BRUCE JOHN STEWART MACDONALD: JUST THE MAN FOR THE JOB
by
TAYLOR COATES
B.A., Nipissing University, 2018
A MRP SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF HISTORY
in
THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
NIPISSING UNIVERSITY
July 2020
© Taylor Coates, 2020
i
Abstract
In June 1944, members of the 12 SS Division led by Kurt Meyer murdered Canadian prisoners of war at Ardenne Abbey. The trial of Kurt Meyer began on 10 December 1945 after a year of investigation by the Supreme Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and then the 1 Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit (1CWCIU). The jury found Meyer guilty and sentenced him to death on 28 December 1945. His sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment in 1946 and in 1954 he was released from prison.
Unsurprisingly, there has been a rich historiography looking at the trial and the perpetrator. Little attention has been paid to the prosecutor, Bruce J.S. Macdonald. Even then, Bruce Macdonald remains connected to the story of the prosecution instead of on his own terms, and the story is much more complex in the journey to – and after – the courtroom. My paper examines the life of Bruce Macdonald leading up to, during and after the trial to understand how Macdonald utilized his position as Chief Prosecutor as a way to redeem his wartime masculine identity after it had been damaged with his removal as Commanding Officer in the Essex Scottish Regiment. The trial of Kurt Meyer was vital for Canada as it provided Canada a voice in law and politics on the international stage. Gender theory is used to understand the ways in which Macdonald’s identity developed. The trial of Kurt Meyer is an important case study that illustrates the formation of the Canadian state identity post-Confederation. This research is important because it provides corrective, new details as well as a unique analytical framework to broaden our understanding of the trial and the shaping of Canadian state identity.
ii
Acknowledgements
Where do I begin to give thanks? Does writing this truly explain the gratitude I feel towards everybody that have helped me get this far? I certainly hope I can express my gratitude effectively enough for you all to understand how important you are to me. I would first like to offer my sincerest thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Stephen Connor, for continuously inspiring me to be a great scholar and never faltering in his belief in me. Without your endless support, I don’t think I could have completed this program. I’d like to also extend my gratitude to Dr. Brian
Thorn and Dr. Mike Bechthold for their guidance and kind words throughout this entire process, which, in turn, allowed me to produce a paper of high quality. I’d like to thank the faculty and staff at Nipissing University for providing me with the resources and support I’ve needed as a historian, scholar and human being to be successful both in my academic and personal lives.
I would like to thank my parents for never failing to answer my phone calls no matter what of the day it is and supporting my goals. I cannot express enough thanks to my brother,
Riley, for always providing me with new and unique perspectives. Thank you to all of my friends for supporting my emotional well-being throughout the course of this project and never failing to provide me with a pick-me-up when I needed it most. I’d like to thank Mara Mahmud, Danielle
O’Kane and Arianna Monjezi for supporting me on this journey while simultaneously being on their own. Lastly, I’d like to thank my colleague and now friend, Rebecca Dubeau, without her I do not think I would have been able to make it through this program. I’m not only honoured to have completed this program with you, but to have become such close friends with you. You’re truly a force to be reckoned with.
iii
Table of Contents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………….i
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………..ii
List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………………..iii
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1
Masculinity in the Second World War…………………………………………………………….9
Chapter One: Personal Life………………………………………………………………………18
Chapter Two: War Years………………………………………………………………………...25
Chapter Three: The Trial………………………………………………………………………...50
Chapter Four: Post Trial………………………………………………………………………….69
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….96
Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………………..102
Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………..103
Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………………..104
Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………………..105
Appendix E……………………………………………………………………………………..106
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………107
iv
List of Abbreviations
1CWCIU: No. 1 Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit
CIOS: Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee
CMHQ: Canadian Military Headquarters
CO: Commanding Officer
COSSAC: Chief of Staff Supreme Allied Command
DND: Department of National Defence
ETOUSA: European Theater of Operations United States Army
FUP: Forming Up Point
IMT: International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Trial)
IMTFE: International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trial)
POW: Prisoner of War
RCAF: Royal Canadian Air Force
RCAMC: Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
SHAEF: Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
1
Bruce John Stewart Macdonald: Just the Man for the Job
“For I think, indeed, that you and I and the rest of the world believe that doing wrong is worse than suffering it, and escaping punishment worse than incurring it” – Plato, Gorgias (474a)
The most famous post-World War Two war crimes trials are the Nuremberg Trials, with
the Tokyo Trials a close second. Historians consider these International Military Tribunals (IMT)
as landmarks in international law and history.1 In August 1945, France, the United States, the
United Kingdom and the Soviet Union signed the Agreement of London, but Canada chose not to adhere to the pact. This decision meant that Canada could not actively participate in the
Nuremberg Trials. However, Canada was not willing to take a backseat on the international stage while its allies influenced international law making. While it is not widely examined by historians within Canadian history, the Canadian government tried seven individuals in its own war crimes tribunals between 1945 and 1946. The first of the individuals being Kurt Meyer, the commander of the 12 SS Panzer Division accused of the murder of Canadian prisoners of war
(POW) in Normandy. Before trials could commence, Canada had to create its own laws in ordered to legally try accused war criminals. Canada quickly established war crimes regulations roughly based off of the regulations Britain previously established and drafted them specifically
1 Including, but not limited to, Lawrence Douglas, The Memory of Judgement: Making Law and History in the Trials of the Holocaust, (Yale University Press, 2001), Christian Tomuschat, “The Legacy of Nuremberg,” Journal of International Criminal Justice, 4 ,no. 4, (September 2006), Aaron Fichtelberg, “Fair Trials and International Courts: A Critical Evaluation of the Nuremberg Legacy,” Criminal Justice Ethics, 28, no. 1, (2009), Norbert Ehrenfreund, The Nuremberg Legacy: How Nazi War Crimes Trials Changed the Course of History, (New Yor: Palgrave Macmilan, 2007), From Nuremberg to The Hague: The Future of International Criminal Justice, ed. Philippe Sands, (Cambridge University Press, 2003) and Kevin Jon Heller, The Nuremberg Military Tribunals and the Origins of International Criminal Law, (Oxford University Press, 2011). 2
with the trial of Kurt Meyer in mind. Canada’s first war crimes trial began on 10 December 1945
against Kurt Meyer.
Historians do not widely discuss Canadian war crimes trials. Specific studies on the trial
of Kurt Meyer are limited despite its national and international significance. A limited number
of works have detailed the trial and the story of the murdered Canadian prisoners of war in
Normandy, most notably – Patrick Brode’s Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgments, Harold
Margolian’s Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in
Normandy, and Ian Campbell’s Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers
Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne. These works have only been published in recent years and
examine the event on a large scale, providing readers with an abundance of information on the
people and places within the historical narrative. One of the people within the historical narrative
of the trial of Kurt Meyer that has not been given a proper analysis is Bruce John Stewart
Macdonald. While there is a plenitude of information available on the perpetrator, Kurt Meyer, scholars usually only mention Macdonald in passing.
This study is the first in-depth examination of Bruce John Stewart Macdonald and his role as a pioneer in Canadian military law after World War Two. While examining perpetrators
is important, as Hilary Earl highlights in her work, The Nuremberg SS-Einsatzgruppen Trial,
1945-1958: Atrocity, Law, and History, it is equally important to examine prosecutors as they
played a vital role in determining the verdict through their use of evidence against the accused.
By examining prosecutors, as well as perpetrators, it provides a more well-rounded account of
trials.
While the employment of biography in history is not a ground-breaking method, this
essay breaks new ground through the implementation of biography in understanding the 3
development of Canadian war crimes regulations post-World War Two. As Earl explains,
“Although biographical methods always run the risk of enhancing the role of the individual
whereas sacrificing the role of structure, if done properly, it can augment our historical
understanding of the [period] by bringing to life the history of the individual and especially their
personal journeys…”.2 By focusing on the life of Bruce John Stewart Macdonald, this work
provides a “multi-faceted [narrative], embedded in various material presences and endowed with
mixed temporal horizons”.3 It is quite obvious that none of the historical actors within this
specific narrative lived within a vacuum, therefore to tell Macdonald’s story “is to account for
the events that he shaped, as well as the events that shaped him”.4 The biographical method is employed throughout to understand how and why Macdonald participated in the trial of Kurt
Meyer. Through this examination of Macdonald’s life, one can understand how and why
Canadian war crimes regulations were created and implemented and the results of such.
This Major Research Paper also adds a layer to our understanding of the development of
Canadian military law after World War Two. Macdonald played a crucial role in the drafting of
Canadian war crimes regulations after the war. Bruce Macdonald’s own failures and prosperities influenced the ways in which the process of Canadian war crimes regulations were created and implemented. His life leading up to the trials made him the ideal man for the job. Macdonald’s own goals coincidentally aligned with the goals of the Canadian state and he was determined to serve justice. Prior to the outbreak of the war, Macdonald practiced as a lawyer in civilian life and later joined the Essex Scottish Regiment. At the outbreak of the war, Macdonald enlisted for
2 Hilary Earl, The Nuremberg SS-Einsatzgruppen Trial, 1945-1958: Atrocity, Law, and History, (Cambridge University Press, 2009), 15. 3 Kristján Mimisson, “Twisted Lives: On the Temporality and Materiality of Biographical Presences,” International Journal of Historical Archaeology 16, no. 3 (September 2012), 456. 4 Nathan R. Kozuskanich, Benjamin Franklin American Founder, Atlantic Citizen, (New York: Routledge, 2015), 6. 4
overseas service and during Operation Atlantic, the Essex Scottish Regiment suffered
tremendous losses and Commanding Officer (CO) Bruce Macdonald was found at fault; as a
result, Macdonald was relieved of his command. This loss of command was detrimental to
Macdonald’s wartime masculine identity.
World War Two produced a unique military masculinity for Canadians. As Canadian
men were selected and trained, masculine performance was taught, learned, practiced, and
evaluated.5 Judith Butler explains, “Gender is the repeated stylization of the body, a set of
repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the
appearance of substance, a natural sort of being”.6 Thus, gender is performative and can be performed differently under different circumstances. The type of military masculinity nurtured in
World War Two differed from the First World War in several ways, as explained in Geoffrey
Hayes’ Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, and commanding officers in the Second World War had to “nurture a middle-class masculinity”.7
Successful officers presented themselves professionally, but with an air of friendliness. Soldiers and superiors of officers gained respect for those who possessed confidence and self-control.
Possessing military knowledge was useful, but the most important trait of a successful officer was that of paternalism.8 The relationship between an officer and his men could be comparable to that of a middle-class father-son relationship, yet with professional boundaries. Maintenance of this idea of masculinity was crucial to the success of an officer and Bruce Macdonald failed to do so in the eyes of his superiors.
5 Geoffrey Hayes, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2017), 7. 6 Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, (New York and London: Routledge, 1999), 43-44. 7 Hayes, 75. 8 Hayes, 84. 5
Brigadier Hugh Young attributed the failure of the Essex Scottish Regiment during
Operation Atlantic to Macdonald’s inability to control his men, “his nervousness and seeming
breakdown, his unsuitability for command, and the men’s resulting lack of confidence in him”.9
However, Macdonald did not act poorly during battle and cannot be blamed for the failure of the
regiment. Instead, there were a several factors that played into the regiment’s poor performance,
such as a lack of communication, bad weather, the withdrawal of the South Saskatchewans and
the forward Essex Scottish companies in the face of heavy enemy attacks, inadequate support
armoured support and contradictory orders from Brigadier Young.10 During the chaos,
Macdonald tried to reorganize and reequip the men that retreated. Rather than admit his own mistakes during battle, it was easier for Young to pin the loss on Macdonald in an attempt to save his own command position.
Macdonald opposed his relief through several letters to his superiors in command, but they were to no avail. However, Macdonald secured a commanding position at the Supreme
Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and later appointed Commanding Officer of the No. 1 Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit (1CWCIU). The Canadian government appointed Macdonald as Chief Prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer. This position granted
Macdonald an opportunity to gain justice for himself and for the murdered Canadian prisoners of war. Macdonald could redeem himself as a military man after his failure in Operation Atlantic through successfully proving to the judges that Meyer was guilty of the allegations against him beyond a reasonable doubt. The thesis of this major research paper will argue that Macdonald used his position as Chief Prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer as a way to redeem his wartime
9 John Maker, “The Essex Scottish Regiment in Operation Atlantic: What Went Wrong?,” Canadian Military History 18, no. 1 (2009), 15. 10 Maker, 15. 6 masculine identity after it had been damaged through his relief as Commanding Officer. By bringing justice to the murdered Canadian prisoners of war through successfully proving Meyer guilty of the allegations against him, Macdonald could also bring justice to himself and regain the confidence of his men and his superiors. Macdonald’s dedication to justice, to his fellow soldiers and to himself fueled his determination to serve justice. Examining Macdonald’s life allows for a more thorough understanding of how and why Canadian war crimes regulations were developed and implemented after World War Two. This moment was not only Bruce
Macdonald’s defining moment – it was Canada’s defining moment. Although a dominion of
Great Britain, Canada turned down Britain’s offer to conduct the trials of accused war criminals and established its own regulations. This confirmed Canada as a sovereign state – first recognized after Canada’s military contributions during the First World War. The trial of Kurt
Meyer was Canada’s first war crimes trial and placed Canada among global giants (such as the
United States and the United Kingdom) in international politics and law despite having not actively participated in the Nuremberg or Tokyo Trials.11
The archival base for this study is the Bruce J.S. Macdonald Fonds in the Municipal
Archives located at the Windsor Public Library in Windsor, Ontario. This subseries is divided into nine different boxes: Private Life 1898-1986, Essex Scottish Regiment 1931-1986, War
Crimes 1944-[198-?], Legal Career 1928-1986, Police Commissions 1923-1978, Speeches 1946-
[198-?], Photographic Material [189-?]-1985, Ephemera 1906-[197-?], and Maps 1943-[194-?].
The documents range from correspondence, contracts, a calendar, newspaper clippings, notes, certificates, wills, reports, invitations, diaries, programmes, yearbooks, a diary, a manuscript, lists, scripts, speeches, minutes, by-laws, booklets, caricatures, a scrapbook, financial statements,
11 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), xii. 7 agreements, cards, posters, newspapers, plans, a videocassette, agendas, transcripts, photographs
(and negatives), envelopes, postcards, medals and pins, wallets, signs, a locket, a bracelet, and maps. These documents pertain to the personal life, family life, and career of Bruce Macdonald before, during and after World War Two. For the basis of this essay, correspondence, notes and reports are the main materials used. Documents from Library and Archives Canada pertaining to
Bruce Macdonald, the Essex Scottish Regiment and Operation Atlantic have also been sourced.
Secondary sources have cited majority of these collections, providing valuable insights and information that has supplemented these archival materials, as well as providing useful timelines allowing the situating of people and events within the larger narrative.
This paper demonstrates its’ main argument through four stages: 1) Personal Life, 2) War
Years, 3) The Trial and 4) Post Trial. Due to the nature of biography, chronological order will be maintained throughout this Major Research Paper to mimic the organic movement of time. The initial chapter examines the early years of Bruce Macdonald’s life as a way to situate him within the historical context. While this essay does not focus specifically on the early years of
Macdonald’s life, his early experiences are important to note as they shaped his later life. The subsequent chapter examines Macdonald’s involvement in World War Two both in active service and as an investigator. This chapter provides an examination of Macdonald’s wartime military masculinity and the loss and eventual recovering of that identity. Chapter three addresses the most significant part of Macdonald’s life – the trial of Kurt Meyer. This chapter provides a fuller picture of Macdonald’s search for personal and non-personal justices as a way to regain his wartime sense of masculinity. The fourth chapter examines Macdonald’s life post- trial as means to see how the Canadian war crimes regulations Macdonald assisted in drafting held up against Cold War tensions. Finally, the conclusion will show how Macdonald’s life fits 8 within the broader narrative of the creation of Canadian war crimes regulations and tribunals and thus Canada’s role in international politics in a post-World War Two era.
9
Masculinity in the Second World War
Gender identity develops through a process of differentiation: interactions of biological,
social, and cognitive-learning factors that occur over time and is the personal sense of one’s own
gender. Judith Butler explains, “identity itself is constructed, disintegrated, and recirculated only
within the context of a dynamic field of cultural relations”.12 Gender involves “culturally available symbols that evoke multiple… representations…normative concepts that set forth interpretations of the meanings of the symbols…analysis [that includes] a notion of politics and reference to social institutions and organizations”.13 It is a “repeated stylization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance, a natural sort of being”.14 Social institutions and organizations regulate the meanings of gender in order to maintain order within society, which makes gender a
“historically changing set of concepts that gives meaning to the differences between men and women”.15 A person’s sense of their gender can be shifted or reworked throughout their life.
Utilizing texts such as Joan Scott’s Gender and the Politics of History and Judith Butler’s
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity are vital in this work. Joan Scott’s work is a seminal text in gender theory. Scott does not simply analyze the positions of women and men in history. Her theory involves the deconstruction of the categories of “woman” and
“man” to allow for an understanding of the ways in which social institutions use language to establish hierarchies of power. Judith Butler’s work is another seminal text in gender theory. She explains that gender is attached to the sexed body through performance and is the cultural and
12 Butler, 127. 13 Joan Scott, Gender and the Politics of History, (Columbia University Press, 1999), 43. 14 Butler, 43-44. 15 Christopher Dummitt, The Manly Modern: Masculinity in Postwar Canada, (Vancouver and Toronto: UBC Press, 2007), 15. 10
social meaning that is attached to biological sex. By understanding how social institutions use language to establish hierarchies of power one can understand how the performance of gender reaffirms those hierarchies.
Masculinity refers to a set of behaviours, attributes and roles associated with men and
boys that can vary depending on different cultures and times. There are different types of
masculinities: marginalized, subordinate, complicit and hegemonic. R.W. Connell states,
“Hegemonic masculinity can be defined as the configuration of gender practice which embodies
the currently accepted answer to the problem of the legitimacy of patriarchy, which guarantees
(or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and the subordination of women”.16
Hegemonic masculinity is ideal and dominant over other types of masculinities.17
The image of the “warrior” was the normative masculine figure during the First World
War. Men had to be “hard, stoic, and resolute”.18 The ideal man demonstrated both physical and psychological self-control, showing absolutely no fear. World War I was the first large scale modern conflict that Canada engaged in as a self-governing confederation. However, Canadian citizens maintained a strong love for the mother country, Great Britain. This British patriotism
“was supplemented by a vast array of role models, codes of conduct, and manufactured traditions” influenced by both British and Canadian institutions.19 Canada was still a relatively
young country during the First World War and “the hero…became the model of the supreme
citizen”.20 After the First World War, Canada emerged “with a heightened national identity, a
16 R.W. Connell, Masculinities, 2nd ed., (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2005), 77. 17 Corey S. Mackenzie, Kerstin Roger, Steve Robertson, John L. Oliffe, Mary Anne Nurmi, and James Urquhart, “Counter and Complicit Masculine Discourse Among Men’s Shed Members,” American Journal of Men’s Health 11, no. 4 (1 July 2017), 1225. 18 George L. Mosse, The Image of Man: The Creation of Modern Masculinity, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 111. 19 Mark Moss, Manliness and Militarism: Educating Young Boys in Ontario for War, (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2014), 2. 20 Moss, 55. 11
tradition of military excellence and a lasting international reputation”.21 This resulted from
Canada’s large military contribution. Masculinity represented more than just the man, it came to be a representation of the Canadian state. For Canada to be an independent, successful nation the men who served in the military (and those who contributed on the home front) had to be representations of independence and success, which meant possessing specific characteristics that subscribed to hegemonic ideals.
Men who served in the Second World War were influenced by the image of the “imperial soldier hero” of their fathers’ generation and thus the image of the ideal soldier during the
Second World War shared many characteristics with those who served in the First World War.
However, the model of masculinity soldiers adhered to during the Second World War has its distinctions. After the First World War, many soldiers went home with physical and emotional trauma. This new trauma, a result of modern warfare, and the Great Depression left many men unemployed. Boys watched their fathers, the patriarch, struggle and developed a “more temperate view of war, and their own manliness”.22 The normative masculine model of the
Second World War for Canadian men was the “citizen soldier” and “the infantrymen came to symbolize manhood”.23 The Canadian citizen soldier was a man from a range of occupations and backgrounds. The Canadian citizen soldier was a more temperate man who displayed emotions once deemed unmanly in the First World War, but still with constraint. With a heightened national identity, the Canadian citizen soldier developed a sense of national pride to be Canadian instead of being a dominion of Great Britain.
