1939-1952

Lesson 2: WAR AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Landscapes of Injustice tells a story of the loss of home. It is about fear, racism, and measures taken in the name of security that made no one safer. It is also about the resilience of Japanese Canadians confronting injustice.

Visit our Timeline
Scroll down

Spotlight Activity

In this activity we are inviting students to understand the anti-Japanese bias that permeated B.C. society in the years leading up to the Second World War. A political cartoon from the 1930s will help set the tone for the activities to follow. The image is one that depicts open bias against Japanese Canadians. As the image is exposed, in three separate reveals, students will speculate and share aloud what they are seeing.

SUGGESTED TIME: 15-30 MINUTES

Teaching Instructions

  1. Reveal the first piece of the shrouded image (Reveal #1) but keep the rest of Source 2.1 Plugging the Dyke covered.

    - Have students record what they see using the guiding questions provided.

    - Allow about 5 minutes for them to decode and record their observations.

  2. As you reveal the next segment of the image (Reveal #2) ask students to build on their understanding.

    - Are there new clues as to its meaning, message or purpose?

    - Have the students speculate on the connection(s) they can make with the image and Japanese Canadians.

  3. You now reveal the final piece of the image (Reveal #3), the political cartoon is now clear and the image is open to interpretation.

    - First see if the students can identify in some detail what the cartoon was used for, its purpose, and full meaning.

    - Now ask them to consider how Japanese Canadians may have felt about this cartoon.

  4. Discuss with the class how the cartoon indicates the prevailing public mood toward Japanese Canadians in the late 1930s.

    - What can the cartoon tell us about the public attitude toward Japanese Canadians?

    - If there was a crisis with Imperial Japan how might the cartoon help us to understand the public attitude toward Japanese Canadians?

    - How would Japanese Canadians have felt when viewing cartoons of this nature?

Sources