Granada Relocation Center (Amache): From the Perspective of the WRA Photos
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The Granada Relocation Center or Amache was one of the ten American concentration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. The center was located 140 miles east of Pueblo, Colorado. It was opened in August 27, 1942 by the War Relocation Authority. Sixty two percent of the inmates were American Citizens.
The following photos were downloaded from the National Archives. The photos were taken by War Relocation Authority (WRA) photographers who were constrained by WRA rules. The photos could not be sad or too happy. A sad photo would make the camp image suffer. A too happy photo would make the administrators look like coddlers.
An example of images being too sad are photos taken by Dorothea Lange which were impounded by the Army. Lange was subsequently fired from her job. Ref. Dinitia Smith, NY Times, Nov. 2006, Photographs of an Episode That Lives in Infamy Retrieved March 17, 2011.
The photos are sorted by date, click on photos to enlarge:
Granada (Amache) Relocation Center Photo Album >>
For those who would like more details about these images, go to the National Archives website at https://catalog.archives.gov/advancedsearch. Type in "Granada Relocation Center" and hit search.
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Granada (Amache) Relocation Center 11/30/1943A view of the Granada Center looking northwest from the water tower.
Granada (Amache) Relocation Center 11/30/1943 |
Evacuees at the Granada station 08/28/1942Evacuees leaving the railroad train at the Granada station and boarding school buses and trucks for transportation to the relocation center 2-1/2 miles away. |
A cold December afternoon 12/11/1942A cold December afternoon doesn't dampen the spirit of these primary school girls as they compete in a racing game with the primary boys. |
Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado 10/1945Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. Not all the center residents will return to their former homes. Many have found permanent "relocation" in the sandy soil on which the tar paper barracks were hurriedly erected. A total of nearly 15,000 evacuees were inducted into the Granada Project, Amache, Colorado, since August …
Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado 10/1945 |
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