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All the United States California Inyo County Manzanar National Historic Site

Manzanar National Historic Site

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

Inyo County, California

Added By
zackofalltrades
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The “Soul Consoling Tower”   Wikipedia
A meal line at Manzanar.   Wikipedia
Manzanar camp.   Wikipedia
Only original structure still standing, now the museum, it was a community hall for the interns.   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
  Catlick23 / Atlas Obscura User
Recreated barracks interior.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
Manzanar, Saturday, January 22   cowanpartyof3 / Atlas Obscura User
Manzanar Reservoir, Saturday, January 22   cowanpartyof3 / Atlas Obscura User
Manzanar National Historic Site, 3/18/2021   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Manzanar National Historic Site, 3/18/2021   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Manzanar National Historic Site, 3/18/2021   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Basketball Court inside the wire   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
The Guard tower   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
Only original structure still standing, now the museum, it was a community hall for the interns.   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
Basketball Court inside the wire   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
  Catlick23 / Atlas Obscura User
The Guard tower   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
Basketball Court inside the wire   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
  flint / Atlas Obscura User
  flint / Atlas Obscura User
Mess hall.   WhiskeyBristles / Atlas Obscura User
  WhiskeyBristles / Atlas Obscura User
  maren / Atlas Obscura User
Replica armed guard tower   Avoiding Regret
Interpretive signage of what once was   Avoiding Regret
Restored former auditorium, now the Visitor’s Center   Avoiding Regret
Historic entrance with military police sentry point   Avoiding Regret
Historic gate entry   Avoiding Regret
Only original structure still standing, now the museum, it was a community hall for the interns.   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
  Spinach / Atlas Obscura User
The Guard tower   RoadtripRandy / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Beginning in 1942 the government of the United States rounded up more than 110,000 Japanese American citizens and placed them in brutalist encampments where many spent years. 

Ten camps were created across the country to deal with the perceived threat that Japanese Americans posed in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The first of these camps was constructed in the desert town of Manzanar, California. At its height of population Manzanar held over 10,000 incarcerated people, some immigrants, some born native in America, and even some simply of Japanese descent. Life in the camp was brutal and militaristic with meal lines and sub-standard housing the norm. While resistance among the camps was not widespread, an incident at Manzanar broke out into a riot that left two inmates dead. The camp was closed in 1945, once again displacing thousands of wrongfully imprisoned U.S. citizens and most of the remains of the camp were dismantled.

The only remnants of the camp include some sentry towers, a few scant buildings, and most affecting a stone plinth that was built on the camp's cemetery grounds. The monument was built by an incarcerated stonemason who carved the "Soul Consoling Tower" on the front of the obelisk. While the remains of the other camps were readily wiped away at the cessation of the interment program, the remnants at Manzanar are now a protected site dedicated to the memory of those that suffered at the site.

Manzanar is now a National Historic Site, with an excellent visitor center. You can see replicas of the cabins the internees lived in, and read many first-hand accounts from those who spent time there.

Related Tags

Memorials Graveyards Cemeteries Deserts Ruins War History World War Ii Military

Know Before You Go

Take your time, it's well worth spending a few hours. And be ready to become infuriated.

Community Contributors

Added By

zackofalltrades

Edited By

Avoiding Regret, BrassShadow, judybass, RoadtripRandy...

  • Avoiding Regret
  • BrassShadow
  • judybass
  • RoadtripRandy
  • EricGrundhauser
  • WhiskeyBristles
  • maren
  • flint
  • Keri Kilgo
  • Anna Minster
  • Catlick23
  • Spinach
  • cowanpartyof3

Published

June 30, 2014

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzanar#Wartime:_1942.E2.80.9345
  • http://www.avoidingregret.com/2016/08/photo-essay-manzanar-wartime-japanese.html
Manzanar National Historic Site
Manzanar National Historic Site
Inyo County, California
United States
36.727229, -118.152789
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