Canadian Governmental Response to the Plight of the Jewish Refugees
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Humanitarian Ambitions - International Barriers: Canadian Governmental Response to the Plight of the Jewish Refugees (1933-1945) By Justin Comartin Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Masters of Arts (MA) in History Faculty of Arts Department of History University of Ottawa © Justin Comartin, Ottawa, Canada, 2013 Abstract Humanitarian Ambitions - International Barriers: Canadian Governmental Response to the Plight of the Jewish Refugees (1933-1945) By Justin Comartin Thesis Supervisor: Doctor Pierre Anctil Department of History Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa From 1933 to 1945, thousands of European Jews attempted to gain access to Canada in order to escape Nazi oppression. This thesis examines Canada’s immigration records and policies during this period. In addition to bringing light to key issues concerning popular Canadian perceptions of Jewish immigrants and refugees in the thirties and forties, this history raises important questions about the Canadian government and ethical responsibility in a time of war; about the relationship between government policy and provincial politics; and about the position taken by Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and his Cabinet. The author’s research brings attention to Irving Abella and Harold Troper’s work, None is too Many, which, since its publication in 1982, has stood as the authoritative work on the subject. A variety of important issues which are not treated in detail in this earlier monograph are examined in depth in this analysis: The prevalence of anti-Semitism in French and English Canada, and the Canadian immigration record are treated in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 and 4 investigate accusations that William Lyon Mackenzie King, Ernest Lapointe, Frederick Charles Blair, and Vincent Massey harboured anti-Semitic views. It is found that such charges suffer from a serious lack of evidence. Although sometimes the language used by these men in their correspondence and letters can be shocking to the modern reader, it was the colloquial language during their lives. Furthermore, their personal documents often exhibit evidence of sincere sympathy for the Jews of Europe, and frustration with Canadian popular opinion. The author concludes that collective memory of the Holocaust has affected perceptions concerning the Canadian immigration record during the period in question. Anti-immigration sentiment was strong in Canada during the Depression. Nevertheless, as the Canadian Government became increasingly aware of the persecution of Jews within the Reich, particularly following the events of Kristallnacht in November of 1938, measures were put into place to ease Jewish immigration to Canada, such as including refugees among the admissible classes of immigrants. The Canadian Government did not begin to receive information concerning the extermination of European Jewry until 1942. By this time, there was hardly anything Canada i could do. Heinrich Himmler had forbidden Jewish emigration from the Reich in October of 1941, the war was in full swing by 1942, and ships carrying refugees and PoWs were not safe from U-boat attacks. From 1933 to 1945 Canada allowed 8,787 Jews into the country. However, all immigration to Canada was slowed during this time. Consequently, Jews, in actuality, represented a higher percentage of immigrants arriving in Canada, at this time, than they had from 1923 to 1932. This illustrates Canada’s doors we not closed specifically to Jewish refugees during the Depression and Second World War. ii Acknowledgements The completion of this M.A. thesis, “Humanitarian Ambitions - International Barriers: Canadian Governmental Response to the Plight of the Jewish Refugees (1933-1945)” took two years to research and write. This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and aid of several different people. To begin, I would like to thank Dr. Rebecca Margolis, who first introduced me to the topic examined in this work, and pushed me to pursue a Master’s degree. If not for her early encouragement to continue my academic career, following the completion of my Bachelor’s degree, this work would never have come into being. Similarly, I am indebted to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Pierre Anctil, who, from our first e-mail correspondence, has shown a genuine interest in my subject matter and has helped guide me through each stage of my research. Also, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. John MacFarlane who first read the portion of this work examining Ernest Lapointe and offered constructive feedback. This research was facilitated through the financial assistance of the University of Ottawa Institute of Canadian Studies, the Petigorski family, and the Gringler family. The assistance of numerous archivists should not be overlooked, notably Janice Rosen of the Canadian Jewish Congress Archives in Montreal, and the staff of Library and Archives Canada. Thank you as well to Doug and Jody Gibson, who housed me during my week of research in Montreal and helped me find my way around the city. These acknowledgements would be incomplete if I did not include my family and friends. You have been there whenever I needed you during this endeavour and have played a crucial part in giving me the motivation to complete this project. iii Table of Contents: Historiography and Methodology ................................................................................................1 Understanding the Situation: The Canadian Immigration Record During the Depression and the Second World War .........................................................................................................18 Who Was King?: Analyzing the Discourse of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King ...............................................................................................................................................58 All the King’s Men: Examining Ernest Lapointe, Vincent Massey and F.C. Blair ...............86 Ernest Lapointe ..................................................................................................................87 Frederick Charles Blair ....................................................................................................101 Vincent Massey ................................................................................................................113 The M.S. St. Louis ...........................................................................................................122 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................128 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................133 iv List of Charts and Tables (Table 1) Jewish Immigrant Arrivals to Canada by Fiscal Year from 1923 to 1948 .............39 (Chart 1) Number of Jewish Immigrants Arriving in Canada per Annum, (1923-1948) .....40 (Chart 2) Percentage of Jews Among Immigrants to Canada, (1923-1948) ...........................40 (Table 2) Total Number of Jewish Emigrants from Germany, (1933-1940) ...........................45 (Table 3) Country of Birth of Jewish Immigrants to Canada by Fiscal Year, 1932 to 1936 46 (Table 4) Country of Birth of Jewish Immigrants to Canada by Fiscal Year, 1937-1941 .....46 (Chart 3) Number of Jews Immigrating to Canada from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, (1932-1941) .......................................................................................................47 (Chart 4) Number of Jews Arriving in Canada Via Ocean Port and from U.S.A., (1923- 1948) ..............................................................................................................................................54 (Chart 5) Liberal Seats won in Quebec compared to the rest of Canada, (1917-1945)..........94 (Chart 6) Percentage of Liberal Seats in Quebec Compared to the Rest of Canada, (1917- 1945) .............................................................................................................................................94 (Table 5) Total of Special Orders-in-Council Passed from 1933 to 1937 .............................111 v Chapter 1 Historiography and Methodology The Holocaust was and remains one of the worst atrocities in human history. This is due largely to the fact that millions were killed, as well as the industrial and systematic fashion by which this was accomplished. The first major publication on the subject was Raul Hilberg’s The Destruction of the European Jews in 1961. At that time, the author had difficulty finding a publisher for his research due to the sensitive nature of his topic. Even so, since the publication of Hilberg’s work, the subject has blossomed, and as Dan Stone notes, “the literature on the Holocaust is now so enormous that no individual can have real mastery over all its aspects.”1 Holocaust Studies are now an accepted branch of history with many sub-fields associated to it, such as the role of the German churches during the Holocaust, post-Holocaust philosophy, and gender during the Holocaust, just to name a few. Early research tended to focus on the nature of the Holocaust and how it came to be. Two schools of thought have developed concerning this: the Intentionalists, who see the Third Reich and what resulted from it as deriving from Hitler’s will; and the Functionalists, who see Hitler