21 Kathryn M. Bindon, More Than Patriotism: Canada at War 1914-1918, (Personal Library Publishers, 1979), 7-8. 22 Hayes, 8. `23 Paul Jackson, One of the Boys: Homosexuality in the Military During World War II, (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), 8 and Hayes, 37. 12
In World War Two, expectations for men to be the hardened war heroes their fathers
were had shifted into the image of the “man next door”. This model of masculinity emphasized a
“’team player” who preserved his individuality, loved his family, and was plucky rather than
foolhardy”.24 While this model of masculinity appeared to have a softer emotional appearance
than the model of World War One, “emotional repression still remained his keystone of manly
conduct”.25 Michael Roper explains, “Perhaps the most significant challenge to manliness posed
by such accounts was the perception that courage and fear were not exclusive qualities and that
in the circumstances of war even the bravest men might succumb to fear”.26 Nonetheless, men had to maintain control. Officers were encouraged to speak to their men about fear, but only after their confidence had been won and “the “feeling” of fear could not justify the “behavior” of cowardice”.27 While fear was normal within the ranks, an officer had to control his own fear to
keep it from spreading to his men.28
It was also important for men to have expertise, experience and nerve.29 However, having
experience was not the most important quality a man could possess. “Character is unquestionably
the main factor in the young military leader, because, without it, common sense, a sense of
responsibility, understanding of men, delight in a deed well done and possession of military
knowledge are of no use… In the army, as in civil life, there is nothing that can compensate for a
warped or slip-shod character”.30 This form of masculinity was “peculiar to the modern nation-
24 Robert A. Nye, “Western Masculinities in War and Peace”, The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, 2, (April 2007), 424. 25 Michael Roper, “Between Manliness and Masculinity: The “War Generation” and the Psychology of Fear in Britain, 1914-1950,” Journal of British Studies, Vol. 44, 2, (April 2005), 359. 26 Roper, 353. 27 Hayes, 62. 28 Hayes, 62. 29 Hayes, 18. 30 War Diary, Canadian Officers’ Training Centre, Brockville, October 1942, Library and Archives Canada, RG 24, vol. 16, 936. 13
state, in which the citizen must carry within himself the qualities of a warrior, but as a warrior
must also remain the citizen he will become again at conflict’s end”.31 If a man did not have good character in his civilian life, it could be assumed he would not have a good character within the military. It was beneficial for a man to have engaged in “masculine civilian practices that
[were] readily adaptable to soldierly ends”.32
Paternalism was an important quality in the World War Two model of officer masculinity. Officers “were to learn that paternalism, and a certain sensitivity, were important components to their role as leaders”.33 The welfare of an officer’s men came before his own.
Establishing a type of father-son bond with the men would “get the best out of them when the call for action comes”.34 Many storylines “stress that Canadian officers were more successful
because they enjoyed closer relationships with their men than did their British counterparts”.35
This is not to say that paternalism was not important for officers during the First World War.
However, the importance of establishing paternalistic relationships with men was heightened during the Second World War. Establishing a good relationship that maintained the professional boundaries of the hierarchies of the institution combined with a degree of paternalism was necessary for the success of an officer. Officers gained the respect of their men by being stern, but compassionate leaders – something reflected in civilian father-son relationships. It was vital for officers to establish themselves as a patriarch for their men after growing up during the First
World War with fathers serving overseas and often coming back with physical and psychological trauma and the Great Depression because it proved their manliness. It proved that they could
31 Nye, 417. 32 Nye, 418. 33 Hayes, 84. 34 Hayes, 84. 35 Hayes, 18. 14
protect and provide, which was crucial in a model that praised patriarchy. Men could look up to a
mature, friendly, protective, wise, responsible, understanding, confident officer as a type of
father figure.
Macdonald’s masculine identity was shaped by the time in which he lived and by his
experiences in the world he interacted with. A man’s physical appearance – his gestures, the
clothing he wore, the way he maintained his body hair, how he spoke – were markers in the
qualities of manliness he retained. Possessing characteristics such as selflessness, courage,
humility, integrity, confidence and passion were also important signifiers of manliness. The
Canadian military selected, trained and moulded men into the ideal soldier of World War Two.
The shaping of men through selection and training processes “uncovers masculine performance
[is] taught, learned, practiced and evaluated”.36 The military functioned as a ‘”total institution”, shaping and moulding masculinities of those internal to the system….37 The masculinity formed
by the military became hegemonic and further shaped other masculinities and the feminine.
Thus, service in the military became a marker of manliness that “separat[ed] men from women
while binding men to men”.38 The separation would reach “deep into a man’s sense of identity
and self”.39
The performative nature of gender includes, but is not limited to, the physical presentation of the body, but also the actions a person partakes in. The body is a “passive medium on which cultural meanings are inscribed”.40 Actions influence and are influenced by
36 Hayes, 7. 37 David H. J. Morgan, “Theater of War: Combat, the Military, and Masculinities,” in Theorizing Masculinities, 1st ed., ed. Harry Brod and Michael Kaufman (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc., 1994), 169-70. 38 Morgan, 166. 39 Morgan, 166. 40 Butler, 12. 15 the society in which one is a part of. These patterns of action become repetitive and the identity of the person is fashioned in the actions they perform.
There are certain characteristics and attributes assigned to each gender (that are mutable) and when people perform their gender according to the norms of the society in which they live it assists in achieving status in their social environment(s). Not performing gender according to the established norms of the society in which one lives means that they are not successfully conforming to that gender. The more characteristics a person possesses that aligns with the gender norms of their society, the more likely they are to achieve status within their environment.
Macdonald performed masculinity in such a way that made him the embodiment of a military man. He performed masculinity in a way that aligned to the attitudes of the Canadian state of what a wartime man should be. The ways in which Macdonald performed masculinity was not unique to him as an individual, but was an overarching expectation of what men should be like. Aspects of the performance of gender need to be evident in large groups of people in order to successfully divide people into a binary, thus diminishing a level of individuality.
Macdonald performed masculinity in a way that aligned with the model of masculinity during
World War Two and achieved a high status in the social environment he was a part of.
Macdonald’s masculinity incorporated elements of both the traditional “breadwinner” model of masculinity, as well as the post-war modern model of masculinity. However, his masculinity was unique because during the Second World War the Canadian state sought to separate itself from Great Britain as an independent nation. Men’s identities were equated with the identity of the larger nation state and the specific goal of establishing independence from
Great Britain. Macdonald’s masculine identity incorporated a level of emotional expression that 16
had been void in the traditional model. The controlled expression of emotions allowed for him to
bond paternally with his men while at war. For men to be successful at war, and for Macdonald
to be successful at war reflected the success of the Canadian state. This also differed from the
post-war model of masculinity as the post-war years were not focused on establishing an
independent national identity, but rather modernism. An important attribute of post-war
masculinity was a return to traditional patriarchal structures. Macdonald’s masculinity did not
focus on a return to tradition, instead his masculinity was an expression of a new independent
identity.
Gender is just one component of identity, amongst beliefs, ethnicity, appearance, values,
profession, and interests. Gender may be considered a large component of identity as it is a
performance; “not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual”.41 David Morgan explains that the
bases for identity can “be examined along two dimensions, one to do with a sense of
boundedness, the other to do with the wider pervasiveness or influence of that culture” (168).42
The sense of boundedness is concerned with the extent in which clear distinctions are made
between “us” and “them”. Possessing characteristics and participating in activities that are
valued by the group allow for the distinction between “us” and “them”. The influence of the
culture examines “the extent to which the central features of a given culture become prized or
dominant within the wider society”.43 In the Second World War, men who served in the
Canadian military possessed characteristics useful to the success of the military and became distinct from those who did not serve. The soldier and the qualities a soldier possessed then became dominant in Canadian society and became the ideal image of manliness. To not possess
41 Butler, xv. 42 Morgan, 168. 43 Morgan, 168. 17
characteristics of the dominant group meant to be excluded from the group and not prized by
society.
When a component of identity becomes compromised it can have negative effects on a
person. Successes and failures can affect personal identity. Success can allow a person to confirm parts of their identity, whereas failure can cause “self-questioning”. Christopher
Dummitt explains individuals “achieve security (i.e., a stable sense of identity) only by denying alternatives that may lead to uncertainty”.44 Thus with masculinity, to be masculine means to
deny the feminine. Having a strong sense of oneself brings comfort and security. It contributes to
the way in which people behave, make decisions and interact with others. Identity is not static,
but rather something that can be disintegrated, reconstructed or shifted throughout a lifetime.
Having a strong sense of the different components of one’s identity is crucial to their
personhood. This understanding of the model of wartime masculine identity of World War Two
will be further examined in the following chapters.
44Dummitt, 29. 18
Chapter One: Personal Life
Bruce John Stewart Macdonald was born on 2 December 1902 to Dr. William Henry (b.
1 June 1873, d. 11 December 1924) and Mary Annie Victoria Macdonald (b. 22 May 1871, d. 19
Feb 1958) in Rose Bay, Nova Scotia.45 Two years later, the family welcomed Ian Batty
Macdonald, born on 4 December 1904.46 Macdonald’s father, William, received an education at the Truro Academy of Nova Scotia and the Provincial Normal College at Truro. In 1896,
William graduated from the medical school at Dalhousie University in Halifax at twenty-two years old. He worked in the General Hospital in Halifax and then went to Lunenburg, Nova
Scotia where he practiced for fifteen years.47 In 1898, William married Victoria Young, born in
Middleton, Nova Scotia.48 Victoria practiced nursing after her graduation from the Nurses
School of the Victoria General Hospital.
In January 1913, the Macdonald family moved to Medicine Hat, Alberta where William continued to practice medicine. In 1916, William served overseas as a member of the Royal
Canadian Army Medical Corps and remained there for two and a half years and had also served in the army with the rank of major.49 He served as second in command and Chief of Surgery
Kitchener Military Hospital in Brighton, England.50 He also served at the No. 3 Stationary
45 Windsor Municipal Archives (WMA), Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Family Tree, 12. 46 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12 and Photograph of Bruce Macdonald and his brother Ian, as adolescents, 1916(?), PC/6070, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Privatelife1.htm. 47 John Blue, Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical (Volume 3), (Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1924), https://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/alberta/william_macdonald.htm. 48 John Blue, Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical (Volume 3), (Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1924), https://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/alberta/william_macdonald.htm and WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8. 49 John Blue, Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical (Volume 3), (Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1924), https://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/alberta/william_macdonald.htm. 50 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12. 19
Hospital and O.C. Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France.51 William returned to Medicine
Hat after the war and continued to practice medicine until his death of a heart attack in 1924.52
The Macdonald family were members of the Presbyterian church, and Macdonald would continue to practice as a Christian in his adult life.53
Both Bruce Macdonald’s father and mother worked in professions that served and
assisted people. As he watched both parents work in the healthcare industry demonstrated to
Macdonald from a young age the importance of assisting others. His parents were part of the
healing process for those in ill health which insured that the illness would not spread to the
greater population – for the greater good of the population. Bruce Macdonald would stand for
working for the greater good later in his career.
Bruce Macdonald’s father also served overseas in World War One as a surgeon. In this
position he used his skills acquired from his civil life and applied them to his wartime
occupation. He assisted his fellow comrades who had been injured while overseas. This had a
profound impact on Macdonald as he would later serve overseas as a member of the Essex
Scottish Regiment and as Commander of the 1CWCIU, applying skills acquired from his civil
career as a lawyer. When World War Two began, the sons that watched their fathers serve
overseas believed they had to live up to their fathers’ duty.
William and Victoria raised their children in the Presbyterian church and Macdonald
continued to practice his faith as a Christian until his death. The “founder” of the Presbyterian
51 John Blue, Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical (Volume 3), (Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1924), https://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/alberta/william_macdonald.htm and WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12. 52 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12. 53 John Blue, Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical (Volume 3), (Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1924), https://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/alberta/william_macdonald.htm. 20
church in Scotland, John Knox, urged his fellow countrymen to reform the church in line with
Calvinist doctrine. Similarly, Bruce Macdonald would urge the Canadian government to reform
the ways in which it participated on the international stage in relation to the establishment and
implementation of war crimes regulations. The Presbyterian church is headed by a group of
elders that other members look to for guidance. Later in his life, the men of the Essex Scottish
would look to Macdonald, their elder and superior, for guidance in training and in battle. As
Geoffrey Hayes explains, “Ultimately, an army officer’s highest responsibility was “to lead and
command his men in battle.’”.54 From his adolescence, Macdonald observed and practiced servitude to god and to others. In Acts 20:35 (NKJV) it reads, “I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”.55 Macdonald would have read this
passage and it would be reinforced throughout his life. Although he did not choose to completely
follow in his father’s footsteps and choose a career in the healthcare industry, he chose a career
in law which assisted individuals, groups and organizations with legal issues which ultimately
furthered the greater good of the public.
Macdonald’s Scottish-Canadian identity played a role in the shaping of his masculine
identity. Canada hosted a large community of Scottish immigrants from the Maritimes to
Manitoba. As a part of the Scottish community in Canada, Macdonald shared a common identity
which allowed him to be an accepted member of the group. Since settling in Canada, the Scottish
population always maintained traditions separate from other settlers allowing for their own
unique identity, but still assimilated into the larger Canadian state. Macdonald had always been a
member of an accepted group and possessed characteristics that were accepted by both the group
54 Hayes, 5. 55 The Holy Bible, King James Version, Iowa: World Bible Publishers, Acts 20:35. 21
and the Canadian state. Macdonald performed masculinity in a way that allowed for him to
achieve status as a Scottish-Canadian, as a lawyer, as a soldier and as a man. The separation of
the Scottish-Canadian identity from the larger Canadian identity relates to the separation of
Canada from Great Britain in establishing its own autonomy and Macdonald is an example of
how the male body became a representation of the state.
Macdonald attended the University of Alberta and graduated in 1924 with a bachelor’s degree and again in 1926 with a law degree. During his studies, Macdonald participated in a variety of extracurricular activities and held positions as Editor-in-Chief of the weekly newspaper, member of the champion debate team, President of the Law Club and Permanent
President Class 1926.56 In his free time, Macdonald played golf.57 In 1927, Macdonald completed a post-graduate law course at Harvard University Law School and in September of the same year he moved to Windsor, Ontario to begin legal practice. Macdonald’s younger brother,
Ian, studied at the Royal Naval College for two years and at the University of Alberta.58 Ian
Macdonald married a woman named Muriel and had two children – Marilyn Gaelie and Ian
Stewart Gordon.59 Ian Batty Macdonald died on 4 February 1942 in a plane crash in Nova Scotia during service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).60
The death of Macdonald’s brother, Ian, in 1942, would also impact Macdonald’s
dedication to assisting others and seeking justice. Ian’s death left Macdonald as the only child
56 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8. 57 Photograph of Bruce Macdonald golfing, 193-?, PC/6137, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Privatelife1.htm. 58 John Blue, Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical (Volume 3), (Chicago, Illinois: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1924), https://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/alberta/william_macdonald.htm. 59 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12. 60 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12. 22 and the men under Macdonald’s command would come to be “surrogate” brothers and children to him and he would do anything to ensure their well-being as he could not when his brother died. He has married Norma before he enlisted for overseas service and they remained childless.
Despite not having children of his own, it appears that he regarded his men as his children – being influenced by his strong, stable family structure. He would later regard his men as “his boys”.
In 1927, Macdonald joined the law firm of Norman A. McLarty and Gordon L. Fraser.61
Bruce Macdonald left the firm in 1930 after his selection as Windsor’s first full-time City
Solicitor.62 Macdonald engaged in the proceedings and legislation for the 1935 amalgamation of the municipalities of Windsor, East Windsor, Sandwich and Walkerville.63 He represented the new city of Windsor in hearings before the Ontario Municipal Board in regards to the refunding of a $40 million amalgamated city debt.64 Macdonald returned to private practice with McLarty and Fraser in 1937 after he resigned as City Solicitor over a dispute about the ownership of his legal fees.65 On 16 September 1939, Macdonald married Norma Rose Millard in a ceremony at
61 Norman A. McLarty moved to Ottawa in 1934 and was elected to the House of Commons representing the riding of Essex West in the 1935 federal election. In 1940, McLarty was re-elected and was the Postmaster General, Minister of Labour, and Secretary of State of Canada in the cabinet of Mackenzie King. He served as acting president of the National Liberal Federation in 1943. 62 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Windsor Public Library, “Legal Career,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Legalcareer4.htm. 63 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Windsor Public Library “Legal Career,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Legalcareer4.htm. 64 WMA Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8. 65 Windsor Public Library, “Legal Career,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Legalcareer4.htm. 23
All Saints’ Church in Windsor, an Anglican church.66 Macdonald and Norma did not have any
children, and remained happily married until their deaths.67
Macdonald displayed attributes of a middle-class man. He is characterized as a handsome
man with a good build and a moustache – the ultimate symbol of masculinity. He possessed
many qualities crucial to Canadian masculine standards. As a young adult, he showed strong
leadership abilities through his positions in his university extra-curriculars. He displayed his
passion about law not only by pursuing it academically, but also through his position as president
of the law club and member of the debate team during his university career. This demonstrates
that he believed in the importance of serving others and justice. His career with the law firm of
McLarty and Fraser after his graduation demonstrated Macdonald’s intelligence and that he
could apply his intelligence to real world situations. This quality would become especially
necessary during his service overseas with the Essex Scottish and would become key in the
dismantling of his masculine identity.
Although not extremely detailed, the early years of Bruce Macdonald’s life shaped him
profoundly into an intelligent, determined, just, passionate leader – qualities that defined the
ideal masculinity of the time. The time in which Macdonald grew up determined how his sense
of manliness would be shaped. Both physical and nonphysical attributes possessed and displayed
by a man determined his masculinity. Judith Butler explains, “gender reality is created through
sustained social performances”.68 “By the twentieth century, the bodily “habitus” of a man – his
66 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Norma Macdonald (Millard) in her wedding dress. Married – All Saints Church, Windsor, Ontario, 6 September 1939, PC/6714, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Privatelife1.htm. 67 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Family Tree, 12. 68 Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, (New York and London: Routledge, 1999), 180. 24
physical appearance, gestures, and speech – had become a marker in which many believed they
could read the qualities of manliness he ostensibly possessed”.69 The men of Macdonald’s
father’s generation prided themselves on being war heroes – men who risked their lives for their
fellow comrades and for their love of their nation. For Western societies, World War One
produced “an impressive repertory of images and texts that articulated heroic sacrifice as an
ideal…images of crucifixions and resolute soldiers, medieval knights going off to battle for God
and country, and memorials to the dead citing their discipline, duty, and sacrifice”.70 The utilization of religious imagery as a source of inspiration for masculine identity existed since the
Middle Ages. However, the mid-nineteenth century saw a rise in “muscular Christianity and a renewed fascination with medieval chivalry”.71 The possession of characteristics such as
selflessness, courage, humility, integrity, confidence and passion proved vital for a man to
maintain. The First World War also had repercussions on masculine identity. With trench
warfare came the image of a heroic soldier, but also an effeminized man. Gendered expectations
of men being tough and courageous were broken down by trauma induced by trench warfare – a
supposedly female experience of powerlessness. The value of “stoic endurance, that is the
forbearance of pain and the suppression of sentiment” quickly gave way as many soldiers
returned home in a state of shock.72 This conflicting image in the understanding of masculine
identity would help shape a new concept of masculinity by the Second World War.
69 Robert A. Nye, “Western Masculinities in War and Peace”, The American Historical Review, Vol. 112, 2, (April 2007), 420. 70 Nye, 422. 71 Nye, 422. 72 Michael Roper, “Between Manliness and Masculinity: The “War Generation” and the Psychology of Fear in Britain, 1914-1950”, Journal of British Studies, vol. 14, 2 (April 2005), 347. 25
Chapter Two: War Years
In 1929, just two years after his relocation to Windsor, Macdonald started service as a militia officer with the Essex Scottish Regiment. The Essex Scottish mobilized on 1 September
1939.73 Macdonald enlisted for overseas service in September of the same year and served as
Company Commander.74 In 1942, Macdonald became second in command of the regiment and held that position until May 1943.75
On 16 August 1940, the Regiment set sail for England as part of the 2 Canadian Infantry
Division, but they did not experience their first fight until two years later in the Dieppe Raid, 19
August 1942.76 The battalion boarded assault landing craft at Southampton and Portsmouth and crossed the channel and part of the fleet had a chance firefight with a German convoy on its way to France.77 They faced heavy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire from the esplanade between the beach and the town and from the headlands on both sides when they landed at Red Beach.78
The Essex Scottish suffered heavy casualties and could not carry out its objectives. Headquarters sent orders of withdrawal for 1100 hours but continuous dive-bombing of the naval elements
73 Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “The Essex Scottish,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/dieppe-raid/essex_scottish. 74 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Windsor Public Library, “Essex Scottish Regiment,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregiment2.htm. 75 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Windsor Public Library, “Essex Scottish Regiment,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregiment2.htm. 76 Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “The Essex Scottish,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/dieppe-raid/essex_scottish and Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 77 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 78 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 26
offshore prevented most of the landing craft from returning to the beach to pick up survivors.79
The headquarters ships also received a misleading message, which led officials to believe that
the Essex Scottish had been successful in breaching the seawall and were making headway in the
town, but in fact, they had not been successful.80 By the end of the Dieppe Raid, the Essex
Scottish had suffered 121 casualties.
Bruce Macdonald did not attend battle at Dieppe in 1942 because he had been sent to
Canada to be an instructor in a training course. He returned to England after the Dieppe Raid and
a fellow Essex Scot described to him: “…it was almost a massacre, and the ones that weren’t
killed or seriously wounded were taken prisoners and there weren’t many survivors”.81
Macdonald recalled the important task he had after his arrival back in England: “The biggest job
I had, as Second in Command, was to rebuild the unit and train them and again I was put in
charge of a Battle School for the brigade, and had to train a lot of these fellows, and it was very
tough…But we built up a very good regiment that was regarded as one of the best in the whole
division”.82 Despite not being present during the Dieppe Raid, Macdonald knew that the massacre had done damage to the regiment and helped strengthen through leading training exercises.
The failure at Dieppe in 1942 caused trauma for the men in the Essex Scottish Regiment.
