Photo Essay: Manzanar Relocation Center through Dorothea Lange's Lens
Best known for her iconic Depression-era image Migrant Mother, photographer Dorothea Lange—on assignment for the War Relocation Authority (WRA)—spent months chronicling the forced removal and internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
The majority of Lange’s photos did not conform to the WRA’s aim of showing a positive side of the incarceration, and for this reason many of her hundreds of images were impounded. Unfortunately, the WRA retained the right to caption images submitted by their photographers, often altering the truth—a manipulation that affected Lange after she completed her assignment.
photo by: LC-USF34-002392-E
Dorothea Lange with her camera.
In a letter to her friend and colleague Ansel Adams (who also photographed life at Manzanar), Lange wrote, “I fear the intolerance and prejudice is constantly growing. We have a disease. It’s Jap-baiting and hatred. You have a job on your hands to do to make a dent in it—but I don’t know a more challenging nor more important one. I went through an experience I’ll never forget when I was working on it and learned a lot, even if I accomplished nothing.”
Scroll down for a glimpse of what Lange saw during her time at Manzanar Relocation Center.
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 538123
Manzanar housed over 110,000 incarcerated Japanese-Americans from 1942-1945.
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 538087
The WRA captioned this image: "Evacuees enjoying the creek which flows along the outer border of this War Relocation Authority center."
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 537992
Grandfather and grandson at Manzanar.
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 537955
Young students returning to their barracks from classes.
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 538076
A young boy reads the funnies.
“I went through an experience I’ll never forget when I was working on it and learned a lot, even if I accomplished nothing.”
Dorothea Lange
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 538012
The WRA caption: "Little evacuee of Japanese ancestry in a happy mood at this War Relocation Authority center."
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 538184
The first grave at Manzanar Relocation Center.
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 537969
Two girls wait outside the mess hall for lunch.
photo by: Dorothea Lange/WRA/National Archives 538011
Around two-thirds of all Japanese-Americans at Manzanar were Americans by birth.
Japanese-American History: Photo Essay: The Manzanar War Relocation Center
In 1943, at the invitation of his friend, camp director Ralph Merritt, Ansel Adams came to Manzanar War Relocation Center to document the camp and the people interned there.
