Internews: Newspaper of World War II Internees at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp
Internews: Newspaper of World War II Internees at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp
By Diana A. Galang
During the Second World War in the Philippines, when the Japanese captured Manila in 1942, they also began to arrest American civilians and other nationals residing in the country. To house these captives, the Japanese established internment camps in various parts of the country and the most notable of all is Santo Tomas in the capital city. The camp, said to be the largest, housed over 3,000 civilians.
At first, it was only a makeshift facility on the grounds of the University of Santo Tomas, but it gradually transformed into a miniature city, overcrowded and rife with difficult conditions. They staked out living and sleeping quarters inside the buildings of the university. The prisoners were only provided with basic necessities by the Japanese authorities.[1] In truth, they let them fend for themselves except for the room monitors and roll call every night.[2]
Life was extremely difficult in the camp, internees faced hunger, crowded conditions, illness and disease. But despite an uncertain future, they attempted to create aspects of community that mirrored their former lives. Individuals with diverse backgrounds and professions used their knowledge and physical skills in forming an internal government that organized life within camp. Among the first civilians to enter camp were press people, making possible the efficient production and management of newspapers and a broadcast station. The internees created their own media as a coping strategy while enduring incarceration.[3]
On January 24, 1942, less than three weeks after the internment camp was established, the first issue of Internews, a news sheet, was published. It was a two-page back-to-back mimeographed publication on legal-sized newsprint. The demand for information was so great and took a considerable amount of time and energy of the executive committee that it decided that a newspaper was the best way to disseminate information quickly and efficiently and to avoid the circulation of rumors.[4]
In the context of uncertainty and deprivation, the primary aim of Internews was to offer a connection to the outside world, to share information, and to lift the spirits of those living in the camp. It was the product of incredible teamwork by internees- writers, editors and illustrators, who toiled behind the scenes and kept the camp informed and connected. The news sheets were painstakingly put together on hand-cranked presses, using scraps of paper, worn-out typewriters, and old equipment salvaged from the university. Despite these humble tools, Internews quickly became a lifeline inside the camp. A source of news, hope, and a sense of normalcy.
Internews covered a variety of topics, from news about the war to humor and personal stories, reflecting the diverse background and talents of the internees. It served as both a source of support and an emotional refuge for those cut off from the outside world. In its pages, internees found comfort, connection, and a reason to keep going. It captured not only the facts of camp life but the spirit of the people who lived it including their struggles, humor, creativity. and quiet determination. Today, Internews remains a powerful reminder of how resilience can thrive, even in the hardest of conditions.
Given its significance, the NHCP’s Serafin D. Quiason Resource Center is grateful to its former Chairman Ambeth R. Ocampo, for donating a copy of the magazine, along with other materials as collected by Mr. and Mrs. Everett Richards—both Santo Tomas internees. This collection was given to Chair Ocampo by Dr. Edith McNutt, through Dr. Ida Tiongco in New York. The digital copy of Internews can now be viewed in the National Memory Project. Please see link: https://memory.nhcp.gov.ph/collections/?ptermid=2175
References:
Enriquez, Elizabeth L. “Coping with War: KGST ‘Radio’ and Other Media Strategies of Civilian Internees in the Philippines in World War II.” Social Science Diliman 6, no. 2 (December 2010): 1–28.
Russell Brines, ed., Santo Tomas Internment Camp: Internews, Campus Health (FHL-Roderick Hall), accessed June 13, 2025, https://fhl.omeka.net/items/show/558.
Stevens, Frederic H. Santo Tomas Internment Camp, 1942-1945. USA : Stratford House, Inc., c1946.
Woodcock, Teedie Cowie. Behind the Sawali: Santo Tomas in Cartoons, 1942–1945—In the Absence of a Thousand Words. Greensboro, NC: Cenografix, 2000
[1] Frederic H. Stevens, Santo Tomas Internment Camp, 1942–1945 (USA: Stratford House, Inc., 1946), 24.
[2] Stevens, Santo Tomas Internment Camp,14-16.
[3] Elizabeth L. Enriquez, “Coping with War: KGST ‘Radio’ and Other Media Strategies of Civilian Internees in the Philippines in World War II,” Social Science Diliman 6, no. 2 (December 2010),
