Tracing the forgotten history of Italian-Canadian internment camps

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      While most Canadians are familiar with the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, it’s a lesser-known fact that many Italians also suffered a similar fate.

      Following its declaration of war on Italy, on June 10, 1940, the Canadian government designated Italian nationals—and Italian Canadians naturalized after 1922—as enemy aliens. Out of roughly 4,500 Italians in Vancouver, 1,800 (40 percent) fell into this enemy alien status, and were forced to file monthly reports to the RCMP as to both their activities and whereabouts.

      Although many Italian Canadians managed to carry on a somewhat normal life under the designation of “enemy alien”, existence became much more difficult for others. With habeas corpus suspended under the War Measures Act, over 600 Italians (44 from the Vancouver area alone) were rounded up without charges and interned in camps across the country.

      Most frequently, those interned were the heads of their households—the breadwinners—and the only thing keeping their families from poverty. And although none of them were ever charged with any criminal activity, some were kept imprisoned for up to two years.

      Now, seven decades later, Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre is telling the story of this forgotten time in Canadian history with a three-part multimedia presentation called A Question of Loyalty.

      One part of the commemoration is a book, written by local Italian-Canadian historian Ray Culos, called Injustice Served. In it, Culos fleshes out the history of the internments, and the backgrounds of those affected.

      There’s also a new play, Fresco, written by Lucia Frangione and produced by BellaLuna Productions, detailing the impact of the internments upon a local family. (It's being performed from March 21 to 24 at Burnaby’s Shadbolt Centre, and from March 28 to 31 at the Cultch).

      Finally, there’s a museum exhibit entitled Beyond the Barbed Wire: Experiences of Italian Canadians in World War Two, running from March 6 to August 31st at the Italian Cultural Centre. It will feature photos, memorabilia from affected families, and other artifacts.

      Along with a locally produced bust of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by Charles Marega (the sculptor who created the Lions Gate Bridge lions), there are a number of objects, which bring a great deal of emotion and poignancy to the exhibit. For example, there’s a sobering prisoner-of-war camp uniform worn by an internee in the Kananaskis (Alberta) internment camp.

      “It’s a blue denim uniform,” says Julia Murray, curator of Il Museo at the Italian Cultural Centre, “but it has red piping and a very striking and slightly disturbing red circle on the back, like a target.”

      There are also some samples of the crafts made by internees to fill their time. “The piece that’s perhaps the most interesting,” Murray explains, “is an oval wooden tablet—a pyrogrpahy piece, where you burn into the wood—and it’s actually a landscape of the camp, so you see the mountain behind and the actual campsite depicted there.”

      As to the makeup of the local internees, they were hardly spies or saboteurs. “We think that all of the people that were interned from Vancouver had been members of a certain club, the Circolo Giulio Giordani,” says Murray. “There were a small number of clubs that were directly influenced by the Italian consulate, where the consulate encouraged the spread of fascist ideas, and this club was one of them.”

      In most cases, there was likely a good deal of naiveté about the aims of the club, as the organization appeared purely social on the surface: picnics, outings, and business contacts.

      “However,” Murray continues, “to be a member of this club, you did actually have to sign something that said you were loyal to Mussolini.” It was something most Italians probably didn’t give much thought to in the prewar years. Once war broke out, however, those who signed the pledge suddenly found themselves under deep suspicion—and in deep trouble.

      It’s an important part of Vancouver history, and an important cautionary tale in this modern era of legislation like the U.S. Patriot Act and Bill C-30, which aims to give far greater surveillance power to police.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      Carmen Davoli

      Mar 5, 2012 at 8:02pm

      Doug, this is a really insightful article. It is a sad,sad part of our history.

      Louanne Aspillaga

      Mar 8, 2012 at 1:10pm

      Great article - we need to spread the word. ICC's exhibit is the first of many projects regarding the internments of Italian Canadians during WWII. These projects are federally funded by the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP), Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

      In Toronto, Columbus Centre is launching an exhibit, Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of WWII, on May 31st. There is also a website, scheduled to go live on March 31st, which will feature 86 interviews of enemy aliens, their families, and others affected by the internment. Hundreds of photos, objects, and documents are digitized to compliment the video interviews. This website is the largest of its kind. www.villacharities.com/ICWW2. Our co-publication, Beyond Barbed Wire, became available at ICC's event on Tuesday and will continue to launch in other cities (Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and Toronto).

      We must continue to spread the word and educate about this little known event in Canadian history!

      Follow me @LouanneMae or @ItCanWWII for project updates or check us out on Facebook.

      sheldon segal

      Aug 10, 2012 at 6:44pm

      I have recently acquired an estate and in one of the trunks I have found documentation from one of the commanders of a camp. There is art work and army uniforms from the Major.There are letters from internees that were not sent and descriptions of attempted escapes and photos of what is called the potato man ! I would love to share all of this with whoever is interested .. I will be scanning and photographing the material to put on the web for use.

      JLR

      Nov 28, 2012 at 1:32pm

      Great article for Grade 9 Social Studies projects!!!

      Louanne Aspillaga

      Dec 5, 2012 at 5:26am

      Sheldon Segal, what's the website?

      Veronica MacInnes

      Jan 17, 2013 at 10:50am

      I am 77 years old, born and raised in Vancouver. My father was born in Departure Bay, Vancouver Island, of Italian parents. In 1945 I experienced a situation of prejudice against my father - apparently quite a common occurence, though I didn't understand why. I never knew until now that Japanese Canadians weren't the only internees in Canada. Was there ever an apology offered to Italian internees?

      Louanne Aspillaga

      Apr 14, 2013 at 4:12pm

      Hi Veronica MacInnes,
      There was never an official apology to the Italian Canadians, only an informal apology by Brian Mulroney in the 1990s and it was not delivered in the House of Commons. The government instead created the Community Historical Recognition Program, under Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The fund went to community organizations who created educational projects about the Italian Canadian WWII internment. Our project at Columbus Centre of Toronto, was one of those funded under CHRP. See CHRP's website to see full listing of Italian Canadian internment projects at, http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/programs/community.asp The funding also went to Japanese Canadians, Ukrainians, chinese, etc.