The frontal attack on Dieppe started off wrong for the Essex Scottish. The craft carrying the nine leading tanks of the 14th Army Tank Regiment approached the beach late and the Essex Scottish
79 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 80 Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “The Essex Scottish,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/dieppe-raid/essex_scottish. 81 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 37. 82 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 37-8. 27
had to advance with no support.83 They faced heavy fire immediately upon landing at the beach and causalities immediately ensued. The only Essex Scottish captain to return to England after the operation, Captain Donald MacRae, “recorded three attempts to attack across the sea-wall… was forced on to the defensive, using the line of the wall as a sort of fire-trench”.84 The Essex
Scottish were “unable to continue organized fighting… [because] they had suffered at least 75%
casualties”’.85 Only a small group of men lead by Company Sergeant Major Cornelius Stapleton
made it inside Dieppe.86 Captain D. Wesley Clare of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
(RCAMC) recalled “The wounded had to help themselves…”.87 Immediately after the battle,
rumors began circulating that German soldiers had shot wounded Canadian soldiers that had not
yet been taken into captivity. Of the 32 officers and 521 other ranks of the Essex Scottish that
took part in the Dieppe Raid, only two officers and 49 other ranks returned to England. With 121
casualties, the remainder of the men who did not make it back to England were missing in action
or taken prisoner. Such loss at the Essex Scottish Regiment’s first battle caused trauma and the
regiment needed to be rebuilt. The men of the unit lost comrades that they built a bond with
while being overseas in England before the Dieppe Raid. Canadian newspapers reported that the
“units engaged in the Dieppe operation gained combat experience which will be of great value to
them in future operations. The troops have returned from the enterprise with added confidence in
themselves and, in particular, in the leadership of their officers and n.c.o.s…”.88 Men wrote home to their families with the same spirit, but the censors noted “There is evidence of a more
83 C.P. Stacey, Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific, vol. 1, (Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1955), 375. 84 Stacey, 377. 85 War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, August 1944, Appendix 6: “Attack on Dieppe, 19 Aug 42,” Centre for Digital Scholarship, http://cdigs.uwindsor.ca/omeka/items/show/680, 298. 86 Mark Zuehlke, Tragedy at Dieppe: Operation Jubilee, August 19, 1942, (D&M Publishers Inc., 2012), 298. 87 Dr. D. Wesley Clare, interview by Charles G. Roland, Oral History Archive, Hannah Chair for the History of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario [OHA], FICM 1-80, 15 May 1980, 16. 88 Gallantry at Dieppe, The Times, London, England, 19 Sept 1942, 28
realistic tone, which surmises much heavy fighting in the future, and the probable cost of this is
faced soberly”.89
After the Dieppe Raid, Lt Col J. H. Mothersill assumed command and set out to rebuild,
reorganize and train whilst carrying out operational tasks.90 Macdonald assumed command on 27
May 1943 and continued training in England as Lt Col Mothersill “had reached the age where he had to relinquish command of the Battalion”.91 Captain Lund “commented on the appointment of
Macdonald to the command of the battalion saying that it was with great relief that the unit
passed to an Essex Scot, who was seen as well qualified to continue the improvement of its
performance”.92
Bruce Macdonald embodied the model of World War Two masculinity in several ways.
Physically, he presented characteristics deemed vital to the model of manliness of World War
Two. His image reflected a masculine authority – his hair short and well styled. He wore glasses,
a reflection of his age – experience and wisdom. He had a thick, clipped moustache and is often
photographed unsmiling. “The moustache was important” as it symbolized manhood and one of
the first physical characteristics others would view.93
Furthermore, Macdonald had experience and expertise. Macdonald served with the Essex
Scottish since 1929, ten years before the beginning of the Second World War. This provided
Macdonald with ample opportunity to understand the rules and regulations of the military, as
89 Stacey, 395. 90 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 91 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/ and Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 435. 92 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 435. 93 Geoffrey Hayes, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2017), 13. 29
well as the regiment’s history. The regiment took pride in its training exercises and prepared
when called for service in 1939. Quickly, the “Essex Scottish Regiment had gone from being an
under-strength unit of amateur soldiers to one fully mobilized, active service battalion in a
theatre of war working hard at increasing its knowledge of the techniques of modern warfare”.94
In September 1939, Macdonald commanded “C” Company. In 1942, Macdonald became second
in command of the regiment. The same year, Macdonald became commander of the 4th Brigade
Battle School and returned overseas on 31 January 1943 after being in Canada for training
courses. His position as commander of the 4th Brigade Battle School indicated he could lead
others. Lieutenant Rands noted in the regiment’s War Diary that “the unit should be proud of the
work done at the battle school under Major Macdonald’s direction”.95 Macdonald gained enough experience and expertise to move up in the ranks over a short period of time.
Macdonald obtained qualities from his civil life that were utilized during war. His experience as a lawyer in civilian life provided him with confidence as he won the majority of his cases. Being a lawyer provided him with responsibility, having to remain organized and calm whilst under pressure to defend his clients. He possessed integrity, importantly serving justice as he pursued a career in law. The qualities Macdonald possessed prior to the Second World War would benefit him as a soldier during conflict, but also assist him after the war in transitioning back into civilian life.
Macdonald quickly made his mark on the regiment. While being stern in regard to leave of absences and training, Macdonald maintained friendly relationships with his men. In June
1943, he assisted the men of the Battalion’s baseball team to the brigade championship.96 Similar
94 Antal and Shackleton, 372. 95 War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, January 1943, Library and Archives Canada. 96 Antal and Shackleton, 436. 30
to the way in which a father in civilian life would be stern with house rules, but also be engaged
with their sons’ hobbies and interests. Macdonald consistently encouraged the men to be their
best and “stressed to the officers and men that everyone needed to be in top physical condition
when they went into action”.97 While Macdonald developed strict training routines, he knew
“that the men need not just a diversion, but a prize worth striving for. So he started a contest: The
platoon… that had the highest level of deportment, training and morale would be given a week’s
leave”.98 As a result of Macdonald’s contest, men showed a greater effort and boosted morale
within the unit. In May 1944, after an inspection by General Lett, Macdonald “was so pleased
with the result that he gave the men of the company funds for a party to celebrate”.99 Macdonald
appeared as a stern leader, but also one that could establish positive relationships with his men.
These positive relationships would become useful to him after being relieved of his command in
1944.
After the Essex Scottish were decimated in Operation Atlantic, CMHQ relieved
Macdonald of his command. During the chaos of the battle, he visited his companies in an
attempt to calm their nerves – nervousness, an acceptable emotion in the model of World War
Two masculinity, could be exhibited but it had to be controlled.100 He also sought food and water for his men, which showed a paternalistic instinct crucial of a good leader. He allowed the men time to recoup and return to the line the following morning. The orders were stern, yet compassionate. In Operation Atlantic, Macdonald showed characteristics vital to the World War
97 Antal and Shackleton, 444. 98 Lee Palser,“The concrete cap badge Second War artifact coming home to the Essex and Kent Scottish,” The Windsor Star, 8 March 2003, A7. 99 Antal and Shackleton, 445. 100 Mark Moss, Manliness and Militarism: Educating Young Boys in Ontario for War, (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2014), 68. 31
Two model of masculinity. This display showed his men that they could rely on him and gained their respect.
Immediately after his appointment to commander, Macdonald “laid down the law regarding the procedure to be followed when men with Absent Without Leave”.101 Macdonald specified that the first offence would receive the minimum sentence and the second offence would receive the maximum.102 He also “stressed the great responsibility that every officer has when he leads his men into battle”.103
He served as Commanding officer from 27/28 May 1943 to 22 July 1944, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.104 Macdonald commanded the regiment in the early fighting in
Normandy. After regaining their strength from the devastation at Dieppe, the Essex Scottish
Regiment returned to France on 5 July 1944 landing at La Valette to exploit the D-Day landing of 6 June.105 On 11 July, the first casualties and captures took place.106 In Operation Atlantic, the
Essex Scottish Regiment fought alongside the Cameron Highlanders of Canada, the South
Saskatchewan Regiment, the Fusiliers de Mont-Royal and the 27th Canadian Armoured
Regiment. On 20-21 July, intensive fighting around Ifs and Bourguebus Ridge resulted in a devastating 281 causalities.107
101 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 435. 102 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 435. 103 War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, 14 March 1944, Library and Archives Canada. 104 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 105 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 106 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 107 Lt-Col. (Retired) F. Hardy Wheeler, “The Essex and Kent Scottish History,” The Essex and Kent Scottish, modified August 2012, http://www.ekscot.org/index/history/concise-history/. 32
Almost two years after the Essex Scottish Regiment were decimated at Dieppe, they
entered battle on 20 July 1944 at Verrières Ridge during Operation Atlantic. The objective of
Operation Atlantic was for the Canadian forces to support the British forces in an armored
assault (Operation Goodwood) on the western flank to liberate Colombelles and Caen south of
the Orne river and then prepare to capture Verrières Ridge. Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds,
commander of the II Canadian Corps, planned the operation as a two-pronged assault where the
2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions would capture Vaucelles, Colombelles and Caen south of the Orne river. The Canadians would then capture Verrières Ridge. However, on 19 July, the
British failed to capture Verrières Ridge and began organizing a withdrawal. Lieutenant-General
Simonds continued the Canadian attack on the ridge on 20 July. The attack involved the Royal
Regiment of Canada, the Cameron Highlanders of Canada, the Royal Hamilton Regiment the
South Saskatchewan Regiment, the Fusiliers de Mont-Royal, the 14th Canadian Army Tank
Battalion and the Essex Scottish Regiment. The Essex Scottish were to advance behind the South
Saskatchewan Regiment and “set up a firm base behind the forward centre battalion”.108
The Essex Scottish were ordered to prepare to move at 0115 hours on 20 July 1944 and
their advance began at 0800 hours. Around 1200 hours it began to rain heavily which reduced
visibility and command and control were difficult to maintain.109The Essex Scots arrived at the forming up point (FUP) at 1300 hours with little sleep and “a poor breakfast and little to no noon meal”.110 The Germans began shelling the FUP at 1300 hours. Brigadier Young ordered the
Essex Scots forward two minutes after the South Saskatchewans reached their objective, which
did not provide enough time to fully assess the situation. Twenty-three minutes later the South
108 Maker, 8. 109 Terry Copp, Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014), 149. 110 War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, 22 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada. 33
Saskatchewan Regiment started to request assistance, and some began to withdraw, but the Essex
Scottish had not yet reached their consolidation position. Major L.L. Dickin of the South
Saskatchewan Regiment went back and informed Macdonald of the situation and then went to
inform Young.
Many South Saskatchewans remained with the Essex Scottish in attempt to defend their
position, but “large numbers of Sasks continued to withdraw directly through the Essex
positions”.111 The forward companies of the Essex Scottish Regiment were struck by tanks and artillery and began to withdraw as well and reported that anti-tank support was needed immediately.112 Macdonald ordered Captain D.W. McIntyre of “B” Company to “dig in behind
“D” Company”, but only a portion of men did as the rest returned to the FUP on McIntyre’s previous orders.113 At this point, “A” Company lost all of its officers and retreated in some disorder. Macdonald attempted to keep control of the situation by ordering the retreating companies to dig in behind the reserve companies.114
The Essex maintained their position just short of their objective and Macdonald travelled
throughout the companies to talk to his men.115 He then returned to the FUP to arrange for food and hot drinks for his men and find members of “A” and “B” Companies. He marched the men he found at the FUP to brigade HQ to give them supplies for battle, but the brigade was unable to refit his men and “he ordered them to stay in the rear, have a good meal and a descent night’s sleep, and be ready to return to the line in the morning”.116 The men received new equipment at
0400 hours and were sent back to the line with orders from both Macdonald and Young. The
111 Maker, 12. 112 Maker, 12. 113 Maker, 13. 114 Copp, 147. 115 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to General Foulkes, 30 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada, 2. 116 Maker, 14. 34
forward companies spent the night in the trenches attempting to keep mud from caking their
weapons.117 Terry Copp explains, “We must assume that Foulkes and Young believed the battle
had ended, for no attempt was made to assist the Essex, not even with warm food”.118
At dawn, enemy tanks were close to “C” company and started fire. Macdonald went to Ifs for tank support, as he received orders at 0930 hours from Young. Upon arrival, Macdonald discovered Young was absent and sought out tank support on his own, but to his avail he could not get assistance.119 Macdonald sought permission to withdraw and the request was denied. The
Germans struck at the center line, held by the Essex Scottish, and cut off “C” Company, No.17
Platoon and HQ and men began to withdraw. At 1100 hours, Young ordered Macdonald to
reform the withdrawn men on an intermediate position and told him to take the men from “A”
and “B” Company that withdrew the day before to dig in on the intermediate position. This order
shocked Macdonald as he believed the men from “A” and “B” Company were already at the
front as per his orders the previous night, but Young refused to allow them to return until then.120
Macdonald formed the battalion on the intermediate position and ordered the forward companies to withdraw to the new position. The Essex Scottish Regiment maintained the position until 2200 hours when the Royal Regiment of Canada relieved them.
In battle, Macdonald toured the companies in attempt to calm their nerves and told his men to stand their ground. He “talked to nearly every man. I satisfied myself with the positions held, the forward ones… Some were shaken a bit by the S Sask R and A and B Coy withdrawals, but seemed reassured and steadied by my visit”.121 When he returned to the Forming Up Point he
117 War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, 21 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada. 118 Copp, 152. 119 Maker, 15. 120 Maker, 15. 121 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to General Foulkes, 30 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada, 2. 35
sought food and drink for his men on the forward lines as they received “a poor breakfast and
little or no noon meal” when they had reached the 6th Brigade area on 20 July.122 When he found
his men, he requested them to be refit for battle and supplied with ammunition. The Brigade
could not resupply the men and “he ordered them to stay in the rear, have a good meal and a
decent night’s sleep, and be ready to return to the line in the morning, once brigade HQ had
ammunition”.123 He had been taught “’that the welfare of the men always came before your own’”.124 For commanders in the Second World War, this act of stern compassion corroborated
the importance of establishing relationships with their soldiers. Being stern with orders, but also
compassionate in a time of disarray and confusion allowed commanders to gain the respect of his
men and this simple act would assist Macdonald in his near future.
Brigadier Young wrote in the Headquarters 6 Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary that
Macdonald “seemed to have lost complete control and was himself in a very excited and nervous
condition”.125 Young’s description of Macdonald damaged his sense of male identity, which
resulted in his removal as CO. While “fear was normal throughout the ranks, an officer had to
control his own fear to keep it from spreading to his men”.126 In order for a man to fit into the
model of masculinity of the time, he needed to have self-control and this “comment was a
devastating indictment”.127 Macdonald’s superiors contributed such devastating losses to him
122 John Maker, “The Essex Scottish Regiment in Operation Atlantic: What Went Wrong?,” Canadian Military History 18, no. 1 (2009), 13 and War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, 22 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada. 123 John Maker, “The Essex Scottish Regiment in Operation Atlantic: What Went Wrong?,” Canadian Military History 18, no. 1 (2009), 14. 124 George Blackburn cited in Geoffrey Hayes, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2017), 84. 125 War Diary, 6 Canadian Infantry Brigade, 20 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada, Laurier Military History Archive, http://lmharchive.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/6th-Canadian-Infantry-Brigade2.pdf. 126 Geoffrey Hayes, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2017), 62. 127 Geoffrey Hayes, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2017), 151. 36
and while “[t]he War Dairy does not refer to it…Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonald was abruptly
removed from command as a result of the poor performance of the Battalion in Operation
ATLANTIC”.128 He wrote to his wife, Norma, about the situation, as he “felt that there was little he could have done to prevent the retreat of elements of the battalion”.129 He also wrote in the
letters that “all the officers and men of the unit who were out of the line had signed a testimonial
to the effect that they had confidence in him”.130 453 men of the Essex Scottish Regiment signed the testimonial stating confidence in Bruce Macdonald’s ability to command. The testimonial included signatures from Privates, Lance Corporals, Corporals and Sergeants. While some men included their rank with their name, others omitted that detail. It is clear that Macdonald’s men respected him and had faith in him during battle as eleven pages had been filled with names in protest of his relief.
Young’s report blamed the failure of the Essex Scottish solely on Macdonald, but there were numerous elements that Macdonald did not and could not have any control over. From the beginning of the battle, heavy rainfall caused a lack of visibility and made communication difficult. Unexpected enemy fire at the start also contributed to the confusion. The forward Essex
Scottish companies were not the only ones to withdraw, as the South Saskatchewans first began withdrawing due to heavy enemy fire causing the Essex to also withdraw. The enemy attacks caused many casualties which depleted the regiment of manpower. Brigadier Young’s orders were not clear, as noted in the Essex Scottish War Diary: “All the rules of man management were either violated or ignored, by the sudden move ordered after mid-night, the loss of sleep by
128 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 456. 129 Letter from Macdonald to wife Norma, 24 July 1944, MS II-36, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Municipal Archives, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 130 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 456. 37
all ranks, a poor breakfast and little or no noon meal before battle, and the general or detailed
picture and plan, if known, was not given to the junior [officers] or troops”.131 Officers of the
South Saskatchewans mirrored Macdonald’s concerns with the brigadier, which further supports
that Brigadier Young’s orders were not clear. Young also refused to allow the withdrawn men of
“A” and “B” Company to return to battle until late on 21 July, which resulted in a lack of
manpower on the front.
Despite the circumstances, Macdonald tried his best to control the situation and ensure
that his men were successful. The failure of the regiment was not a result of Macdonald’s
inability to lead. Macdonald demonstrated his leadership skills, quickly moving up the ranks,
rebuilding the regiment after Dieppe and training his men “to ensure that all ranks could
command even without higher authority.132 Despite the uncontrollable circumstances surrounding the failure of the Essex Scottish Regiment during Operation Atlantic, Young held
Macdonald accountable for the failure. Macdonald had been unfairly punished for circumstances he could not have avoided and was not recognized for his attempts to control the situation at large. This punishment for uncontrollable circumstances would later influence Macdonald’s emphasis on Meyer’s inability to control his men under controllable circumstances.
Macdonald sought to keep his position and wrote a memorandum to Major-General
Charles Foulkes “that explained how the circumstances had developed on 20-21 July and why he should be re-instated. Foulkes reviewed the memo on 28 July and decided to let things stand”.133
Macdonald then made an appeal to Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, but “in September when the appeal was to be heard, the decision had already been made to have him examine war crimes
131 War Diary, Essex Scottish Regiment, 22 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada. 132 Maker, 7. 133 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 456. 38
committed by German troops in Normandy and he was not to return to the Essex Scottish as an
active member”.134 Macdonald explained in a routine letter to his wife, Norma, that while his
appeal for the relief of his command of the Essex Scottish Regiment “was pending CMHQ in
London appointed me as Canadian member of a permanent court of inquiry operating under the
direction of…. SHAEF as is called it by Gen. Eisenhower’s HQ…”.135
If the Canadian military sent Macdonald home, it would have heightened the negative blow to his sense of masculinity. Robert England explains that a soldier “may have gone away a boy, immature, willing to be ordered about a little, falling into line with family standards of living, but he comes back a man…”.136 Going back a man meant to be successful during war, which Young accused Macdonald of failing at, meaning Macdonald would have returned home lacking the qualities necessary to fit into the military’s model of masculinity. Men on the warfront and men on the home front embodied different types of masculinity – “protectors and producers”.137 Normative Canadian masculinity favored “direct involvement with the war effort,” thus men who fell into the “protector” category as soldiers fit into the model slightly better than their “producer” counterparts, despite both groups contributing to the war effort.138 If
Macdonald returned to his career as a lawyer, being neither a protector or a producer, he would
no longer fit into the normative model of masculinity.
1944 was an especially important year as the Canadian government began to conscript
men for service due to high losses in battles. Conscription provided a limited number of
134 Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, (Walkerville Publishing: Windsor, 2006), 456. 135 A letter from Macdonald to Norma, 31 August 1944, MS 43 II-36, WMA, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 136 Robert England, Discharged: A Commentary on Civil Re-Establishment of Veterans in Canada, (Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada, 1943), 10-11. 137 Michael Brendan Baker, “Who’s on the Home Front? Canadian Masculinity in the NFB’s Second World War Series “Canada Carries On,”’ in Making It Like a Man: Canadian Masculinities in Practice, ed. Christine Ramsay, (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011), 40. 138 Baker, 43. 39
exemptions to people who could be labelled “intelligentsia”. This included schoolteachers,
clergymen, university professors and judges. However, those who were exempt based on that
category were “often associated with cowardice…and [produced] heightened suspicions about
men exempted on the basis of these fields of employment”.139 If the military sent Macdonald back home during such an important time where manpower was needed overseas it would have further tainted his image as a man. To be a coward meant a lack of strength and thus the presence of femininity. It was vital for Macdonald to deny this accusation of weakness to maintain his image of manliness. The denial of the feminine alternative and the transfer to SHAEF allowed
Macdonald to stabilize his damaged masculinity.
Being separated from the Essex Scottish Regiment, a group in which he identified and bonded with would have an effect on Macdonald’s identity. The Essex Scottish represented the ideal manhood and those in the group shared traits necessary of the normative masculinity. To no longer be accepted in the group meant that Macdonald lacked characteristics important to inclusion in the group. This was not the opinion of the men Macdonald commanded, it was the opinion of his superiors who decided to remove him from his command.
