The Internment of the Japanese

Overview

The internment of the Japanese in Canada started in 1941 when the British Colombia government changed laws to restrict freedoms and civil liberties of the Japanese following the attacks on Pearl Harbour. During the 8 years the Japanese were restricted the provincial government pushed to have all people of Japanese origin pushed back to Japan. The Provincial Government attempted to have this happen by putting the into interment camps and moving them off the coast of BC into other provinces.

One of the main People who influenced the internment of Japanese Canadians was Ian Mackenzie who was the Federal cabinet minister from British colombia who had very anti-sematic views. He pushed the government into allowing the interment of the Japanese.  He said:

“It is the governments plan to get these people out of B.C. as fast as possible. It is my personal intention, as long as I remain in public life, to see they never come back here. Let our slogan be for British Columbia: No Japs from the Rockies to the seas.'”

Cause and Consequence

During the middle of the war in 1941 the allies were very Patriotic and nationalist. They supported the war and very anti-Axis countries including Germany and Japan. So, when the Japanese bombed America’s Pearl Harbour in December of 1941 people were fearful that the same would happen on Canadian soil. Then when the Japanese attacked and killed or imprisoned almost all of the 2000 Canadians positioned in Hong Kong. Following these attacks the fear of strangers (xenophobia) and the anti-Semitic attitudes came back into play as they were scared that because they were from Japan even though most of the 22000 Japanese Canadians were naturalized or born in Canada. The consequences of this event were the homes, cars, businesses and possessions of the Japanese were sold cheaply off at auction and when they finally returned from the internment camps they had to start at the beginning and rebuild their lives because they had nothing. If this event hadn’t happened the Japanese

Primary Source

This Primary source document shows how people with Japanese origin were discriminated against as they were pushed out of their homes and communities when the Government decided that they couldn’t live in certain areas.

Ethical Dimension

I think that the government was not justified in interning  the Japanese. I think this because the Government received only 100 letters urging the government to remove Japanese Canadians and the only people supporting the removal were from BC. However based on the xenophobia and wartime fervour that was being experienced during the war I think they felt it was the best thing to do.

Continuity and Change

I compared this event to the internment of the Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War. Some of the things that stayed the same were they used the Ukrainians and Japanese as labourers and were paid very poorly for working long hours. They were also taken away from home put into camps far away from home and often separated from their family.They also had all of their possessions confiscated including houses, land and jewelry. Some of the changes are the Japanese reciveved compensation and a formal apology from the Government for their wrong-doing. The Ukrainians also worked on work projects such as the building of roads and national parks while the Japanese worked on farms or on the camps. Some of the progresses that happened from the Japanese internment for some of the xenophobic citizens were they knew that the Japanese were interned and together so they wouldn’t be able to launch any attacks on Canada, but for the Japanese this would be a decline because they were taken away from home and all the things they had worked for nd when they got out they had to start from scratch. Another progress from this is Canada learned that it’s citizens should have rights and since this internment no other group have been interned on Canadian soil.

Historical Significance.

This event is extremely significant in the Japanese Canadian community. This is because the effects of this internment lasted for 8 years and it wasn’t until 4 years after the war ended that the Japanese received full rights again. Another reason this is historically significant is because of the quantity of people who were affected. 23 000 Japanese Canadians were moved out of British Colombia or placed in to internment camps. This is the largest mass exodus in Canadian history. The profundity of this is that people of Japanese origin were gravely affected because all of their possessions were taken and sold at auction and they were forced to live in shacks for years. They also had to pay for their own internment. This event is a symbol of human behaviour because it shows how people have  racial attitudes so they fear that they could overtake them and they do everything in their power to stop it from happening. This is also showing reparations because in 1988 the Prime minister issued a formal apology and gave a compensation for anyone who was imprisoned in the internment camps.

http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP14CH3PA3LE.html

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/192161

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/featured/japanese-internment-banished-and-beyond-tears

By: Katrina Blong