Did Quebecois men serve in WW II? (asbestos, military)
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I recently re-watched "Mon Oncle Antoine." What a beautiful film! But it got me wondering...
The movie takes place in the 1940s, although not specific about exactly when in the '40s. There was no mention by any of the characters of the overseas war going on. Might that be because the human meat-grinder that was the asbestos mines at at the time needed all the men it could get? Do enlighten.
I recently re-watched "Mon Oncle Antoine." What a beautiful film! But it got me wondering...
The movie takes place in the 1940s, although not specific about exactly when in the '40s. There was no mention by any of the characters of the overseas war going on. Might that be because the human meat-grinder that was the asbestos mines at at the time needed all the men it could get? Do enlighten.
Yes, and the most famous French-Canadian regiment was the 22e Royale known as the "Van Doos" because of the pronunciation of 22 in French.
That being said, French Canadians were far less likely to serve in the military than English Canadians for a number of reasons:
1)They saw themselves as being strictly Canadien while many English Canadians, like Australians, saw themselves as belonging to the larger British Empire. Furthermore, many French Canadians saw the war as the problem of Britain and France, and didn't see how a war in Europe was Canada's responsibility.
2)They were well aware that they had been conquered in the past by the British Empire. As a result, they did not feel loyalty to the British Empire the way the English Canadians, who were largely descended from the British, did. They suffered widespread discrimination from the English Canadian population and the English-dominated government, and understandably weren't as willing to serve this government.
3)At the start of WWI, the Canadian government endeavored to create an all English-speaking army to serve in Europe; it was only because of the insistence of French Canadians that a handful of French Canadian regiments were created. Nonetheless, the French Canadian regiments had to learn basic English in order to serve. Those who fought in WWII were under the same constraints, and this changed only after the Quiet Revolution.
Lastly, Canada did not offer the same participation to the British Empire in WWII to the extent that she did in WWI. Regardless, there were still some French Canadians who distinguished themselves:
I did, indeed. My laptop was lopsided and somehow two head-smacking-emoticons showed up...not what I wanted at all! I blame the dog, who's sharing my lap.
As has been said there were French Canadians who fought in WW2 but it was a very difficult and tense period because of the pressure (both social and legal) to go and fight in Europe when at the same time francophones did not have a strong allegiance either for Britain (obvious reasons) or France (feeling of abandonment going back to the 1760s) and so weren't too keen on going to help them out.
My maternal grandfather was Quebecois and fought in World War 2. We still have his medals
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