September 13, 2013
Banff, Alberta
It was a truly historic day – several hundred people attended the opening of a 1,000 square‐foot permanent exhibit, funded by the federal government’s national historic recognition program, exploring Canada’s first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920. Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism, and Ivan Grbešić, Chair of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund and a Director of the Canadian‐Croatian Chamber of Commerce, addressed those in attendance at the official opening.
Croats were among the 8,579 so‐called “enemy aliens” who were interned at 24 sites established across Canada during the First World War. They suffered not because of anything they had done but rather who they were and where they had come from. Images of civilians housed behind high barbed‐wire fences, stories of hard, forced and slave labour, cases of violent administration of physical abuse and internees fleeing and a number being killed in attempting to do so, are not commonly associated with the beauty and splendor of Banff National Park. Internee labour in Banff contributed to clearing land (including a number of holes at the Banff Springs golf course), constructing roads (including portions of the 1A Highway) and bridges (including a version of the Spray River Bridge).
Why did it take nearly 100 years for this episode to be told? In most cases, humiliation, apprehension and embarrassment – feelings prevalent through the affected ethnic communities; in other cases, abandonment of ethnic identity and the stories and memories that went along with it; and the destruction of records of the Office of Internment Operations did not help.
Much work remains to be done as there are many unanswered questions as it relates to the Croatian internment experience. While the research work led by Frank Jankač of the Croatian Canadian Internment Project is well underway, we seek your support in gaining a better understanding of what occurred during the period in question and uncovering the personal experiences, stories and voices of those interned, their families, and those affected by the episode within our Croatian community in Canada so that the information could be shared with all Canadians (through the publication of a book) and more accurately reflected in our Canadian history.
For further information or to make a donation to this important project, please contact: Frank Jankač at 647-290-8337 or via email at
jankac@croatianinternment.com
All donations towards the project are eligible for a tax receipt as permitted under CRA guidelines.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE OFFICIAL OPENING, CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
Media Release – Update to the Croatian Canadian Community (.pdf)
Media Release – Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (.pdf)
