Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example

Secondary Sources Granatstein, Jack L. The Generals: The Canadian Army’s Senior Commanders in The Second World War. Alberta: of Calgary Press, 2005. This very readable book presents a series of portraits of key leaders of Canadian forces during the second World War. The stories of the individuals reflect a largely English speaking officer elite which was not representative of the mix of Anglophone and Francophone citizens at home in Canada. Although some claimed that this was because of a government conspiracy, and others hinted at cowardly attitudes in the Francophone members of society, Granatstein reveals that in fact this uneven distribution was largely due to the bitter conscription issue that had so upset Francophone citizens during the first World War and some Anglophone bias in the recruitment, management and promotion systems of the Canadian military.

Those few Francophone soldiers who did rise in the ranks conducted themselves with exemplary valor in the war and some, like Vanier, went on to take up diplomatic roles in Europe after the war was over, assisting Canada in its newfound non-colonial future. Unfortunately, however, these were the exception to the rule, and Granatstein notes that it took until the 1960s for the Canadian military to fully appreciate and value its French speaking members.Dickson, Paul Douglas. A Thoroughly Canadian General: A Biography of General H.D.G. Crerar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007. Print.This biography presents through the life of one outstanding military man a way of understanding the first half of the twentieth century as preparation for Canada’s full independence which was achieved in the second half.

This second generation Scottish immigrant to Canada was typical of middle class, hardworking and modest citizens. He fought in both World Wars and achieved high rank in the second World War. This was a man who saw himself as a British subject, and a Canadian national – labels which to him contained no contradiction. He faced the difficult decisions regarding deployment of Canadian troops in dangerous missions in Europe with gravity and courage, and it is largely due to his leadership that the Canadian forces achieved the successes they did.

The main message of the book is that this man changed and adapted to World War 1, the professional soldier’s role in the somewhat frustrating inter war years, to World War 2, and to a wholly new multicultural situation in the post war years, and through it all retained his commitment to Canadian national identity. This is what makes him such a good representative of twentieth century Canadian themes and issues lived out in an exemplary life before, during, and after the second World War. Vance, Jonathan F.

“Canadian Relief Agencies and Prisoners of War 1939-45.” Journal of Canadian Studies 31/2 (1996): 133ff. Print. Available online at:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3683/is_199607/ai_n8756247/?tag=content;col1 This article discusses the efforts made by various agencies in Canada throughout World War 2 to look after Canadian citizens who had been captured in Europe and held prisoner by the enemy. Although the Geneva convention was supposed to ensure that such captives were treated decently, in practice many Canadian prisoners of war suffered horrendous deprivation both in temporary holding camps and in proper prisoner of war camps.

The government, the Red Cross, the YMCAs and various smaller voluntary groups at first operated chaotically often at cross purposes, and at times even with mutual recriminations. This created pressure for the government, who had many other priorities to deal with at the time. When 2000 Canadian soldiers were captured at Dieppe in August 1942 the Red Cross were the only agency allowed to send food parcels. Against advice from the British, and following the example of the Americans, the Canadian aid agencies successfully lobbied to have this changed, and Canadian food parcels became the gold standard throughout the latter half of the war in terms of both quantity and quality, saving many prisoners from starvation.

This showed that strong leadership from voluntary organisations and individuals in Canadian society proved to be more effective even than government activity.