Enemies Within or Without Enemies: “Enemy Aliens” and Internment in Canada during the Second World War

Abstract

Tricia Nowicki (1985 – 2017) took two classes with me, but she taught me more than I taught her. Being in a mechanized wheelchair, she was a notable presence in the classroom. What really made Tricia stand out, though, was her powerfully articulate presence in seminar. For any who imagined a small woman in a mechanized wheelchair to need polite support and gentle handling, Tricia quickly put such notions to rest. She was fearless and suffered no fools. She spoke directly to issues, highlighting debates, pulling at evidence, ably comparing perspectives, and tackling debate with gusto. Her strength and intelligence stood out far more than any wheelchair.The following essay was from her second-year course with Professor Maureen Lux. It's not a research essay, but rather an exercise in historiography - that is, the history of what is written about a particular subject. One of the great challenges history students face is making sense of complex debates in history, not simply what happened but different interpretations of what happened and what meaning we take from it. This essay looks at four different historians all addressing the same story: the internment of "enemy aliens" - people born in or ethnically identified with the enemy countries of Germany, Italy, or Japan during the Second World War. While the basics of the story are agreed upon, each historian has a different assessment of why and how the Canadian government detained these people, whether and how it was justified, and what meaning we should take of this important moment in our country's history. Tricia's essay takes us through each essay, examines their evidence, assessing not only what is said, but also situating the political and ethical dimensions of the story. She understood the disciplinary issues of being a historian; she understood the ethical importance of this story and the debate around it. She was a fine historian.- Dr. Daniel Samson