Postcard from Achille Corbo to his son Alessandro Corbo, August 13, 1941

Postcard from Achille Corbo to his son Alessandro Corbo, August 13, 1941. The handwritten message, in Italian, is addressed to his son. Corbo writes that he is in good health despite being unjustly interned for 14 months. He wishes his son and his family good health, and notes that his brother Nick -- Nicolo Corbo (also interned) was released. It seems Alessandro was not in regular communication with his father or mother -- as his father writes that he is pained by his silence and asks him to write.

Achille Corbo was arrested as a threat to the Canadian state on June 10, 1940 and interned at Camp Petawawa.

Internees were allowed to write three letters and four postcards per month. The maximum length for letters was twenty-four lines and eight lines for postcards. Exceptions were made for those who ran businesses and had to respond to letters from the Custodian of Enemy Property. All camp letters were read by a censor. Contents deemed inappropriate were blacked out with ink. The same applied to incoming mail. Camp letters that were written in Italian were first translated into English before being read by a censor.

Internees were allowed to receive parcels from family members. These packages were searched thoroughly by camp guards before being distributed. Internees mostly received food and clothing.