The Canadian War Museum, in partnership with the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation, is opening an exhibit on the internment of Eastern Europeans, including Hungarians, from 1914 to 1920. This represented Canada’s first national internment operations, which resulted in the creation of 24 internment camps, most in remote locations, and the internment of over 8,000 Europeans from the lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and from other parts of Europe. It took over eight decades for the Government of Canada to recognize this historical injustice.
During and immediately after the First World War, Canada interned 8,579 people identified as “enemy aliens.” Using photographs drawn from Canadian archival collections, Enemy Aliens – Internment in Canada, 1914–1920 explores the experiences of the internees: who they were, the conditions they endured and the legacy they left behind. “Enemy aliens” is a term commonly used to describe citizens of states legally at war with Canada who resided in Canada during the war.
The exhibit opens Thursday, October 2, 2014 at 5:30 p.m., at 1 Vimy Place, in Ottawa. Participants are asked to confirm their presence by September 29th, at: event@warmuseum.ca or by telephone at: 1-819-776-8628.
Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
