Objects of Concern: Canadian Prisoners of War Through the Twentieth Century

J.L. Granatstein is a history professor at York University and the
co-author of the Dictionary of Canadian Military History and Empire to
Umpire: Canada and the World to the 1990s.

In the popular imagination, soldiers are supposed to fight to the death.
“Our” cause, whichever one it may be, is the “right” one, and
our soldiers will willingly lay down their lives for that cause. Lord
knows, enough Canadians have done just that, but Western warfare allows
military men to fight as long as they can and, when the situation is
deemed to be hopeless, to surrender. As prisoners of war, the
surrendered have rights recognized under international law, and the
POWs’ home country is entitled to know details of those held and to be
advised of their treatment by international agencies. The treatment of
prisoners, therefore, can be an indicator of humanity in the midst of
the brutality of war.

Object of Concern is an examination of the way Canadian government and
nongovernmental agencies dealt with the problems posed by POWs. From the
South African War through the two world wars and Korea, some 15,000 have
been captured in battle. Early efforts directed by Ottawa were primitive
and confused by the country’s colonial status. By World War II,
however, when almost 9700 Canadians were captured, Canada was generally
successful in taking care of its own, though there were inevitable
bureaucratic bungles. Sometimes competing with each other, agencies
sprang up to send food parcels and other materials, and mail moved
across the battle lines. For those Canadians unlucky enough to fall into
Japanese hands at Hong Kong and elsewhere, however, the situation was
largely different and treatment much worse. Bushido, the Japanese
warrior code, considered surrender a coward’s option, and Japan
grossly maltreated its POWs, as the Germans and Italians generally did
not. Still, wherever they were, none found captivity a pleasure, and
POWs emerged from the experience mentally and physically bruised. Their
long struggles for compensation after the war perhaps demonstrated that
Canadians too wished to sweep the memory of captured servicemen away.

Vance’s book, graced with many hitherto unseen photographs, is based
on extensive research and interviews. It is also well and clearly
written and must be the starting point for all interested in this area
of wartime history.