The decision to place Macdonald at SHAEF meant that his superiors still believed
Macdonald fit into an accepted model of manliness, just not as a soldier. Manliness in the Second
World War “was not just a matter of courage, it was a pattern of manners and morals”.140
Macdonald possessed morals that aligned with those of the Essex Scottish, but also of SHAEF.
By possessing these morals shared within the group, Macdonald’s masculinity would be influenced by the identity of the group.
139 Baker, 45. 140 George L. Mosse, Nationalism and Sexuality: Respectability and Abnormal Sexuality in Modern Europe, (New York, Howard Fertig, Inc., 1985), 13. 40
He wrote a letter to his men, “As your Commanding Officer I have been held responsible
for the failure of portions of ‘A’ and ‘B’ Coys to rejoin the unit during the night 20/21 JUL 44,
and as a consequence have lost my command… I cannot quarrel with an army practice which
holds a unit commander responsible for anything that goes wrong in his unit”.141 His dedication to his men is clear as he writes, “I hope you will let me continue to regard you as “my boys”, and to be of service to you collectively or individually whenever I can. I have done my best to serve you and my whole heart is, and always will be, with you and the Regiment”.142 Macdonald demonstrated paternalistic care in his letter, which indicated the significance of paternalism as an element of war time masculine identity. There is little to no evidence indicating how
Macdonald’s departing letter was officially received by his men. However, circumstantial evidence based on Macdonald’s postwar involvement with the regiment indicates that he was still a highly regarded member of the regiment and would have been missed.143
Macdonald showed prominence in Windsor as a lawyer and member of the Essex
Scottish Regiment and after the casualties on 20/21 July 1944, Macdonald tried to maintain his position. Macdonald did not want to return home to Windsor with the shame of the removal from his position as CO and with the blame of such devastating losses on his conscious. His masculine identity had been damaged and had to be regained. He had to get justice – for his fellow comrades and for himself. Newspapers from August to December 1944 do not discuss Bruce
Macdonald’s position at SHAEF as a result of losing his position as CO of the Essex Scottish
141 Correspondence from Lt. Col Bruce Macdonald to all members of the Essex Scottish Regiment explaining why he had been relieved of his command, 2 August 1944, MS 43 II/39, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, WMA, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregimentletters2.htm. 142 Correspondence from Lt. Col Bruce Macdonald to all members of the Essex Scottish Regiment explaining why he had been relieved of his command, 2 August 1944, MS 43 II/39, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, WMA, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregimentletters2.htm. 143 Text of a speech delivered by Bruce Macdonald on the trial of Kurt Meyer and his experiences serving in the Essex Scottish Regiment, 1951?, MS 43 VI 8, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Speeches6letters.htm. 41
Regiment. The Windsor Star relayed, “After taking the Windsor regiment to France Col.
[Macdonald] relinquished command to Col. Jones…”.144 The use of the word “relinquished” suggested that Macdonald voluntarily ceased to keep his position. In other newspaper articles,
“the battalion came under the command of Lt. Col. T. S. Jones, succeeding Lt. Col. B. J.
Macdonald who was taken for Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces Staff”.145 The true nature of Macdonald’s relief of command was not publicized which assisted in preventing further damage to Macdonald’s sense of manliness.
In August 1944, Macdonald became the Canadian representative on the SHAEF Court of
Inquiry.146 During his time at SHAEF, Macdonald travelled throughout Europe investigating reports of offences against Allied troops that had been taken prisoner by German Armed
Forces.147 The standing court investigated and reported on cases related to the 12 SS Division after Canadian bodies were uncovered at Authie/Buron, Chateau d’Audrieu and Mouen.148
SHAEF established the investigation to identify those who had been killed, establish the facts behind the events and possibly identify those responsible.149 In February 1945, Macdonald
144 Don Brown, “Eight Have Commanded Essex Scottish Regiment Since Its Mobilization,” The Windsor Star, 21 November 1945, 5. 145 “History of Essex Scottish Regiment a Glorious Story of a Fighting Unit,” The Windsor Star, 21 Nov 1945, page 6. 146 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Windsor Public Library, “Essex Scottish Regiment,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregiment2.htm.; On 13 February 1944, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had replaced and absorbed the planning group called the Chief of Staff Supreme Allied Command (COSSAC) that had been established in April 1943. It integrated U.S.-British organizations. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was designated as the Supreme Allied Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces and in January 1944 he also became the commanding general of the European Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA). SHAEF was located in London until August 1944, then moved to Versailles, France from August 1944 to May 1945 and relocated again to Frankfurt, Germany from May to July 1945. SHAEF missions were located in France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark and were not to interfere with military operations. On 14 July 1945, SHAEF was discontinued. 147 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8. 148 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 149 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 42
served as president of the court – a position that lasted six months as SHAEF disbanded on 14
July 1945.150 In late March 1945, Macdonald personally interrogated Kurt Meyer, commander of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the 12th Panzer Division, about the murder of Canadian prisoners of war, but Meyer denied any knowledge.151
Kurt Meyer ordered for the murder of Canadian POW. In his personal life, Meyer subscribed to Nazi ideologies early on and joined the Nazi party in 1930.152 Meyer joined the 22
SS Standarte on 15 October 1931 and quickly rose through the ranks. He took part in the annexation of Austria in 1938 and later in the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939.153 Meyer also led the 14th anti-tank company of the 1 SS Division (Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler) during the invasion of Poland. During the invasion, Meyer was alleged to have ordered the shooting of fifty Polish Jews as reprisals.154
After Poland, Meyer’s unit saw action in Holland and then in France. In April 1941,
Meyer led his unit in the invasion of Greece. In the winter of 1943 Meyer led his unit in the capture of Kharkov against the Soviets. When the Soviets later liberated Kharkov, thousands of soldier’s bodies were found, “revealing that they had been either shot out of hand or after capture
[and] Meyer observed, failed to stop, or instigated the killing of defenceless prisoners of war”.155
Patrick Brode also states that Meyer boasted about wiping out the town of Jefremovka, near
150 Windsor Public Library, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8. 151 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 152 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 86. 153 Capt. (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), 2. 154 Braham, 2. 155 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 6. 43
Kharkov, killing men, women and children.156 .157 In June 1944, the 12 SS went into battle in
Normandy against the Allies during Operation Overlord. During this time, the 12 SS murdered
Canadian prisoners of war. In August 1944, Meyer’s unit fought against the Canadians and
Americans at Falaise and made it out of the pocket.158 Partisans captured Meyer on 6 September
1944 and handed him over to the American forces.
Meyer believed in Nazism until his death. Margolian explains that “he saw war as something more than merely the means by which some military objective could be attained”.159
To Meyer, combat was a rite of passage and purification, as the battlefield acted as a “laboratory where Nazi theories of German racial supremacy could be put to the test”.160 Meyer dedicated himself to battle and “accepted that impending death in battle should be expected and perhaps embraced as a soldier…”.161 His belief in Nazi ideologies influenced his behavior at war as he led from the front and pushed himself and his men to the limit in rigorous training and risky battle maneuvers. Given his history and conduct during the war, he represents a likely perpetrator of crimes against Canadian prisoners of war.162
On 19 April 1945, the standing court, consisting of Colonel Paul Tombaugh, Lieutenant
Colonel Bruce Macdonald, Captain J.R. Gauthier and Lieutenant Colonel J.H. Boraston, wrote
and presented a report to SHAEF on the acts of brutality committed by the 12th SS division
156 Brode, 20. 157 Braham, 3. 158 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 11. 159 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 39. 160 Margolian, 39. 161 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 6. 162 For a fuller study on Kurt Meyer see Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), Capt. (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), and Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986). 44
against Canadians, but the report “presented little hard evidence and much conjecture about the
responsibility of certain commanders or officers”.163 However, Macdonald continued to search
for evidence and find those responsible for the murders.
After his dismissal as CO of the Essex Scottish, Macdonald “seemed doomed to return to
Canada as an ignominy”.164 Macdonald felt that returning to Canada “for “Adjutant General’s disposition”’ would have tarnished his reputation both within the military and as a civilian.165 In his letter to Lieutenant General Guy Simonds he wrote,
If this request cannot be granted, then in all fairness to my service and reputation both as a solider and a civilian I ask that I be given employment in my rank overseas if available. I trust that it will be remembered that my civilian occupation being that of a barrister and solicitor, it is of the greatest consequence to me that I return to the practice of my profession after the war, with at least as good a reputation as I went into the war. No occupation is more sensitive to clouds or reflections upon one’s good name, and you will appreciate that undeserved implications may well be drawn by civilians and military alike, which cannot very well be publicly discussed or denied.166
While Macdonald awaited a reply from General Simonds, SHAEF appointed Macdonald to be
the Canadian representative on the Court of Inquiry. Macdonald possessed skills and experience
in both his civilian and military life that made him the perfect candidate for the job. Brode
explains, “In group photographs of military units, Macdonald’s out-thrust jaw and wire-rimmed
glasses make him particularly conspicuous. His tenacious character would eventually justify his
selection…”.167 Here it is apparent that the model of masculinity of the Second World War
influenced the selection of Macdonald for the position as Canadian representative. It is noted that
163 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 164 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 11. 165 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 348. 166 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to Guy Simonds, 12 August 44, Library and Archives Canada, 3. 167 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 11. 45
Macdonald had a defined jaw, a physical characteristic that showed sternness and aesthetic
appeal. His wire glasses showed his age and his wisdom – a man in civilian life who dedicated
himself to justice as a lawyer, reading over pages of notes to defend clients. Being “sharply
dressed” was a physical reflection of the moral character of a man.168
Macdonald displayed his “tenacious character,” having lobbied to maintain his position
as CO of the Essex Scottish as he deemed his dismissal unfair. This tenaciousness would further
him in becoming the prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer. Tony Foster writes, “The army
couldn’t have picked a better man for the job than Bruce Macdonald”.169 Not only did
Macdonald practice law in civilian life, he also had experience overseas and had been commander of the Essex Scottish. Macdonald possessed the identity of a soldier, becoming the ultimate symbol of manhood of the time. He had a reputation as one of “the oldest [men] in the regiment and one of its toughest”.170
Macdonald’s masculine identity may have been damaged with his removal as commander
of the Essex Scottish, however, the characteristics in which he possessed remained unaltered.
Those same qualities he possessed before the war as a lawyer and during the war as a soldier
remained with him as he pursued a position as prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer. His moral
uprightness assisted in the reaffirmation of his sense of manliness as it stayed unwavering
throughout his life. Macdonald acted in accordance to his morals and beliefs – morals and beliefs
that aligned with the military and the state. “[M]en’s gendered identities were equated not only
with themselves as men but with a larger, seemingly ungendered category - …the nation”.171 For
Canada, a dominion of Great British and a young country at the time, it was vital to prove itself
168 Moss, 32. 169 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 348. 170 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 349. 171 Moss, 30. 46
as an independent, successful nation amongst other older, established nations during the war. The
Canadian government had to prove it wanted to be just, strong, and courageous and it required
Canadian men overseas to display such characteristics as a reflection of the nation. The military,
being a government institution and a reflection of society, recruited and trained men by such
standards. By acting in accordance to the beliefs of the nation and the military, Macdonald
performed masculinity that was accepted, normal and idealized during the Second World War.
The position allowed Macdonald to regain his masculine identity, although he remained frustrated with Brigadier Young for his dismissal.172 For the first time in history, the Canadian army, in collaboration with the United States and Great Britain, investigated atrocities committed against Canadian soldiers. Macdonald had been appointed to a position that allowed him to command in a way that he had done with the Essex Scottish, but also utilize his skills as a lawyer. The success of gaining the position as Canadian representative on the SHAEF Court of
Inquiry allowed Macdonald to gain justice for himself after being dismissed as CO of the Essex
Scottish, as well as gain justice for his comrades who had been murdered overseas. This assisted in regaining his sense of manliness.
Macdonald urged the Canadian government to establish their own investigation unit as
SHAEF dissolved in June 1945. In May 1945, the Canadian government established the No. 1
Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit (1CWCIU). Appointed Commanding Officer,
Macdonald lead the effort to find those responsible for the murder of Canadian prisoners of war and held the position until June 1946.173 Macdonald’s team consisted of investigators and legal
officers who had “jurisdiction to pursue and document all possible cases against Canadian
172 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 351. 173 WMA, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds [189-?]- 1986, MS 43, Acc. No. 1988/24, Paul Leatherdale, November 1997, Historical Note, 8 and Windsor Public Library, “Essex Scottish Regiment,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregiment2.htm. 47
service personnel in the European theatre of operations”.174 “The detachment operated in several teams of about five people each. These included linguists – German and one French. They acted both as official interpreters and investigators”.175 The task of the 1CWCIU “consisted of tracking
down witnesses who might be dispersed anywhere in Europe, including the Russian Zone, take
down depositions which would later stand up in court, and examine public records, and…
apprehend and deliver the suspected war criminal[s].”176
On 20 June 1945, SHAEF transferred all records relating to the Meyer case.177 In their search for witnesses, Macdonald and his investigators came up empty as men who had served with Meyer were unwilling to talk.178 Macdonald’s visits to prisoner of war camps in the United
States and Canada yielded a small number of reliable witnesses.179 This was a fairly common occurrence; Wady Lehmann, who worked in the No. 1 Canadian War Crimes Investigations
Unit, explained “Often we barely got a corroboration of the original testimony, which would bring the case to a dead end”.180
Margolian explains, “The creation of an independent Canadian war crimes unit was a
personal victory for Macdonald and a testament to his dedication to the memory of the murdered
POWs.”181 Being appointed CO of the 1CWCIU assisted Macdonald in regaining his damaged
174 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 175 Wady Lehmann, “Recollections Concerning Canadian War Crimes Investigations and Prosecutions,” Canadian Military History 11, 4 (2002), 72. 176 Wady Lehmann, “Recollections Concerning Canadian War Crimes Investigations and Prosecutions,” Canadian Military History 11, 4 (2002), 72. 177 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 178 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 179 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 180 Wady Lehmann, “Recollections Concerning Canadian War Crimes Investigations and Prosecutions,” Canadian Military History 11, 4 (2002), 72. 181 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 137. 48
sense of masculinity. The position of CO of the 1CWCIU meant Macdonald could take charge
and lead a group of men again and in a way make up to the men that were lost during Operation
Atlantic. He could lead this group into success by finding justice for the men who were murdered
by German forces. Although the Canadian military dismissed Macdonald from his position as
CO in the army, he would find himself in very important leadership roles outside of direct
command which would assist in boosting his sense of self and regaining his sense of male
identity. This victory for Macdonald demonstrated his dedication to serving justice.
The biggest break in the case came from a former SS man named Jan Jesionek, a Pole
who had been conscripted into the 12 SS Division.182 Jesionek told Macdonald that he had observed Meyer play a part in the murder of Canadian prisoners of war at the Abbaye d’Ardenne.183 This witness alongside captured records from the Division further suggested that
Meyer actually had counselled his troops to not take prisoners.184 On 28 October 1945,
Macdonald interrogated Meyer again and Meyer recanted his previous story.185 Instead of claiming he had no knowledge on the murder of Canadian soldiers, he instead claimed that around eighteen Canadian bodies had been found in the courtyard of Abbaye d’Ardenne and he had ordered an investigation into the matter.186 The investigation found a junior officer responsible for the murders, but that soldier had died in a subsequent battle.187 This change in
182 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 183 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 184 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 185 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 186 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 187 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 12. 49 story alongside the witness testimony of Jesionek and other documents gave Macdonald enough reason to wrap up investigations with the 1CWCIU and prepare for trial. Nearly a month and a half before Jan Jesionek stepped forward with information regarding Kurt Meyer, Macdonald wrote a private report to General Barker at SHAEF stating, “at the present time… the evidence in the opinion of the court is insufficient to ensure a conviction in a court of law against any of them. This is also true as to Meyer…”188 However, with Jesionek’s testimony, as well as medical examinations of remains and other eye witness testimonies, Macdonald had enough evidence to prepare for trial.
188 Letter from Macdonald to Barker, 7 April 1945, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 50
Chapter Three: The Trial
The decision to prosecute Kurt Meyer on charges of war crimes related to the murder of
Canadian prisoners of war in Normandy “required both public and government commitment,
new regulations and administrative arrangements prior to trial”.189 This was Canada’s first war
crimes trial. Canada had not been invited to participate in the diplomatic conference with France,
the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union that resulted in the Agreement of
London – in which “The Charter of the International Military Tribunal” was attached – in August
1945.190 Canada had not been to the meeting that established the London Agreement because the
government established the 1CWCIU on 4 June 1945. Canada established the 1CWCIU as an
independent apparatus to investigate war crimes committed against Canadian soldiers. Until that
point, Great Britain still represented Canada’s interests, reaffirming Canada’s “Dominion”
mentality.
Vincent Massey, Canada’s High Commissioner and Canadian representative on the
United Nations War Crimes Commission, advised that Ottawa follow suit, but at that time
Canada did not have “any acts or statutes allowing for the trial of war crimes suspects” and
Ottawa remained reluctant.191 Massey explained that one of the consequences of not adhering would be “Canada’s ineligibility to send official observers to the Nuremburg trial,” however;
189 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 190 Yuki Takatori, “’Little Useful Purpose Would be Served by Canada’: Ottawa’s View of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial,” in Transcultural Justice at the Tokyo Tribunal: The Allied Struggle for Justice, 1946-48, ed. Kerstin von Lingen, (Brill: 2018), 150. 191 Yuki Takatori, “’Little Useful Purpose Would be Served by Canada’: Ottawa’s View of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial,” in Transcultural Justice at the Tokyo Tribunal: The Allied Struggle for Justice, 1946-48, ed. Kerstin von Lingen, (Brill: 2018), 148, and Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 51
Macdonald did attend the trials “in strictly private capacity”.192 Louis St Laurent, the Secretary of State for External Affairs, noted “little useful purpose would be served by Canada adhering to this agreement and it is therefore very unlikely that adherence will come forward”.193 This stemmed from “a lingering ‘timid Dominion’ mentality – a self-perception that Canadians were too ‘reticent to engage with the world’ – and from a consciousness that an ocean separated it from the European theatre”.194 Prime Minister King also feared that Canadian involvement in international conflicts would reduce its autonomy.195
Canada “deemed the punishment of Japanese war crimes of greater importance” than the punishment of German war crimes and Canadian involvement in Japanese war crimes trials officially began on 18 October 1945.196 Japanese war crimes were deemed of greater importance because there had been a lack of reports of mistreated Allied POW in Europe – “[r]epatriated prisoners from Germany did not report any pattern of mistreatment” – and most of the incidents concerned the Japanese.197 Comparing the statistics of Canadian captured at the Battle of Hong
Kong in comparison to those captured at Dieppe in 1942, “1,699 men captured by the Japanese,
1,418 came home and 281 died in captivity, a mortality rate of nearly 17 per cent” compared to
192 Yuki Takatori, “’Little Useful Purpose Would be Served by Canada’: Ottawa’s View of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial,” in Transcultural Justice at the Tokyo Tribunal: The Allied Struggle for Justice, 1946-48, ed. Kerstin von Lingen, (Brill: 2018), 149. 193 Memorandum to the High Commissioner, 14 December 1945, Library and Archives Canada, RG 25/vol. 3182/ File 4896-40. 194 J. L. Granatstein, A Man of Influence: Norman A. Robertson and Canadian Statecraft, 1929-1968, (Deneau: 1981), 203 and Yuki Takatori, “’Little Useful Purpose Would be Served by Canada’: Ottawa’s View of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial,” in Transcultural Justice at the Tokyo Tribunal: The Allied Struggle for Justice, 1946-48, ed. Kerstin von Lingen, (Brill: 2018), 149. 195 Yuki Takatori, “’Little Useful Purpose Would be Served by Canada’: Ottawa’s View of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial,” in Transcultural Justice at the Tokyo Tribunal: The Allied Struggle for Justice, 1946-48, ed. Kerstin von Lingen, (Brill: 2018), 149. 196 Yuki Takatori, “’Little Useful Purpose Would be Served by Canada’: Ottawa’s View of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial,” in Transcultural Justice at the Tokyo Tribunal: The Allied Struggle for Justice, 1946-48, ed. Kerstin von Lingen, (Brill: 2018), 150. 197 Patrick Brode, , Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 32. 52
the “1,946 Canadians captured at Dieppe, 72 died in captivity, a mortality rate of only four per
cent: 1,874 came home”.198 An article in the Leader-Post, dated 30 April 1942, reported that “the
food situation at Hong Kong and Kowloon is “unsatisfactory,” and that medical services and
hospitalization there are “inadequate,” on the basis of reports received by the government”.199
When the trial of Kurt Meyer commenced, the correspondent for the Globe and Mail, opened an
article with “A story of sadism and mental torture that sounded like an oriental horror tale
entered the records today.”200 This comparison to an “oriental horror tale” exposes the emphasis
the Canadian government and the population put on Japanese war crimes.
