Beyond the Barbed Wire: Experiences of Italian Canadians in WWII display case

Display case in the exhibition Beyond the Barbed Wire: Experiences of Italian Canadians in WWII.

The display case features photographs and objects related to Italian Canadian Luigi Moro, who served in the Canadian military during World War II. The photographs of the left show Luigi Moro on his wedding day in 1942 and while on shore leave in Vancouver during WWII. On the right are war medals, a rum ration jug and cigarette lighter. All objects were given to Moro either during or after his service in the military. Moro chose to enlist in the Canadian navy, rather than the army, for with the army there was the potential that he might have to participate in a direct assault on his home village and family in Italy.

The Italian Cultural Centre Society (ICC) in Vancouver, BC created a project entitled A Question of Loyalty, which recognized and commemorated the experiences of those affected by the internment of Italian Canadians in British Columbia during World War II. The project included a play (Fresco, written by Lucia Frangione in collaboration with the BellaLuna Ensemble) a book (Injustice Served, the story of BC’s WWII Italian Enemy Aliens by Ray Culos), and an exhibition at the Italian Cultural Centre (Beyond the Barbed Wire: Experiences of Italian Canadians in WWII). The exhibition was on display at Il Museo at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, BC from March 8, 2012 to August 31, 2012.