Document généré le 29 sept. 2021 07:19 Ontario History Number 22 Internment Camp German Prisoners of War and Canadian Internment Operations in Mimico, Ontario, 1940-1944 Kirk W. Goodlet Volume 104, numéro 2, fall 2012 Résumé de l'article Cet article examine les opérations d’internement au Camp M à Mimico, URI : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1065439ar Ontario, de 1940 à 1944. Basé sur des documents d’archives, il éclaire l’histoire DOI : https://doi.org/10.7202/1065439ar d’un des très rares camps construits près d’une grande ville canadienne pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, un camp qui, encore aujourd’hui, est Aller au sommaire du numéro inconnu de la majorité des Canadiens. Depuis son ouverture, une série de problèmes administratifs, structurels, et personnels ont gêné ses opérations, et ces problèmes, ainsi qu’une très sérieuse déficience d’infrastructure, ont mené Éditeur(s) à la fermeture anticipée du camp en juillet 1944. Aujourd’hui les gouvernements provincial et fédéral sont en train de construire une immense The Ontario Historical Society « superprison » pouvant abriter 1,650 personnes sur le lieu où plus de 500 prisonniers de guerre allemands ont été enfermés jadis. Cet article pourrait ISSN donc contribuer à la discussion sur l’utilité, passée et actuelle, du site. 0030-2953 (imprimé) 2371-4654 (numérique) Découvrir la revue Citer cet article Goodlet, K. W. (2012). Number 22 Internment Camp: German Prisoners of War and Canadian Internment Operations in Mimico, Ontario, 1940-1944. Ontario History, 104(2), 90–115. https://doi.org/10.7202/1065439ar Copyright © The Ontario Historical Society, 2012 Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d’auteur. L’utilisation des services d’Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d’utilisation que vous pouvez consulter en ligne. https://apropos.erudit.org/fr/usagers/politique-dutilisation/ Cet article est diffusé et préservé par Érudit. Érudit est un consortium interuniversitaire sans but lucratif composé de l’Université de Montréal, l’Université Laval et l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Il a pour mission la promotion et la valorisation de la recherche. https://www.erudit.org/fr/ 0 ONTARIO HISTORY Number 22 Internment Camp German Prisoners of War and Canadian Internment Operations in Mimico, Ontario, 1940-1944 by Kirk W. Goodlet Captured German soldiers in Europe awaiting shipment to POW camps. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society 984.113.38 n January 2011, as part of its tough- the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Locat- on-crime plan, Stephen Harper’s ed about fifteen kilometres west of down- Conservative Government an- town Toronto, the Ontario government Inounced its commitment to spend 150- chose the site, which has a correctional million dollars on the construction or ex- history dating back to 1887, because “it pansion of prisons throughout Canada.1 is accessible by major city and provincial This announcement came at a crucial highways” and the site “is government time for the Ontario government, which, owned and can accommodate ministry by July 2008, had agreed to build a new needs.”2 maximum-security prison in Mimico to Whether or not either government reduce overcrowding at facilities across realized it, this was not the first time the 1 CTV News, “Government Pledges Millions for Prison Expansions,” Monday 10 January 2011 http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110110/prison-upgrades-110110/20110110/?hub =TorontoNewHome (accessed 10 September 2011). 2 Ontario Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services, “Toronto South Detention Cen- tre: Background on Location,” 12 March 2010 http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/corr_serv/Pro- posedTorontoSouthDetentionCentre/BackgroundontheLocation/Toronto_South_background.html (accessed 10 September 2011). Ontario History / Volume CIV, No. 2 / Autumn 2012 autumn 2012.indd 90 18/08/2012 9:38:29 PM 1 federal and provincial governments Abstract engaged in a dialogue about the fu- This article investigates the development of in- ture of Mimico’s correctional facility. ternment operations at Camp M in Mimico, On- During the 1940s, the Ontario gov- tario, from 1940 to 1944. Using a variety of ar- chival sources, this study sheds light on one of the ernment willingly placed Mimico’s only camps built near a major Canadian city dur- Reformatory at the disposal of the fed- ing the Second World War, and one that remains eral government for the internment of recondite to most Canadians. From its inception German prisoners of war (POWs) and Camp M suffered from a series of administrative, organizational, and personnel issues, which ex- civilian internees. The internment op- acerbated operations. This was compounded by eration in Mimico, known as either severe infrastructure problems that led to its ex- Number 22 Internment Camp or peditious closing in July 1944. Today both pro- Camp M, was primarily intended for vincial and federal governments are