The Patriotic Consensus: Unity, Morale, and the Second World War in Winnipeg by Jody Perrun (review)

Canada’s contribution to the Second World War, both on the battlefields and home front, is one of the most studied topics in Canadian history. It appeals to both academic historians and the popular reader, especially given recent anniversaries related to the conflict, such as the seventieth anniversary of the Allied landing on the beaches of Normandy. In The Patriotic Consensus, Jody Perrun takes this international story down to the local level. He examines how the people of Winnipeg adapted the implementation of nation-wide programs, such as recruitment and conscription, Victory Bonds, volunteer drives, and rationing, to suit their local context. He extends this analysis to emotional as well as practical components of life during the war, such as reactions to housing shortages, and post-war reunions. Perrun argues that traditional narratives, which suggest there was a “patriotic consensus” in the country that made the implementation of these programs possible, do not account for the “nuanced experiences of smaller communities,” ignoring emotions and reactions to policy in practice (p. 215). He suggests that analyzing these histories in a local, urban context provides a more effective framework through which to understand these reactions to the conflict.

Perrun frames his work within larger historiographical conversations about the experiences of people living in wartime cities, many of which focus on urban centres in Britain. This approach includes considering the effects that “problems related to work, wages, consumption and emotional well-being” had on how people experienced their lives at war (p. 215). Perrun suggests that these day-today issues had a significant impact on people’s willingness to co-operate in war efforts on the home front. Given Winnipeg’s sizable population, and exceptional class, cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity, he believes that the city provides an excellent case study for answering questions about people’s experience of the war and their relationship to its new prevalence in their lives (pp. 4-10). While he acknowledges Winnipeg is exceptional because of its diversity, he suggests that that allows his conclusions to be applied more broadly, since they represent the experiences of the diverse groups and communities represented in cities across Canada. (p. 14).

Each chapter of the book looks at one specific element of the war’s impact on the home front. These include wartime restrictions to freedom of speech and expression, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, the Victory Bond program, enlistment and volunteering, rationing and housing shortages, and family reunions. These chapters provide specific examples within this broader case study of national programs in the local context. Perrun tends to telescope in, starting with the national context of programs, such as Victory Loans, and then analyzing its application and impact in Winnipeg specifically. This approach allows him to immediately counter some of the national narratives about political consensus as they come up, rather than relegating the counter-narrative to one chapter or section. By looking at programs in isolation, Perrun is able to provide striking and vivid examples of life in wartime Winnipeg which help to illustrate his broader picture of the city. For example, his treatment of “If Day” brings his chapter on Victory Bonds to life. On February 18 1942, a variety of wartime agencies, soldiers, and volunteers came together to transform Winnipeg into a city under Nazi rule overnight. This exercise, known as “If Day,” was designed to prompt an upswing in investment in the Second Victory Loan campaign. The day’s activities included the arrest of clergymen and leaders of ethnic organizations, even greater rationing, roadside stops for impromptu investigations, and a bonfire of “banned books” (pp. 109-112). Perrun’s description, and the inclusion of photographs and reproduced newspapers in the appendix, brings to life a chapter that otherwise necessarily relies on tables and statistics, used to prove Winnipegers were participating in Victory Bond drives throughout the war. Using examples such as these, Perrun is able to concretely...