And what of the details of this imprisonment? Were the camps liveable? Did they provide basic community services, like public education, privacy for families, civic news communications? The original "evacuation" to the camps was traumatic in itself for many of the Japanese-Americans, who were given a week or less to gather belongings, settle any long-term obligations they might have in their communities, say goodbye to friends and loved ones, and report a camp. The starkness of the evacuation is evident in the signs pasted every time a neighborhood was targeted for evacuation:

all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien, weill be evacuated from the above area by 10 o'clock noon on...evacuees must carry with the on dparture for the Assembly Center the following property: a. bedding and linens for each member of the family; b. toilet articles for each member of the family; c. extra clothing for each...
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