Stories

Park Ranger Rose Masters interviewed Hiroshima survivor Hisae Genie Obana in June 2017. Genie, who was born in California, moved to Japan with her parents just before WWII. Meanwhile, her sister—also a US citizen—spent the war years incarcerated in the United States.

NPS Photo

Manzanar Oral History Program

The Manzanar Oral History Program documents the World War II history of Japanese Americans at Manzanar and elsewhere through the personal accounts of former incarcerees, War Relocation Authority staff and their children, military personnel, and residents of the communities neighboring the camps. Topics covered include immigration, settlement, forced removal, life behind barbed wire, and resettlement after incarceration. The project also documents other eras at Manzanar, including Indigenous experiences, Owens Valley and Los Angeles water conflicts, and the Manzanar orchard community.

Since 1999, Manzanar National Historic Site has collected more than 715 oral history interviews, preserving these stories and experiences for future generations. Manzanar's oral histories are used for educational and research purposes, and are preserved at the Manzanar National Historic Site archives. Some of the site's oral histories are available online through the Densho archive. Others are available online through California Revealed as well as on Manzanar's You Tube Channel.

We encourage those with personal connections to Japanese American incarceration history, Owens Valley history, or other relevant topics to complete and return one of our oral history workbooks. Please e-mail us for an oral history workbook.

You can contact our oral history coordinator at [phone] ext. 3317 or e-mail us to talk with someone about this program. If you are requesting a copy of a particular interview, please include information to this effect in your message.

Researching the National Archives

If you are interested in obtaining records about a family member who was incarcerated or interned during World War II, please contact the National Archives. You can submit your request for these files by mail or online. For family members incarcerated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) in Manzanar or the nine other WRA camps, you’ll want to request their “War Relocation Authority Evacuee Case File.” For family members interned by the Department of Justice, you’ll want to request their "World War II Alien Enemy Detention and Internment Case File.” Some people will have case files created by both agencies.

If you would like help determining which case files to request, you can ask a ranger at our visitor center at [phone] x3310 or e-mail us your request.