During World War II, one Jewish woman volunteered to be incarcerated in a concentration camp.
July 8, 2025: Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp by Tracy Slater is released
Most people incarcerated during WWII had no choice.
Elaine had one — and she chose to enter the camp so that the family could stay together.
Karl was a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese American, who was forcibly removed from his home and sent to Manzanar along with their son Tommy, and thousands of others. His wife, Elaine, was a Jewish American. And unlike Karl, she wasn’t required to go. She could’ve stayed on the outside. But she didn’t.
Elaine voluntarily became incarcerated in Manzanar to remain with Karl and Tommy — making her one of the few but not insignificant number of non-Japanese or Japanese American to choose life behind barbed wire in solidarity.
However, mixed-marriage was still largely seen as a taboo. In fact, Karl and Elaine couldn’t get married in California because of Anti-miscegenation laws, they had to get married in Seattle. Even inside the camp, they were seen as an anomaly. Life inside or outside the camp, was never easy.
Their story, long buried under the weight of official records and generational silence, is finally being told in Together in Manzanar, a new book by Tracy Slater. Painstakingly researched and deeply moving, the book captures not only the strength of their love but also the contradictions of American identity — in a country where your race could make you the enemy, and your love could make you a target.
Karl and Elaine’s relationship defied the rules of wartime America — racially, religiously, and politically. And for decades, it remained hidden, often just a footnote.
But now, their story becomes part of the larger historical reckoning — a reminder that resistance can take many forms. Sometimes, it looks like a bold speech. Sometimes, a courtroom battle. And sometimes, it’s simply refusing to be separated.
Together in Manzanar isn’t just a story of injustice. It’s a real and complex story discussing difficult decisions people had to make during difficult times.