Japanese Canadian Internment - Mackenzie King's Attitudes

Mackenzie King's Attitudes

Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King wrote daily in his diary throughout his life. These diary entries give us a sense for the thoughts and feelings King held during the war. “Though he undoubtedly considered himself a man of humanitarian outlook, he was a product of his times and shared the values of his fellow Canadians. He was -- beyond doubt -- an anti-Semite, and shouldered, more than any of his Cabinet colleagues, the responsibility of keeping Jewish refugees out of the country on the eve of and during the war.”

Prior to the dropping of the bomb, Prime Minister King was not considered a racist. He seemed concerned for humanity and was against the use of the atomic bomb and even its creation. When King found out about the estimated date of the bomb to be dropped he wrote in his diary: "It makes one very sad at heart to think of the loss of life that it will occasion among innocent people as well as those that are guilty”. Here, King does not seem to care that the bomb was targeted at the enemy, recognizing that there were innocent lives in harms way. This showed that King was a sensitive and caring man. However, this does lead readers to believe that the Prime Minister was selectively racist. However, historians point to a specific diary entry when referring to King's racism toward the Japanese. On August 6, 1945 King wrote in his diary:

“It is fortunate that the use of the bomb should have been upon the Japanese rather than upon he white races of Europe”.