Transcript Japanese Canadians in the 1940’s

JAPAN in WWII
Attack on Pearl Harbor
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DEC. 7, 1941: A single, carefully-planned
and well-executed attack removed the
United States Navy's battleship force as a
possible threat to the Japanese Empire's
southward expansion.
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America, unprepared and now
considerably weakened, was abruptly
brought into the Second World War as a
full combatant.
So what happened?
Pearl Harbor Attack
July 1940: President Franklin D. Roosevelt had
transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl
Harbor as a deterrent to Japanese aggression.
 The Japanese military was deeply engaged in
the war it had started against China in mid-1937,
and badly needed oil and other raw materials.
 July 1941: The Western powers effectively
halted trade with Japan. A Pacific war was
virtually inevitable because the Japanese were
desperate and schemed to seize the oil and
mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia
Attack on Pearl Harbor
November 1941: U.S. officials were expecting a Japanese
attack into the Indies, Malaya and probably the
Philippines.
 The U.S. Fleet's Pearl Harbor base was reachable by an
aircraft carrier force. Japan’s planes hit just before 8 am
December 7th.
 Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor
were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several
other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were
also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead.
Soon after, Japanese planes eliminated much of the
American air force in the Philippines, and a Japanese Army
was ashore in Malaya. (now Malaysia)
 These great Japanese successes, achieved without prior
diplomatic formalities, shocked and enraged the previously
divided American people into a level of purposeful unity
hardly seen before or since.

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PLAY NATIONAL GEO MAP / SERIES OF
EVENTS
Japanese–Canadians in
the 1940s
Canada’s National Flag
Japan’s National Flag
Overview…
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Early in the war, many
Japanese-Canadians
volunteered to fight with the
Canadian forces.
Canadians were suspicious of
populations connected with
enemy countries.
After the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbour, Japanese–
Canadians began to be treated
unfairly by the Canadian
government.
They were denied the right to
vote and to own property
because of their association
with Japan in WWII.
Japanese–Canadians from British Columbia
were forced to work on farms throughout
Canada, often for little to no pay at all.
Japanese–Canadians in 1941
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After Japan bombed Pearl
Harbor in Hawaii in 1941,
Canadians became suspicious of
Japanese – Canadians within
our borders.
There were 23,000 people of
Japanese decent living in
Canada during WWII.
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22,000 of them were located in
British Columbia.
The government wanted to
protect Canada from possible
terrorism, and formed
internment camps for Japanese
– Canadians.
Internment Camps
Early in 1942 there were
several anti–Japanese marches
in Vancouver.
 In spite of these marches, only
750 Japanese–Canadians
moved voluntarily.
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The government was unhappy with
the small number who moved.
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An internment camp for
Japanese – Canadians during WWII.
They received hostile greetings
from local residents in the
Okanagan Valley.
In March 1942 all Japanese–
Canadians were rounded up and
sent to internment camps in British
Columbia.
Conditions of Camps
Camps were secured with
armed guards.
 Japanese – Canadians slept
in dormitory style wooden
huts.
 There were no flushing
toilets or running water in
these huts.
 Quality of life in these
camps was very primitive.
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Inside a Japanese internment camp.
Deportation of Japanese–Canadians
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The Canadian government
offered all Japanese–
Canadians free passage to
Japan.
People who refused were
interned.
In 1942 the Canadian
government began deporting
people of Japanese decent.
More than 4000 people were
deported, many of whom
had never been to Japan in
their lives.
Families were torn apart.
Japanese–Canadians being
taken to their deportation.
Loss of Property
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In 1943, the government was
given the power to sell
Japanese–Canadian property
including:
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A Canadian officer meets with two
Japanese – Canadians during WWII.
Houses
Cars
Shops
Fishing Boats
The owners of these items
received little to none of the
money.
The Apology
In 1988 the Canadian
government finally
apologized to the Japanese–
Canadian population.
 The government agreed to
pay $21,000 to each of the
1400 people still living who
had been affected by the
policy of internment.
 Canadian citizenship was
also granted to people who
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney meets
were deported.
with Japanese representatives in apology
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for Canada’s actions in the 1940s.