Forgetting, Remembering and Remaking Canada’s Second World War

In this lecture, best-selling author Tim Cook will talk about his book, The Fight for History, and he will examine the strange way that Canadians ignored for decades their epic contributions during the Second World War. Despite 1.1 million Canadians who served in uniform, and millions more who supported the total war effort from the home front, Canada rapidly left the war behind, publishing few histories, building fewer monuments, and advancing into the prosperous second half of the twentieth century. Dr. Cook will talk about the neglect of our Second World War history until quite recently, and highlight the key role of veterans in reclaiming this important legacy of service and sacrifice.

BIOGRAPHY:

Tim Cook is the Director of Research at the Canadian War Museum. Cook is the author or editor of 13 books and they have won the C.P. Stacey Prize for Military History (twice), the Ottawa Book Award (three times), the RBC Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, and the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize (twice). In 2012, Dr. Cook was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to Canadian history and in 2013 he received the Governor General’s History Award. He is a frequent commentator in the media, a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and a Member of the Order of Canada.