"You'll Get Used to It!": the Internment of Jewish Refugees in Canada, 1940–43

"You'll Get Used to It!": The Internment of Jewish Refugees in Canada, 1940–43 by Christine Whitehouse A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2016, Christine Whitehouse Abstract After the fall of France in 1940, when German invasion of the British Isles seemed imminent, some 2000 Jewish refugees from Nazi oppression were detained by the British Home Office as dangerous "enemy aliens" and sent to Canada to be interned for the duration of the war. While the British government admitted its mistake in interning the refugees within months of their arrest, the Canadian government continued to keep them behind barbed wire for up to three years, reflecting its administration's anti-semitic immigration policies more broadly. Instead of using their case as a signpost in Canada's liberalizing immigration history, this dissertation situates their story in a longer narrative of class and ethnic discrimination to show the troubling foundations of modern democracy. As one tool in the nation state's normalizing project, incarceration attempted to mould the Jewish men in the state's eye. How the refugees pushed back in a joint claim of selfhood forms the material basis of this study. Through their relationship with the spaces of internment, work and leisure, sexual desire and gender performance, and by protesting governmental power, the refugees' identities evolved and coalesced, demonstrating the fluidity of modern selfhood despite the limiting power of nationhood. The internees' evolving sense of self played a large role in their experience and the development of their collective postwar narrative which trumpets their own success in Canada; while the state differentiated them from its own citizenry, the Jewish refugees pushed back in order to be seen as valuable contributors to the national body. Consequently, their collective memory of internment as a continuation of that project and, finally, as evidence of its fulfillment constitutes a critical part of internment history. By broadening the framework of Jewish internment during WWII, a pattern of differing and detaining under the mores of modern democracy emerges. ii Acknowledgements The journey to completion took some unexpected twists and turns, so I am indebted to those who helped me in myriad ways to see this project through. The History Department at Carleton University was very supportive and accommodating when I decided to change research topics more than two years into the program. It was partly due to coursework and faculty members' innovative approaches to studying the past that I was motivated to make the switch. I am especially grateful for the support of my supervisor Dr. Jennifer Evans who continued to act as mentor even as the project drifted thematically from her own research interests. Her critical eye has undoubtedly made me a better historian over the course of my graduate studies. Dr. Rhonda Hinther agreed to come on board as co-supervisor to help flesh out the Canadian side of the project in my final year. However, her role quickly grew as she helped me navigate the transition from PhD to life, connecting me with various networks. In addition to the guidance of my co- supervisors, I was fortunate to have several faculty members from outside History take an early interest in my work. Thanks especially to Drs. Deidre Butler and James Casteel for their insightful feedback. I would like to thank the organizations whose financial support made days spent in the archives researching and writing a little less stressful. In addition to Carleton University, I would like to acknowledge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Government of Ontario, the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, the German Historical Institute, and the Ontario Jewish Archives. The staff of the various archives that I visited contributed to my research in innumerable ways. Thanks especially to Melissa Caza of the OJA, Janice Rosen of The Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives, Jaleen Grove of The Cahén Archives, and Ed Cassie of the N.B. Internment Camp Museum who all went out of their way to help me. I've been fortunate to meet some amazing young scholars throughout my graduate studies at Carleton and by participating in various workshops and fellowships. While their feedback on early drafts of my work helped me to develop and clarify my arguments, I am especially grateful for the colleagues turned friends. I first met Dr. Jane Freeland six years ago when we took a directed reading course together and quickly became one another's sounding board. Thank you Jane for your support and for sharing so much of this experience with me. While I was in Berlin, I was very fortunate to get to know Dr. Jennifer Rodgers and Sean Rupka who each helped keep me sane during a stressful period of my life. I'm thankful you both allowed me to speak so candidly with you. At Carleton University, the 'German History Salon' proved not only productive, but a much needed source of camaraderie. Thanks to its members, Alex Wilkinson, Emmanuel Hogg, Erica Fagen, and Meghan Lundrigan for sharing your insights and, more often than not, a bottle or two of wine. My graduate experience was greatly enriched because I was a member of "Jen's army." Similarly, I was extremely lucky to enter Carleton as a Master's student in 2010 with an exceptional cohort, and I'm grateful for the enduring friendships. Special thanks to Erica for opening up her home to me during a research trip to Montreal and for all the phone calls. I am lucky to have your support in work and life. It's hard to find the words to adequately express my gratitude for those closest to me who experienced this project vicariously. To the Holdsworths, Sunday dinners sustained me through this process in more ways than you can imagine. You always seemed to know just when to ask about the dissertation and when to fill my wine glass. "In-laws" doesn't seem to quite cover it. To iii my parents, Sharon and Ian Whitehouse, it is because of the strong work ethic you instilled in your children that I was able to find the determination to finish what I started. You, Mark, and Shannon have filled my life with so much love and laughter, and I am eternally grateful for your friendship. Finally, to my partner Jeff Holdsworth, thank you for taking this journey with me and for being everything I needed at any given moment. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... v List of Illustrations ........................................................................................................................ vi Introduction: The Optics of Modernity ....................................................................................... 1 1 Chapter: Place-making in the Canadian Hinterland .......................................................... 27 2 Chapter: Producing Productive Refugees: Work, Sport, & the Masculine Body ............ 62 3 Chapter: Privacy and the Sexual Self ................................................................................ 104 4 Chapter: Protest and Power: The Art of Claims-Making ................................................ 133 Conclusion: The Legacy of Jewish Internment ....................................................................... 175 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 185 Appendix A......................................................................................................................201 v List of Illustrations 1.1 Winter scene at Fort Lennox ..................................................................................... 44 1.2 Oscar Cahén, "Canadian Landscape" .......................................................................... 52 1.3 Correspondence with wife .......................................................................................... 52 1.4 Jewish internees reading camp synagogue ................................................................. 59 2.1 Group of enrollees upon arrival, National Forestry Program ..................................... 70 2.2 The same group of enrollees in uniform ..................................................................... 70 2.3 Some victims of Nazi oppression (part I) ................................................................... 75 2.4 Some victims of Nazi oppression (part II) .................................................................. 75 2.5 Jewish internees gathered at canteen .......................................................................... 79 2.6 Enrollees in sleeping tent, National Forestry Program ............................................... 87 2.7 Men netmaking ........................................................................................................... 92 2.8 Helmut Kallmann, Camp I with netmakers outside barbed wire ................................ 92 2.9 Guard admires handmade trophies.............................................................................

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