With Canada’s decision not to participate in the Nuremburg trials, the Canadian
government had to act quickly to prosecute European war criminals. Due to his rank and the
extent of the alleged crimes, Meyer stood out as the most notorious war criminal for Canada
despite being a relatively minor offender in comparison to the military leaders being tried at
Nuremburg and Tokyo.201 “The charges brought against Meyer were traditional violations of the established laws of war governing armies on or near the battlefield,” whereas the charges against the SS officers at Nuremburg often had to do with atrocities against civilian populations.202 The
London Charter, which created the International Military Tribunal, categorized crimes as “crimes against peace,” “war crimes,” and “crimes against humanity”.203
198 Charles G. Roland, “On the Beach and in the Bag: The Fate of Dieppe Causalities Left Behind,” Canadian Military History, Vol 9, 4, (2000), 23. 199 Canadian Press, “Canadian Prisoners’ Food ‘Unsatisfactory,’” The Leader-Post, 30 April 1942. 200 Ralph Allen, “Lonely Walk of Canadians to Death Told,” Globe and Mail, 15 December 1945. 201 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 202 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 203 Theodor Meron, “Reflections on the Prosecution of War Crimes by International Tribunals,” The American Journal of International Law 100 (3), 2006, 564. 53
The British Attorney General in London offered to prosecute Meyer under a royal
warrant, which would have been issued under the prerogative of the Crown, with Canadian court
members present, but the Canadian government did not accept the offer.204 The case against
Meyer “fell within the limited mandate of the inter-departmental Canadian War Crimes Advisory
Committee, which had met sporadically in Ottawa since late 1943”.205 On 8 June 1945, Vincent
Massey notified the British Attorney General that the Canadians “were ready to prosecute SS
Divisional Commander Kurt Meyer and discussed procedure with him…”.206 “The Canadian
War Crimes Advisory Committee asked Brigadier Orde, the Judge Advocate General, to draw up comparable Canadian regulations for the War Cabinet’s consideration” because Canada had lacked the acts and statues necessary to prosecute war criminals.207 By July 1945, the Canadian government made little progress in drafting war crimes regulations and Macdonald took initiative yet again. He prepared his own draft regulations, submitted them to the panel and arranged meetings with government representatives. By mid-August, Macdonald’s efforts began to pay off as he presented a third draft to the Department of Justice. On 30 August 1945, the Governor in
Council passed the War Crimes Regulations under the authority of the War Measures Act and on
10 September 1945 the regulations were published.208
204 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 205 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 206 Diary, 8 June 1945, B87-0082, Massey Fonds, University of Toronto Archives. 207 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 208 W. J. Fenrick, “The Prosecution of War Criminals in Canada,” Dalhousie Law Journal 12, (November 1989), 288. 54
Canada’s war crimes regulations differed from the British regulations in several areas,
and Canadian officials “drafted them with the prosecution of Meyer and other members of the 12
SS Division specifically in mind”.209
[S]pecial allowances were made for the admissibility and consideration of evidence, especially in respect to witnesses who were dead, repatriated, or otherwise unavailable. Previous affidavits or written statements could be read into the record with limited or no cross-examination, and hearsay could be treated with equal weight to other evidence – a discretion left to the court members to decide.210
The Canadian regulations also included command responsibility, meaning that “evidence of war
crimes committed by subordinates in a formation or unit, either under the leadership or in the
presence of a single commander, as evidence of that commander’s responsibility”.211 The regulations on command responsibility were largely influence by Macdonald.212 The American
military tribunal which tried General Tomoyuki Yamashita from 29 October to 7 December 1945
for war crimes relating to the Manila massacre and atrocities against civilians and prisoners of
war in the Philippines brought the concept of command to the forefront of military and
international law. The American military tribunal charged General Tomoyuki Yamashita with
“unlawfully disregarding and failing to discharge his duty as commander to control the acts of
members of his command by permitting them to commit war crimes”.213 The court sentenced
Yamashita to death and later executed him on 23 February 1946. Thus, Macdonald’s introduction of command responsibility into Canadian war crimes regulations made it a new and controversial concept.
209 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 210 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 211 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 13. 212 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 14. 213 The United Nations War Crimes Commission, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, (His Majesty’s Stationery Office: 1948), 1. 55
Canada had never tried war criminals before, therefore never established war crimes
regulations established prior to 1945. However, bringing accused war criminals to trial prior to
World War Two had been done by other countries such as Great Britain. Yet war crimes
regulations never included command responsibility. Previously established military practices
identified that “a unit commander [is] responsible for anything that goes wrong in his unit…”.214
In Canada’s War Crimes Regulations “The commanding officer of any body of naval, military or
air forces having charge of an accused shall be deemed to be the commanding officer of the
accused for the purposes of all matter preliminary and relating to trial and punishments…”215
The idea of command responsibility held mixed reviews within the military. Stories circulated that Canadian troops murdered German POWs during the war, which caused many to believe that pursuing Meyer for the same crimes would be contradicting. Years after the trial, Harry
Foster, the president presiding over the court, admitted “We are all guilty. But the enemy appears more guilty than we because any evidence of our excesses remains buried safely behind our advance”.216 Some Canadian soldiers voiced their distaste of command responsibility in the
Maple Leaf, “the rap has been pinned on somebody. Are we each innocent little angels with
respect to the same charges…[?]”.217 Aware of the controversy behind command responsibility,
Macdonald wrote to Norma “The trial should be fair enough because each [member] will be
wondering whether we would like to be found guilty in the same circumstances”.218 He also
214 Correspondence from Lt. Col Bruce Macdonald to all members of the Essex Scottish Regiment explaining why he had been relieved of his command, 2 August 1944, MS 43 II-39, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Essexscotishregimentletters2.m 215 War Crimes Regulations (Canada) P.C. 5831, 30 August 1945, 6 (2) in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 61. 216 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 350. 217 “Our Opinion… And Yours,”The Maple Leaf, 11 January 1946. 218 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to Norma, 9 December 1945, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 56
cautioned Brigadier Orde, “some of whom are in your own branch…are opposed to the whole
principle…”.219
Brigadier Orde reviewed the abstract of evidence gathered by Macdonald and gave him
consent to proceed with the prosecution of Meyer as per the newly created war crimes
regulations. On 13 September 1945 Mackenzie King made a brief statement to the House of
Commons about the war crimes arrangements. Bruce Macdonald “actively lobbied Orde for the
job [as lead prosecutor]” and the government appointed it to him based on his familiarity and
long-term involvement with the murders in Normandy and the search for evidence against
Meyer.220 Macdonald proposed, “I trust I will not be considered immodest when I say that with my experience in these matters and with valuable civilian, legal as well as military experiences, I feel better equipped successfully to prosecute this particular case than some more brilliant counsel who is not so familiar with all the matters mentioned above”.221 After his selection he
wrote to his wife, Norma: “My opinion of Mackenzie King’s judgement is certainly high”.222
Captain C.S. Campbell and Captain D.G. Dean assisted Macdonald.223 Meyer’s defence counsel
consisted of Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Andrew.224 He served as the commanding officer of the
Perth Regiment and had combat experience in Italy and Holland.225
219 Letter from Macdonald to CMHQ and DAG, 6 November 1945, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 220 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 14. 221 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to Orde, 23 August 1945, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 222 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to Norma, 20 October 1945, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 223 Record of Proceedings (Revised) of the Trial by Canadian Military Court of S.S. Brigadefuhrer (Major-General) Kurt Meyer held at Aurich, Germany 10-28 December, 1945 in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 93. 224 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 14. 225 Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Andrew, like Macdonald, practiced law in civilian life. His assistant in the trial was Captain Frank Plourde of the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment. 57
Macdonald was determined to earn the job as lead prosecutor in the trial. To gain such a valuable position would affirm Macdonald’s sense of masculinity. His familiarity with the case based on his experience as a lawyer in his civilian life and as an investigator for SHAEF and the
1CWCIU provided him with the confidence to pursue the role as lead prosecutor. He had displayed qualities vital to the model of masculinity of the time in his previous roles by taking on leadership positions and searching for justice for his comrades. While no longer completely subscribed to the image of the soldier, the ideal masculinity, Macdonald still possessed parts of the identity as a soldier as he served with the Essex Scottish. Brigadier Orde and the Canadian government valued the soldier identity due to the normative masculinity associated with it. To be a man meant to be a soldier and Macdonald still shared the identity of a soldier in part due to his service with the Essex Scottish. For Macdonald to possess the identity of a soldier meant he shared characteristics and morals valuable to the group. A soldier in the Second World War possessed courage, selflessness, humility, integrity, confidence and passion. Furthermore, officers had to balance professionalism and paternalism when leading their men. For other
Canadian soldiers to unjustly die in the hands of Nazis did not sit well with Macdonald and his paternalism. Macdonald proved his confidence and passion to Brigadier Orde and the government through pursuing the role as lead investigator in the trial. From the moment
Macdonald joined SHAEF to the submission of war crimes regulation drafts he dedicated himself to proving his manliness and finding justice for the soldiers he considered surrogate children would allow him to do so.
The role of lead prosecutor provided Macdonald with the ultimate performance of his masculinity. Mark Moss explains, “Manliness became increasingly closely identified with the 58 defining images and ideals of the nation”.226 When the Canadian government chose Macdonald for the position it meant that Macdonald represented ideals of the Canadian state. As a representor of the Canadian state, Macdonald performed and would continue to perform his masculinity in ways that appealed to the institution. He possessed morals that aligned with the
Canadian government: being just, courageous, confident, passionate. It was important for
Macdonald to be the father figure for the Canadian soldiers who had been murdered by German forces: serving justice for those who could not obtain it themselves. This would prove that he cared about his fellow man and the nation as the Canadian state valued justice.
“Demonstrations of manliness could take any number of forms, from overt (the successful sportsman or businessman) to subdued (the ‘strong silent type’, the good soldier, the dutiful citizen)”.227 In his civilian life, he proved his manliness through being a dutiful citizen who successfully gained a name for himself in law. In war, Macdonald demonstrated to his men that he was a good solider, but his superiors did not agree. The failure to demonstrate his masculinity on the battlefield meant Macdonald had to gain it elsewhere and his opportunity arose with his positions at SHAEF and the 1CWCIU. The ultimate demonstration of his manliness would be in the trial of Kurt Meyer. The courtroom, Canadians and the rest of the world would be judges by which Macdonald would demonstrate his manliness. He would also be a judge of his own manliness; his success in the courtroom being a marker in how he adhered to the normative model of masculinity. If Macdonald failed in the courtroom it would not only be a representation of his failed sense of masculinity, but also a failure of the Canadian state to serve justice and gain respect on the international stage.
226 Moss, 29. 227 Moss, 30. 59
Ready for trial in early October 1945, Macdonald flew to Major-General Chris Vokes’
headquarters to acquire officers to sit on the court-martial. A pre-existing term made it
mandatory for soldiers of equal rank to sit on the court-martial and “finding sufficient Canadian
generals able to sit was difficult”.228 “Vokes offered Macdonald a selection of six brigadiers for court members and three major-generals for president”.229 The president presiding over the trial
was Major-General Harry Foster, the commanding officer of the 4 Canadian Armoured Division
and, most importantly, a senior Canadian officer of the same rank as Meyer. Major-General
Foster was Macdonald’s first choice.230 Additionally, he “had commanded the units which Meyer opposed at the time of the alleged killings”.231 The other four men constituted were Brigadiers.
Brigadier Ian Johnston commanded the 11 Canadian Infantry Brigade in the 5 Armoured
Division and practiced law in civilian life.232 Brigadier H.A. Sparling served in the Royal
Canadian Artillery in the 5 Canadian Armoured Division.233 Brigadier Henry Bell-Irving
commanded the 10 Canadian Infantry Brigade under Major-General Foster, and Brigadier J.A.
Roberts commanded the 8 Canadian Infantry Brigade in the 3 Canadian Infantry Division.234
Macdonald originally asked for Major-General Keefler to sit as a member, but Keefler objected
228 Capt. (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), 6. 229 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 456. 230 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 456. 231 Wady Lehmann, “Recollections Concerning Canadian War Crimes Investigations and Prosecutions,” Canadian Military History 11, 4 (2002), 74. 232 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 17 and Capt (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), 6. 233 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 17. 234 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 17. 60
and Brigadier Roberts took his place.235 The legal branch of the Canadian Army appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel W.B. Bredin to act as judge advocate due to his experience as a lawyer.236
On 31 October 1945, military aircraft escorted Meyer to Jever airfield in the Canadian
occupation zone of North-West Germany. Upon landing, a special convoy escorted Meyer to the
town of Aurich. Once in Aurich, Meyer was arraigned on five charges pertaining to alleged war
crimes committed in Normandy by the 12 SS Division in June 1944. A naval barracks was
converted into a courtroom for the proceedings. In November 1945, the government sent Wady
Lehmann to Aurich where he became “attached to Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Andrew as
interpreter for the defense of SS Major-General Kurt Meyer”.237 The trial began on 10 December
1945 after a delay at Andrew’s request to bring in more witnesses.238
During the Normandy Campaign, Kurt Meyer, commander of the 25 Panzer Grenadier
Regiment of the 12 Panzer Division, used Ardenne Abbey (Abbaye d-Ardenne) as the regimental headquarters as it allowed for a clear view of the battlefield.239 During battle, the SS took
Canadian soldiers as prisoners. On 7 June 1944, the day after the Normandy landings, the
infantry of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the tanks of the 27 Canadian Armoured
Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusiliers) led the advance and were counterattacked at Authie and
Buron by the 25 Panzer Grenadier Regiment. The Germans took prisoners and held 150 at
Ardenne Abbey.240 The Germans proceeded to ask “for ten “volunteers” and, when no one
235 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 456. 236 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xix. 237 Wady Lehmann, “Recollections Concerning Canadian War Crimes Investigations and Prosecutions,” Canadian Military History 11, 4 (2002), 73-4. 238 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 14. 239 Capt. (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), 4. 240 Vanessa McMackin, “Rearranged Snowdrops: The Construction of Memory at the Abbaye d’Ardenne,” Canadian Military History 20 (3), 2011, 33. 61 responded, chose ten soldiers randomly and took them into the stables”.241 The Germans questioned the prisoners and the men gave their “name, rank, and serial number – all that international law required”.242 After refusing to give any further information, a German soldier slapped Lieutenant Tom Windsor across the face and placed him with the original ten
“volunteers”.243 The German soldiers escorted the men into the garden at the Abbey and murdered them.244
The next day, “when the captors returned payroll books, some Canadians noted that no one claimed the books of those who had “volunteered”’.245 The Germans moved the remaining prisoners to Bretteville-sur-Odon.246 The murdered men of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders were Private Ivan Crowe, Private Charles Doucette, Corporal Joseph MacIntyre, Private
Reginald Keeping, and Private James Moss. The men of the 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment were Trooper James Bolt, Trooper George Gill, Trooper Thomas Henry, Trooper Roget
Lockhead, Trooper Harold Philip and Lieutenant Thomas Windsor.
On 8 June, members of the 12 SS Division murdered seven more prisoners of war from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. German soldiers escorted the men into the courtyard of the
241 Vanessa McMackin, “Rearranged Snowdrops: The Construction of Memory at the Abbaye d’Ardenne,” Canadian Military History 20 (3), 2011, 33 and Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “Abbaye d’Ardenne,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/second-world- war/france/ardenne. 242 Vanessa McMackin, “Rearranged Snowdrops: The Construction of Memory at the Abbaye d’Ardenne,” Canadian Military History 20 (3), 2011, 33. 243 Vanessa McMackin, “Rearranged Snowdrops: The Construction of Memory at the Abbaye d’Ardenne,” Canadian Military History 20 (3), 2011, 33 and Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “Abbaye d’Ardenne,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/second-world- war/france/ardenne. 244 Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “Abbaye d’Ardenne,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/second-world-war/france/ardenne. 245 Vanessa McMackin, “Rearranged Snowdrops: The Construction of Memory at the Abbaye d’Ardenne,” Canadian Military History 20 (3), 2011, 33. 246 Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “Abbaye d’Ardenne,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/second-world-war/france/ardenne. 62 abbey and searched them for rations and important documents.247 Afterwards, “a tall, blond officer approached the prisoners and started to interrogate them, hoping one would divulge more than the standard name, rank, and serial number,” but the Canadian prisoners of war refused to release any information.248 The officer became frustrated with the men and told them of their fate.249 German soldiers led the men to a small garden where they shot each individual man in the back of the head with a machine pistol.250 “After the first man went through, the rest assumed they would meet the same fate and shook hands with one another”.251
The men were Private Walter Doherty, Private Hollis McKeil, Private Hugh MacDonald, Private
George McNaughton, Private George Millar, Private Thomas Mont and Private Raymond
Moore.
Nine days later, on 17 June, Canadian soldiers Lieutenant Frederick Williams and Lance-
Corporal George Pollard went missing while patrolling the area and were assumed to have been murdered by German soldiers at or near Ardenne Abbey as members of the Regina Rifles liberated Ardenne Abbey and found the body of Lieutenant Williams on 8 July.252 The total number of Canadian prisoners of war murdered by the SS in Normandy is estimated to be 156
247 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 33. 248 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 33. 249 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 33. 250 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 33 and Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “Abbaye d’Ardenne,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/second-world- war/france/ardenne. 251 Record of Proceedings (revised) of the Trial by Canadian Military Court of S.S. Brigadefuhrer (Major-General) Kurt Meyer held at Aurich, Germany 10-28 December, 1945, Sixteenth Witness for the Prosecution PW 31G2901422, SS Sturmmann Jan Jesionek, being duly sworn, is examined by the Prosecutor, Lt-Col B.J.S. Macdonald, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 244. 252 Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, “Abbaye d’Ardenne,” modified 14 February 2019, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/second-world-war/france/ardenne. 63
total.253 At this time, Meyer had been in combat in an attempt to defend the road to Falaise. After
the Canadian assault on the Falaise pocket, Meyer and his men moved from the Falaise pocket
and retreated across the Seine River and into Belgium.254 On 6 September 1944, partisans captured Meyer in the Belgian town of Durnal and handed over to American forces disguised as a German Army captain, an attempt to hide his true identity.255 Until the trial began, Meyer
remained a prisoner of war.
The trial of Kurt Meyer began at 10:30 on 10 December 1945 in Aurich, Germany.256 At
10 o’clock the doors opened to allow German civilians entry: “[t]heir presence, the authorities felt, provided a sense of democratic legitimacy to the proceedings…[and] twenty seats in one row had been reserved for them exclusively”.257 Fifteen minutes later, the remainder of the
spectators entered, consisting of uniformed officers and enlisted men, official observers sent on
the behalf of governments, reporters (who were assigned a special press box) and others.258
Major-General Harry Foster nodded to Macdonald and Andrew for confirmation both
were ready to begin and stated “Bring in the prisoner!”259 Meyer entered the courtroom, escorted
by two officers of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, stopped before the bench, bowed his head and
took his seat in the prisoner’s box.260 Court reporters and interpreters were sworn in by
Lieutenant-Colonel W.B. Bredin and a member displayed a medical certificate that proved
Meyer was fit to stand trial. “The convening orders and certificate of the Judge Advocate-
253 Margolian, x. 254 Capt. (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), 5. 255 Capt. (N) Retired M. Braham, “Kurt Meyer Panzer Leader, War Criminal,” ed. Julia Beingessner, (The Friends of the Canadian War Museum, 18 February 2014), 5. 256 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xvii. 257 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xvii. 258 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xvii. 259 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xix. 260 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xix. 64
General of the Canadian army were read, and members of the court answered to their names in
turn”.261 Lieutenant-Colonel Bredin swore each member to judge the case fairly and maintain secrecy and afterwards Major-General Foster had him sworn to secrecy. Meyer then stood up and the court formally arraigned him. A second charge sheet accused Meyer of responsibility for the murder of seven more Canadian prisoners of war near Mouen on 17 June 1944 after he had become divisional commander of the 12th S.S.
Meyer plead not guilty to the charges and Macdonald rose to begin to outline his case.
Macdonald “rested his case upon Articles 23 (c) and (d) of the Hague Convention 1907
concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, Articles 2 and 5 of the Geneva Convention
of 1929 relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and Articles 1 and 2 of the Geneva
Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the
Field”.262 He also referred to “Amendment No. 12 (1929) of the Manual of Military Law”.263
“The Prosecution contended that Meyer was responsible, either directly or due to “wilful or criminal negligence and failure of the accused to perform his duties as commander of the troops concerned,” for the offences alleged in the first Charge Sheet”.264
Macdonald called twenty-nine witness to the stand and further evidence included a
variety of pre-trial statements, affidavits and extracts from the proceedings of a SHAEF Court of
Inquiry. Macdonald divided the evidence against Meyer into four parts. The first intended to
prove the inciting and counselling alleged in the First Charge. The second intended to prove the
261 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), xix. 262 Refer to Appendix A, B, C and D 263 Refer to Appendix E 264 Law-Reports of Trials of War Criminals, The United Nations War Crimes Commission, Volume IV, London, HMSO, 1948, Case No. 22 The Abbaye Ardenne Case Trial of S.S. Brigadefuher Kurt Meyer, accessed 9 March 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20001120002400/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/meyer.htm#2.%20THE%20CHARG E, 100. 65
shooting of prisoners of war by troops under his command in or near Buron and Authie alleged
in Charge Two. The third intended to prove the shootings at the headquarters alleged in Charges
Three to Five. The fourth intended to prove the giving of orders by the accused alleged in Charge
Three. The most damning of all the prosecution’s evidence the eyewitness testimony of Jan
Jesionek. Jesionek claimed that he heard Meyer issue orders “That no prisoners are to be
taken”.265 He also testified he saw corpses behind the courtyard wall.266
The defence’s evidence included using Meyer as a witness in which he denied ordering
troops to shoot prisoners and denied any knowledge that on 7 June 1944 Canadian prisoners of
war were shot at the Abbaye. He did claim “on the morning of the 10th June, two officers had reported that a number of dead Canadians had been found lying in a garden inside the headquarters. They had the impression that the Canadians had been shot. He went to the garden and when he found that their report was true he had been incensed.”267 He then gave orders to his
Adjutant to find out those responsible for the deed and ordered the Canadians to be buried.
