Vintage Photos of the Japanese-American Internment During World War II

Ansel Adams is primarily known for his large black and white landscapes, but in 1942 he visited the Manzanar War Relocation Center, photographing the “life and spirit” of the people living there. Manzanar was one of ten internment camps for Japanese-Americans, run by the US government, and over 11,000 Americans were incarcerated there during the war. Adams would later combine these photographs into a book, called Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans. The photographs below, and in the book, speak to small living spaces and standing in line for the mess hall, but also to the complexities and make-do spirit of this community which had an orphanage, a newspaper, and a hospital.

All of Adams’ photographs from Manzanar can be found at the Library of Congress, and the complete text of “Born Free and Equal” can be found here.

(via Photography Blogger)