OBJECTS OF CONCERN by Jonathan Franklin William Vance ( 9780774805209 )

Item Details

Title:

OBJECTS OF CONCERN
CANADIAN PRISONERS OF WAR THROUGH THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

By:

Format:

Paperback

List price:	£27.99
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ISBN 10:

077480520X

ISBN 13:

9780774805209

Publisher:

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA PRESS

Pub. date:

1 January, 1994

Pages:

330

Description:

Jonathan Vance examines Canada's role in the formation of an important aspect of international law, traces the growth and activities of a number of national and local philanthropic agencies, and recounts the efforts of ex-prisoners to secure compensation for the long-term effects of captivity.

Synopsis:

Hockey magnate Conn Smythe, Trudeau cabinet minister GillesLamontagne, and the composer and former conductor of the TorontoSymphony Orchestra, Sir Ernest MacMillan, share something other thantheir fame: they all have the dubious distinction of having beencaptured by the enemy during Canada's wars of the twentiethcentury. Like some 15,000 other Canadians, Smythe, Lamontagne, andMacMillan experienced the bewilderment that accompanied the moment ofcapture, the humiliation of being completely in the captor's power,and the sense of stagnating in a backwater while the rest of the worldmoved forward.From prison camps in Eire, where POWs were allowed to keep pets andto be members of the local tennis clubs, to camps in Japan, whereprisoners were often severely beaten, systematically starved, andoverworked, Canadian prisoners of war throughout the twentieth centuryhave faced a variety of conditions and experiences. But they did notfight their war alone and isolated. On the home front, many otherpeople attempted to help them. Against the backdrop of the POWexperience, Jonathan Vance provides the first comprehensive account ofhow the Canadian government and non-governmental organizations such asthe Red Cross have dealt with the problems of prisoners of war.Beginning in the nineteenth century, Vance traces the growth ofCanadian interest in the plight of POWs. He goes on to examine themeasures taken to assist Canadian POWs during the two world wars andthe Korean war. The book focuses in particular on the campaigns to shiprelief supplies to prison camps and on attempts to secure theprisoners' release.POWs have sometimes been seen as forgotten casualties whoseprivations were misunderstood during war and whose needs were neglectedafterwards. This perception developed out of a tradition in POW memoirswhich paid little attention to the efforts of politicians, civilservants, and individuals who devoted considerable time and energy totheir cause. Vance argues that this impression is wrong and that, infact, every effort was made to ameliorate conditions for men and womenin captivity. In his book, he outlines the difficulties and confusionthat arose from jurisdictional squabbling and lack of clearcommunication. Ironically, Vance concludes, obstacles were more oftencreated by an overabundance of enthusiasm than by a lack of interest inthe prisoners' fate. Canada's wartime bureaucracy, oftenpraised by historians, is revealed as needlessly complex and, in manyways, hopelessly inefficient.In Objects of Concern, Jonathan Vance examines Canada'srole in the formation of an important aspect of international law,traces the growth and activities of a number of national and localphilanthropic agencies, and recounts the efforts of ex-prisoners tosecure compensation for the long-term effects of captivity. In doingso, he reminds Canadians of an aspect of war that has often beenoverlooked in conventional military history.

Publication:

Canada

Imprint:

University of British Columbia Press

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

A HISTORY OF CANADIAN CULTURE (HB)

A HISTORY OF CANADIAN CULTURE (PB)

DEATH SO NOBLE (HB)

DEATH SO NOBLE (PB)

MAPLE LEAF EMPIRE (HB)