No doubt, war is an awful tragedy in the life of society; however, such atrocities occur and leave a painful wound on the body of society and in the soul of every individual involved in it. The analysis of the role of Canadian women in the most devastating war of the century presents special interest for us due to nontrivial results concerning the place of women in history that can be drawn from the analysis of sources. In the articles by Epp and Sugerman, the authors suggest their interpretation of the role of Canadian women in WW II. The articles’ novelty consists in the emphasis that is made on the “invisible” layer of the population, “non-English-speaking refugees” and Japanese Canadians. Both articles make the audience reconsider their point of view concerning female emigrants in Canada during the war. The life stories of heroines may be seen in two dimensions: as individual tragedies and the parts of large-scale tragedies of mankind.
Epp’s article suggests an account of the life tragedies of five refugees who represent the fate of all Mennonite women during the war. The authors describe the atrocities that the women had to suffer during the war period in the territory of Ukraine. Epp stresses frequent cases of sexual abuse of women exercised by Soviet soldiers. The results of these cases of violence were deaths and unsuccessful abortions.
The possibility of emigration was the way out for people, Canada “was the preferred destination” but the immigration criteria were very strict. In Canada, Mennonites faced poor living conditions, hard work, and bad nutrition. Many of them were helped by distant relatives, but this factor sometimes added difficulties, like sexual misconduct on the part of the employer; humiliation, and exploitation. Thus, the refugees had to earn their living, recover from past humiliation, and adjust themselves to Canadian society. The most frequently faced problem was the language that prevented women from appropriate jobs, forcing them to take up hard jobs. Women often tried to find refuge in marriage, but the outcomes were frequently unsuccessful, including abuse and violence in the family, reunited families faced the problem of incompatibility.
Epp illustrates the life of the refugees in Canada as hard and complicated by numerous challenges, but rather stable in comparison with the period of war. The life of these five women is described as a heroic experience, especially if we take into account that all hardships were experienced by the representatives of “the fair sex” who have proved to be strong and heroic personalities.
The article by Sugiman is also built based on the individual experience of women, but it analyses the personal experience of the author, the letters of Japanese Canadian women, and interviews. In short, the article focuses on “the loss of property, the indignities of Hastings Park, expulsion to ghost towns, and violation of human rights and principles of democracy”. The article suggests the description of political violence exercised by the Canadian government towards Japanese Canadians, it mentions “repatriating to Japan” “that meant forced exile”, though the native country for the majority of people was Canada. Besides, people were deprived of the right to vote and to return to “protected zone” until 1949.
It should be stated that Sugiman’s main merit is the involvement of various sources, which gather together like shreds of the image that create the full picture is complex. The authoress has shown emotions of Nisei women, their resistance and powerlessness. She managed to show the injustice of the situation in its full. In this matter the analyzed works have common features: both describe not only material and physical damage caused by the war period, not only lost property and dwelling, “the stench of Hastings Park”, but also ruined relationships, wounded souls, intimidation, lost dreams, and undeserved death.
The analyzed articles prove the idea that Japanese Canadian women and Mennonite refugees were active participants in the war. The analysis of real-life experience suggests that “the fair sex” had to survive not the horror of war, but the prejudices and discrimination as well. On the whole, the articles are useful for the study of the Canadian history of the period.
Bibliography
Epp, Marlene. “Victims of the Times, Heroes of Their Lives: Five Mennonite Refugee Women.” In Rethinking Canada: The Promise of Women’s History. 5th edition. Edited by Mona Gleason and Adele Perry. 287-301. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Sugiman, Pamela. “Passing Time, Moving Memories: Interpreting Wartime Narratives of Japanese Canadian Women.” Histoire Sociale/Social History 36(73): 51-79, 2004.