MANZANAR JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP
Internment camp, prison camp, concentration camp whichever you prefer to call it, this is yet another example of a dark time in US history.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Dec.1941- hostilities and prejudice increased against all Japanese immigrants. Even children born in the US were subjected to this hate. In February 1942, President Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the military to remove all persons of Japanese ancestry from the west coast.
Ultimately over 120,000 people were deprived of their freedom. Half of these were children and young adults born in the US. Families were given just days to divest of their possessions and could only take what they could carry. The camp @ Manzanar housed 10,000 people.
Find out more: https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm
After the war the camp was closed and most of the buildings were razed. In the late sixties a few of the survivors began a movement to demand restitution and recognition from the government.
After the war the camp was closed and most of the buildings were razed. In the late sixties a few of the survivors began a movement to demand restitution and recognition from the government.
In 1988, president Reagan articulated an apology and offered $60,000 restitution payment to each surviving victim. A national monument was constructed at Manzanar to support "Nidoto Nai Yoni" ( Let it not happen again ).