Facts About Manzanar

Facts about Manzanar: 

Location: Inyo County, California
Nearest City: Independence, California
Area: 814 acres
Built: 1942
Facts:

• Manzanar was one of the ten internment camps where 110,000 Japanese-Americans were interned there during World War II.
• Manzanar means "apple orchard" in Spanish.
• A riot known as the "Manzanar Riot" occurred on December 5-6, 1942. Two people were killed and nine others were wounded.
• There were gardens in Manzanar that included pools, waterfalls, and rock ornaments.
• There was also a nine-hole golf course. 
• Out of all the 110,000 Japanese-Americans that were interned in Manzanar, none of them had anything to do with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

We thought it would be fun to show you this Manzanar Video we found on Youtube.  This video shows pictures focusing on the Manzanar Internment Camp and some other historical photos.  All credits go to remyomar, the creator of this video.

Closing of the camp:

Closing:

Manzanar was offically closed on November 21, 1945. It was the sixth camp to be closed. Camp officials gave each person $25 and a one-way bus or train fare. They also gave meals to people that had less than $600. Although some people left the camp voluntarily, many people refused to leave because they had no place to go after having lost their homes. Eventually, the government would resettle the Japanese-American families because they took too much time deciding on where to stay.

Manzanar Monument:

The Manzanar cemetery site is marked by a monument that was built by internee stonemason, Ryozo Kado, in 1943. An inscription in Japanese on the front of the monument reads "Soul Consoling Tower". The inscription on the back reads "Erected by the Manzanar Japanese" and "August 1943" on the right. Today, the monument is often draped in strings of origami and sometimes survivors and other visitors leave offerings of personal items as mementos.

---