Women in Canada During World War II Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

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.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2021, November 24). Women in Canada During World War II. https://ivypanda.com/essays/women-in-canada-during-world-war-ii/

Work Cited

"Women in Canada During World War II." IvyPanda, 24 Nov. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/women-in-canada-during-world-war-ii/.

References

IvyPanda. (2021) 'Women in Canada During World War II'. 24 November.

References

IvyPanda. 2021. "Women in Canada During World War II." November 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/women-in-canada-during-world-war-ii/.

1. IvyPanda. "Women in Canada During World War II." November 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/women-in-canada-during-world-war-ii/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Women in Canada During World War II." November 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/women-in-canada-during-world-war-ii/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1