"Enemy Aliens"
About 80,000 Jewish refugees escaped the Nazi regime by fleeing to Britain in the 1930s. Britain classified them as "refugees from Nazi oppression." But when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, it feared these refugees might be spies for the Nazis. It classified them as "enemy aliens" and considered them a potential danger.
In 1940, the British government arrested and interned 30,000 of these "enemy aliens." Most were Jewish men and boys, genuine refugees from Nazi persecution. More than 2,000 of these refugees were sent by ship to Canada. It was dangerous to cross the Atlantic Ocean in wartime.
On arrival in Canada, the Jewish refugees were issued uniforms and put in internment camps. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire. Canadian camp guards strictly controlled the movement and activities of the internees. Antisemitism was common among the guards. At first, the Jewish refugees were held in the same camps as Nazi prisoners of war. This was unsafe and degrading for the boys and men who had fled Nazi persecution.
Britain soon realized it had made a mistake. It recommended releasing the Jewish refugees. But the Canadian government refused to do this since its policy was to restrict Jewish immigration into Canada. As a result, the refugees had to remain in Canadian internment camps for up to three years.
The Jewish camp internees included teachers, scientists, artists, musicians and students. To fight boredom and be productive during internment, they set up their own programs. They conducted lectures, established newspapers, created art and held religious services. Yet the primary focus for most internees was to find some way to be released from the camps.
