Weaving for the War

In 1942, Manzanar joined the war effort as more than 500 young Japanese Americans wove camouflage nets for the U.S. Army. Because citizenship was required for the job, many took the work as a chance to prove their loyalty and earn money. Crews developed a friendly camaraderie, often working to big band music from loudspeakers, and produced an average of 6,000 nets a month in three 18-foot-tall sheds built on these long slabs. The sheds soon became a flash point for discontent over wages and friction between citizens and non-citizens that spread throughout the camp, and the work itself was hazardous, exposing internees to long hours of fine lint and harsh dyes. The net factory closed after the Manzanar Riot in December 1942, and the sheds were converted to other uses. Nearby, a mattress factory made 4,020 mattresses for the camp before fire destroyed it in 1943. By 1944, Manzanar had become nearly self-sufficient through agriculture and industries that included shoe and typewriter repair, soy sauce and tofu processing, clothing production for nurses, mess hall workers, and policemen, and furniture making that turned out desks, chairs, baby cribs, and toys.

Independence, California · United States