1) Mary Tsukamoto- “We saw all these people behind the fence, looking out, hanging onto the wire, and looking out because they were anxious to know who was coming in. But I will never forget the shocking feeling that human beings were behind this fence like animals [crying]. And we were going to also lose our freedom and walk inside of that gate and find ourselves…cooped up there…when the gates were shut, we knew that we had lost something that was very precious; that we were no longer free.”
Who: Mary Tsukamoto
When: 1943
Where: Japanese Internment camp
Audience: Non Japanese Americans
All Japanese Americans were forced to move into these internment camps. Their lives were turned upside down and their livelihood was ripped away.
This quote is significant because it shows the desperation of freedom among the people living in the camps. Their humanity was taken away and they were trapped in a cage. The quote explains how degrading and suppressive it was to live in the camps with a feeling of hopelessness.
2) Aya Nakamura- “Finally getting out of the camps was a great day. It felt so good to get out of the gates, and just know that you were going home…finally. Home wasn't where I left it though. Getting back, I was just shocked to see what had happened, our home being bought by a different family, different decorations in the windows; it was our house, but it wasn't anymore. It hurt not being able to return home, but moving into a new home helped me I believe. I think it helped me to bury the past a little, too, you know, move on from what had happened."
Who: Aya Nakamura
When: November 18, 2000.
Audience: Non Japanese Americans
At the time Nakamura is referring to was when the Japanese Americans were let free from the camps.
This quote is significant because it shows how even when people were free, they were unable to go back to the lives they once had. While they were in the camps life went on without them, almost like all of those people did not exist. The quote describes how the victim were unable to return to their homes because they were not their homes anymore. Although it helped Nakamura move on it was devastating finally being freed, but having no home to return to.
3) Mary Matsuda Gruenewald- "It was a prison indeed… There was barbed wire along the top [of the fence] and because the soldiers in the guard towers had machine guns, one would be foolish to try to escape.Who: Mary Matsuda Gruenewald
When: 2011
Where: Unkown
Audience: Readers of her book Looking Like the Enemy
Japanese Americans were trapped in internment camps during WWII. They had no way of leaving
This quote explains the feeling of being trapped in the walls of the camp. The prisoners had no way of escaping and know if they tried they would be killed. The quote is significant because it shows how people felt like they were in jail when they were innocent.
4) Yoshiko Uchida- “The stall was about ten by twenty feet and empty except for 3 folded army cots on the floor. Dust, dirt, and wood shavings covered the linoleum that had been laid over manure-covered boards, the smell of horses hung in the air, and the whitened corpses of many insects still clung to the hastil white-washed walls.”
When: 1942
Where: Relocation Camps
Audience: Readers of her book Desert Exile
- Japanese Americans were stripped from their homes and put in relocation centers until the concentration camps were fully built. The relocation centers were located at old horse race tracks, or at old fair grounds, and were very poor environments to stay in.
- Uchida described the horrible conditions that these relocation centers had. They were small stalls, with dirt and dust covering the floor, and a awful odor, with many dead insects laying around. It was very unsanitary, and it was hard for these Japanese people to go from living calmly in their homes to these relocation centers. At this point, they were excited to get to the concentration camps.
5) Henry Sugimoto- “Sometime the train stopped, you know, fifteen to twenty minutes to take fresh air-suppertime and in the desert, in middle of state. Already before we get out of train, army machine guns lined up towards us-not toward other side to protect us, but like enemy, pointed machine guns toward us.”
When: October, 1942
Where: Train to Relocation Camps (CA)
Audience: Henry Sugimoto's readers
- The Japanese people were taken in trains from their homes to relocation centers, and also from the relocation centers to the camps. On long trips, the train would stop so the people could get fresh air, but there was never a chance to run away. The guards stood there with guns, and if anyone attempted to run, they would be shot.
