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The Doc Project

'Dearest Joan...'

During the Second World War, the Canadian government interned approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians. And among them were teenagers, taken away from their schools, their homes and their friends. Now, a trove of letters received by one pen pal, Joan Gillis, offers a new glimpse of wartime through a teenage lens.
The Doc Project ·
The collection consists of 147 letters from a dozen different correspondents, as well as postcards, photos and envelopes. (Matt Meuse/CBC)

During the Second World War, the Canadian government interned approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians. And among them were teenagers, taken away from their schools, their homes and their friends. Now, a trove of letters received by one pen pal, Joan Gillis, offers a new glimpse of wartime through a teenage lens.

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