The Internment of Japanese Canadians

1. The Internment of Japanese Canadians http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/1621/

2. What Does “Internment” Mean? 1. Confinement during wartime2. The act of confining someone in a prison (or as if in a prison)3. Placing private property in the custody of an officer of the law

3. Internment in Canada • Most Western countries had internment camps during World War 2 • Example: Germany & Concentration Camps • In Canada, people of Japanese heritage, were interned until a few years after end of the war. • Not until April 1, 1949 (FOUR YEARS AFTER WAR ENDS) were they allowed to live where they wanted in Canada.

4. Internment of the Japanese Canadians • 10 Internment Camps in total; • They consisted of: • Three Road Camps • Two prisoner of war camps(POW) • Five self-supporting camps scattered throughout Canada • Prior to World War II, 22,096 Japanese Canadians lived in British Colombia • 75% of them were naturalized or native born Canadians.

5. Why Did It Happen? • Racist Attitudes • Historians believe internments camps came about because of racist attitudes Canadians held towards Japanese Canadian's-many of whom lived in BC. • Bombing of Pearl Harbor • Once bombing of Pearl Harbor happened racism came to a head. British Columbians started to blame all their troubles and problems on the Japanese.

6. Why Did It Happen • Japanese people were blamed for everything from a bad crop to a flat tire. • The scared people of BC cried out, wanting the BC Government to deal with the “problem” • Wanted P.M. Mackenzie King to rid Canada of people of Japanese origin. • Mackenzie King wanted the votes from B.C. so he was more than happy to do what they asked.

7. Personal Testimony of Survivor “I was in that camp for four years. When it got cold the temperature went down to as much as 60 below. The buildings stood on flat land beside a lake. We lived in huts with no insulation. Even if we had the stove burning the inside of the windows would all be frosted up and white, really white. I had to lie in bed with everything on that I had… at one time there were 720 people there, all men, and a lot of them were old men.” -Hideo Kukubo

11. This notice was distributed throughout British Columbia. If any Japanese were found in the prohibited areas listed, they would be incarcerated.

12. Steps to Internment • Mackenzie's first order of business was to incarcerate (jail) all Japanese males between the ages 14 and 45. • They were ordered to move more than 160 km inland. This was to "safe guard" the pacific coast from Japanese spies. • The Canadian government took away all of the Japanese fishing fleets, in order to “protect” Canada.

14. Steps to Internment • Over 9 months, 22,000 people were taken from their homes and scattered throughout BC. • By Oct. 1942, the Canadian gov’thad set up 8 internment camps in interior BC. • They were in Kaslo, New Denver, Tashme, Roseberry, Slocan City, Lemon Creek, Sandon, and Greenwood.

15. Internment Camps • The war caused a large labour shortage for farmers • This gave the Japanese males a choice. The choice was to work in road camps as slaves or go to the farms and work to stay close to their families.

16. Internment Camps • Innocent Japanese Canadians were stripped of their rights, issued special clothing, humiliated, thrown behind barb wire fences, and were forced to do manual labour. • Japanese Canadians were being punished for a crime they didn't commit. • Canada's only defence for it's actions was that Japanese people were not white and they "could" be Japanese spies.

18. Internment Camps • Living in interment camps was a hard life to live. • Cramped quarters with up to 10 other families sharing one stove. • Many Japanese were placed in tents until there were houses available. • Most “houses” panalboard walls, no insulation, rickety walls and maybe a stove.

19. Personal Testimony • "I was in that camp for four years. When it got cold the temperature went down to as much as 60 below. The buildings stood on flat land beside a lake. We lived in huts with no insulation. Even if we had the stove burning the inside of the windows would all be frosted up and white, really white. I had to lie in bed with everything on that I had... at one time there were 720 people there, all men, and a lot of them were old men.“ • Hideo Kukubo, Japanese Canadian

20. Losing Personal Property • Canada sold all of the Japanese Canadians worldly possesions. • In 1943 the Canadian "Custodian of Aliens" liquidated these worldly possesions without the owner's permission. • The Custodian of Aliens held auctions for these items. • Examples:Farms, Houses, People's clothing., etc.

21. Repatriation • Repatriation: P.M. King still passed the law stating that the Japanese could be deported to Japan if they did not leave BC. • Some moved east to get away from deportation but were not allowed to buy land • 22,000 Japanese Canadians placed in the internment camps • 4,000 were stripped of their Canadian citizenship & then deported to Japan. • Then after the war, 6,000 people were sent over to Japan.

22. An Apology and Payback??? • In 1988, 46 years after the first Japanese Internment Camps, Canadian Japanese were compensated for all that they had endured during the war. • P.M. Brian Mulroney signed a compensation package giving $21,000 for each internee's survivor. In total 12 million dollars were paid out. • Was this enough????? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z88zRES6wcw