Starting in 1942, many Japanese-Canadians living near the British Columbia coast were relocated, and eventually put into internment camps, as Canadians believed if they were to be attacked by the Japanese, local residents would attempt to aid them. Despite the modern thoughts on the Japanese-Canadian internment, Canadians during World War II, specifically those living in British Columbia, believed that the Japanese deserved to be interned, as the majority of them felt unsafe with their presence. The Japanese-Canadian internment during World War II was not morally incorrect at the time because the government wanted to protect their people, the Japanese were viewed as evil, disloyal people by Canadian citizens and government, and the internment
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BC politicians were in a rage, speaking of the Japanese “in the way that the Nazis would have spoken about Jewish Germans. When they spoke I felt… the physical presence of evil,” said Escott Reid, a Canadian diplomat (Marsh). Canadian citizens were aware of how the Japanese had treated their soldiers, turning them into Prisoners of War. They were put into camps and were beaten, forced to do hard labour, and had inadequate diets. Hundreds of Canadians died from illness due to vitamin deficiency, or from slow starvation, as the Japanese treated them horribly. The Canadian soldiers that finally escaped left traumatized by their experiences and hated anything to do with Japan. Canadian government figures felt the same towards these Japanese, as they didn’t want to take a chance and risk the safety of their country by separating the horrible acts of the Japanese soldiers with those that were citizens of Canada. Canada was also part of the Allied Powers, while Japan was part of the Axis Powers. This automatically pinned them against each other, and created a dislike, as they were fighting on opposite sides of the war. While Canada wanted to relieve countries of Axis Power control, Japan was doing the opposite. This created a distrust with the Japanese as well, as many citizens thought negatively against them just based on them being associated with the horrible acts the Japanese soldiers were
BC politicians were in a rage, speaking of the Japanese “in the way that the Nazis would have spoken about Jewish Germans. When they spoke I felt… the physical presence of evil,” said Escott Reid, a Canadian diplomat (Marsh). Canadian citizens were aware of how the Japanese had treated their soldiers, turning them into Prisoners of War. They were put into camps and were beaten, forced to do hard labour, and had inadequate diets. Hundreds of Canadians died from illness due to vitamin deficiency, or from slow starvation, as the Japanese treated them horribly. The Canadian soldiers that finally escaped left traumatized by their experiences and hated anything to do with Japan. Canadian government figures felt the same towards these Japanese, as they didn’t want to take a chance and risk the safety of their country by separating the horrible acts of the Japanese soldiers with those that were citizens of Canada. Canada was also part of the Allied Powers, while Japan was part of the Axis Powers. This automatically pinned them against each other, and created a dislike, as they were fighting on opposite sides of the war. While Canada wanted to relieve countries of Axis Power control, Japan was doing the opposite. This created a distrust with the Japanese as well, as many citizens thought negatively against them just based on them being associated with the horrible acts the Japanese soldiers were