Handmade Box
Student Activity – A box handmade by a prisoner in a Canadian internment camp
| Artefact: | Handmade Box |
|---|---|
| Theme: | "Enemy Aliens" |
| Grade Level: | Intermediate (6-9) |
Suggested time: 15 minutes
Grades: 6+
Part A. Examine the Handmade Box and interact with the 3D model:
- Make notes of all the details you observe about the box, inside and out.
- What questions do you have about the box? Write down two of your questions and share one with a partner.
Part B. Read Enemy Aliens. For more information, you can also read Canadian Encyclopedia entry on enemy aliens during the Holocaust.
- Write at least three sentences explaining the difference between a “refugee” and an “enemy alien”. Consult the glossary to help you, if necessary.
- How do you think it felt for Jewish refugees to be called “enemy aliens” and be forced to remain in internment camps in Canada indefinitely?
- What evidence have you observed about the box that supports your conclusion?
Part C. Read this quote from Gerry Waldston, a German-Jewish internee at Camp B in Ripples, New Brunswick. He said this about the handmade box:
| “It’s cute, it’s well done, and people had time. That’s one thing we had, lots of time to do things, to keep busy with, to make, to spend our time profitably. ... [The box] captures a year-and-a-half. It’s a year-and-a-half in denim and a red dot. With nothing else, no future, and empty inside.” |
- Why do you think the internee used the camp uniform as the design for his handmade box?
- Why did he mark the box “made by REFUGEE from NAZI OPPRESSION?”