War Crimes and Resistance — The Legacy of Manzanar
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, precipitating the entry of the United States into World War II.
In 1942, people of Japanese descent were “relocated” from an exclusion zone on the west coast. Between 110,000 and 120,000 individuals, many of them U.S. citizens, were incarcerated in “relocation centers,” which even officials at the time admitted were concentration camps.
These people, including children, were incarcerated until the end of 1945.
Ten thousand of them lived in Manzanar.
The tree above is located in the center of the camp, next to a dojo the internees created to practice judo. I can’t call it anything other than a symbol of resilience. A symbol of legacy of a terrible place.
Manzanar National Historical Site is located in the Owens Valley just north of the town of Lone Pine. It is located on land stolen from the Nuumu (Owens Valley Paiute) people. On land from which the water has been taken to sate the thirst of Los Angeles.
This is a place of war crimes and atrocities, a ravaged land.
But from that dead tree comes the live one.