Oral Histories
First-hand accounts from Japanese American internees recalling the evacuation, incarceration, and the lasting impact on their lives and families.
Memories: Survivors of the U.S. Concentration Camps
This 9-minute edited compilation features Japanese American internees recalling the evacuation orders, life inside the camps, and the complex emotions of that period. These interviews were conducted by Dr. Masumi Hayashi in 1992 and 1993 as part of her broader documentation of the ten concentration camps.
"I thought I was an all-American boy"
"I thought I was an all-American boy"
"Why should I fight for a country..."
"My birth certificate means nothing"
"We just followed orders"
"We were mostly scared"
"I couldn't believe I was in America"
"What are my children going to do?"
"You are still the enemy"
"If I got through that..."
Audio mastered by James Abbott. Produced by Masumi Hayashi, 1994, Cleveland, Ohio.
The Importance of Oral History
While Masumi Hayashi's panoramic photo collages document the physical landscapes of the camps as they exist today, these oral histories capture what those landscapes cannot show: the human experience of incarceration.
The voices in these recordings describe the shock of the evacuation orders, the indignity of the assembly centers, the harsh conditions of the remote camp locations, and the resilience that allowed communities to survive. They speak of maintaining cultural traditions, creating gardens and schools, and forming the bonds that would sustain families for generations.
These testimonies complement the Family Album photographs—visual records taken by internees themselves—to provide a more complete picture of life within the camps than any single medium could offer alone.
Internee Portraits
In addition to audio interviews, Masumi Hayashi created panoramic portrait collages of notable internee survivors, preserving their images using the same distinctive technique she applied to the camp landscapes.
Miné Okubo
Artist & Author
Yuri Kochiyama
Activist
Joy Kogawa
Author
Fumi Hayashida
Iconic Photo Subject
Continue Exploring
The Photography
See the camp sites as they exist today through Masumi's panoramic collages
View Gallery →Family Album
Photographs taken by internees documenting daily life inside the camps
View Family Stories →