This dissertation examines relations between Canadian soldiers and German civilians from March 1945 to April 1946. This study will show that Canadian relations with German civilians were, in part, an extension of relations with civilians in liberated countries, but were also something new altogether. At the beginning of the invasion of Germany, most Canadian soldiers did not wish to associate with Germans and followed a fraternization ban that had been put into effect. Canadians were more likely than American soldiers to believe in the ban. Soldiers were fed a propaganda campaign that told them all Germans were evil and needed to be punished for starting the war. As the invasion proceeded further into Germany, more Canadians realized that all Germans were not Nazis and began to fraternize with the ban still in place. In the Netherlands, where Canadians have been remembered as liberators, relations at times were also tense and bitter after the war ended. Canadians also had to deal with large number of Displaced Persons (DPs), who caused more headaches than German civilians for the occupation authorities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/3180 |
| Date | 04 January 2011 |
| Creators | Gordon, Hugh Avi |
| Contributors | Zimmerman, David |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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