Canada and World War II
Another war? How ‘great’ would this one be? After
living through the First World War just over twenty years ago,
people around the world were dreading the impact that this new war
would have on the next generation. How many lives would be lost?
How long would it last? These types of questions were clouding the
minds of many in Canada and elsewhere. How bad could it be after
living through the “Great War” and the “Great Depression”. They
could only wait and see.
Japanese Internment
What Do I Remember of the Evacuation?
by Joy Kogawa
What do I remember of the evacuation?
I remember my father telling Tim and me
About the mountains and the train
And the excitement of going on a trip.
What do I remember of the evacuation?
I remember my mother wrapping
A blanket around me and my
Pretending to fall asleep so she would be
happy
Though I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.
(I hear there were people herded
Into the Hastings Park like cattle
Families were made to move in two hours
Abandoning everything, leaving pets
And possessions at gun point.
I hear families were broken up
Men were forced to work. I heard
It whispered late at night
That there was suffering) and
I missed my dolls.
What do I remember of the evacuation?
I remember Miss Foster and Miss Tucker
Who still live in Vancouver
And who did what they could
And loved the children and who gave me
A puzzle to play with on the train.
And I remember the mountains and I was
Six years old and I swear I saw a giant
Gulliver of Gulliver’s Travels scanning the
horizon
And when I told my mother she believed it
too
And I remember how careful my parents
were
Not to bruise us with bitterness
And I remember the puzzle of Lorraine Life
Who said “Don’t insult me” when I
Proudly wrote my name in Japanese
And Tim flew the Union Jack
When the war was over but Lorraine
And her friends spat on us anyway
And I prayed to God who loves
All the children in his sight
That I might be white.
…Japanese Internment Continued
After reading the preceding poem, answer the following questions:
• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?
• Explain how this poem either agrees with or disagrees with Laurier
and his statement: “The twentieth century belongs to Canada.”
Source from: Face of a Nation. Written by: Bolotta, Hawkes, et. al.
Gage Educational Publishing Company: Toronto, 2000.
The Tulip Craze
“When, during World War II, the Netherlands was invaded in 1940, Crown
Princess Juliana – later Queen Juliana – escaped with her family to Ottawa. In January
of 1943, Crown Princess Juliana gave birth to a daughter, Princess Magriet, at the
Ottawa Civic Hospital. In order for the princess to be born a Dutch citizen, Canadian
Parliament proclaimed a suite at the hospital Dutch Territory.
After the Dutch Royal Family returned home in 1945, the people of the
Netherlands sent a gift of 100 000 tulip bulbs to Canada’s capital in appreciation not
only for the refuge that Canadians provided to the Royal Family, but also for Canada’s
military role in the liberation of the Netherlands.
Today, the Royal household sends an annual gift of 10 000 tulip bulbs to the City
of Ottawa for the people of Canada.”
Answer the following questions after reading the preceding information: Who? What?
Where? When? Why? How? Explain how this story either supports or refutes
Laurier’s statement that “The twentieth century belongs to Canada.”
Source from: Face of a Nation. Written by: Bolotta, Hawkes, et. al. Gage Educational
Publishing Company: Toronto, 2000.
D-Day: Normandy
After analysing the pictures on the left-hand
side, answer the following questions:
 Who?
 What?
 Where?
 When?
 Why?
 How?
 Explain how these images either
support or refute the statement: “The
twentieth century belongs to Canada”
Pictures from:
http://ca.search.yahoo.com/search/images?
p=D-Day&ei=UTF-8&fl=0&fr=FPtab-web-t&b=21