Education, newspapers, every day life

There was little privacy in the barracks, and the occupants shared showers, toilets, and the mess hall facilities. Recalls one resident: “one of the hardest things to endure was the communal latrines, with no partitions; and showers with no stalls.” But people also tried to make the best of their situation. They continued to educate their children, to share holidays and traditions, to publish newspapers. They participated in sports, established clubs, and started churches and temples. And beginning in 1943, American-born Nisei began leaving Manzanar; many young men volunteered in the armed forces and served as part of the all-Nisei 44d Regimental Combat Team.

Several Japanese Americans challenged the detention in the courts. In 1944, the Supreme Court of the United States decided, in a 6-3 vote, to uphold the constitutionality of the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast regions. The Court cited the war with Japan and the military necessity perceived by Congress and military leaders as the reasons for this decision.


It was not until 1988 that the internees still alive received reparations for their economic losses and an apology for the infringement on their civil liberties guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1988 concludes that "the broad historical causes [of the internment] were racial prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political leadership." Powerful words that still ring true as the nation continues to debate civil liberties and the Constitution in another time of war.

My visit to Manzanar ended with a strong reminder of how the past continues to live among us. As I reached the corner of the camp where the cemetery was located, I started getting the very strange feeling that I was not alone. I looked around but saw only the heat of the day and the dusty landscape. But I could swear that I heard voices of people; some were going about their daily business while others were mourning their dead. They all seemed to be saying to me: do not forget the past lest it happen again.


Text © Päivi Hoikkala
Phtos © Ulla Maria Hoikkala