Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.11.2018, Blaðsíða 6

VISIT OUR WEBSITE LH-INC.CA
6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • November 15 2018
As Remembrance Day approaches
each year, it is important to
remember the contributions and
sacrifices that have been made by men
and women who enlisted in the military
and have been involved in combat in
international conflicts. It is also important
to contemplate what our perspectives
on war are, and the implications of war
within familial, local, national, and
international contexts. In light of this, I
began considering not only what my own
perspectives about war were, but what
the perspectives were found within the
Icelandic Canadian community.
Focusing on the First World War,
my research into the perspectives of
Icelanders about the war was part of a
larger project to create a museum exhibit
at the New Iceland Heritage Museum.
It was planned to commemorate the
100th anniversary of the signing of
the Armistice that ended the war and it
will run from November 3 to December
31, 2018. What I found through my
research is that within the Icelandic
Canadian community there are varying
perspectives about the war, which can be
viewed as a way of starting conversations
about war and whether it is an effective
way of handling international conflict.
Support for the war effort during
the First World War in the Icelandic
community was mainly indirect, through
acts of philanthropy such as providing
supplies and care packages to relief
organizations such as the Red Cross,
which distributed materials to soldiers
overseas. Magnea Hannesson recalled
memories about wartime on the home
front in an interview on March 7, 1989,
in which she stated that “there [were]
attempts to make things ... scarves for the
boys, some older girls could knit mitts
and things like that for the Red Cross.”
The Icelandic community participated in
a greater cross-Canada effort to support
the troops overseas through philanthropy.
Organizations such as the Red Cross
and the Canadian Girl Guides collected
items such as shoelaces, Christmas cards,
scarves and kerchiefs to prepare holiday
care packages for soldiers.
The sending of care packages and
supplies to soldiers overseas was greatly
appreciated by those who received
them, as expressed by an Icelandic
soldier, Archibald John Polson, in a
letter home to his family. In a letter sent
on December 14, 1916, Polson stated:
“Some of the other boys of the section
have been getting parcels from home,
and they have always treated the boys of
the section.” What is given to one soldier
was often shared with others if there
were resources available to share, and
any parcels received were appreciated
by all. Polson also expressed on several
occasions his gratitude for receiving
articles of clothing such as wool socks
and mittens to keep warm in the winter.
By participating in the creation of mitts,
scarves, and other articles of clothing for
soldiers, the Icelanders were assisting
in taking care of the men overseas. As
a result, what must be remembered is
that, regardless of one’s own convictions
about war, efforts can be made to assist
the men and women who are fighting in
the army overseas, and that these can be
as simple as providing a pair of socks, or
a scarf to a relief organization.
Conversely, there were many
people who were opposed to Canada’s
involvement in the war, and they had
various reasons for this. One which was
common was the justified hesitation to
having family members enlist in the army
and go overseas to fight. In an interview
done on August 12, 1989, Margaret
Frederickson asked an important and
telling question: “why should any mother
have to bring up a son to send them to
war?” To me, this quote is significant,
thought provoking, and speaks to the
sacrifices that are made by the families
of soldiers who enlisted in the army and
were deployed overseas. Another reason
why some members of the community
were opposed to involvement in the
war was their belief in pacifism, which
directly conflicted with the idea of armed
conflict.
Pacifism is a belief that violence and
war are under no circumstances justifiable
and that peaceful resolutions to disputes,
both domestic and international, should
be advocated for. Pacifism was, and still is,
a common belief system, and it provided
the rationale for some Icelanders’
opposition to Canada’s involvement in
the war. In the same interview conducted
in 1989, Margaret Frederickson said
that international disputes “should be
talked over and settled [diplomatically]
… killing thousands of people just to
get what they [world leaders] want” was
unnecessary. The men and women killed
in war, and the lasting impacts of war
on those who returned home, serve to
remind us of what is at stake when nations
go to war with one another. Therefore,
though idealistic on the surface, strong
international relationships between
nations should be sought after to avoid
further losses.
Another important reason why some
were opposed to involvement in the First
World War was because of a lack of
understanding about what the situation
was like overseas. In an interview on July
20, 1988, Einar Arnason stated: “[The
war] was a fun game. They [the soldiers]
didn’t take in that this was a life and
death struggle.” The misconception that
enlisting in the military during wartime
was an adventure was not uncommon
amongst young men, which is a tragedy.
It is a tragedy because many of the
men who enlisted were unaware of the
carnage and violence that they would be
confronted with when they arrived on the
front lines.
Through studying soldiers’ war
diaries and letters that they sent home,
it is apparent that there was a rhetoric
within the Canadian military during
the wartime about the war being an
adventure. Archibald Polson expressed
his desire to fight in the army on several
occasions. He was in his early 20s
when he enlisted in the 108th Battalion,
in which 10 percent of its members
were of Icelandic descent. He was
then transferred into the 2nd Canadian
Machine Gun Regiment with which he
went to the front lines to fight at the
Battle of Vimy Ridge. In one of his
early letters sent home on November 12,
1916, Polson wrote: “I wouldn’t mind
being home, but we are fighting for a
good cause, and I wouldn’t miss it for
anything. I would not like to be sitting
at home knowing that I had not tried to
do my bit for my country.” This passage
illustrates his desire to fight in the war,
and that he also saw it as an obligation
The First World War: Icelandic Canadian Perspectives
Madison Herget-Schmidt
Winnipeg, MB
SALE! T-SHIRT BLOW OUT!!
MY ANCESTOR
ADULT SHIRTS SALE $20
(JADE OR SAPPHIRE)
OÐIN
ADULT SHIRTS SALE $20
(BLACKBERRY)
OÐIN CREST
ADULT SHIRTS SALE $20
(WHITE)
VIKING CRUISE
ADULT SHIRTS SALE $20
(BLACKBERRY)
LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA
REG $30 SALE $20Full colour Graphic T-shirts
ICELANDIC VIKING
ADULT SHIRTS REG $25
SALE $15
Lamba Mín Tote
REG $10
SALE $5
LIMITED SIZES REMAINING, PHONE ORDERS ONLY CALL 204 284 5686
Back in stock!
“Leif Landed First”
License plate cover $5
Pins $10
LITTLE THOR, LITTLE FREYA, I LOVE AMMA, I LOVE AFI
TODDLER SHIRTS $15 (2T - 6T)
show your
Icelandic
pride
PHOTO: NEW ICELAND HERITAGE MUSEUM
Madison Herget-Scmidt standing with exhibit at the New Iceland
Heritage Museum