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Canadians' View on the Jewish Refugee Crisis of the 1930s

Student Names Here

St. Edmund Campion C.S.S.: Canada World Studies

CHC2D1- 08 History

Ms. O’Riordan

Date Here
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When the Nazi party took control of Germany in 1933, they put Hitler's plan for the

Jewish community into fruition. The party established ghettos, concentration camps, and

eventually extermination camps to get rid of the Jewish population. Due to these extreme

conditions, Jewish people began to seek refuge in other countries. Many countries were faced

with the issue of accepting Jewish foreigners, Canada being one. Despite Canada being

recognized as an accepting and multi-cultural/religious nation today, that was not the case during

the 1930s. Rather the 1930s saw many discriminatory and prejudicial practices and attitudes that

are not incumbent of our Nation today. Canada’s rejection of Jewish refugees was rooted in

antisemitism and Nazism. This is evident in the Canadian government's negligence in the crisis

and the Canadian citizens' outward displays of racial prejudice. Although many citizens

sympathized with the Jewish plight, the notion of Jewish refugees on Canadian soil was rejected

by the masses with the preeminent factors that lead to the treatment of Jewish people including

Nazi propaganda and discrimination found among both Canadian citizens and the Canadian

government alike.

The spreading of Nazi propaganda into a democratic society lead to indoctrinating the

young minds on whom our future would be built on. This can be seen in document 6, which is a

depiction of a political cartoon making Jews appear to be subhuman. The cartoon protested the

idea of Jewish families enrolling their children into Canadian Protestant schools specifically

found in Quebec (Document 6). This propaganda directly targeted Jewish and Canadian youth

who regularly attended these schools. Hitler realized that the minds of youth could be molded

like clay. Thus, if Canadian youth were constantly bombarded with antisemitic propaganda, it

would obviously have a direct impact on how they viewed and treated Jews. Youth are

impressionable and so if this was the narrative the was being spewed it should come as no
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surprise that there would be resistance to Jewish refugees. Another example is an article which

represents Hitler’s words successfully influencing the Canadian youth

into protesting against accepting Jewish refugees (Document 4). This

is again, one of the many contributing factors to why much of the

Canadian youth were under the influence of Nazi propaganda. Adolf

Hitler once wrote that propaganda should be “aimed at the emotions”

to influence the weak-minded. It should not be used to tell the truth, but “to serve our own right,

always and unflinchingly” (Tattrie, 2019). The quote reveals the dangers of both propaganda and

the authors behind its headlines. The spreading of false information can also be a grave threat, so

we must strive to eliminate misinformation and disinformation today as to not repeat the past.

One must comprehend that when a group of people are at their lowest, they will falter and make

rash decisions without thinking straight. This is the perfect time to persuade and control people,

by feeding them fake news. Quietly forcing Hitler’s medicine down the throats of Canadians

swayed their views towards the Jewish people, ultimately denying them asylum in what would

have been a safe refuge from Hitler’s wrath.

Furthermore, many adult Canadian citizens felt intense animosity against Jewish

immigrants coming into Canada, also agreeing with Nazi ideologies. Signs as seen in document

7, explicitly show the views Canadians had in terms of the Jews. Since the sign is written in both

English and French, it can be assumed that both English and French communities in Canada

were adamant about not allowing the Jewish population into their cities (Document 7). This is

one of the clear indications of the antisemitic views and actions shared across Canada. Further

evidence of these views can be seen in letters citizens sent to the Prime Minister King in 1938.

These letters show the exact feelings that many Canadians shared. Many hateful comments were
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made by Canadian citizens expressing their concerns about the increased number of Jewish

refugees (Document 12). A letter from the British War Veterans and

Business and Working Men and Women of Canada shows the extent

of these feelings, “We demand that the Jews, ALL of them now

enjoying their FREEDOM in our Country, be driven out quickly”

(Document 12). One can also conclude from the context of these

letters that Canadian citizens harboured a deep hatred for the

country's Jewish population. Working-class Canadians also threatened the Prime Minister,

claiming that if the Jews were not expelled, a few "Hitlers" will emerge, demonstrating that

everyone could carry out Hitler's mission if the government failed to do so. A prime example of

these antisemitic feelings was displayed on August 15th, 1933 when a Jewish softball team,

Harbord playground, beat St. Peter’s team. Enraged fans of the opposing team designed an

antisemitic sign on the roof of the clubhouse, (Document 3). This was one of the many instances

in which Canadian citizens expressed their hatred toward the Jewish community in Canada. All

these instances combined, perfectly capture adult Canadians' views towards Jews and their

resistance and downright prejudice towards Jews.

