Canadians and the Second World War
Secondary LIVE ACTION VIDEO

This video presents the Second World War from a Canadian perspective. Using a mixture of documentary film footage and documentary photos, it gives a personal account of the war as experienced by three Canadians. Based on their actual letters and diaries, the video contrasts their very different experiences and examines Canada's contribution to the war effort and some of the effects on life back home.

The video raises issues of the time, many of which are pertinent today. Students will identify with Victor Poppa and George Freeman, two young men taken with the glamour and glory of war and anxious to enlist. Filled with tension and drama, this video follows the detailed accounts of the two men as they enter the RCAF, through their harrowing training as gunners, to the dramatic last flight when their plane is shot down. Only one survives to tell his story.

Nellie Spence is a retired school teacher when the war breaks out. Having experienced the loss of many of her students during the First World War, she is opposed to Canada's involvement in another war. In her letters to friends and relatives she speaks out on world events as they unfold.

This video takes the small, immediate experiences of three individuals and puts them into the context of world events and issues. It addresses issues of peace and war, volunteerism, the treatment of minority groups in society, and the idea of authority and line of command in a war-people being forced to do things they would not normally do. 

INCLUDES TEACHERS' GUIDE

ALL VIDEOs & DVDs CONTAIN PUBLIC PERFORMANCE RIGHTS