Manzanar............

Manzanar....a National Historic Site now, but from 1942-1945 it was a Japanese Internment Camp, where 10,000 Japanese Americans and immigrants were imprisoned because they were Japanese. There were 9 other camps located in the west as well, with over 110,000 Japanese Americans "relocated", or imprisoned.

This historic site features a museum, with audio/visual displays, and an award-winning documentary on Manzanar (tough to watch without tears rolling down your face). Though most of the actual structures have been removed, there are a few to view on the grounds. An auto tour lets you view where the barracks, hospital, mess halls, etc., were located. There are markers where the structures once stood so you could visualize for yourself, and of course, the museum had photos. For more information, click here and here.

getting to Manzanar

Welcome to Manzanar

the Visitor Center, which was the Community Center for the camp

There were many well-placed visual and audio displays that told the story of Manzanar. The museum was very quiet and somber, as you can imagine, with visitors learning more about this dark and regrettable chapter in American history. 

Families were labeled like luggage with these tags until they got to the camp-shocking to see pictures of that

a beautiful quilt in the museum

lots of visual and audio displays

The questionnaires each person filled out determined their future. Questions 27 and 28 were key. Depending on how these questions were answered...yes, yes or no,no, the possiblity of being split from your family was very real. No, no's were sent to Tule Lake, a camp in Northern California.

There were so many stories told here in this museum. There was a story of a young Japanese American soldier who threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the land. Of course, he was dead, so they gave it to  his Mom...who was living in Manzanar.

all of the Japanese imprisoned are named here on this wall (that's a lot of names-over 110,000!)

Once we had watched the movie and explored the museum, we walked on the grounds to see Block 14-barrack and the mess hall, before heading out on the auto tour. Though there are only a few standing buildings now, there were many barracks back in the day. There were 36 "Blocks", each with 14 barracks. There were about 300 people per block. The barracks were divided into 4 rooms, with about 8 people in each. A life with very little privacy. Public laundry and rest rooms, mess hall for everyone to share. The hope and desire to create a life despite circumstances was seen here too, as the people made the best of their circumstances. Some of the stories were uplifting and inspiring.

Block 14-Barracks

we were able to go in to a couple of the barracks

pretty

very little privacy

the mattresses were made of straw and you made them yourself

signs mark the location of the buildings

though this looks beautiful, the climate is very harsh...very hot summer, very cold winters, and WIND and DUST! 

this is looking a little better!

making the best of the situation

inspiring to see what the people did to make it their home

the original formulation?? (maybe my Oral Care friends know?) 

All meals were served in the mess hall. There were several mess  halls, and you went to the one for your "block". No choice. The mess halls were also used for entertainment and dances and such. 

the mess hall

dances and classes were held here when it wasn't mealtime

one of the prep stations

the buffet

ewww

i can't get past the liver either

We followed the auto tour route, and got out at the locations of the gardens. They had been buried with sand (it really is windy and dusty something awful!), and were dug out to show what they looked like. The Japanese people's traditional love of nature transformed some of the desert environment into beautiful gardens and parks near the barracks and mess halls, and for people to just go to and enjoy and forget where they were. 

guard station and barbed wire fences, military police with bayonets-yes this pretty place was a prison

auto tour...the orchards on the left

you can get out and walk to some of the gardens

once was a beautiful garden

the area is blocked out

this was one of the nicest parks

it looks like it was a beauty

you could forget where you were here if you put your back to the barracks

so pretty!

very nice spot

the Sierra Nevadas in the background....looks like a painting doesn't it?

After passing the hospital, Dr.'s quarters, Administration...we came to the cemetery. Some of the detainees that died during their incarceration are buried here. The Monument is an Icon to remember the Japanese Americans that were imprisoned here. Each year, at the end of April, there is a Manzanar pilgrimage to this site, and a day of remembrance celebrated here. Many people leave personal mementos or paper cranes on the monument.

the annual pilgrimage takes place here

serves as a symbol of solace and hope today

garlands of paper cranes

Traveling along the other side of the Manzanar grounds, we passed by another garden, and the foundations of warehouses, or factories, where camouflage nets were made for the war. The whole area was filled with Blocks at one time.

lots of gardens

this also looks like it was once beautiful

make no mistake where you are

I had a hard time at this National Historic Site. This is described as a "Place of Conscience".  It was not easy to look at the displays and the movie of this dark and regrettable time in American history and the terrible mistake we made.

At the end of the war, the people were released and given a ticket to where they were going, and $25 to rebuild their lives. It wasn't until the '80's that the U.S. government issued a presidential letter of apology and individual payments of $20,000. After receiving the letter of apology from President Bush, one woman described that she felt "the shame had been lifted and she could finally talk about the experience with a little more ease".

Rose Hanawa Tanaka, who had been incarcerated says "Let it not happen again. I have come to the conclusion after many, many years that we must learn from our history and we must learn that history can teach us how to care for one another".

This was a very moving experience for me, both in looking back and looking forward. Sadly, I see parallels in today's world-75 years later.