Even though the war in Hong Kong was far away for most Canadians, the situation at home was fraught with worry for the families of prisoners of war (POWs). Families had little news regarding their loved ones in the camps. The Red Cross, though limited in its capacities by Japanese officials, was a lifeline, because it could access POWs held in camps and deliver family letters.

Students take on the role of Red Cross representatives and gather information on the living conditions of prisoners of war for a newspaper article. To help them, students will read newspaper articles from the period and examine living conditions in the camps as explored in the exhibition Impossible Odds: the Battle of Hong Kong.

This activity was first designed to accompany our exhibition Impossible Odds: the Battle of Hong Kong. The exhibition is also available for free to your school by completing our reservation form.

Activity content

Using the student guide, students will read three newspaper articles of their choice and then write their own article describing the conditions experienced by Canadian prisoners of war imprisoned in Hong Kong or Japan.

Activity objectives

The goal of these activities is to allow secondary cycle two students to have a greater understanding of World War II and Canada’s role in the Battle of Hong Kong. Students will also learn to appreciate the contributions of Canadian Armed Forces personnel from Quebec.

These activities were created as educational tools to complement the Quebec Education Program of secondary 4 History and secondary 5 Contemporary World courses. In addition, these activities can also be used as language tools in the following courses: Francais langue maternelle (in secondary 3, 4 and 5), Français, secondary language, English, secondary language (in secondary 3, 4 and 5) and English Language Arts. 

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