About the Book
From 1914 to 1920, thousands of men who had immigrated to Canada from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire were unjustly imprisoned as “enemy aliens,” some with their families. Many communities in Canada where internees originated do not know these stories of Ukrainians, Germans, Bulgarians, Croatians, Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Jews, Alevi Kurds, Armenians, Ottoman Turks, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Serbians, Slovaks, and Slovenes, amongst others. While most internees were Ukrainians, almost all were civilians.
The Stories Were Not Told presents this largely unrecognized event through photography, cultural theory, and personal testimony, including stories told at last by internees and their descendants. Semchuk describes how lives and society have been shaped by acts of legislated discrimination and how to move toward greater reconciliation, remembrance, and healing. This is necessary reading for anyone seeking to understand the cross-cultural and intergenerational consequences of Canada’s first national internment operations. Foreword by Jen Budney.
Table of Contents:
1 Learning from the Past
The War Measures Act
Enemy Aliens
Families in Danger
2 Standing Where the Internees Stood
3 Stories from Internees and Descendants
Mary Bayrak
Jerry Bayrak
Philip Yasnowskyj, excerpt from “Internment”
Nikola Sakaliuk, “WWI Internment Account of a Ukrainian at Fort Henry,” an interview by Lubomyr Y. Luciuk
Ferdinand Zieroth, as told by grandson David Zieroth
Wasyl Bobyk, as told by son Albert Bobyk
Emile Litowski, as told by niece Christine Witiuk
Vasyl Doskoch, as told by daughter Anne Sadelain
Stefa (Mielniczuk) Pawliw, as told by granddaughter Kim Pawliw
Petro Witrowicz, as told by granddaughter Valdine Ciwko
Anonymous, as told by a grandson
Uncle’s Story, as told by nephew Andrew Antoniuk
Yurko Forchuk, as told by son Marshall Forchuk
Yuri Babjek and his brothers, John, Bill, and Theodore,as told by grandson Nick Topolnyski
Mikhail Danyluk, as told by granddaughter Florence McKie
Frederick, Hilda, and Fred Jr. Kohse, as told by son and brother Gerald Kohse
Metro Olynyk, as told by son Fred Olynyk
Maksym Boyko, as told by son Otto and daughter-in-law Kathleen Boyko
William Sharun, as told by son Lawrence Sharun
Harry Levitsky, as told by step-granddaughter Donna Korchinski
4 Spirit Lake Photographs
5 Engaging Memory Work
A Loss of Identity
They Were Kids
Authorities Can’t Control Memory
Telling the Story as Resistance
Humiliation
These Are the Last Flowers I Will See in My Life
Healing
Resilience
The Doors Open
About the Author :
Sandra Semchuk is a photographic, text, and video artist, and the winner of a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2018). She taught at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Review :
"To dwell in this book's pages is to experience dismay, sadness and sobering revelation. Finally though, a century later, internment stories are being told, making our nation's history more authentic."
"The book is a melding of Semchuk’s personal journey, visual art, narrative, and recall.... The Stories Were Not Told is an intriguing composition, stimulating thought and offering an artistic integrative approach to history and culture.... This grounding of the human experience through a variety of approaches reveals more than history per se." [Full review at https://ormsbyreview.com/2020/05/13/823-regular-hinther-mochoruk-semchuk-black-internment/]
"[The author] underscores the linkage between the past and the present and the potential implications of not doing the individual and collective “memory work” that forces us to confront our personal and national histories in a meaningful and respectful fashion. It is a powerful invocation—and one we should heed."
