Japanese Internment During World War II
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Transcript Japanese Internment During World War II
JAPANESE INTERNMENT IN
CANADA DURING WORLD WAR II
Key Concepts
Pearl Harbour
War Measures Act
Japanese Internment (Canada)
Brian Mulroney (Response on Internment)
Overview
At the start of World War II, approximately
23,000 people of Japanese descent lived in
Canada, mostly in British Columbia.
75% held Canadian citizenship and over 13,000
were Japanese-Canadians (they were born in
Canada).
Most Japanese-Canadians were hard
workers, owned land, and paid taxes.
Pearl Harbour
On December 7, 1941,
Japanese planes attacked
and destroyed the
American Pacific fleet at
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
The damage was
extensive:
19 naval vessels were
damaged or sunk
188 American aircrafts
2,300 soldiers killed
1,109 are wounded
Canada Declares War on Japan
Canada declared war on Japan in
December of 1941.
On December 25, 1941 at the Battle
of Hong Kong, Japan surrenders.
Canadian soldiers paid a heavy price.
Total soldiers sent: 1,975
550 were killed, or died in prison camps
493 wounded
Fears of a Japanese invasion
continued to spread along the Pacific
Coast.
The Japanese in Canada
The Japanese had always
experienced racism in British
Columbia.
White people enacted various
laws prohibiting Japanese
workers from working on
provincial projects.
Many Japanese worked in the
fishing industry, causing
Canadians to express fear that
Japanese fishermen were
charting the coastline for the
Japanese navy.
As a result, 1,200 Japanese
fishing boats were confiscated
by the Government of Canada.
The Canadian War Measures Act
Bowing to public pressure, the
Government of Canada issued the
War Time Measures Act on
February 24, 1942, forcing
Japanese-Canadians and Japanese
in Canada into “protective areas”
(i.e., internment camps) for “their
own safety”.
The act “gave the government
sweeping powers to ensure the
security, defence, peace, order,
and welfare of Canada.”
All property that could not be
carried would be taken into
“protective custody.” These items
effectively became the property of
the Canadian government.
Japanese Internment Begins
Families were separated. Men were usually
forced into one camp, while women and
children entered another camp many
kilometers away.
Those unwilling to live in internment
camps or relocation centres faced the
possibility of deportation to Japan.
The Japanese did not resist the internment.
Japanese Internment Begins
There were ten internment camps in
Canada. The camps included:
Three road camps
Two Prisoner of War (POW) camps
Five self- supporting camps scattered
throughout Canada
Camp living conditions were poor.
There was no electricity or running water
available.
Japanese Internment
Camps in Canada
Conditions of Japanese Internment
Under the pretence of homeland protection, Japanese-
Canadians were:
(1) Denied their basic rights
(2) Issued special clothing
(3) Stripped of their personal belongings and
property
(4) Relocated into camps.
(5) Forced into manual labour
As well, Japanese schools were closed, Japanese newspapers
were shut down and a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed.
On March 25, 1942, the British Columbia Security Commission
forced men into road camps and women and children into
“ghost town” detention camps.
These actions were similar to the Nazi impoverishment and
relocation of Jews to ghettos prior to WWII.
Conditions in the Camps
Two families minimum
lived together in small
areas equipped with
two bedrooms and a
kitchen.
Hundreds of women
and children resided in
livestock buildings and
slept on straw covered
beds.
Conditions were so
poor that the Red Cross
had to provide aid.
Overview of the Canadian
Japanese Internment Camps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z88zRES6w
cw
World War II Ends
In 1945, the Canadian
government forced the
Japanese Canadians to either
move back Japan, loosing
their Canadian citizenship, or
to move to Eastern Canada.
Even though the war was over,
it was illegal for Japanese
Canadians to return to
Vancouver until 1949.
Public protest would eventually
stop the deportations, but not
before 4000 Japanese left the
country.
Canada Acknowledges
Its Wrong Doings
On September 22, 1988,
Canadian Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney offered a
formal apology from Canada
to the internees.
The Canadian government
also provided compensation.
The package included:
(1) $21,000 to all surviving
internees.
(2) The re-instatement of
Canadian citizenship to those
who were deported to Japan.
Brian Mulroney Apologizes
CBC News: Apology to Japanese Canadians
http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_w
orld_war/clips/1621/
Reflecting on the Camps Today Nikkei Internment Memorial
Centre
On July 31, 2010, Parks Canada honoured
the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre
located in New Denver, B.C.
This centre still features some of the huts
and shacks that were used for 1,500
Japanese-Canadians during the Second
World War.
This is important because interment camps
were a significant part of Canada’s history
and is something that should not be
forgotten.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20
100731/japanese-internment-camp100731#ixzz1eUHZUswj