Hard Day at Manzanar

Laurie and I have had many physically challenging adventures. But on our return to our new home in Arizona last week we experienced one of our more spiritually challenging as we visited Manzanar, the site of a World War Internment Camp for immigrants and–American citizens–of Japanese descent.

In February, 1942–just over two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese fleet, Japanese living in West Coast states were forcibly sent to internment camps with little or no notice. Over 100,000 were subject to this deportation–approximately two thirds of whom were American Citizens. Japanese immigrants were not able to apply for citizenship because US laws restricted naturalization to white persons up until 1952, but their children born in the US, were citizens.

The Manzanar National Historic Site in California is located to the northeast of Mount Whitney, in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Most of the camp is gone but many key buildings have been reconstructed to give you an idea about the life of the people who spent most of the war there. We learned about it from friends who had visited and had recommended a book, Farewell to Manzanar, a memoir from a woman who was sent there as a seven year old.

The buildings and exhibits help visitors understand the background that led to the situation, resolution, and the living conditions. They also show how the residents did their best to recreate some of the beauty of the outside world in gardens and parks. And how, decades later the country acknowledged their mistake and made token restitution.

Frankly, the full story of Manzanar and the internment is beyond the scope of this blog. While we believe this is a great country, it is an imperfect one, and this is a prime example of bad decisions. We would recommend you look at the section below for some great reading and watching options.

Further Reading or Watching

This article from the National Archives provides a good overview of this part of American history: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation