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I the Red Patch Political Imprisonment in Hull, Quebec

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I the Red Patch Political Imprisonment in Hull, Quebec The Red Patch Political imprisonment in Hull, Quebec during World War II © Michael Martin Autumn,2007 Gatineau, Quebec i Table of Contents FOREWORD ..............................................................................................................................................IV NOTE ABOUT THE USE OF TERMS .................................................................................................VIII INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1 – THE IRON HEEL OF RUTHLESSNESS........................................................................ 4 THE NATURE OF HISTORICAL EXPLANATION.............................................................................................. 4 THE EVENTS OF OUR STORY ....................................................................................................................... 4 A BRIEF GENEALOGY ................................................................................................................................. 7 WORLD WAR I.......................................................................................................................................... 10 WORLD WAR I AND THE REPRESSION OF THE LEFT .................................................................................. 13 THE COMMUNIST PARTY .......................................................................................................................... 16 FASCISM AND ANTI-SEMITISM .................................................................................................................. 29 REPRESSION OF COMMUNISTS IN FRENCH CANADA.................................................................................. 39 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 45 ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER 1......................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 2 – A WAR OF LIMITED LIABILITY ............................................................................... 53 CANADA IN 1939 ...................................................................................................................................... 53 BACKING INTO WAR.................................................................................................................................. 54 DEFENDING CANADA FROM WHAT? ......................................................................................................... 62 THE SUBSTANCE OF THE DOCR ............................................................................................................... 66 ADMINISTRATION OF THE DOCR.............................................................................................................. 76 OPPOSITION WITHIN THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION TO THE DOCR....................................................... 80 SOURCES OF ANTI-COMMUNISM ............................................................................................................... 83 THE VICHY TANGENT ............................................................................................................................... 92 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 97 ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER 2....................................................................................................................... 100 CHAPTER 3 — PANIC, ARRESTS, IMPRISONMENTS, INTERNMENTS ................................... 104 MORE ABOUT HISTORICAL EXPLANATION .............................................................................................. 104 UNDERSTANDING THE PACT ................................................................................................................... 107 THE PACT AND THE COMMUNISTS IN CANADA ....................................................................................... 112 PANIC ..................................................................................................................................................... 116 ARRESTS AND IMPRISONMENTS .............................................................................................................. 120 TENTATIVE FIGURES ABOUT IMPRISONMENT ......................................................................................... 123 INTERNMENT........................................................................................................................................... 124 UKRAINIANS ........................................................................................................................................... 131 PETAWAWA............................................................................................................................................. 133 ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER 3....................................................................................................................... 136 CHAPTER 4 — INTERNMENT IN HULL........................................................................................... 141 THE TRANSFER TO HULL ........................................................................................................................ 141 INTERNMENT IN HULL — THE GOOD ...................................................................................................... 142 INTERNMENT IN HULL — THE BAD ........................................................................................................ 155 INTERNMENT IN HULL — THE UGLY ...................................................................................................... 163 THE HULL INTERNEES — NAMES AND NUMBERS ................................................................................... 168 ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER 4....................................................................................................................... 173 CHAPTER 5 — THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE THE HULL INTERNEES ........................................ 176 THE FAMILIES’ CAMPAIGN ..................................................................................................................... 176 ii THE INTERNEES’ CAMPAIGN................................................................................................................... 184 COMMUNITY SUPPORT............................................................................................................................ 191 NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS ..................................................................................... 196 UKRAINIAN SUPPORT.............................................................................................................................. 199 THE COMMUNIST PARTY ........................................................................................................................ 200 SCHEDULE OF THE RELEASE OF THE HULL INTERNEES ........................................................................... 210 COUNTING 133 INTERNEES ..................................................................................................................... 213 ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER 5....................................................................................................................... 215 CHAPTER 6 – AFTER INTERNMENT IN HULL .............................................................................. 218 LEAVING HULL ....................................................................................................................................... 218 THE HULL INTERNEES AS SOLDIERS ....................................................................................................... 220 BILL WALSH ........................................................................................................................................... 221 STILL THE COMMUNIST PARTY REMAINED ILLEGAL............................................................................... 224 ULFTA................................................................................................................................................... 232 BROWDERISM AND FACTIONALISM......................................................................................................... 233 A LOST OPPORTUNITY ............................................................................................................................ 235 THE START OF THE COLD WAR............................................................................................................... 239 ENDNOTES TO CHAPTER 6....................................................................................................................... 241 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 244 POSTSCRIPT ........................................................................................................................................... 247 CHRONOLOGY....................................................................................................................................... 250 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 255 iii Foreword While researching an unrelated
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