Two solitudes: Quebec Universities in WWII

“When the Second World War broke out, students at McGill and Bishop’s universities came together, united in their attachment to the British Empire. Meanwhile, students at Université de Montréal (UdeM) and Université Laval were more likely to have anti-war attitudes, bolstered by Quebec nationalism. Such were the findings of Jeremy John Walling, who scoured student newspapers from the era’s four chartered Quebec universities while writing his PhD dissertation under UdeM history Professor Carl Bouchard. “At McGill and Bishop’s, young men of military age saw their friends being sent to the front and feared that society would see them as cowards if they didn’t rally too,” explains Dr. Walling. “At the same time, to avoid emptying out the universities, the government encouraged students to stay home by exempting them from conscription.” On-campus military training Although not compelled to serve in the military, students could volunteer to train as military officers, right on university grounds. “The attitude at the time was that universities were training the leaders of tomorrow,” explains Dr. Bouchard. “Students also saw themselves that way. They trained to command troops, not to become cannon fodder.” At McGill, the number of recruits to the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps (COTC) ballooned from 125 to 1,323 — about 60 per cent of the male student body — by the end of October 1939. At Bishop’s, student response was likewise immediate and enthusiastic. “COTC membership at UdeM and Laval grew very little by contrast,” says Dr. Walling. Collapse of the pan-Canadian student movement University students had been working since the 1920s to coordinate with each other across Canada’s vast territory. To this end, the Canadian Student Assembly (CSA) and the National Federation of Canadian University Students (NFCUS), previously rival organizations, agreed to unite at their December 1939 conventions. Although in 1938 both groups opposed the impending war, the more conservative NFCUS pledged its support after war was declared. The liberal CSA, meanwhile, maintained its opposition. “Once NFCUS realized the CSA hadn’t budged, it accused the CSA of cowardice and claimed it was a disgrace to the Empire,” says Dr. Walling. “The situation deteriorated from there. Of course, neither organization was a monolith. Infighting finally led to the collapse of both organizations in 1940.” France defeated by Germany After France fell to Germany in June 1940, sentiment started shifting among French Canadians. “France’s defeat sent a shockwave through francophone universities,” explains Dr. Bouchard. “France was a beacon of civilization for francophones, who felt little attachment to the British Empire.” Then Marshal Philippe Pétain, a First World War hero, was installed as head of France’s collaborationist Vichy regime. “He parroted the Catholic Church, claiming France had been defeated because it had lost its traditional values, and calling for a national cultural revolution” says Dr. Bouchard. “This rhetoric resonated deeply with French Canadians.” Both UdeM and Laval were Catholic institutions at the time, led by clergy with a very conservative vision for society. After France’s defeat, the Canadian government made military training mandatory in universities. “Canada needed a big army, and thus a large contingent of officers,” says Dr. Walling. “University students were considered intelligent young people from good families. Training them into officers seemed like a quick and efficient solution.” But while many anglophone students joined the army after graduation, francophone graduates were much less inclined. “A lot of them were waiting to see if the government was going to conscript them,” notes Dr. Bouchard. Humanities and social sciences purged As accusations mounted that university students were hiding from the war effort, the government began to consider which academic programs were essential and which were not. “They decided that doctors and engineers were necessary for the war,” notes Dr. Walling, “but philosophers and historians were not.” So began the purge in the humanities. “It was even rumoured that the government might start closing humanities departments,” explains Dr. Bouchard, “but universities opposed the measure. In the end, the decision was made to remove underperforming humanities students from their programs.” It was not clear how to implement this mandate; some universities took it more seriously than others. “Francophones didn’t generally support the government’s decision and therefore didn’t follow the letter of the law,” says Dr. Walling. “The rector of UdeM publicly denounced the policy, which caused an uproar. McGill, meanwhile, followed instructions to the letter. Overall, anglophone universities lost more students to the war than francophone universities, whose student populations continued to grow.” The late francophone rally Francophone students only supported the effort near the end of the war. “It was easier to be critical of the war in 1939 when there were no French Canadians on the front than it was in 1944, when there were tens of thousands,” says Dr. Walling. The conversation had also begun to shift. “People started saying we were going to liberate France and the entire European continent, and destroy the Nazi regime,” says Dr. Walling. “We also knew by then that we were going to win the war, which made it easier to support.” Few commemorations at francophone universities The different on-campus experiences during the Second World War were reflected in how the war was commemorated. While researching his PhD dissertation, which he defended in February, Dr. Walling discovered that McGill had quickly begun collecting photos and information on students who went to war in order to build its archives. It also raised money to build war memorials, among other commemorative efforts. Francophone institutions did much less to commemorate the war at the time. These different approaches are still visible on Remembrance Day. “Remembrance Day was observed in francophone universities for a few years after the war ended, but then it was abandoned,” says Dr. Walling. “At McGill, it’s still an important day to celebrate. At Bishop’s, too, where every year they read out the names of every student killed in war.” If Canada went to war today Quebec’s anglophone and francophone universities each still have their distinct cultures. Would a similar schism occur if Canada entered into armed conflict today? “Canada is a sovereign nation and no longer has the imperial tie that existed during the Second World War, so I’m not sure you’d see the same division,” say Dr. Bouchard. “In addition, university professors are now mostly unionized, so they have an official voice in a way they didn’t then. I think there would be a strong critical response.” Dr. Bouchard also notes that military conflict is now much more technological and can be carried out with far fewer soldiers. Dr. Walling adds that universities are unlikely to become officer training sites again. “The Canadian Army now has a more stringent framework for officer training, because the formula of training part-time while taking university courses didn’t work,” he says. “Officer training is intensive and long-term.” The Second World War did usher in a more utilitarian view of universities, however. “Back then, the impetus was to cut humanities departments,” says Dr. Bouchard. “Today, governments are pressuring universities to develop closer ties to industry. In wartime, the question arises of dual-use research: civilian and military. Does university research have potential applications in military defense? What about offense?” Critically, Quebec universities are public institutions. “As beneficiaries of public funds, universities serve society and the state,” Dr. Bouchard says. “If the state needs something from universities, universities have the obligation to provide it. And that’s also true when it comes to contributing to the war effort.” The post Two solitudes: Quebec Universities in WWII appeared first on University Affairs .

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