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Thursday, March 23, 2023
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The following article and
photos are taken from the Windsor Daily Star issue of June 12th,
1940 when many Italians were taken into custody as enemy aliens.
40 Italians became prisoners of war and were held without evidence.
The Italian community was subject to hostility, ostracism, persecution
and scorn. Most politicians disassociated themselves from their
own constituents. However, 7 months later the mayor of Windsor,
Arthur J. Reaume, made a plea for tolerance, especially for the
Italians in Windsor who “were having hell on earth”.
He reminded people of their earlier contribution to the city: “Years
past Windsor was lucky to have those Italians: They dug our sewers
and did other hard |
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labour. Today they have
lost their homes and their jobs and are persecuted by everybody”. |
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Police Move Quickly
to Check Suspected Anti-British Elements
Largest Raiding Squad in City’s History Seizes Men, Firearms, Ammunition and
Literature in General Roundup
June 12th, 1940 Windsor Daily Star
By Norman Hull. |
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A purge of Windsor's Italian population since
Canada's declaration of war with the fascist country has
resulted in the arrest of two score heads of households,
suspected of
being pro-Mussolini, and seizure of fire arms, ammunition
and a large quantity of literature.
More than 100 police officers
have |
The Windsor Daily Star, June
12th, 1940 caption for the photo at the left read
" The alleged Mussolini supporter is trying to hide his face
as he is led to jail."
Courtesy of the Windsor Star, P10816
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participated
in the two-day drive against suspected anti-British elements
in this district. The raids were the most extensive ever conducted
in this city. The drive was launched simultaneously |
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in Windsor and other
Canadian centres, shortly after Italy’s entry into the
war.
Those arrested are housed at the police station and at the armouries
under guard of the Essex Tank Regiment. How long they will be
held there is not known…Despite the extensive scouring of the city for the past
two days, authorities intimated today that the “cleanup” of all
the subversive elements and suspected fifth columnists is far
from finished. “This will be a daily occurrence until the
whole situation is in hand” one official remarked when questioned
about further arrests following yesterday’s police action.
The ink on newspaper headlines telling of Il Duce’s knife
in the back decision was scarcely dry Monday before the “blitzkrieg” against
his alleged Windsor followers was launched. Within a half hour
after the raid order was received from Ottawa, Sergeant P.W.
Davis, of the Royal Mounted Police; Inspector Phil Walter, of
the provincial police and City Police Chief Claude Renaud had
assembled more than 100 officers at city headquarters and were
prepared for the drive. A number of Windsor businessmen also
assisted police.
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Surprised |
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200 in Station |
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Motorized Unit |
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Taken to Armouries |
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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