Manzanar: A Community of Contradictions

Abstract

Although Manzanar was enclosed in barbed wire and guarded by armed MPs, it resembled a typical American community for the Nisei, and for the Issei it became a community with traditional Japanese attributes. Internees of both generations were intent on recreating a semblance of normalcy. For the Nisei this meant proving they were Americans. Sue explained: “Kids wouldn’t speak Japanese. Many felt that they should not be involved in anything Japanese. We were American. Public schools really did a good job in Americanizing us. Manzanar became a very American city because that’s what we knew.”¹