Though there is not much research regarding how different social statuses were treated within the relocation camps, there are many stories from the people of the concentration camps. Though life was not good in those camps, children had life just a bit better than any of the other prisoners. “The children’s diet did not differ much from that of adult prisoners. They were rationed black coffee or herb extract, black bread with margarine, turnip soup, and unpeeled boiled potatoes. Only the smaller children received thin slices of white bread and tiny pieces of butter. By not allocating milk or nourishing meals for infants, the camp authorities in effect condemned them to death by hunger” (Kubica 423). Though conditions still were not great, it
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“Arriving women had their first taste of the gruesome realities of the camp at the unloading of their transport; screams and curses of the SS men, brutal pushing and shoving, blows with rifle butts, barking dogs” (Strzelecka 399). The conditions of concentration camps were not only deadly, but also frightening as Strzelecka indicates. Though the living conditions of the relocation camps were just shy of poverty conditions, they outshined the conditions of concentration camps with ease. “In each camp were about a square mile of flimsy barracks, usually tar-papered, mess halls, schools, hospitals, stores, police stations, and administration buildings” (Drinnon 9). It is seemingly obvious that the conditions inside the relocation camps were very safe and much less dreadful than those of the concentration camps. In comparison, the sanitary conditions inside the concentration camps made for poor living conditions and an unsafe environment. “Lack of water and catastrophic sanitary conditions were the main cause of the spread of infectious disease, primarily typhus and typhoid, resulting in an extremely high mortality rate. Nearly all the women suffered from severe diarrhea, which led to total exhaustion, emaciation, and death. Dead bodies were everywhere, and within a short period nearly entire transports perished due to the dreadful living conditions in the camp” (Strzelecka
“Arriving women had their first taste of the gruesome realities of the camp at the unloading of their transport; screams and curses of the SS men, brutal pushing and shoving, blows with rifle butts, barking dogs” (Strzelecka 399). The conditions of concentration camps were not only deadly, but also frightening as Strzelecka indicates. Though the living conditions of the relocation camps were just shy of poverty conditions, they outshined the conditions of concentration camps with ease. “In each camp were about a square mile of flimsy barracks, usually tar-papered, mess halls, schools, hospitals, stores, police stations, and administration buildings” (Drinnon 9). It is seemingly obvious that the conditions inside the relocation camps were very safe and much less dreadful than those of the concentration camps. In comparison, the sanitary conditions inside the concentration camps made for poor living conditions and an unsafe environment. “Lack of water and catastrophic sanitary conditions were the main cause of the spread of infectious disease, primarily typhus and typhoid, resulting in an extremely high mortality rate. Nearly all the women suffered from severe diarrhea, which led to total exhaustion, emaciation, and death. Dead bodies were everywhere, and within a short period nearly entire transports perished due to the dreadful living conditions in the camp” (Strzelecka