Vernon plaque acknowledges unjust internment of "enemy aliens"

by Stefan Lemieszewski

VERNON, British Columbia - As children played soccer in MacDonald Park next to the Seaton High School here on a recent sunny Saturday morning they were unaware of the plaque unveiling taking place within earshot of their cheers.

On June 7, about 150 people gathered to unveil a plaque commemorating the unjust internment by the Canadian government of 8,579 "enemy aliens" in 24 concentration camps across the country in 1914-1920. Over 5,000 of the so-called "enemy aliens" interned were Ukrainians. Another 80,000 individuals (of whom the vast majority were also Ukrainians) were not interned, but were classified as "enemy aliens" and required to report regularly to Canadian officials.

The commemorative marker reads: "Vernon Internment Camp. Thousands of Ukrainian Canadians and other European immigrants were unjustly imprisoned as 'enemy aliens' during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920. This plaque is dedicated to the memory of the men, women and children who were held at the Vernon internment camp, on this location, now known as MacDonald Park, between September 18, 1914, and February 20, 1920."

As they played in MacDonald Park, the children doubtless were also not aware that both the high school and the soccer field on which they were running were once the site of an internment camp that imprisoned women and children along with their husbands and fathers.

The Ukrainian men had been forced to work as cheap laborers in the nearby Edgewood and Mara Lake camps. Some refused the heavy road work and as punishment had their food rations reduced and were placed in solitary confinement. Twelve internees escaped from the Vernon concentration camp by digging a 100-foot tunnel under the barbed wire fence. At other camps internees were not so lucky, and six paid the ultimate price for their unjust internment when they were killed trying to escape.

City officials unaware

Playing children are not the only ones ignorant of this little-known history. As recently as February, Vernon city officials had denied there were ever any women and children in the camp nearby. At the June 7 unveiling, they were no doubt surprised when the Vernon camp's only known survivor, Fred Kohse (internee No. 5019), showed up in person to do the honors.

The plaque was consecrated jointly by the Revs. George Podtepa and Peter Blazuk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Rev. Volodymyr Bilous of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Wreaths were laid by members of the Canadian Ukrainian Youth Association (SUMK) and the Zirka Ukrainian Dancers.

Mr. Kohse was only 1 year old when he and his mother were interned in 1915. They spent six years in the camp along with his father, Frederick. Mr. Kohse recalls that his father's personal assets, including his fishing boat, were confiscated by the Canadian government. To this day, the Canadian government has never returned such wrongfully confiscated assets to internees or their descendants.

Communicating with the outside world

Mr. Kohse's mother, Hilda, was an Englishwoman. Mr. Kohse told The Weekly how she managed to get news of their predicament to the outside world. First, she wrote a formal protest and presented it to camp officials, who tore it up before her eyes. Then, she hid a letter in a tennis ball and hurled it over the barbed wire fence to a friend. This letter eventually made its way to the Parliament of England - Canada was still considered a "Dominion of the British Empire" at the time - and the case was raised in the House of Lords in London.

Mr. Kohse expressed his conviction this was the reason his family was released earlier, albeit by only a few months, than most others who finally regained their freedom in 1920. Nevertheless, for six long years the camp was all the young child could call home.

As a reminder of those days the octogenarian treasures a two-foot "swagger stick" given to him by a fellow camp internee. Carved into it are his nickname, "Fritzy," and the year 1916. Mr. Kohse brought it with him to the ceremony.

Key organizers of the commemorative plaque's unveiling were Roman Chez, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress's Vernon Branch; Andrea Malysh, a Vernon-based researcher; and the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Those who attended the ceremony included Liberal member of the British Columbia Provincial Legislative Assembly Dr. April Saunders; the acting mayor of Vernon, Councilor Klaus Tribes; Kari Moore, president of the Ukrainian Professional and Business Association's Victoria Branch; Councilor Ron Morgan from the Greater Vernon Parks and Recreation District; Borys Sydoruk of Calgary, representing the UCCLA; and Julia Stashuk, representing the UCC's British Columbia Provincial Council.

The official ceremony was followed by a reception at the local Ukrainian Orthodox church hall across the street, where a display of old newspaper clippings and other archival material was set up.

Stories of the internment

Gerald Kohse, 69, Fred Kohse's younger brother, shared anecdotes about the internment related to him in his youth by his parents. Ms. Malysh outlined details about the Vernon concentration camp's operations gleaned from public archives and periodicals of the day.

Mr. Sydoruk gave an overview of the community's project to have plaques placed at internment camp sites (seven of 26 have now been marked). The UCCLA's director of special projects told the audience that Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's promise to deal with the issue of redress for internees and their descendants remains unfulfilled, despite a unanimous mandate given by Parliament in 1991.

Informative brochures prepared by the UCC's Vernon Branch were distributed to the audience. These contained photos of the camps and their internees, and provided historical information. One brochure was particularly relevant; on its cover was a photo of the military police's brigade building fronted by a bed of flowers that spelled out "Vernon Concentration Camp - 1916 - B.M.P." - irrefutable evidence with which to confront anyone who claims that these were never called concentration camps.

Ironically, during the night of June 6, even before the plaque was unveiled, the memorial experienced its first act of vandalism. Someone pulled all the flowers out of the cairn that stands behind it. Fresh flowers were replanted in time for the ceremony. As Mr. Kohse laid another bouquet by the plaque, one could only wonder what was going through his mind during his first visit to the Vernon camp's site after 77 years.

For further information about Canada's national internment operations of 1914-1920, visit the website at: http://www.infoukes.com/history

Stefan Lemieszewski is a member of the UCCLA in Vancouver, British Columbia. His e-mail address is: [email protected]

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 13, 1997, No. 28, Vol. LXV

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