Canada and World War II

1. 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.

2. What Do I Remember of the Evacuation? by Joy Kogawa What do I remember of the evacuation?I remember my father telling Tim and meAbout the mountains and the trainAnd the excitement of going on a trip.What do I remember of the evacuation?I remember my mother wrappingA blanket around me and myPretending to fall asleep so she would be happyThough I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.(I hear there were people herdedInto the Hastings Park like cattleFamilies were made to move in two hoursAbandoning everything, leaving petsAnd possessions at gun point.I hear families were broken upMen were forced to work. I heardIt whispered late at nightThat there was suffering) andI missed my dolls. What do I remember of the evacuation?I remember Miss Foster and Miss TuckerWho still live in VancouverAnd who did what they couldAnd loved the children and who gave meA puzzle to play with on the train.And I remember the mountains and I wasSix years old and I swear I saw a giantGulliver of Gulliver’s Travels scanning the horizonAnd when I told my mother she believed it tooAnd I remember how careful my parents wereNot to bruise us with bitternessAnd I remember the puzzle of Lorraine LifeWho said “Don’t insult me” when IProudly wrote my name in JapaneseAnd Tim flew the Union JackWhen the war was over but LorraineAnd her friends spat on us anywayAnd I prayed to God who lovesAll the children in his sightThat I might be white. Japanese Internment

3. …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.

4. 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.

5. 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=FP-tab-web-t&b=21