samedi, février 05, 2005
I need this book
So, Mexico doesn't have a very well documented role in World War II - they were nowhere near as active as the Canadian military was (I've just watched two more war movies). I haven't had a lot of luck finding books or journal articles, in order to "compare and contrast" their role with Canada's. I've found this one book, Strategy, Security and Spies, that looks really useful, but our gay library doesn't have it, and the closest library around that does is McGill. Some people think I'm pretty close to Montreal, but it's a two-hour journey, and not easy or convenient as a money-less, car-less student. GRR.
The movies I've watched are produced by the Canadian Film Board, and are meant to focus on Canada's activity during the war, but man, I'm getting the impression that we were a pretty vital part right from the start. We provided safe haven for British orphans and Dutch royalty, conducted flight training for all the countries of the British commonwealth, produced a TON of war material, including ships and planes, not just for Canada, but for other Allied nations, so some of it went to Russia. There are some really telling stats like the fact that before the war, Canada had fewer than 30 shipyards. Afterwards, there were close to 90 - crazy!
The movies are good, too, because they focus a lot on the role of women. Women had to work, and so they did. They farmed, they worked at the shipyards, they worked in factories, and some of them were even on the front lines providing nursing care as the allies moved through Europe.
They have veterans telling some stories about what it was like to serve in various areas. Farley Mowat (Canadian writer) was with the Canadian troops that gained control of Sicily and then moved north through Italy. There are merchant marines talking about the harrowing journey to Russia, in which they had to pass through waters close enough to occupied Norway that they were reachable by missile. Many stories of loss, obviously. But some funny stories, too. Like the one about how when the troops reached Holland to "liberate" that nation. The commander of one unit sees some Dutch women in their traditional clothing, which made them look like nuns. So he reminds his boys to be respectful. When he wakes up in the morning and peeks in on his unit, all of the men are laying there with these "nuns". He figures that he was the only one who slept alone that night!
(/war geek)
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¶ 5:35 p.m. 
The movies I've watched are produced by the Canadian Film Board, and are meant to focus on Canada's activity during the war, but man, I'm getting the impression that we were a pretty vital part right from the start. We provided safe haven for British orphans and Dutch royalty, conducted flight training for all the countries of the British commonwealth, produced a TON of war material, including ships and planes, not just for Canada, but for other Allied nations, so some of it went to Russia. There are some really telling stats like the fact that before the war, Canada had fewer than 30 shipyards. Afterwards, there were close to 90 - crazy!
The movies are good, too, because they focus a lot on the role of women. Women had to work, and so they did. They farmed, they worked at the shipyards, they worked in factories, and some of them were even on the front lines providing nursing care as the allies moved through Europe.
They have veterans telling some stories about what it was like to serve in various areas. Farley Mowat (Canadian writer) was with the Canadian troops that gained control of Sicily and then moved north through Italy. There are merchant marines talking about the harrowing journey to Russia, in which they had to pass through waters close enough to occupied Norway that they were reachable by missile. Many stories of loss, obviously. But some funny stories, too. Like the one about how when the troops reached Holland to "liberate" that nation. The commander of one unit sees some Dutch women in their traditional clothing, which made them look like nuns. So he reminds his boys to be respectful. When he wakes up in the morning and peeks in on his unit, all of the men are laying there with these "nuns". He figures that he was the only one who slept alone that night!
(/war geek)
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¶ 5:35 p.m.
