부산대학교 도서관

Charles P. Stacey has long been hailed as the central interpreter of Canada’s Second World War effort, with his writings constructing and composing a specific narrative of that conflict With that in mind, this article is an investigation into the role of C.P. Stacey and the historical officers of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. It examines the way they were able to deliver their twin mandates of facilitating the publication of an official history, as well as collecting, creating, and preserving historical records. These functions must be studied, as they supported the crafting of the postwar official histories and served as their structural underpinnings. In the end, as eye-witnesses to battle and makers of memory, the historical officers played an essential role in laying the foundation for Canadian military history of the war and its subsequent interpretations. As we will see, though, that historical underpinning was constructed by using neither neutral nor unbiased war records and interpretations. The historical officers were forced to develop a pragmatic and nuanced approach to their work as soldiers in the service of history and of the Canadian Army.