During the Cold War, more than 36,000 individuals entering Canada claimed Czechoslovakia as their country of citizenship. A defining characteristic of this migration of predominantly political refugees was the prevalence of anti-communist and democratic values. Diplomats, industrialists, politicians, professionals, workers, and students fled to the West in search of freedom, security, and economic opportunity.
Jan Raska’s Czech Refugees in Cold War Canada explores how these newcomers joined or formed ethnocultural organizations to help in their attempts to affect developments in Czechoslovakia and Canadian foreign policy towards their homeland. Canadian authorities further legitimized the Czech refugees’ anti-communist agenda and increased their influence in Czechoslovak institutions. In turn, these organizations supported Canada’s Cold War agenda of securing the state from communist infiltration. Ultimately, an adherence to anti-communism, the promotion of Canadian citizenship, and the cultivation of a Czechoslovak ethnocultural heritage accelerated Czech refugees’ socioeconomic and political integration in Cold War Canada.
By analyzing oral histories, government files, ethnic newspapers, and community archival records, Raska reveals how Czech refugees secured admission as desirable immigrants and navigated existing social, cultural, and political norms in Cold War Canada.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-298) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2018.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 305.89/189607109045
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- e-xr---
- ISBN
- 0887558275 9780887555725
- LCCN
- F1035.C9
- LCCN Item number
- R37 2018eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- YDX
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xii, 307 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00239202 (OCoLC)1059441894 (CaOOCEL)455710
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- YDX
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Contents 6
- A Guide to Czech Pronunciation 7
- List of Illustrations 8
- Preface 10
- Introduction 14
- Chapter 1: Interwar Farm Labourers, Wartime Enemy Aliens, and Allied Citizens 33
- Chapter 2: Postwar Relief, Canadian Citizenship, and Ethnic Heritage 65
- Chapter 3: Aftermath of the Communist Takeover: Canada and the 1948ers 91
- Chapter 4: Community Tensions and Ideological Divisions 117
- Chapter 5: Warsaw Pact Invasion: Canada and the 1968ers 152
- Chapter 6: Opposing the Communist Regime 187
- Chapter 7: Creating Ethnocultural Heritage 220
- Conclusion 236
- Acknowledgements 246
- Abbreviations 248
- Notes 250
- Bibliography 298
- Index 312
