The Valour and the Horror

In November 1992, a combined force of veterans, historians, reporters and politicians landed on the floor of the Senate. A three part documentary The Valour and the Horror which explored the Canadian involvement in WWII, was aired on the CBC that year and was rebroadcast on History Television, January 1998. The second program Bomber Command and the third In Desperate Battle generated enormous controversy. It brought up the questionable morality of bombing civilians and negative aspects in the Normandy campaign which have traditionally been poorly publicised. Questions of incompetent command, political mismanagement, and potentially immoral practices both at the front lines and behind war office desks, began to emerge. This tough handling of both veterans and war-time leaders incited the anger of many viewers.

In a series of Senate sub-committee hearings, The Valour and the Horror was denounced as a piece of poorly researched opinion masquerading as a documentary; the National Film Board was strongly encouraged to produce another, more appropriate, documentary. The CBC, initially supportive of the production, soon backpedalled and apologised for airing the documentary; and a veterans association attempted to sue Galafilm Inc., the producers of The Valour and the Horror, for defamation for a sum of 500 million dollars. But many others were outraged by the vicious response to what they considered a very interesting piece of journalism.

About this site

This site is not meant as a platform for any individual opinion. We are interested in the depth of the controversy surrounding both the issues raised in the documentary and those which followed its airing. Our goal is to explore all the issues, thereby deepening our understanding of the history of Canadians in the Second World War and forces that strive to shape our views today.

We hope to offer a variety of facts, stories, thoughts, and opinions, from diverse sources. Most importantly, we hope to open a dialogue among the public about these matters. If you have opinions, personal stories, or information concerning any of these matters, please E-mail us, or post them on the forums and we will post your stories.

BOOKS: We offer an extensive collection of books on World War II, World War II and Canada for sale. The books can be accessed by clicking on the book link at the bottom of each page.These books can be purchased directly from our site through our secure internet server.

Valour and Horror, Second World War, Canadian history, World War II, W.W.II