With growing resistance amongst the public to the Jewish Refugee Crisis, the Canadian

government had many opportunities to address and resolve the issues of the crisis however fell

short. Instead, the government did not take proper actions to aid the

struggling Jewish immigrants.

There is a memorandum by Prime Minister King and Fredrick Charles

Blair, Director of Immigration, on their opposition to Jewish immigrants

entering Canada. The two of them, as well as members of the cabinet, didn’t want Jews in
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Canada. However, they didn’t want to have a written policy stating this political view (Document

11). “We do not want to legitimize the Aryan mythology by introducing any formal distinction

for immigration purposes between Jews and non-Jews. The practical distinction, however, has to

be made and should be drawn with discretion and sympathy by the competent department,

without the need to lay down a formal minute of policy” (Document 11). Clearly, they were

strategic in their wording as they didn’t want the government to seem outwardly antisemitic or

agreeing with Nazi ideologies. Since the Canadian government didn’t want to accept Jews but

didn’t want to come off as cruel and racist, immigration to Canada was slowed. A chart shows

that after the rise of Hitler in 1933 until the end of the war, Canada admitted fewer people than

ever between 1912 and 1947 (Document 1). Due to this, fewer Jewish refugees were admitted to

Canada than in any other western country (Siegel, 2012). We see another example of how the

Canadian government avoids and makes up an excuse for the acceptance of Jewish refugees

during a statement given by the Canadian delegation on the topic of immigration. The delegation

claimed that immigration was unreachable due to Canada’s unemployment rate and the possible

capacity of how many people Canada could hold during the great depression (Document 10).

This statement did not however mention any statistics or the reason why Jewish immigrants were

being neglected specifically during Canada's open-door policy. Within Prime Minister King’s

personal journal, there are several entries where he expresses his views and opinions on the

crisis. Many entries identify his sympathy for the Jewish population of Europe. However, he

states many times that he doesn’t believe in letting them into Canada. His reasoning was his own

constitutional views and distaste for Jews along with fear of the political outcome. Many

members of the cabinet didn’t support allowing Jewish refugees and a vast amount of Canadian

citizens strongly opposed this as well. Due to this, he worried about the opinions and criticism he
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would face from a political standpoint. He also worried that it would affect his chances of

winning the next election (Document 9). These are just a few examples of how the Canadian

government did not take proper measures throughout the crisis.

The antisemitic attitudes that both the Canadian public and government showed

demonstrates blatant negligence to the Jewish refugee crisis. Many Canadians felt the need to

show discrimination against the Jewish population with regard to their Nazi-like views.

Government officials avoided the issue and chose to stay silent throughout the crisis in hopes of

not feeding into the mindset that the Nazis created which further made the immigrating Jews feel

more outcasted and rejected. The future of Canada was also tainted by Nazi propaganda

influencing the younger generation to align with the views of antisemitic citizens and Hitler

himself. Both the government and the Canadian citizens showed intense hatred towards the Jews

and ultimately passed on those views to the future generations of the nation. Furthermore, it can

be deduced that the handling of the Jewish refugee crisis was not only an embarrassment and

oversight but a clear indication that Canada still had a lot of work to do before becoming a nation

that prides itself on upholding the basic rights and freedoms of all.
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References

Siegel, L. (2012, December 3). Jewish Canadians. The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Retrieved May 19, 2022, from

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jewish-canadians

Tattrie, J. (2019, July 16). Propaganda in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Retrieved May 22, 2022, from

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/propaganda-in-Canada