Well SFA, what I can contribute to this memory is that I worked with a woman who was Nisei (second generation Japanese-American citizen) who was interned in the American concentration camps during WWII.
I am not certain, but she was probably in Manzanar, in the California desert. I found a video telling about the concentration camp experience, and my friend told me about all the efforts internees made to maintain for each other (especially the children) a civilized life; the schools, newspaper, gardens...all kinds of community projects. My friend had TB, and so she was one of the last to be forced into the camp because of the concern of the administrators for her health -- but ultimately they had no choice but to send her.
She did survive, she lived until 1975 when her frail health finally gave out in her early fifties, I still think of her quite often. Here is the video, I picked it because it is short but seems accurate. I did myself visit Manzanar in 1998...an intense and moving experience still.