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Out of context: Reply #64
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Manzanar is most known for its role during World War II as one of the ten internment camps in the United States where over 110,000 people of Japanese descent were forcibly relocated and incarcerated.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, there was widespread fear and paranoia in the U.S. about potential espionage and sabotage from people of Japanese descent. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, authorizing the forced removal and confinement of all people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, regardless of their citizenship status.
Manzanar, located in the Owens Valley in California, was the first of the "War Relocation Centers" to be established. It was hastily built and soon housed over 10,000 people, with a peak population of about 11,000. Living conditions were harsh. People lived in barrack-style housing with little privacy, ate in communal mess halls, and faced extreme weather conditions, from freezing winters to scorching summers.
The internees made the best of their situation by establishing schools, growing gardens, and even creating a newspaper. There was also a hospital, churches, and various recreational activities available.
Despite the attempts to create a sense of normalcy, life at Manzanar was marked by a lack of basic freedoms. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Internees could not leave without permission, and their mail was censored.
The camp was closed in 1945, after the end of the war. In 1988, the U.S. government formally apologized for the internment of Japanese-Americans and established a fund to pay reparations to survivors of the internment camps.
Today, Manzanar is a National Historic Site to educate the public about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Visitors can tour the remains of the camp, including reconstructed barracks, and visit a museum that explains the history and consequences of the internment.