getty Images
Published: February 21, 2019Last Updated: September 02, 2025

In February of 1942, just 10 weeks after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government issued Executive Order 9066, calling for the internment of Japanese Americans. Intended initially to prevent Japanese spies from receiving intel, this order authorized their removal from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable” during World War II.

These areas covered much of the West Coast, where many Japanese Americans resided, including California, Washington and Oregon. By June, more than 110,000 people would be forcibly removed from their homes and placed in prison camps scattered throughout the country.

Japanese-American Soldiers in WWII

Senator Daniel Inouye fought to prove his American patriotism.

Under the order, anyone with 1/16th or more of Japanese heritage was required to be removed. At first, about 15,000 Japanese Americans willingly moved to the designated areas. By March 24, the U.S. Army began leading the removals, giving people just six days of notice to clear out with their belongings.

Many of the Relocation Centers were meant as temporary holding spaces, but some people waited many months before receiving permanent placement. These centers were in remote areas and reconfigured hastily to house the masses that were sent there. Food shortages and poor sanitation were common in these facilities.

The Relocation Centers housed Japanese Americans in barracks, with multiple families living together in communal areas. Each functioned as its own town with schools, a post office, and farmland, all monitored by guards and closed off to the outside world with barbed wire fences.

Jobs were offered to the prisoners during their times at these isolated camps, with a range as wide as their professions outside the camps had been. However, a policy was put in place that no person would receive wages higher than an Army private while there, no matter how critical or specialized their job was.

By December 1944, the Supreme Court put an end to Japanese internment camps with its ruling in Ex parte Mitsuye Endo. In this case, the court stated the War Relocation Authority "has no authority to subject citizens who are concededly loyal to its leave procedure."

The following month, Japanese American “evacuees” from the West Coast were finally allowed to return to their homes. The last camp did not close until March 1946.

Executive Order 9066 in February 1942 called for the internment of Japanese Americans after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. The Mochida family (here) were among 117,000 forced into prison camps by that June.

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

This Oakland, Calif. grocery was owned by a Japanese American. The day after Pearl Harbor he put up his ‘I Am An American’ sign to prove his patriotism. The government soon shut down the shop and forced the owner to a prison camp.

Corbis/Getty Images

Accommodations for Japanese Americans at the Santa Anita “reception center,” Los Angeles County, California, April 1942.

Corbis/Getty Images

The first group of 82 Japanese Americans arrive at the 'War Relocation Center' in Owens Valley, California on March 21, 1942. This was one of the first camps to open and its peak population, reached over 10,000 people.

Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Children of the Weill public school are shown in a flag pledge ceremony in April 1942. Those of Japanese ancestry were soon moved to War Relocation Authority centers.

Buyenlarge/Getty Images

A young Japanese American girl waiting to travel with her parents to Owens Valley, during the forced removal , April 1942.

Russell Lee/Anthony Potter Collection/Getty Images

The last Redondo Beach residents of Japanese ancestry were forcibly moved out by truck to relocation camps.

Library of Congress/Corbis/Getty Images

Crowds seen waiting for registration at Reception Centers in Santa Anita, California, April 1942.

Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty Images

Japanese Americans were incarcerated in crowded conditions at Santa Anita.

Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

Risa and Yasubei Hirano pose with their son George (left) while holding a photo of their other son, Shigera Hirano. The Hiranos were held at the Colorado River camp while their sons served in the U.S. Army.

Corbis/Getty Images

A U.S. soldier guarding a crowd of Japanese Americans at an prisoner camp at Manzanar, California in 1944.

Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images

Japanese American prisoners at the Gila River Relocation Center greet First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Dillon S Myer, director of the War Relocation Authority, on a tour of inspection in Rivers, Arizona.

PhotoQuest/Getty Images

The concentration camp at Manzanar, Inyo County, California, July 3, 1942.

Corbis/Getty Images

Related Articles

Sturmabteilung

From the Civil War to the rule of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, find out how martial law has been enforced—and exploited.

A marine rises from one position in a valley, later named Death Valley, to find a new position. Over 125 marines lost their lives in eight hours crossing this valley on Okinawa.

Getting the perfect shot in wartime is not only about weapons. Photographers were there every step of the way to capture the heroic triumphs and devastating losses.

Declassified files suggest that before bombs fell in the day of “infamy,” Harry Dexter White helped set the wheels of war in motion. But did he?

The Japanese attack caught the U.S. Navy off guard but ultimately failed to cripple its war effort at sea, thanks to a massive salvage effort that began almost as soon as the smoke cleared.

About the author

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

Citation Information

Article title
These Photos Show the Harsh Reality of Life in WWII Japanese American Internment Camps
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
September 04, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
September 02, 2025
Original Published Date
February 21, 2019

History Revealed

Sign up for Inside History

Get fascinating history stories twice a week that connect the past with today’s world, plus an in-depth exploration every Friday.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.More details: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us
King Tut's gold mask