Excerpt from an interview with Sandra Corbo
Video
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Video
Audio
Activities
LOOK
Watch the video of Sandra Corbo and read the transcript below. What are her main messages?
THINK
How did the internment of enemy aliens affect Sandra Corbo? What are the lasting intergenerational consequences for families of people who were interned?
THINK
Adopt the perspective of Sandra Corbo. How do you think being persecuted simply for being Italian affected how she felt about herself and her cultural heritage?
Details
Date June 11, 2011
Materials Transcript
Because my mother had to go to work and my father wasn’t earning enough money, at that point in time. So she had to supplement.
She had to put me somewhere. And they all thought that this was the best place for me. They thought really that I would get good care, better than if I had a babysitter. And it would be cheaper. I mean, that was one of the reasons, they needed the money for the family.
Mum had no choice.
That was a direct consequence. My life at the orphanage, was not, I was not happy there. I got to see my mother once a month. Because that was the rule.
I can remember at one point going home and looking… my mom and dad were cooking and I was standing in the hallway looking in at them. And I said to myself, they really don’t need me here anyway, do they? And I was what, maybe 5 years old. It doesn’t matter whether I’m here or not.
I was very angry.
Historical Context
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- When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
- Sandra Corbo’s parents had to work to support her extended family after her grandfather and uncle were interned in camps. As a result, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
- In this video clip, Corbo recounts the impact of this experience on her life.
When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
When Sandra Corbo was two years old, her grandfather and uncle were interned, so her parents moved from Toronto to Montréal to help support the extended family. Because both her father and mother had to work, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
In this video clip, Corbo recounts the impact of this experience on her life.
“I’m 73 and it still hurts like hell. It was a shame brought on the family. The feeling of not being worthy. Of being considered a traitor. It’s the public perception reflected back on you.”
— Sandra Corbo, 2011
When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
When Sandra Corbo was two years old, her grandfather and uncle were interned, so her parents moved from Toronto to Montréal to help support the extended family. Because both her father and mother had to work, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
Seventy years later, she described how this traumatic experience affected her life.
The photograph shows Corbo with her mother.
- When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
- Sandra Corbo’s parents had to work to support her extended family after her grandfather and uncle were interned in camps. As a result, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
- In this video clip, Corbo recounts the impact of this experience on her life.
When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
When Sandra Corbo was two years old, her grandfather and uncle were interned, so her parents moved from Toronto to Montréal to help support the extended family. Because both her father and mother had to work, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
In this video clip, Corbo recounts the impact of this experience on her life.
“I’m 73 and it still hurts like hell. It was a shame brought on the family. The feeling of not being worthy. Of being considered a traitor. It’s the public perception reflected back on you.”
— Sandra Corbo, 2011
When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
When Sandra Corbo was two years old, her grandfather and uncle were interned, so her parents moved from Toronto to Montréal to help support the extended family. Because both her father and mother had to work, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
Seventy years later, she described how this traumatic experience affected her life.
The photograph shows Corbo with her mother.
Summary
- When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
- Sandra Corbo’s parents had to work to support her extended family after her grandfather and uncle were interned in camps. As a result, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
- In this video clip, Corbo recounts the impact of this experience on her life.
Essential
When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
When Sandra Corbo was two years old, her grandfather and uncle were interned, so her parents moved from Toronto to Montréal to help support the extended family. Because both her father and mother had to work, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
In this video clip, Corbo recounts the impact of this experience on her life.
In-Depth
“I’m 73 and it still hurts like hell. It was a shame brought on the family. The feeling of not being worthy. Of being considered a traitor. It’s the public perception reflected back on you.”
— Sandra Corbo, 2011
When the War Measures Act was invoked at the outbreak of the Second World War, residents from countries at war with Canada — Italy, Japan and Germany — were particularly affected.
When Sandra Corbo was two years old, her grandfather and uncle were interned, so her parents moved from Toronto to Montréal to help support the extended family. Because both her father and mother had to work, Sandra was placed in an orphanage for two years.
Seventy years later, she described how this traumatic experience affected her life.
The photograph shows Corbo with her mother.