Barbed wire and mandolins

When Italy became an active player in the Second World War in 1940, the Canadian government began to fear the Italian community within Canada as a threat to national security. The action they took was to use the Canadian Mounted Police Force to contain alleged facist sympathizers. Seven hundred of the accused sympathizers were held in internment camps for up to three years. The majority of detainees were held at Petawawa, Ontario. Through interviewing Italian-Canadians who were affected by these actions, one discovers that there was a spirit of camaraderie and hope amongst those at Petawawa as the internees coped with their situation in the any way they could, such as through music, art and gardening. Despite these diversions, what they have lost financially and socially in the community remains with them forever.