by Joshua Koop
Winnipeg
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Jody Perrun, The Patriotic Consensus: Unity, Morale, and the Second World War in Winnipeg, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2014, 291 pages. ISBN 978-0-88755-749-1, $27.95 (paperback)
For most people, thoughts of Second World War history conjure up images of apocalyptic battles like Stalingrad, D-Day, or the horrors of Hiroshima and the Holocaust. One topic that does not come up often, if at all, is how the war affected the home front in Winnipeg—that small city nestled in the centre of Canada, a country that did not bear any of the physical scars that many other participants in the war received. Fortunately, Jody Perrun’s The Patriotic Consensus is here to enlighten us on this surprisingly interesting topic. In a nutshell The Patriotic Consensus is a six-chapter, scholarly book that presents complex issues around the effects of the war, using Winnipeg as a case study to analyze, specifically, the war’s effect on the morale and unity of the city’s population.
Perrun begins with multiple public viewpoints on the war in the aptly named chapter, The Limited Consensus. At the start of the war, almost all Winnipeggers—with the exception of pacifists and communists—supported Canada’s role in the war against Germany. Despite this apparent consensus, Perrun uses this chapter to show that the reasons for this shared viewpoint were vastly different, ranging as they did from the loyalty to Britain held by many Anglo-Canadians, to the sharp opposition many expressed about Germany’s attempt to redraw the European map. While some people supported the war because of loyalty to the old country, others did so because of loyalty to their new home. Besides the range of reasons for public support, this chapter also looks at the topic of enlistment, specifically noting the national service requirements and documenting what branches of the military were most popular.
The second chapter focusses on a standard theme of any conflict—the way war divides people into ‘us’ and ‘them.’ This is a highly relevant topic within Winnipeg’s diverse ethnic makeup. For an example, Perrun discusses the many views on the war held by Ukrainians, a group very much divided on issues like religion and politics. Winnipeg’s growing Japanese population—negligible before the War’s forced relocations eastward from British Columbia—is also discussed. At this time, when Japan and Canada were at war, it is interesting to see how the Japanese were treated in Winnipeg, especially by those who served as their employers or neighbours. Besides dynamics of ethnicity, this chapter also deals with the contentious issue of conscription—a dividing issue for Canadians after the intense conscription controversies of the First World War. The arguments around conscription in Winnipeg are illustrated by the multiple opinions expressed in city newspapers such as the Manitoba Free Press and the Winnipeg Tribune.
Aeschylus says that “In war, truth is the first casualty” which, in my opinion, should be followed by, “One’s cash reserves is the next!” As war is expensive, the Canadian government naturally resorted to the practice of selling war bonds. How the government tried to sell them to Winnipeggers is the focus of Perrun’s third chapter. How to make purchasing the bonds (or the lesser stamps) enticing was a problem the government naturally ran into. The chapter discusses the committees that were put to work on this problem and the propaganda drives that were launched. The most interesting part of this chapter is the special event launched in Winnipeg and selected surrounding areas on 19 February 1942, called “If Day.” A mock Nazi invasion of Winnipeg was staged and filmed in order to help Winnipeggers and other Manitobans imagine what Nazi victory might look like. As anticipated, the theatrical event was followed by an impressive, corresponding spike in War bond sales.
Not all service in war takes place on the front lines or even the theatre of war. The fourth chapter of The Patriotic Consensus presents us with the voluntary service done at home by groups such as the YWCA/YMCA and the Salvation Army. Volunteer work was meant to aid troops over in Europe by sending important necessities like blood packs or other medical equipment. Service could also entail sending creature comforts like warm socks or care packages from loved ones, which would raise their spirits and thus aid the war effort. Pulling together in these efforts not only made individuals and groups feel less helpless as the war years dragged on, but they brought unlikely individuals and groups together on these projects towards common goals.
The Second World War was an era well before the full integration of women into the Canadian Forces. Therefore, beyond the inclusion of women as nurses in the medical corps, Canadian military personnel were overwhelmingly male. And since men at the time were typically the prime family breadwinners, their departure had deep effects on the home front. How this dramatic change affected the families in Winnipeg is the main focus of Chapter Five, which examines topics such as lost income, poverty, and the housing crisis that many families experienced as they struggled in the face of inadequate accommodations, or even the refusal of landlords to rent to women whose husbands were off at war.
The final chapter of the book deals with the issue of familial separation. With the vast majority of young fathers being away at war, the challenges of the mothers and children is indeed a topic of relevance. As mothers took on the roles of both parent and wage-earner, social aid and new benefits were created. However, the attempts at aid did not always work as intended. An example of this was how public perception of a mother’s conduct unfortunately affected the aid they received. Of course, the family separation also had a major impact on the lives of children. With the father at war and the mother working, there were fears amongst some people that childhood delinquency would increase. In response, groups such as the YWCA/YMCA launched educational programs.
The Patriotic Consensus is a book I would wholly recommend to students, history buffs, and to the casual reader with an interest in local history. The book references a vast plethora of primary sources, and, although it is quite dense in its narrative, it remains accessible due to its clear writing and its well-organized structure. Overall, as a student of history and a Winnipegger, I enjoyed reading The Patriotic Consensus. It taught me a great deal about this interesting historical subject, and I believe that others will find it similarly interesting and convincing.
We thank Clara Bachmann for assistance in preparing the online version of this article.
We thank S. Goldsborough for assistance in preparing the online version of this article.
Page revised: 13 November 2020
