Language Advisory

Please note that the Democracy at War web module and search engine use a unique collection of newspaper clippings assembled and catalogued by the Hamilton Spectator, an English-language daily, during the Second World War. The individual items in the collection are historical documents, catalogued by the paper's employees and acquired many years later by the Canadian War Museum as a research fond. The Museum did not produce these documents, and the collection itself originates from a private institution that is not subject to the Official Languages Act (OLA). While all interpretive material regarding the war and the collection itself, and all instructions on how to use it, appear here in both official languages, the documents themselves appear only in the language of their original composition, which is predominantly English. No other similar index of wartime clippings is known to exist in Canada, in either official language, and no similar collection has ever been offered to the Museum as a potential acquisition. Complete runs of contemporary newspapers are usually available on microfiche at major public archives, including Library and Archives Canada. As a museum of military history, the Canadian War Museum does not collect civilian newspapers in this manner.

Services at the Canadian War Museum are available in both official languages. Should you have any questions or comments related to Democracy at War and the Hamilton Spectator collection, they can be directed to: info@warmuseum.ca.