constructing pro-Nazi German enemy merchant a 1,650-person “superjail” on the very site that once housed over 500 German POWs. This ar- seamen (EMS) who were captured by ticle, therefore, serves to inform further discus- Allied troops, and it remained open sion about the past and present utility of the site. from 1940 to 1944.3 This article investigates the develop- Résumé: Cet article examine les opérations d’internement au Camp M à Mimico, On- ment of internment operations in Mim- tario, de 1940 à 1944. Basé sur des documents ico from its inception in July 1940 to its d’archives, il éclaire l’histoire d’un des très rares expeditious closing in April 1944. It fo- camps construits près d’une grande ville cana- cuses on the experiences of the Canadian dienne pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, un authorities charged with overseeing the camp qui, encore aujourd’hui, est inconnu de la majorité des Canadiens. Depuis son ouverture, smooth operation of Camp M, while une série de problèmes administratifs, struc- it also illustrates how German prison- turels, et personnels ont gêné ses opérations, et ces ers perceived their captivity and camp problèmes, ainsi qu’une très sérieuse déficience life in general. Using a combination of d’infrastructure, ont mené à la fermeture antic- ipée du camp en juillet 1944. Aujourd’hui les archival materials from Library and Ar- gouvernements provincial et fédéral sont en train chives Canada (LAC), Archives of On- de construire une immense “superprison” pouvant tario (AO), and the Toronto Reference abriter 1,650 personnes sur le lieu où plus de 500 Library (TRL), this microhistory sheds prisonniers de guerre allemands ont été enfermés jadis. Cet article pourrait donc contribuer à la light on the unique development of one discussion sur l’utilité, passée et actuelle, du site. of the only internment operations es- 3 Although the documentation is inconsistent with usages of either “Camp M” or “No. 22” an entry in the Military Hospital war diary in early 1942 elucidates the change in nomenclature. Captain H. R. Conn wrote “The Camp Commandant Major C. G. Kerr, M.C. later requested that the name MIMICO be discounted as the Internment Camp had become known as Camp 22. Internment Camp, New To- ronto, Ontario, Accordingly we have used the term “Military Hospital, Internment Camp, New Toronto,” although Headquarters still addresses us as the MIMICO Military Hospital.” See Library and Archives Canada (hereafter cited as LAC) Record Group (RG) 24 vol. 15,918, 2. “War Diary: Camp 22 Military Hospital, New Toronto, Ont.” 1 March 1942, Capt. H.R. Conn (officer commanding R.C.A.M.C Camp Hospital, New Toronto). autumn 2012.indd 91 18/08/2012 9:38:29 PM 2 ONTARIO HISTORY tablished near a major Canadian city dur- demanded their rights in 1943 when they ing the Second World War. Typically, the felt the Canadian authorities treated them Canadian government established intern- poorly or provided them with inadequate ment operations in remote and rural loca- supplies. They also benefitted from external tions, making escape attempts more futile agencies like the Red Cross and YMCA, and keeping the POWs out of sight from which furnished them with books, sports Canadian citizens. By considering this evi- equipment, musical instruments, and reli- dence it assesses Martin Auger’s assertion gious texts. These agencies also helped lo- that Canadian internment operations were cate family members of POWs in Europe a “home front victory” and that it “was a when the tides of war began to change in positive experience overall.”4 To speak in 1942 and 1943, and eased some consterna- such platitudinous terms, however, would tion about the state of their loved ones. The neglect the multifaceted nature of Cana- prisoners, for the most part, remained po- dian internment operations, as though any lite and subservient to their captors. While two camps functioned in the same way. camp life for Canadian authorities was an- On the contrary, and as this article dem- ything but organized and uniform, the sur- onstrates, historians must recognize how feit of administrative and infrastructural much each operation could differ depend- problems did not reflect the experiences of ing on the individuals in charge of admin- their prisoners. In this way, I argue to un- istrative and organizational tasks. While derstand more fully Canadian internment Auger argues that internment operations operations during the Second World War in southern Quebec were generally free historians must take into account such from any major administrative or logisti- vastly distinct experiences, of both captor cal conflict, the evidence from Camp M and captive. Before delving into the devel- paints a very different picture. From its opment of internment operations at Camp inception, Camp M continually suffered M, this article begins by providing a brief from administrative and organizational review of some key themes in studies on fissures between various personalities that Canadian internment, followed by some could not be reconciled.