Abstract/Details

Three times betrayed: The Sudeten Germans of Tomslake, British Columbia

Drysdale, Margaret Melanie.   University of Victoria (Canada) ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2005. MR07017.

Abstract (summary)

Members of the German Social Democratic Party escaped prewar Czechoslovakia, ultimately finding themselves confined to a frozen farmstead in northeastern British Columbia. Wherever and to whomever the Social Democrats had turned they were betrayed, first by the international community, then by their own countrymen and finally by the Canadian government which abdicated its responsibility for the refugees to the Canadian Colonization Association (CCA), the colonization branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Rigidly adhering to legislation introduced during the Depression, the Canadian government refused to amend its immigration law to allow the predominantly urban, industrial Sudeten Germans to settle in areas where factory work was readily available. Instead, politicians allowed the CCA to dictate the terms of the Sudetens' enforced stay as 'enemy aliens' in a co-operative farming operation at Tomslake, BC. This small group of dissidents, however, overcame all obstacles to build a viable community. This paper details this small group of immigrants' transformation from European dissidents in 1938 to farmers in northeastern British Columbia, using interviews, primary documents and secondary sources.

Indexing (details)


Subject
Canadian history;
Minority & ethnic groups;
Sociology;
Ethnic studies
Classification
0334: Canadian history
0631: Ethnic studies
Identifier / keyword
Social sciences
Title
Three times betrayed: The Sudeten Germans of Tomslake, British Columbia
Author
Drysdale, Margaret Melanie
Number of pages
144
Degree date
2005
School code
0244
Source
MAI 44/02M, Masters Abstracts International
ISBN
978-0-494-07017-8
University/institution
University of Victoria (Canada)
University location
Canada -- British Columbia, CA
Degree
M.A.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
MR07017
ProQuest document ID
305401663
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/docview/305401663