Over a two-and-a-half-week period, Meyer appeared before the five military officers
selected to be judges. On 28 December 1945, Meyer was found guilty of the first, fourth and fifth
charges and not guilty of the second and third. Major-General Foster stated, “The sentence of
265 Record of Proceedings (revised) of the Trial by Canadian Military Court of S.S. Brigadefuhrer (Major-General) Kurt Meyer held at Aurich, Germany 10-28 December, 1945, Sixteenth Witness for the Prosecution PW 31G2901422, SS Sturmmann Jan Jesionek, being duly sworn, is examined by the Prosecutor, Lt-Col B.J.S. Macdonald, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 240. 266 Record of Proceedings (revised) of the Trial by Canadian Military Court of S.S. Brigadefuhrer (Major-General) Kurt Meyer held at Aurich, Germany 10-28 December, 1945, Sixteenth Witness for the Prosecution PW 31G2901422, SS Sturmmann Jan Jesionek, being duly sworn, is examined by the Prosecutor, Lt-Col B.J.S. Macdonald, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 244. 267 Law-Reports of Trials of War Criminals, The United Nations War Crimes Commission, Volume IV, London, HMSO, 1948, Case No. 22 The Abbaye Ardenne Case Trial of S.S. Brigadefuher Kurt Meyer, accessed 9 March 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20001120002400/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/meyer.htm#2.%20THE%20CHARG E, 103. 66
this Court is that you suffer death by being shot. The [findings] of guilty and the sentence are
subject to confirmation. The proceedings are now closed”.268
Macdonald emphasized command responsibility during Kurt Meyer’s trial. He opened
with the importance of the trial: “it is the first occasion, in the prosecution of war criminals, at
least in Europe, in which an effort will be made to establish, not only the immediate
responsibility of a high ranking officer, for atrocities committed under his order, but also his
vicarious responsibility for such crimes, committed by troops under his command, in the absence
of a direct order.”269 Macdonald explained Kurt Meyer’s responsibility as commander if the men in which he commanded had acted on the basis of “a known course of conduct and [an] expressed attitude of mind” on his part and further responsible if he had failed to exercise “that measure of disciplinary control over his officers and men which it is the duty of officers commanding troops to exercise”.270 He expressed that Meyer had minimal control over his men –
a key element of the wartime masculine identity in the Second World War. Just years prior,
Macdonald had been relieved of his command based on accusations that he “failed to exercise
control over his unit during the time they were engaged with the enemy…”271 If Macdonald could be blamed for the failure of the unit at Verrières Ridge just years prior, certainly the
Canadian military could place a greater emphasis of responsibility on Kurt Meyer’s inability to practice control over his men as they committed acts of murder.
268 Record of Proceedings (Revised) of the Trial by Canadian Military Court of S.S. Brigadefuhrer (Major-General) Kurt Meyer held at Aurich, Germany 10-28 December, 1945. in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 520. 269 Opening Address of the Prosecution, Lt-Col. Bruce J. S. Macdonald, 10 December 1945, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007). 270 Opening Address of the Prosecution, Lt-Col. Bruce J. S. Macdonald, 10 December 1945, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007). 271 Officer’s Confidential Report, Brigadier Young, 28 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada, 1. 67
To Canadians, Kurt Meyer did not only represent the “evil Nazi”, he represented manliness opposite to the hegemonic masculinity that Canadian soldiers represented. The
Canadian military emphasized self-control in their men, balancing the display of emotions with strength and courage, and Kurt Meyer lacked self-control - key element of the ideal masculinity emphasized by Canadian institutions. During World War Two, nation and masculinity correlated and for Canadian men being masculine was a representation of the nation. Meyer represented
Germany, a nation corrupted by Nazi ideologies. Canadian newspapers used the term “Hun” in reference to the Germans, a derogatory nickname that emphasized the savagery of the German forces. The barbaric German nation stood opposite to the civil Canadian nation. If Canada was civil, its men possessed qualities important to a civil nation and performed masculinity accordingly, thus German soldiers – including Meyer – did not perform masculinity in the same way.
However, Meyer would be recognized as a good soldier later during his imprisonment and his war experiences would be utilized by the Canadian government. Before and during trial, some Canadian citizens and servicemen recognized Meyer to be a good soldier, meaning they believed he possessed similar qualities to Canadian servicemen. While there is no denying that
Meyer succeeded in his career as an officer and in battles, his lack of self-control and irresponsibility as an officer meant that he did not act according to gender norms preferred by
Canadian institutions. Macdonald admitted that Meyer would be useful to the Canadian military due to his success in battles, but his success did not pardon the actions he had been accused of. In his own work he wrote, “He can be an eloquent and persuasive leader, and he can use his powers in that direction to effect, either in harmony with Western aspirations for his country or with 68 those of the Communists”.272 Being successful in battle did not equate to possessing qualities of manliness respected by Canadian institutions.
Macdonald further accentuated the importance of serving justice, something integral to his character; “I submit that…we cannot regard with equanimity the escape from conviction and punishment because of the technical rules of evidence of nine out of every ten war criminals brought to trial… What must be done here is nonetheless British justice, if it merely reduces the chances of the guilty to escape, and is thereby more efficient”.273 He did not hesitate to remind the court of the victims, “It is for us, who have been spared their fate, to see that those who committed these foul murders are found, and when they are, that they receive that justice which we owe to their victims, and those dear to them…”274 If Macdonald could gain justice for the murdered POWs, it would prove his competency in his abilities as a leader allowing him to gain justice for himself and heal his damaged wartime masculine identity. Macdonald did not doubt
Meyer’s proficiency, but he did criticize it. Unknowingly, this critique of Meyer’s leadership equated to a critique of masculinity. Throughout the trial Macdonald highlighted qualities crucial to the wartime model of masculinity, which included being a competent leader who could maintain control over those he commanded, as well as being just. Those qualities resonated with
Macdonald and by proving Meyer’s inabilities to command his men Macdonald subconsciously justified his actions as a CO during Operation Atlantic in 1944.
272 Macdonald, 204. 273 Opening Address of the Prosecution, Lt-Col. Bruce J. S. Macdonald, 10 December 1945, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007). 274 Closing Address of the Prosecution, Lt-Col. Bruce J. S. Macdonald, 27 December 1945, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007). 69
Chapter Four: Post-Trial
After the trial, Bruce Macdonald contacted his old friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Lorne
Mcdonald, at CMHQ to see if the review of the trial and sentence had been reviewed. To his
surprise, the review had not been completed because the necessity of the review had not been
brought to anyone’s attention.275 “After some confusion, it was settled that Major-General Chris
Vokes…was commander of the Canadian army in Germany” and he had to complete the review.276 In the days following the conviction and closing of the trial, Meyer’s wife, his legal counsel and Wady Lehmann urged him to appeal the conviction. Section 12 of the war crimes regulations permitted Meyer the right to make an appeal.277
Kurt Meyer wrote an appeal for clemency with assistance from Dr. Wilhelm Schapp, a
German lawyer, and delivered to the headquarters of the Canadian Army of occupation at Bad
Zwischenahn.278 Brigadier Orde reviewed the trial and reported that the trial had been conducted properly.279 Major-General Chris Vokes initially denied the petition as there were already arrangements in place for a firing squad to execute Meyer.280 Meyer’s original conviction stated his execution on 7 January 1946, but on 5 January 1946 Vokes issued an order delaying Meyer’s execution in order to further review the trial and his sentencing.281 On 9 January 1946, Vokes
275 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 104. 276 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 104. 277 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 168. 278 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 102. 279 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 102. 280 Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris Madsen, 2000, “Justifying Atrocity: Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Andrew and the Defence of Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer,” in Canadian Military History Since the 17th Century: Proceedings of the Canadian Military History Conference, Ottawa, 5-9 May 2000, 553-564, National Defence, 2001, 561. 281 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 168. 70
met with High Commissioner Vincent Massey, CMHQ chief of staff Lieutenant-General J.C.
Murchie, Brigadier Orde and Lieutenant-Colonel W.B. Bredin.282 Ottawa also sent John Read, the legal adviser of External Affairs, to attend the meeting.283 During the meeting, “a consensus
arose that the sentence should be regulated by the degree of the commander’s accountability and
death would be justified only when he had ordered or condoned the war crimes”.284 Upon his second review, Vokes disregarded Jesionek’s testimony and concluded “nowhere…could I find that order [to shoot prisoners] to be proved”. Vokes commuted Meyer’s sentence from death to life imprisonment. On 13 January 1946 the government and CMHQ formally approved his new sentence and announced it to Meyer.285
Vokes’s commutation of Meyer’s sentence has been the focal point of the trial due to its
controversy. In his memoir, Vokes wrote that he commuted the sentence because he did not want
“to go to bed forever with his unwarranted death on my conscience”.286 During the meeting on 9
January 1946, Vokes had also raised the concern about British relations with Germany in the future if Meyer had to serve the original sentence.287 Historians have also thought that Vokes
commuted Meyer’s sentence because during the war he had ordered for the execution of German
prisoners of war in 1943, but his divisional commander intervened and prevented the crime from
occurring.288 This meant that if the orders had been carried out, Vokes could have been in the
282 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 105. 283 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 169. 284 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, (Toronto: The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, 1997), 106. 285 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 168. 286 Chris Vokes, Vokes, My Story, (Ottawa: 1985), 205-8 and Letter from Chris Vokes to I. J. Campbell, 15 May 1981, File “Biography – Vokes, Christopher,” Directorate of History and Heritage, Ottawa, Ontario. 287 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 169. 288 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 105. 71 same predicament as Meyer and facing a similar fate. Although Vokes never confirmed this reason, it is thought to have influenced his decision.
Major General Chris Vokes did not have any expertise in law. Vokes dedicated his life to the military, quickly moving to a senior position during the Second World War. “Vokes was a successful commander because he maintained a good balance between technical skills such as planning and directing operations and his ability to understand, motivate, and lead soldiers, and because his actions were guided by a sound philosophy of command based on personal leadership and teamwork”.289 Vokes made it very clear that he considered “men like Macdonald to be pathetic strivers, civilians in uniform, unfit to judge a fighting man such as Meyer”.290
Unaware that Macdonald had served as CO of the Essex Scottish during Operation Atlantic, he wrote in his memoirs that Macdonald “had never seen a shot fired in anger as far as I knew and
[he] knew nothing of battle”.291 While it is important not to undermine Vokes’ wartime experiences and his experience as Major General, it is equally as important not to undermine
Macdonald’s wartime experiences and his legal experiences. Macdonald’s experience and assistance in drafting Canada’s War Crimes Regulations provided him with supplementary knowledge on how Meyer had to be tried. Vokes, while having an understanding of military law, did not have the same level of understanding of the regulations drafted to deal with war criminals on the basis of command responsibility.
Vokes’ commutation of Meyer’s sentence undermined the findings of the trial and the foundation of the conviction. The court found Meyer guilty of the first, fourth and fifth charges
289 G. Christopher Case, “’The Fightin’est Canadian General:” Brigadier Christopher Vokes and His Approach to Military Command, June 1942- August 1943,” Master’s thesis, University of Ottawa, 2009, ii. 290 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 105. 291 Chris Vokes, Vokes, My Story, (Ottawa: 1985), 204. 72
and not guilty of the second or third, meaning it convicted Meyer for inciting and counselling
troops under his command deny quarter to Allied troops, “as Commander of 25 S.S. Panzer
Grenadier Regiment, was responsible for the killing of prisoners of war…when troops under his
command shot and killed seven Canadian prisoners of war [and] when troops under his
command killed eleven Canadian prisoners of war (other than those referred to in the Third and
Fourth Charges)… at his Headquarters at L’Ancienne Abbaye Ardenne”.292 During the meeting,
Vokes drew the groups attention to the effect Meyer’s original conviction could have “on superior commanders in any future war”.293 Vokes did not believe that fourth and fifth charges
had not been proved and “effectively dismissed all the evidence that the investigators had
accumulated over the past eighteen months”.294
The commutation of Meyer’s sentence from death to life imprisonment meant arranging where Meyer would serve his sentence. Military personnel flew Meyer from Germany to
England in January 1946 and where he stayed at the No. 4 Canadian Military Prison and
Detention Barracks in Reading. Later, the government transferred Meyer to the No. 3 Barracks at
Headley Down and on 24 April 1946 Meyer boarded the S.S. Aquitania to be transferred to
Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick, Canada because “existing laws did not permit prisoners of war to be incarcerated in the United Kingdom”.295 He arrived dressed in the uniform
of a Canadian private to avoid any commotion upon his arrival.296 During his imprisonment at
292 Law-Reports of Trials of War Criminals, The United Nations War Crimes Commission, Volume IV, London, HMSO, 1948, Case No. 22 The Abbaye Ardenne Case Trial of S.S. Brigadefuher Kurt Meyer, accessed 9 March 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20001120002400/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/meyer.hm#2.%20THE%20CH ARGE, 98-9. 293 Chris Vokes, Vokes, My Story, (Ottawa: 1985), 205. 294 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 106. 295 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 19. 296 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 107. 73
Dorchester Penitentiary, Meyer “got along well with the other prisoners… read voraciously, and
studied the English language” and eventually obtained a position at the prison library cataloguing
books.297 However, being in prison took a toll on both his mental and physical health.298 Shortly after his arrival, Fritz and Ina Lichtenberg, a German couple who had learned of the trial in a local newspaper, befriended Meyer.299 They were well-off and had no children and “their concern for a countryman imprisoned in a foreign land impelled them to seek him out”.300 The
Lichtenbergs decided to adopt the Meyers and help them to the best of their abilities.301
Macdonald believed that he, himself, had played a vital role in the commutation of
Meyer’s sentence. In his work, Macdonald wrote:
I became concerned as the date of execution approached that no action had been taken pursuant to Regulation 14 for the theatre commander to review the sentence. It was not obligatory that he should, but no doubt afterwards it would be thought to have been desirable in justice to the accused, I had assisted in the drafting of the Regulations in Ottawa. In fact, this particular Regulation, if I recall correctly, was my own idea.302
Ian Campbell explains, “While Macdonald only did what his conscience told him was right and
proper, there would later be many who wished he had kept his mouth shut”.303 The commutation
of Kurt Meyer’s sentence made the Canadian public unhappy and would continue to carry mixed
emotions about Meyer until his death.304 Macdonald expressed his role in the commutation of
297 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 20 and Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 181. 298 Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 20. 299 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 501. 300 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 207. 301 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 501. 302 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 197. 303 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 153. 304 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015). 74
Meyer’s sentence in an interview with Patrick Brode: “it was only by, I would say, my intervention that he wasn’t executed”.305
Regardless of the situation, Macdonald firmly believed in justice. Bruce Macdonald emphasized the significance of the role of justice in his sense of masculinity. Macdonald worked the case since SHAEF invited Canadian officials to participate. He assisted in drafting the regulations and saw that procedures were to be followed through with after the trial and conviction. Although Meyer’s conviction had changed from a death sentence to life imprisonment, Macdonald still believed that justice had been served as the trial commenced fairly and justly and they had punished a criminal. This meant that Macdonald proved that he could successfully lead. He gained justice for the POWs that had been murdered, inherently meaning he gained justice for the men he had lost while fighting in Normandy, which meant he gained justice for himself and his damaged wartime male identity. Macdonald’s defining moments were drafting the regulations and being Chief Prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer as it allowed him to serve and gain justice. Macdonald’s engagement in activities with the purposes of serving justice were a continuous pattern throughout his life.
These patterns of behavior confirm an attempt to conform to societal expectations of men. “The concept of “manliness” constitute[s] a culturally constructed “gender ideal,” a particular set of traits [are] held to constitute manhood”.306 In the Second World War, being masculine meant to possess militaristic traits because being successful in war was vital to the success of the Canadian state on the international stage. Even after the war, Canada needed to prove it could stand independent of Great Britain and make decisions in law without the
305 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 41. 306 Mike O’Brien, “Manhood and the Militia Myth: Masculinity, Class and Militarism in Ontario, 1902-1914,” Labour/ Le Travail 42 (1998), 119. 75
intervention of the mother country. Men, being at the forefront of the war, represented the nation
and its values. Men who conformed to normative hegemonic gender roles were courageous,
wise, experienced (in their civilian careers and in battle), responsible, confident and paternalistic.
Canadian soldiers were “citizen soldiers”, being equally as brave as the men who served during
the First World War, but with a more temperate, emotional sense of paternalism. Gender is
power and because “gendered identities were equated…[with] the nation”, men who performed
gender in a way that conformed to the form of hegemonic masculinity supported the power of the
nation.307 Canada valued justice and Macdonald represented manhood and the nation as he performed his masculinity as the lead prosecutor in the trial. The true nature of gender is a performance and Macdonald’s consistent dedication to justice became an act that defined his sense of masculinity. The conformation to a set of acts that displays the differences between the masculine and feminine, as well as the separation of hegemonic masculinity from other forms of masculinity assists in the security of gender identity.
With the commutation of Meyer’s sentence, Macdonald stepped up as a leader to check that the procedures had been done correctly in order to be just. Macdonald’s sense of masculinity included several different aspects, including physical appearance, experience and expertise for successful leadership in the military, responsibility, integrity, confidence, and paternalism. While
Macdonald maintained a physical appearance in accordance to expectations of wartime male identity, his superiors questioned that he obtained the characteristics vital to masculine identity.
This caused insecurity in Macdonald’s sense of masculinity because being a soldier was the ultimate symbol of manhood and Macdonald was no longer actively a soldier. Macdonald maintained the characteristics, morals and experiences he obtained during his service in the
307 Dummitt, 30. 76 military but displayed them differently with his positions at SHAEF and the 1CWCIU.
Macdonald’s role as the lead prosecutor in the trial confirmed his masculinity as he demonstrated his dedication to serving justice – a moral vital to the Canadian state. Despite being removed as
CO of the Essex Scottish, Macdonald’s consistent urging to serve justice to the murdered POWs demonstrated a pattern of behavior that attempted to conform to the expectations of a man during the war. His thoroughness, despite changing the outcome of Meyer’s conviction, further demonstrated that pattern of behavior and showed his commitment to his morals (and that of the
Canadian state) which affirmed his male identity. To Macdonald it was important to take the correct steps, even if it changed Meyer’s conviction, in order to serve justice. Macdonald’s consistent urging to serve justice to the murdered POWs demonstrated a pattern of behavior that attempted to conform to the expectations of a man during the war. His thoroughness, despite changing the outcome of Meyer’s conviction, further demonstrated that pattern of behavior.
The commutation of Meyer’s sentence did not sit well with Bruce Macdonald. In his own work, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, Macdonald explains,
I was disappointed that this view of his responsibility should have prevailed, and felt personally that the sentence of the Court should have been carried out according to orders. It seemed to question the usefulness of any effort to establish responsibility on any level above that of the actual perpetrator, and was discouraging to all of us who had laboured so arduously over a long period in the field of war crimes.308
His feelings about the commutation were reflected in note to Captain D.G. Dean: “you,
Campbell and myself will always have a clear conscience”.309 In a letter to Lieutenant-Colonel
Alexander P. Scotland, who interrogated Meyer before the arrangements for the trial, Macdonald wrote that the commutation of the sentence had been “disappointing as that action may be to
308 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 200. 309 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to Dean, 18 January 1946, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J.S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 77
those of us who had worked for so long a period to pin this responsibility where we know it
should properly rest”.310 Macdonald also vocalized his opinion of the commutation to his
superiors. In a report, in which Patrick Brode describes as scathing, Macdonald wrote: “The test
now laid down to determine the degree of accountability of a commander is a difficult one to
meet”.311
Macdonald’s entire wartime masculine identity had been challenged when his superiors
believed he had no control over his own emotions and therefore no control over his men during
Operation Atlantic. The military relieved Macdonald from his position as CO, which damaged
his sense of masculinity. He spent the remainder of the war and the period during Kurt Meyer’s
trial attempting to prove his characteristics were equivalent to the expectations of the model of
wartime masculine identity.
The behavior, attributes and roles associated with men and boys are constantly shifting
based on different cultures and times. Hegemonic masculinity represents a culturally idealized
manhood that was socially and hierarchically exclusive and in the Second World War the soldier
became the symbol of this ideal form of masculinity. Normative masculine behaviors, roles and
traits of soldiers in the Second World War were similar to that of soldiers who served in the First
World War. Soldiers were men who were strong, courageous, resolute and in control of their
emotions. These traits were not new to models of masculinity, but “goes back to the Greeks,
and… “is a deep-seated assumption of European philosophy”’.312 These traits were important for men in civilian life and on the battlefield and would maintain their importance during the Second
World War.
310 Letter from Macdonald to Scotland, 24 Jan 1946 , RG 24, Library and Archives Canada. 311 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 107. 312 Dummitt, 2. 78
However, the attributes associated with Canadian manhood shifted in the Second World
War. While the soldier remained the symbol of ideal masculinity, he no longer represented the
hardened, emotionless hero of the First War generation. Instead, the soldier took on a more
temperate, emotional, yet still controlled image of a friendly man-next-door. This resulted from
events and cultural shifts that took place between the First and Second World Wars. The elevated
international recognition of Canada as an independent nation from Britain resulted from
Canada’s contributions in the First World War. People still recognized their British roots, but
developed their own Canadian identity. Furthermore, men grew up in a time of economic
struggle after the end of the First World War and watched their fathers come home with physical
and/or psychological trauma that further prevented them from finding work. This created the
temperate citizen soldier of the Second World War. The societal acceptance of displaying
emotions while balancing control allowed officers to heighten their paternalistic care of their
men than in previous wars. This paternalistic bond became vital for the success of officers in the
Second World War.313 Macdonald’s paternalism would continue after his dismissal and assist in
the demonstration of his manhood.