- The control over the Japanese was very strict. If they tried to escape in any way from the train or in the open desert, they would have been killed. The trips from home to the camps could have been really long, depending on where those people were being taken. Occasionally, they would stop for fresh air but it was close to impossible for these Japanese to attempt to even run.
Who: Mary Tsukamoto
When: 1943
Where: Japanese Internment camp
Audience: Non Japanese Americans
All Japanese Americans were forced to move into these internment camps. Their lives were turned upside down and their livelihood was ripped away.
This quote is significant because it shows the desperation of freedom among the people living in the camps. Their humanity was taken away and they were trapped in a cage. The quote explains how degrading and suppressive it was to live in the camps with a feeling of hopelessness.
2) Aya Nakamura- “Finally getting out of the camps was a great day. It felt so good to get out of the gates, and just know that you were going home…finally. Home wasn't where I left it though. Getting back, I was just shocked to see what had happened, our home being bought by a different family, different decorations in the windows; it was our house, but it wasn't anymore. It hurt not being able to return home, but moving into a new home helped me I believe. I think it helped me to bury the past a little, too, you know, move on from what had happened."
Who: Aya Nakamura
When: November 18, 2000.
Audience: Non Japanese Americans
At the time Nakamura is referring to was when the Japanese Americans were let free from the camps.
This quote is significant because it shows how even when people were free, they were unable to go back to the lives they once had. While they were in the camps life went on without them, almost like all of those people did not exist. The quote describes how the victim were unable to return to their homes because they were not their homes anymore. Although it helped Nakamura move on it was devastating finally being freed, but having no home to return to.
3) Mary Matsuda Gruenewald- "It was a prison indeed… There was barbed wire along the top [of the fence] and because the soldiers in the guard towers had machine guns, one would be foolish to try to escape.Who: Mary Matsuda Gruenewald
When: 2011
Where: Unkown
Audience: Readers of her book Looking Like the Enemy
Japanese Americans were trapped in internment camps during WWII. They had no way of leaving
This quote explains the feeling of being trapped in the walls of the camp. The prisoners had no way of escaping and know if they tried they would be killed. The quote is significant because it shows how people felt like they were in jail when they were innocent.
4) Yoshiko Uchida- “The stall was about ten by twenty feet and empty except for 3 folded army cots on the floor. Dust, dirt, and wood shavings covered the linoleum that had been laid over manure-covered boards, the smell of horses hung in the air, and the whitened corpses of many insects still clung to the hastil white-washed walls.”
When: 1942
Where: Relocation Camps
Audience: Readers of her book Desert Exile
- Japanese Americans were stripped from their homes and put in relocation centers until the concentration camps were fully built. The relocation centers were located at old horse race tracks, or at old fair grounds, and were very poor environments to stay in.
- Uchida described the horrible conditions that these relocation centers had. They were small stalls, with dirt and dust covering the floor, and a awful odor, with many dead insects laying around. It was very unsanitary, and it was hard for these Japanese people to go from living calmly in their homes to these relocation centers. At this point, they were excited to get to the concentration camps.
5) Henry Sugimoto- “Sometime the train stopped, you know, fifteen to twenty minutes to take fresh air-suppertime and in the desert, in middle of state. Already before we get out of train, army machine guns lined up towards us-not toward other side to protect us, but like enemy, pointed machine guns toward us.”
When: October, 1942
Where: Train to Relocation Camps (CA)
Audience: Henry Sugimoto's readers
- The Japanese people were taken in trains from their homes to relocation centers, and also from the relocation centers to the camps. On long trips, the train would stop so the people could get fresh air, but there was never a chance to run away. The guards stood there with guns, and if anyone attempted to run, they would be shot.
- The control over the Japanese was very strict. If they tried to escape in any way from the train or in the open desert, they would have been killed. The trips from home to the camps could have been really long, depending on where those people were being taken. Occasionally, they would stop for fresh air but it was close to impossible for these Japanese to attempt to even run.