Hockey and Homosexuals: Relating the Articles by Historians Paul Jackson and Andrew J. Ross

When I first read the articles by Paul Jackson and Andrew J. Ross, I could not find a connection between the two. Jackson discussed homosexuality within the Canadian Prisoner of War (POW) Camps, while Ross analysed the contribution of Canadian hockey players’ to the nation’s war effort. Upon closer inspection, however, I realized that there were simple connections between the two articles which held significance. Both dealt with topics which were solely male dominated and both thrust forward questions of disloyalty and nationalism in Canada during the Second World War.

Paul Jackson’s article, “The Enemy Within the Enemy Within: The Canadian Army and Internment Operations During the Second World War,” is a lengthy article unique in the historical topic it discusses. Jackson argues “that gender and sexuality were at once private, interpersonal and political issues, deeply intertwined with national, military, class and ethnic identities.” Through his supporting points and evidences he aims to comprehend “the range of responses to the phenomenon of homosexuality in [the] specific historical moment” of the Second World War.

The thesis and aim of Jackson’s paper are supported by a long list of both primary and secondary sources. The most interesting of Jackson’s primary sources is his use of oral histories. In particular, his interviews with “fourteen former German POWs, three Canadian guards, the wartime director of naval intelligence, and a Jewish refugee” are of importance. Not only do they provide insight into the perception and treatment of interned homosexuals but they also emphasise how this facet of history is remembered by those who experienced it firsthand. Jackson notes that none of those he interviewed identified as ho...

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...simplify occurrences during the war for comprehensions sake. Perhaps there is significance in their shared fault of becoming unclear while addressing and applying historical complexities and paradoxes. Their works become pioneers in their fields, themes and topics, opening the door to a generally untouched history. It is up to future historians to note the obscurity of Jackson’s and Ross’s points but also the strength of their arguments and sources. Only then can a clear understanding of Canada during the Second World War be produced.

Works Cited

Jackson, Paul. “The Enemy Within the Enemy Within: The Canadian Army and Internment

Operations During the Second World War.” Left History Vol 9 Iss. 2 (2004): 45-83.

Ross, Andrew J. “The Paradox of Conn Smythe: Hockey, Memory and the Second World War.”

Canadian Historical Review Vol. 86 No. 4, (2005): 19-35.