There were several factors that caused the Essex Scottish to fail during Operation
Atlantic, but Brigadier Young held Macdonald (and only Macdonald) accountable for the failure.
Macdonald had been unfairly punished for circumstances he could not have controlled during
battle and could do nothing to change his punishment, whereas Meyer could have controlled the
circumstances in his brigade and the Canadian government reduced the severity of his
punishment. In Macdonald’s eyes, Meyer committed a much more serious crime as a commander
than he had during Operation Atlantic, yet the law did not hold him as accountable for the
313 Geoffrey Hayes, Crerar’s Lieutenants: Inventing the Canadian Junior Army Officer, 1939-45, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 2017), 62. 79 responsibility of the unit in the same way it held Macdonald. The responsibility of a commander for the actions of the group began as a controversy with Macdonald when he had been relieved of his command and remained a controversy even after Meyer’s trial had ended.
Meyer held different ideas about military leadership than Macdonald. Nazi Germany worked to create new gender norms during their time in power so that the German people and
Volk could remain pure and survive and flourish. Nicole Loroff explains, “According to Nazi ideology, manliness could not be ascertained through “virtues that could be expressed in ordinary life”’.314 Rather, manliness could only be achieved through heroic activities and was determined by a man’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good of the state. Similar to the
Canadian state, the soldier embodied the attributes and characteristics of the ideal man. However,
Canadian masculinity did not involve the pressure of fulfilment of racial duties that Nazi masculinity did. Macdonald’s wartime masculine identity incorporated elements of civilian life that Meyer’s did not. Meyer’s masculinity was maintained on the basis of being triumphant and heroic, something that the Canadian wartime model of masculinity shifted from during World
War Two. Canadian masculinity incorporated elements of civilian life and the citizen soldier emerged, whereas Nazi German masculinity valued the professional soldier as manliness could not be verified through regular civilian life.
At this time, CMHQ assigned Macdonald another senior prosecutor’s job in London against Brigadier J.F.A Lister, a Canadian soldier accused of grift.315 Macdonald considered this assignment a sort of punishment for expressing his feelings about the commutation of Meyer’s sentence.316 He wrote to Norma, describing his concern about the case, “everyone will be
314 Nicole Loroff, “Gender and Sexuality in Nazi Germany,” Constellations, 3, no. 1, (2012), 49. 315 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 494. 316 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 217. 80 watching this case and many will be hoping he gets off. If he is not convicted when he should be
Ottawa will be displeased, as they have evidently ordered the prosecution”.317 Macdonald made a name for himself as a successful prosecutor with his participation in the trial of Kurt Meyer. His wartime masculine identity had been redeemed as he obtained justice for the murdered Canadian
POWs. Yet again, Macdonald’s experiences made him the perfect man to prosecute Lister – he had experience in the military and in law and he had written a report to CMHQ criticizing the commutation of Meyer’s sentence. However, Lister’s case did not resonate personally with
Macdonald as it did not coincide with serving justice for his boys – he had already done that with
Meyer’s trial. Macdonald had to prove himself with Lister’s trial, although he had already proven himself with Meyer’s trial and knew that CMHQ had set him up for failure. Macdonald expressed, “It is most distasteful to prosecute a soldier whose war record is so glowing and whose service to the country earned such high recognition”.318 He did not believe that trying
Lister would be just.
He flew to Holland for the trial and Brigadier J.F.A Lister was found not guilty.
Afterwards, Lister celebrated at the officers’ mess champagne for everybody and Macdonald attended. His attendance at the celebrations “was brought up in the House of Commons where I was accused of complicity in the acquittal… That was the final straw. I told CMHQ that I’d had enough. I wanted out before any more bright ideas for prosecuting turned up”.319 Weeks later
Macdonald returned to Windsor to practice law.
317 Letter from Bruce Macdonald to Norma, 6 April 1946, Windsor Municipal Archives, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 318 “May 11 Brig. Lister Was Cleared By Inquiry,” The Windsor Star, 31 December 1946, 67. 319 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 494. 81
In February 1946 Macdonald attended the Nuremburg trials despite not having an official
role and “’was unofficially sponsored by both the British and Americans’”.320 Near the end of
February the 1CWCIU discovered the location of two medical officers Meyer alleged had first
told him of the Canadian bodies and although the Meyer case ended with his conviction,
Macdonald pursued the two medical officers for further information.321 Macdonald questioned
Dr. Erich Gatternigg in March in Salzburg, Austria and Dr. Erich Stift in May after being flown from Hungary to London.322 Both men denied any knowledge of the bodies, but Stift said that
“he had been in the same camp as Gatternigg at Linz and…Gatternigg said that he had seen such bodies and had “reported it to the Commander”’.323 Macdonald wrote, “I was inclined to believe
[Stift]…I came to the conclusion that Gatternigg knew that prisoners had been shot at the H.Q.,
knew or felt that Meyer was responsible… and…decided that the best course for him to follow
was to deny all knowledge of it”.324 He concluded, “Whatever view is taken, however, the evidence of these two witnesses does not support Meyer’s explanation nor absolve him from responsibility for what occurred on the morning of June 8th”.325 The questioning of the two medical officers after the trial of Kurt Meyer may not have been useful for the trial itself, but provided Macdonald with justification in the original sentencing of Meyer despite the commutation to life imprisonment.
The Meyer trial was the first Canadian war crimes trial, but it would not be the last.
Macdonald believed that “’new cases represent[ed] the next step by the people of Canada in their
320 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 112. 321 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 113. 322 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 69. 323 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 69. 324 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 70. 325 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 70. 82
effort to punish war criminals’”.326 As Macdonald closed his opening address at the trial: “If this trial is to serve its purpose as a deterrent for the future, so that if, despite our best efforts, war again should come to our nation and its forces, then it must serve as an object lesson of inexorable justice, effectively to restrain under battle conditions, all, no matter what their rank may be, who, even momentarily consider the murder of prisoners of war”.327
Pressure to disband the 1CWCIU had been felt prior to the trial of Kurt Meyer. In
November 1945, Brigadier W.H.S. Macklin, the deputy chief of staff at CMHQ, wrote to
Macdonald asking “for an estimate as to when 1CWCIU would be wrapping up its work”.328
Macdonald, in the midst of preparing for Meyer’s trial, replied in a shocked state that “he was in no position to provide a definitive time line for the termination of the unit’s operations” as the
1CWCIU still had eighty-one cases open and under investigation.329 Macklin set a termination
date of 1 May 1946 on the grounds that “after a year and a half of investigating, including 6
months by this large and expensive unit, we have so far succeeded in bringing one single
German to trial, and we are not at all sure that we are going to be able to hang him”.330 Macklin expressed his concern of successfully convicting Meyer just five days after the trial began. The legitimacy of command responsibility had been questioned and it continued to be questioned even after Meyer had been sentenced to death. As previously explained, Vokes did not believe
326 Major Frank Swanson, “Canada Prosecutes Slayers of Airmen in Nazi Regions,” Spectator, Hamilton, 11 January 1946. 327 Record of Proceedings (Revised) of the Trial by Canadian Military Court of S.S. Brigadefuhrer (Major-General) Kurt Meyer held at Aurich, Germany 10-28 December 1945., Case for Prosecution, Opening Address of the Prosecution, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 110. 328 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 171. 329 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 171. 330 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 172. 83
that Meyer, as a commander, could be held responsible for the deaths of the Canadian POWs and
commuted Meyer’s sentence to life imprisonment. This undermining of the findings of the trial
put further pressure on the 1CWCIU to disband.
After the commutation of Meyer’s sentence, Macdonald’s optimism that prima facie
cases against others existed had begun to diminish. Macdonald submitted a report to the adjutant
general days after the commutation of Meyer’s sentence and in his view “Vokes’
decision…could not help but have a deleterious impact on future trials…[and] there was no
choice but to close ‘a great many’ of the cases in CWCIU’s inventory”.331 The 1CWCIU that
Macdonald worked so meticulously on disbanded on 31 May 1946. Despite the closing of the
1CWCIU, Canadian involvement in international trials of suspected war criminals continued.
Macdonald returned to Windsor and to his wife, Norma, in July 1946. After his return to
Windsor, Macdonald joined the law firm of Robert Wilson and Gordon Thompson.332 At the
newly established firm, Macdonald did a lot of work in municipal law due to his pre-war
experiences as a barrister and solicitor.333 On 4 November 1946, the Sandwich, Windsor &
Amherstburg Railway Company appointed Macdonald as their solicitor.334 In 1950, while still working at the firm, the Ontario government appointed Macdonald “County Solicitor and I acted for a number of other municipalities and in addition to that the firm had a large insurance company practice so I appeared in a great many negligence actions in the courts, where the
331 Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), 174. 332 Windsor Public Library, “Legal Career,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Legalcareer4.htm. 333 Bruce Macdonald, “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview by Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 46. 334 B-law from the Sandwich, Windsor & Amherstburg Railway Company naming Bruce Macdonald as the company's solicitor, November 4, 1946, MS 43 IV- 1/24, Windsor Municipal Archive, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fond, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 84
insurance companies were represented”.335 During this same time, a Committee appointed
Macdonald counsel and “asked for an Inquiry into the operations of the Metropolitan General
Hospital”.336 As a result of Macdonald’s investigation into the administration at the hospital, “the superintendent at the hospital was fired and…the Board was reorganized”.337
In April 1951, the government appointed Macdonald Crown Attorney and Clerk of the Peace in and for the County of Essex and the government tasked him with the restoration of justice in the corrupted Windsor Police Department and the courts.338 He opposed plea bargains because he believed they “[lead] to unequal justice”.339 For Macdonald, a man whose identity rested firmly upon being just and serving justice, accepting a plea bargain would not be just as there would be a possibility for the defendant to not be held completely responsible for their crimes. His experience of being held accountable for the failure of the Essex Scottish during Operation
Atlantic and the commutation of Kurt Meyer’s sentence influenced this mentality.
These events influenced Macdonald’s life and identity to such a degree that they would influence his decisions years after the war and trial were over. Macdonald, although not responsible for the events that occurred during Operation Atlantic, the military relieved him from his position of CO, and he maintained his belief in the injustice of it. Macdonald also believed in the injustice of the commutation of Meyer’s original sentence, as he believed he had sufficient evidence to prove his guilt. Macdonald saw the commutation of Meyer’s sentence as an insult to the justice system as the government did not hold Meyer accountable for his actions.
335 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,46. 336 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,47. 337 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,47. 338 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 48. 339 Alan Henderson, “Judge always turned adversity to advantage,” The Windsor Star, Windsor, 3 December 1977. 85
Accountability, responsibility and justice were vital attributes of Macdonald’s identity and
something he believed others should uphold, which is why he denied plea bargains. In his own
work, Macdonald stated “I have not changed my personal opinion of the correctness of
[Meyer’s] original sentence. It was logical, judicial and just”.340 Macdonald stood by the work that he had done and the original sentence, which had also reaffirmed Macdonald’s wartime masculine identity.
The creation of the citizen soldier in World War Two allowed for the possibility of a smoother transition into society as soldiers returned home from the war. The Canadian military selected, trained and shaped men to possess and display hegemonic masculine characteristics that were ideal in both times of war and times of peace. The ideal “man [was] one capable of leading in war, government, or industry”.341 After the Second World War, there were attempts to re- establish the traditional gender hierarchy through an emphasis of the modernity of men and their rationality.
Macdonald’s sense of masculinity would continue to be secure in the postwar years as the rise of modernism influenced the importance of gendered ideas such as “expertise, instrumental reason, [and] stoical self-control” grew in significance.342 Institutions throughout Macdonald’s
life emphasized those traits. Pressure to fit into the hegemonic masculine form “came from
numerous different sources: the family, the church, the school, the various levels of government,
the playing field, the press, even the toy shop”.343 The years after World War Two “represented the high point of the modernist project in Canada”.344 Modern values became linked to manliness
340 Macdonald, 205. 341 Moss, 57. 342 Dummitt, 2. 343 Moss, 3. 344 Dummitt, 3. 86
and it “privilege[ed] certain kinds of men by linking them with the dominant spirit of the
times”.345 However, at the same time there was an underlaying fear of modernism in postwar
years. Men “tried desperately to hang on to their traditional roles of bread-winners, providers,
and citizen-soldiers” as they feared modernity would render them unnecessary.346 This
paradoxical relationship with modernity stemmed from the argument that “various features of
modern life – from bureaucratic rationality to suburban living – harmed an allegedly primal
masculinity”.347 Men had to maneuver around traditional hegemonic masculine traits and modern hegemonic traits and find a balance that would allow them to conform to hegemonic masculine ideals. Macdonald possessed expertise, reason and self-control, as well as integrity, accountability, determination and passion. The way in which Macdonald performed masculinity privileged him in postwar years because the traits he possessed were valued in modernism and the state valued modernism.
While Macdonald’s life appeared to be quiet, the tension growing between the United
States and the Soviet Union began to come to a head and Kurt Meyer would soon become national headlines again. Kurt Meyer’s newfound knowledge on the English language provided him with the abilities to write letters to his family, but also to prominent Canadians. He wrote to
Colonel Andrew, his lawyer during the trial: “’I greet you in the certainty that our peoples and our Nations will one day work and agree together against communism’”.348 He also wrote to
Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the Canadian Minister of Justice, the Red Cross and Major-
General Harry Foster, but “It was still too soon to be asking for a reassessment. Passions needed
345 Dummitt, 3. 346 Moss, 15. 347 Dummitt, 5. 348 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 499. 87
time to cool”.349 Furthermore, Europe, the Unites States and Canada’s fear of communism spreading from the Soviet Union had not yet become a bigger concern than serving justice to
Nazi war criminals and Kurt Meyer remained behind bars. The Lichtenbergs hired H.P.
MacKeen, “one of the finest lawyers in the Atlantic provinces,” to represent Meyer. However,
“there were no ready avenues of appeal [and] MacKeen waged a limited war in the press by encouraging writers to comment on the ‘injustice’ of Meyer’s conviction”.350
As Cold War tensions heightened, the possibility of Meyer serving the rest of his
sentence in Germany seemed to be more of a possibility. However, the controversy that the
Meyer trial had developed in 1945 had not yet diminished and public protest followed.351 Protest of his commutation in 1946 turned into protest of his petition for clemency in July 1949. Many people in the Maritime provinces had ties to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and “feelings ran high for several years”.352 With the help of his two lawyers, “[Meyer] offered himself as a professional soldier with many years of experience for service with the United Nations or
Canada” in his petition.353 On 8 December 1950 Meyer signed the petition, but the government
did not pardon or commute his sentence.354
However, the petition highlighted the fact that Meyer was the only German war criminal
serving his sentence outside of Germany and his lawyers used it to help plead Meyer’s case.
349 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 499. 350 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 207. 351 Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris Madsen, 2000, “Justifying Atrocity: Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Andrew and the Defence of Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer,” in Canadian Military History Since the 17th Century: Proceedings of the Canadian Military History Conference, Ottawa, 5-9 May 2000, 553-564, National Defence, 2001, 562. 352 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 157. 353 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 157. 354 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 158. 88
Meyer assisted the National Defence HQ with “tactical recommendations for the Canadian army
based on his experience fighting the Russians”.355 National Defence HQ removed Meyer from
Dorchester, “issued [him] a Canadian army uniform and taken to critique army manoeuvres. His
perceptive appraisals gained him the respect of Canadian officers”.356 This further assisted his petition for clemency. MacKeen “investigated the rules and methods under which the trial had been conducted and found them repugnant and contrary to the basic concepts of jurisprudence”.357 He also emphasized that German war criminals convicted by the United States
and Britain were carrying out their sentences in Germany and “were being given time off for
good behaviour and paroled” – and Meyer demonstrated good behaviour during his stay at
Dorchester.358
At this point, Cold War tensions had heightened, and Canada attempted to develop a stable relationship with West Germany as a way to gain a political ally in an age of international tension. By 1948, fear of communism had been firmly rooted in the West and “the girding for battle behind American leadership began”.359 The fear of communism allowed Canada to
establish multilateral relationships with the United States, Great Britain and Western Europe.
Canada did not join the anti-Soviet alliance through coercion on the behalf of the United States,
but rather “with its own calculations of interest in mind”.360 Canada sought to continue in establishing itself as an independent country apart from Great Britain and “exercise a safe and modest role” on the international stage.361
355 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 506. 356 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 207. 357 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 505. 358 Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, (Midland, Ontario: Methuen Publications, 1986), 505. 359 Denis Smith, Diplomacy of Fear: Canada and the Cold War 1941-1948, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988), 5. 360 Smith, 8. 361 Smith, 4. 89
As early as 1944, Canada sent investigators to Europe “for the purpose of examining
German science, technology, factories, plant, and equipment that might become available to
Canada through the war reparations programme”.362 Other countries conducted similar investigations of German science and technology in an attempt to advance their own societies.
Canada’s search operated on two levels: one directly operated by the Canadian government and the other were collaborative efforts with the United States and Great Britain, for example the
Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee (CIOS). However, the war reparations programme was not as successful as the Canadian government had anticipated. The formation of
NATO in 1949 confirmed Canada’s commitment to the Cold War and its alliance with the
United States. With Canada’s membership in NATO, Canada became closer to West Germany and recognized that it would be in their best interest to foster a relationship with West Germany in order to “contain the alleged communist menace both abroad and at home”.363 In order for
Canada to establish relations with West Germany, “the criminalization of aggressive war was soon subsumed by the diplomatic considerations of the Cold War”.364
The Canadian government decided to send Meyer to Werl, Germany to continue his
sentence, but not to have his sentence pardoned. On 19 October 1951, military personnel
removed Meyer from Dorchester and flew him to Werl, Germany.365 The Canadian government
made this move in an attempt to “facilitate relations with West Germany”.366 As Lisa Goodyear
362 Steven T. Koerner, “Technology Transfer from Germany to Canada after 1945: A Study in Failure?" Comparative Technology Transfer and Society 2, no. 1 (2004), 99. 363 Dummitt, 9. 364 Brode, 199. 365 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 209-10. 366 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 38. 90
concluded in her work: “Canada was not willing to strain its relationship with West Germany to
keep Meyer in prison for a few more years”.367
Bruce Macdonald “had no qualms about the validity of Meyer’s conviction”.368 On 3
December 1951, Macdonald and Clarence Campbell issued a statement about Meyer’s
conviction and release. Macdonald recognized that the Canadian government would release
Meyer due to growing international tensions with the Soviet Union. Thus, he issued a statement
with Clarence Campbell restating his belief that Meyer’s trial had been conducted fairly and he
stood by the original sentence, but it would only be appropriate to release Meyer if he were to
serve in a NATO army “to spare the lives of other young Canadians which may be lost in another
war… I would gladly support his complete release in these dangerous times for that reason
alone”.369 The government decided to release Meyer on a political basis, not a legal one and
regardless, Meyer remained guilty.
Meyer’s supporters argued that he should be released “as the threat of communism grew
and West Germany became an ally”.370 Others did not agree and the response to Meyer’s release
“remained strong and divided throughout the entire affair”.371 Meyer’s release became a consistent topic in House of Commons debates in December 1951 and “the Canadian government had decided against [Meyer’s] release as requested in a petition from his Canadian lawyers and that, consequently, there could be no question of his release on bail pending
367 Lisa Goodyear, “In the Name of Justice or Finding a Place: Canadian war crimes prosecutions at the end of the Second World War,” Master’s thesis, Royal Military College, 2002, 84. 368 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 211. 369 “Crown Scans Meyer Case,” The Windsor Daily Star, 3 December 1951. 370 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 35. 371 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 43. 91
consideration of the said petition”.372 However, this did not end the debate surrounding the release of Meyer from prison and discussions continued on both the national and international levels. In 1952, the German government issued a list of war criminals they wanted released and
Meyer’s name appeared on the list.373 On 18 April 1953, Prime Minister St. Laurent and Dr.
Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, discussed the notion of a
Canadian sitting as the United Kingdom representative on the Mixed Clemency Board for the
review of the Meyer and Neitz cases.374 “[T]he idea of using an independent tribunal offered an intriguing way to create a buffer between the intractable Meyer problem and the Canadian government”.375
On 24 August 1953 the Canadian government “approved the proposal that the Meyer and
Neitz cases be reviewed by the Consultative Mixed Board to be set up in the United Kingdom
Zone of Germany, provided that a Canadian observer is present at the proceedings when these
cases are reviewed”.376 In September 1953, the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable
Brooke Claxton, commissioned Brigadier Sherwood Lett as Canada’s observer of the Mixed
Consultative Board (British Zone) in Bonn.377 The official board consisted of five members: two
British, two German and a chairman appointed by Britain’s high commissioner. While the board
372 Top Secret, Cabinet Conclusions, Ottawa, 20 December 1951. Cabinet Defence Committee; report in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 607. 373 Peter Kikkert, “Kurt Meyer and Canadian Memory Villain and Monster, Hero and Victim or worse – a German?” Canadian Military History 21, no. 2 (2015), 40. 374 Secret Notes on Canadian-German Conversations, Visit of Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany, to Ottawa, 18 April 1953, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 618. 375 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 213. 376 G.C. Crean, Office of the Canadian High Commissioner, London, to P.F. Hancock, Foreign Office, London, 24 August 1953 in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 624. 377 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 160. 92
could make recommendations for the reduction or complete termination of sentences, Lett could
only observe and did not express an opinion. In a report issued on 26 November 1953, the Board
“unanimously recommend that Meyer’s sentence should be reduced to imprisonment for 14
years”.378 Brigadier Lett submitted this recommendation to Defence Minister Claxton, in which
Claxton accepted it. The Defence Minister then submitted the recommendation to the Governor
General on 15 January 1954.379 The Governor General approved the recommendation, and
Meyer had his sentence reduced to fourteen years for good behaviour and time served in custody
before his trial. On 7 September 1954, Kurt Meyer walked free from prison.
