Day 56: Manzanar War Relocation Center (Concentration Camp), Inyo County, California

📌APIA Every Day (56) - Manzanar War Relocation Center, or Manzanar internment camp, located in Inyo County, California, is one of ten American concentration camps where over 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Despite holding up to 10,000 Japanese Americans at its peak, it was considered one of the smaller incarceration camps. 90% of the incarcerated Japanese Americans were from the Los Angeles area, with the remainder coming from Stockton, California, and Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Initially, Manzanar operated as a temporary “reception center” named the Owens Valley Reception Center from 1942-1943. Subsequently, the War Relocation Authority (WRA) officially designated it the Manzanar War Relocation Center. The Japanese Americans endured harsh conditions, worsened by the temporary and inadequately constructed buildings. The challenging environment, evident in the extreme weather, fluctuating temperatures, and ever-present dust, made the living conditions abominable. The scarcity of resources led to riots and increased instances of sickness among the inmates. The Manzanar incarceration camp became the sixth U.S. internment camp to close on November 21, 1945. Internees were left to return to their former homes, given only limited funds for their travel expenses.

On December 21, 1969, 150 people headed for Manzanar for its first official annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Manzanar Committee. The committee’s efforts to memorialize the suffering experienced by interned Japanese Americans during World War II led to the State of California naming Manzanar as a California Historical Landmark in 1972. It was also registered as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1976, finally being designated as a National Historic Landmark in February 1985.

LEARN MORE:

National Park Service: Manzanar National Historic Site

National Park Service: Japanese Americans at Manzanar

National Park Foundation: Manzanar National Historic Site

The NY Times: ‘I Can’t Believe It Really Happened’: Remembering Manzanar

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