Australian Living Conditions

The U.S. internment of people of Japanese descent during the 1940s was a major event in U.S. history, but it is often overlooked by many. It affected hundreds of thousands of people of Japanese descent, whether they were citizens or not. The incarceration of those placed in camps was affected mentally and it caused many of the internees to develop PTSD or otherwise commonly known as post-traumatic stress disorder (Potts, 1994, p. 1). The camps affected how the Japanese were viewed in society during the time period of the camps and following the liberation of them. It also changed how the Japanese viewed society. This paper will focus on the cultural and social aspects of the Internal Improvements.

What was expected of soldiers on their return to Australia after WWI and WWII? How did soldiers respond to these expectations?

The camps that the Japanese-Americans were taken to had the worse conditions imaginable. “More than 120,000 Americans of Japanese Ancestry were incarcerated in 10 camps scattered throughout the Western United States during World War II” (Children of the Camps Project 1). Detainees spent many years in these camps. They were locked behind barbed wire fences, and armed guards patrolled the camps. The conditions were comparable to the Jewish camps in Eastern Europe. Entire families lived in quarters that were poorly constructed and horribly cramped. These areas were also unbearably cramped and unclean. There was also no hot water for dishes or showers in the living quarters. In addition, lice was a huge problem in the internment camps. These camps and the laws that our government passed against the Japanese community were atrocious. The United States experienced a terrible tragedy when Pearl Harbor was attacked. However, the American government had no right to make these innocent Americans prisoners of war. During the 1940s and 1950s the Japanese

In the most suitable cases, the soldiers had cabins, which were crude, small, and very unsturdy. In most instances, however, they got tents made out of canvas, which frequently ripped and did not help keep out cold in the dead winter. Because of this, many men got illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and dysentery. In fact, so many got sick that the hospitals were overflowing, even though each section had a hospital for itself. Some soldiers’ wives agreed to be nurses to help, but there were not enough medical supplies, so many died. Out of 12,000 men, 3,000 died and 2,000 left because they were sick.

When the Nazi’s arrested Jews and sent them to concentration camps, the conditions were terrible. The men, women, and children in the camps were not treated with the rights they deserved, since they were forced into harsh labor, placed in killing centers where gas chambers were used to effectively and quickly murder thousands of Jews a day, and experimented on to find new medicines and so the German scientists could find out how much pain and torture they could endure until death. In America, over 120,000 Japanese-Americans were relocated into camps during the period of World War II. Even though these Americans were not treated as harshly as the Jews in concentration camps, they lost

Thesis: Even though the Japanese Americans were able to adapt to their new environment, the

This POW camp was not registered with the Red Cross, so, they did not receive care packages. Finally, they barely had any food, and combined with intense exercise, it was nearly impossible to survive.

Some veterans recall being harassed and labelled as baby killers, rapist and murders upon their return to Australia. For men who regarded themselves as generally having fought more humanely and professionally than their American counterparts, this was a harsh, bitter blow. For mere men whom had lost friends in combat and viewed war atrocities through their very own eyes, as a lot of soldiers in the war, were appalled at the fact that following the orders directed by their very own government was, in some instances, being used against them.

One of those former prisoners of war being World War II veteran, Bob Nobels. "See we were good for three days, we had ammunition, food everything

On December 5, 1942, US Public Health Service (USPHS) worked cooperatively with Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in response to the medical demand and were appointed to the camps. The USPHS provided medical personal and the INS supplied administration and funds in wartime conditions to the German, Italian, and Japanese internees. (Fiset, Louis) However many prisoners were neglected and died from lack of resources and personnel in light of the military draft. Incarcerated Japanese American doctors were employed to assist in hospitalizing the patients but were paid low and supplies continued to be short in supply. Health care was limited and poor in quality because of low supplies from crowding, shortage of staff, and camp living conditions infringed on the internees that thus resulted in issues with acquiring supplies and accommodations for medical operations and

According to Daniels (2016), Japanese families found themselves imprisoned behind barbed wires with no running water, very little heat, and lacking privacy. Violence was normal inside the camps due to theft of food, confusion, and distrust towards one another.

“It became routine for me to line up three times a day to eat lousy food in a noisy mess hall. It became normal for me to go with my father to bathe in a mass shower. Being in a prison, a barbed-wire prison camp, became my normality” (Takei). This except from George Takei’s personal account of living in internment, displays the grimness of internment. Just as thousands of other Japanese-Americans, he and his family were forced from their home during World War II, sent to Internment prison, and stripped of their American rights. Many actions and ideas led to the unjust internment and betrayal of over 110,000 Japanese-Americans.

The majority of POWs (22 376) were prisoners of the Japanese’ (Farrar, Bedson, Easton, Jackson, Lamont, 2005, pg. 60). Australian Prisoners of wars were captured by both Germany and Japan, the treatment of prisoners in Germany were significantly better than those in Japan, but the prisoners still faced many hardships and there were enormous casualties, in both Germany

The weather was different to what the soldiers were used to back under the hot Australian sun. Half way through the year the weather became hot. Plagues and diseases carried by fleas and flies, were spread around. Soldiers/Troops that arrived in perfect health conditions, were very soon seen developing and suffering from from health problems; dysentery, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and infestations of lice. Water was supplied from Egypt, but it was never enough, therefore it was near impossible to keep clean, and stay hygienic. Germs, plagues and diseases were spread due to the lack of cleanliness. Toilets were large, deep holes in the ground. By October, troops experienced the harsh,bitter winter cold. This poor lack of hygiene, led to around 20% of the men sick from diseases. During the war the ANZACs had to face terrible conditions, from the constant noise of machine guns, bullets, cramped and dirty places, hunger, thirst, tiredness, deaths of soldiers, diseases, smell, unsanitary food.

1 Cover Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1
2 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2
3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3
4 Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3
 4.1 Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3
 4.2 Description .