Later in September 1954, Bruce Macdonald published his own book about the trial,
entitled, The Trial of Kurt Meyer.380 He believed “facts had been so garbled in the press that I thought for purposes history somebody ought to get the record straight”.381 He wrote realistically about Meyer’s release:
He can be an eloquent and persuasive leader, and he can use his powers in that effect, either in harmony with Western aspirations for his country or with those of the Communists. He is still a Nazi, however, and their influence on Western Germany is an unpredictable one… We can only hope that we may not unwittingly release one who can be a menace to future good and peaceful relations in the world. Perhaps we overestimate his potentialities. But I do not think so.382
It is clear that Macdonald viewed Meyer’s release as unjust. Aware of the international political
climate and the growing Cold War tensions, Macdonald knew the political nature, not legal
nature, behind Meyer’s release. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Macdonald asserted his
378 Mixed Consultative Board Case Report and Recommendation: Kurt Meyer, 26 November 1953, in Kurt Meyer on Trial [A Documentary Record], eds. P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Chris M. V. Madsen, (Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2007), 628. 379 Patrick Brode, Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements: Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948, (The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 1997), 213. 380 “The Fly Leaf,” Globe and Mail, 4 September 1954. 381 Macdonald, Bruce. “Interviews with The Osgoode Society,” Interview with Patrick Brode, 29 September 1984, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 43. 382 Bruce Macdonald, The Trial of Kurt Meyer, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1954), 204-05. 93
opinion of Meyer’s release, stating “His release at this time can be justified on the basis of
international political expediency only”.383 He continued to stand by the original sentencing: “On
the basis of justice, however, Meyer was never entitled to any reduction in the sentence
originally imposed or as subsequently reduced”.384
Bruce Macdonald’s wartime sense of male identity had been damaged with his dismissal as CO of the Essex Scottish Regiment after the failure during Operation Atlantic. His superiors did not believe that Macdonald embodied attributes vital to the model of wartime masculinity of the period and thus he lacked the capability of being a good commander. During battle
Macdonald exhibited nervousness, appearing to have little control over his own emotions and as a result little control over his men. Macdonald viewed the accusation as an attack on his character and his masculine identity and needed to redeem himself. He also needed to find justice for his “boys” that had been killed, injured or missing during Operation Atlantic, as his superiors showed determination in seeking justice for his “boys”. While he could not convince CMHQ to keep his command, he moved to SHAEF to investigate allegations of war crimes against
Canadian soldiers. It would be in this position as an investigator that Macdonald would correlate his Essex Scottish boys with the Canadian POWs murdered by German forces. Becoming an investigator at SHAEF (and later the 1CWCIU), assisting in drafting Canada’s first war crimes regulations and becoming Chief Prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer, Macdonald could serve justice for the murdered Canadian POWs, his boys and himself.
This success had allowed him to regain his wartime masculine identity as he gained respect from his men, his superiors and fellow Canadians. Macdonald continued to stand by
Meyer’s original sentence, which meant he stood by both the justice for the murdered soldiers
383 “Macdonald Calls Meyer’s Release Political Move,” Globe and Mail, 7 September 1954. 384 “Macdonald Calls Meyer’s Release Political Move,” The Globe and Mail, 7 September 1954. 94 and their families and the personal justice he had gained for himself. Meyer’s release simply reaffirmed Macdonald’s sense of manliness as he continued to proclaim his belief in the original sentence.
Macdonald’s redeemed wartime masculine identity lay in the justice served during the trial of Kurt Meyer. He maintained his belief in the original sentence because it had reaffirmed his sense of manliness. Macdonald’s male identity relied strongly on the principle of justice –
Macdonald experienced both justice and injustice throughout his life and became determined to seek it out for himself and others.
A letter from Arthur J. Orford, the father of Douglas Sumner Orford, a soldier who had been murdered while in custody further confirmed Macdonald’s sense of masculinity. Mr. Orford wrote to Macdonald after Meyer’s release and expressed his thanks to Macdonald for the work he had done in the trial and for stating his view of Meyer’s release. He wrote, “Again I thank you for your outstanding disapproval of this man’s release, and I trust that Nemesis will one day correct this cruel wrong”.385 It is apparent through this letter that people viewed Macdonald as the defender of justice and that with Meyer’s release an injustice had been committed. Orford recognized that through his “out-spoken report,” Macdonald had upheld Meyer’s original sentence – which had been just. Macdonald’s sense of masculinity had been confirmed as others recognized him for believing in the original sentence, a sentence they believed the justice of.
Macdonald’s life became quiet after the turmoil surrounding Meyer’s release. Macdonald continued to search for justice in his own work. He worked as Crown Attorney for Essex County until October 1961, when he became the Judge of County and District Courts of Ontario.386 Just
385 Letter from Arthur J. Orford to Bruce Macdonald, 15 September 1954, MS 43 I 3/2- II, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 386 Windsor Public Library, “Legal Career,” Bruce Macdonald: The Macdonald Papers, 2001, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Legalcareer4.htm. 95
two months after Macdonald’s appointment to Judge of County and District Courts of Ontario,
Kurt Meyer died of a heart attack on 23 December at the age of 51.387
Macdonald also involved himself with his community. He became a member of several clubs and organizations and often invited to give speeches. Macdonald delivered a series of speeches to a variety of people, clubs and groups in his later life. His speeches typically highlighted his participation in the Essex Scottish Regiment and his role in the trial of Kurt
Meyer. These speeches gave Macdonald another platform to express his belief in Meyer’s original sentence. By continuing to speak on the matter, Macdonald secured his wartime male identity that had been temporarily damaged with his dismissal as CO in July 1944. In one speech, given to a group of people in or who had served in the military, Macdonald continued to express his support of the Essex Scottish, praising them for their “efficiency” and “regimental spirit”.388
This showed Macdonald’s continued paternalism in the regiment and confirmed his wartime masculine identity.
Bruce John Stewart Macdonald died at the age of 83 at home on 2 June 1986.
387 Ian Campbell, Murder at the Abbaye: The Story of Twenty Canadian Soldiers Murdered at the Abbaye d’Ardenne, (Ottawa: The Golden Dog Press, 1996), 172. 388 Text of a speech delivered by Bruce Macdonald on the trial of Kurt Meyer and his experiences serving in the Essex Scottish Regiment, 1951?, MS 43 VI 8, Bruce J. S. Macdonald Fonds, Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, http://projects.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/macdonald/Speeches6letters.htm. 96
Conclusion
Conformation to the model of masculinity present in the Second World War played a vital role in Bruce Macdonald’s life (which would inherently influence the ways in which
Canadian war crimes regulations were established after World War Two). During World War
Two, the Canadian military bred a specific idea of masculinity based on a variety of physical and non-physical characteristics. Unlike the image of the hardened war hero produced during World
War One, the model of masculinity during the Second World War emphasized a more temperate image of the man-next-door. This model of masculinity required men to have expertise, experience and nerve, and the capability of showing just the right amount of emotion. Too little emotion made a man distant and detached, while too much emotion emasculated a man. Being capable of showing and controlling emotions became critical for men conforming to the model of masculinity of the time. This emotional vulnerability fostered a sense of paternalism between officers and their men. Officers who established a provisional father-son relationship with their men were more successful than those who did not.
Bruce Macdonald conformed to the model of masculinity in World War Two.
Throughout his early years, Macdonald’s parents exposed him to ideas of justice and assisting those in need. Both parents worked in the healthcare industry and provided assistance to the sick and injured. They also raised Macdonald in the Presbyterian church, which meant that
Macdonald observed servitude from childhood. The Presbyterian church is led by a group of elders that other members seek guidance in. Macdonald later became an elder figure for the men he commanded in the Essex Scottish to look to for guidance in training and in battle. While
Macdonald did not follow his parents into a career in the healthcare industry, he assisted others when he pursued a career in law. Macdonald would not know it at the time, but his dedication to 97
justice would push him to the forefront of law making in post-war years. Macdonald possessed
intelligence, determination, a belief in justice, and passion about his work – displaying qualities
vital to the model of masculinity of the Second World War.
Macdonald possessed valuable experience as a leader through his work as a lawyer in his
civilian life. After his enlistment in the Essex Scottish Regiment, Macdonald quickly moved up
the ranks and became CO of the regiment. Physically, he embodied the ideal masculine image of
the time – his hair short and well styled, he wore glasses which symbolized experience and
wisdom and he had a moustache which intensely symbolized manhood. Upon his appointment to
CO, Macdonald established paternal relationships with his men, going so far as to create a
contest for the platoons with the highest level of deportment, training and morale. Regarded as
one of the sternest COs in the regiment, Macdonald knew to balance that sternness with
compassion. When chaos ensued during Operation Atlantic, Macdonald toured the companies in
an attempt to calm their nerves and seek food and equipment for his men in order for them to
return to the lines the next day. This simple act of compassion and sternness proved Macdonald
embodied the ideal masculinity of the time.
However, Brigadier Young’s report on the operation damaged Macdonald’s masculine
identity. Young wrote that Macdonald “seemed to have lost complete control and was himself in
a very excited and nervous condition”.389 Self-control equated to manliness and having lost his,
Macdonald no longer possessed a vital characteristic of the model of masculinity of the Second
World War. Young’s report caused Macdonald to be dismissed from his position as CO, which did not sit well with Macdonald. Macdonald made it his duty to seek justice for himself and for his men killed during Operation Atlantic. His appointment as Canadian representative on the
389 War Diary, 6 Canadian Infantry Brigade, 20 July 1944, Library and Archives Canada, Laurier Military History Archive, http://lmharchive.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/6th-Canadian-Infantry-Brigade2.pdf. 98
SHAEF Court of Inquiry, then appointment as CO of the 1CWCIU provided Macdonald with a newfound purpose – seeking justice for Canadian soldiers murdered by German forces. In those positions Macdonald demonstrated that he possessed expertise, experience and determination – elements crucial to the model of masculine identity of World War Two.
As investigations died down, countries united on the international stage to indict and convict war criminals on charges of crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Belligerents during the Second World War were bound by previously established laws, regulations and treaties, namely: the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Geneva
Conventions of 1864, 1906 and 1929. The Canadian government had been uncertain about becoming involved with international lawmaking in fear of losing autonomy gained through confederation in 1867. Additionally, the government considered Japanese war crimes of greater importance as they had a lack of reports of mistreated Allied POW in Europe and Canadians
“suffered more at the hands of the Japanese”.390 Macdonald refused to let the work the 1CWCIU get buried under the Canadian government’s uncertainty pertaining to trying war criminals.
Macdonald, displeased with the government’s lack of urgency to establish regulations, prepared and submitted his own to the war crimes advisory panel. Without Macdonald’s dedication to seeking justice, Canada’s War Crimes Regulations would not have been devised in the manner they were. Macdonald’s personal experiences influenced how he drafted war crimes regulations
– specifically the concept of command responsibility.
CMHQ held Macdonald personally responsible for the failure of the Essex Scottish
Regiment during Operation Atlantic and they relieved him of his position as CO. Having been held responsible for uncontrollable circumstances caused Macdonald to seek justice – both for
390 W. P. McClemont, “War Crimes Trials: Criminals Brought to Justice,” Canadian Army Journal 1, no. 3 (1947), 16-20. 99
himself and for his men killed and missing in action. Macdonald’s appointment to Canadian
representative of the SHAEF Court of Inquiry provided him with a stepping stone into regaining
his damaged masculine identity. His determination to establish a Canadian investigation unit and
his appointment as CO further assisted in regaining his damaged sense of manliness. He regained
a position of leadership which allowed him to inherently seek justice. To hold Macdonald
accountable for uncontrollable circumstances meant to hold Kurt Meyer accountable for
controllable circumstances would be just in Macdonald’s view. Furthermore, previously
established military law held commanders responsible for the actions of the unit, so the concept
lacked originality.
All of Macdonald’s experience as a lawyer, officer and investigator made him just the
right man to be Chief Prosecutor in the trial of Kurt Meyer. He retained values of justice
throughout his life and stayed determined to seek it until his death. The paternal instinct
Macdonald gained from being CO did not diminish after his relief of command. His own search
for justice assisted in his search for justice for his own men and the murdered POWs. Through
proving Kurt Meyer’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for inciting troops to murder Canadian
POWs Macdonald could finalize the regaining of his damaged sense of masculinity. By doing so,
Macdonald gained justice for himself and his male identity, as well as for his fellow Canadian
soldiers.
After the trial, the government commuted Kurt Meyer’s sentence to life imprisonment,
then in 1954 released Meyer from prison. Macdonald’s masculine identity remained grounded in
seeking justice and the commutation and subsequent release of Meyer reaffirmed the sense of manliness Macdonald regained during Meyer’s original conviction. Macdonald stood by Meyer’s original conviction and knew that his release had positioned itself in political gain, not in law. 100
Macdonald’s life after Kurt Meyer’s release became quiet as he maintained a career in law.
Influenced by Meyer’s trial, he denied plea bargains as he saw them as unjust. He stayed involved in his community in Windsor and within the military community, giving speeches on his experiences in battle and in the courtroom, which allowed him to continuously affirm his sense of masculinity.
The trial of Kurt Meyer is an understudied moment in Canadian history. It is important in both national and international contexts. The trial was the first in Canadian history to try an accused war criminal on the basis of command responsibility. By understanding Bruce
Macdonald and his experiences it provides a better understanding of how Canadian war crimes regulations were established and implemented in the trial of Kurt Meyer as well as the aftermath of the trial. Without Macdonald’s determination to seek justice for himself and others, Canadian war crimes regulations would not have been implemented in the manner in which they were, in term leaving Cana behind while other countries dominated international law making and politics.
While the trial of Kurt Meyer is small in comparison to the Nuremburg and Tokyo trials, it provided Canada with the necessary leverage needed to prove it could be an independent international power. The trial may not have been perfect, but it provided a foundation in which
Canada could learn and grow from in law and politics. The trial of Kurt Meyer was both
Canada’s and Bruce Macdonald’s defining moment.
While the purpose of this MRP is to understand the vital role Macdonald played in the trial of Kurt Meyer based upon his experiences in the continuous development of his masculine identity, it is important to contextualize him as a human being. I do not wish to define
Macdonald as a one-dimensional figure as it would be static and prevents the organic opportunity of change that occurs throughout one’s lifetime. As much as Macdonald influenced Canadian 101
war crimes regulations, they equally influenced him. His role in the trial would continuously
influence his life until his death. While this paper highlights his contributions to Canadian law
and history – something that most people do not get the opportunity to contribute to directly –
Macdonald ultimately was an ordinary man with ordinary beliefs. He was a man dedicated to serving justice, a concept and a value familiar to the majority of people. He was a lawyer. He was an officer. He was a son and a brother. He was a devoted and loving husband. He had hobbies and interests and friends. He succeeded and he failed, just like everybody else. His perceptions of self-development, changed and grew throughout his life. Bruce J. S. Macdonald was an ordinary man who participated in an extraordinary event.
102
Appendix A
Law-Reports of Trials of War Criminals, The United Nations War Crimes Commission, Volume IV, London, HMSO, 1948, Case No. 22 The Abbaye Ardenne Case Trial of S.S. Brigadefuher Kurt Meyer
The Accused, Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, an Officer in the former Waffen S.S., then a part of the Armed Forces of the German Reich, now in the charge of 4 Battalion, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Canadian Army Occupation Force, Canadian Army Overseas, is Charged With:
FIRST CHARGE: COMMITTING A WAR CRIME, in that he in the Kingdom of Belgium and Republic of France during the year 1943 and prior to the 7th day of June, 1944, when Commander of 25 SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, in violation of the laws and usages of war, incited and counselled troops under his command deny quarter to Allied troops.
SECOND CHARGE: COMMITTING A WAR CRIME, in that he in the Province of Normandy and Republic of France on or about the 7th day of June, 1944, as Commander of 25 S.S Panzer Grenadier Regiment, was responsible for the killing of prisoners of war, in violation of the laws and usages of war, when troops under his command killed twenty-three Canadian prisoners of war at or near the Villages of Buron and Authie.
THIRD CHARGE: COMMITTING A WAR CRIME, in that he at his Headquarters at L’Ancienne Abbaye, Ardenne in the Province of Normandy and Republic of France on or about the 8th day of June, 1944, when Commander of 25 S.S. Panzer Grenadier Regiment, in violation of the laws and usages of war gave order to troops under his command to kill seven Canadian prisoners of war, and as a result of such orders the said prisoners of war were thereupon shot and killed.
FOURTH CHARGE: COMMITTING A WAR CRIME (Alternative to Third Charge), in that he in the Province of Normandy and Republic of France on or about the 7th day of June, 1944, as Commander of 25 S.S Panzer Grenadier Regiment, was responsible for the killing of prisoners of war in violation of the laws and usages of war, when troops under his command shot and killed seven Canadian prisoners of war at his Headquarters at L’Ancienne Abbaye Ardenne.
FIFTH CHARGE: COMMITTING A WAR CRIME, in that he in the Province of Normandy and Republic of France on or about the 7th day of June, 1944, as Commander of 25 S.S. Panzer Grenadier Regiment, was responsible for the killing of prisoners of war in violation of the laws and usages of war, when troops under his command killed eleven Canadian prisoners of war (other than those referred to in the Third and Fourth Charges) at his Headquarters at L’Ancienne Abbaye Ardenne.
CHARGE: COMMITTING A WAR CRIME, in that he in the Province of Normandy and Republic of France on or about the 17th day of June, 1944, as Commander of 12 S.S. Panzer Division (Hilter-Jugend), was responsible for the killing of prisoners of war in violation of the laws and usages of war, when troops under his command killed seven Canadian prisoners of war at or near the Village of Mouen. 103
Appendix B
Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Hague, 18 October 1907.
Art. 23. In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden
(a) To employ poison or poisoned weapons; (b) To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army; (c) To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down his arms, or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion; (d) To declare that no quarter will be given; (e) To employ arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering; (f) To make improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy, as well as the distinctive badges of the Geneva Convention; (g) To destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war; (h) To declare abolished, suspended, or inadmissible in a court of law the rights and actions of the nationals of the hostile party. A belligerent is likewise forbidden to compel the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the belligerent's service before the commencement of the war.
104
Appendix C
Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 27 July 1929.
Art. 2. Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, but not of the individuals or formation which captured them. They shall at all times be humanely treated and protected, particularly against acts of violence, from insults and from public curiosity. Measures of reprisal against them are forbidden.
Art. 5. Every prisoner of war is required to declare, if he is interrogated on the subject, his true name and rank, or his regimental number. If he infringes this rule, he exposes himself to a restriction of privileges accorded to prisoners of his category. No pressure shall be exercised on prisoners to obtain information regarding the situation in their armed forces or their country. Prisoners who refuse to reply may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasantness or disadvantages of any kind whatsoever. If, by reason of his physical or mental condition, a prisoner is incapable of stating his identity, he shall be handed over the Medical Service.
105
Appendix D
Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 27 July 1929.
Article 1. Officers and soldiers and other persons officially attached to the armed forces who are wounded or sick shall be respected and protected in all circumstances; they shall be treated with humanity and cared for medically, without distinction of nationality, by the belligerent in whore power they may be. Nevertheless, the belligerent who is compelled to abandon wounded or sick to the enemy, shall, as far as military exigencies permit, leave with them a portion of his medical personnel and material to help with their treatment.
Art. 2. Except as regards the treatment to be provided for provided for them in virtue of the preceding Article, the wounded and sick of an army who fall into the hands of the enemy shall be prisoners of war, and the general provisions of international law concerning prisoners of war shall be applicable to them. Belligerents shall, however, be free to prescribe, for the benefit of wounded or sick prisoners such arrangements as they may think fit beyond the limits of the existing obligations.
106
Appendix E
Amendment No. 12 (1929) of the Manual of Military Law
12. “Lawful command” means not only a command which is not contrary to the ordinary civil law, but one which is justified by military law; in other words, a lawful military command to do or not do, or to desist from doing, a particular act. A superior officer has a right at any time to give a command, for the purpose of maintenance of good order, or the suppression of a disturbance, or the execution of any military duty or regulation, or for any purpose connected with the amusements and welfare of a regiment or other generally accepted details of military life. But a superior officer has no right to take advantage of his military rank to give a command which does not relate to military duty or usages, or which has for its sole object the attainment of some private end. Such a command, though it may not be unlawful, is not such a lawful command as will make disobedience of it an offence under the Act. In other words, the command must be one relating to military duty, that is to say, the disobedience of it must tend to impede, delay or prevent a military proceeding.
107
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