Nora Rodd (22 August 1893 – 25 May 1994) was a Canadian peace activist, feminist, and communist. In 1951, she led a delegation from the Women's International Democratic Federation, investigating war crimes in Korea.
Nora Rodd | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nora Kathleen Corman 22 August 1893 St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 25 May 1994 (age 100) Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, lecturer |
Early life and education
editNora Kathleen Corman was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, the daughter of Frank Lee Corman and Ida Belle Jones Corman.[1]
Career
editIn the 1930s, Rodd and her husband campaigned for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, then a new political party in Canada.[2][3] In 1951, Rodd led an international delegation of 21 women from the Women's International Democratic Federation on a controversial study mission to North Korea.[4][5] Canadian newspapers quoted her as saying in Pyongyang that "if I were young and free, I should want to stay in Korea and help you build your country up again."[6][7] The Canadian House of Commons considered whether Rodd had committed treason by making a broadcast in support of North Korea during the Korean War.[8] The delegation's report was dismissed by many as Communist propaganda,[6] but historical reconsiderations have since validated some of the report's findings.[9][10]
As a member of the British Columbian Peace Council and the National Council of the Congress of Canadian Women, Rodd lectured to women's organizations across Canada in the 1950s and 1960s, on anti-imperialism, peace, and women's rights.[11][12][13] "Women must live for their communities as well as for their homes", she told a Nanaimo audience in 1954.[14] She continued actively campaigning and organizing through the 1970s, and into the 1980s.[15]
Personal life
editCorman married lawyer and prohibitionist leader[16][17] Roscoe Sherman Rodd in 1919. They had three children, Helen (1920–2016), Philip (1925–1998), and Stephen (1928–2012). Her husband died in 1960.[18] She died in 1994, at the age of 100.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Elgin County Native is Dead; Rites Saturday". The Windsor Star. 1948-07-16. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Rodd Aids C.C.F.; Wife of Roscoe Rodd Takes Stump for Labor Party, Addresses Picnic". The Windsor Star. 1933-08-08. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fight Union Government; C.C.F. Not to Work With Tories, Grits, Claims Roscoe Rodd". The Windsor Star. 1935-02-08. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kim, Suzy (2023). Among women across worlds: North Korea in the global Cold War. Ithaca London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-6731-9.
- ^ "Identify Woman Heading Inquiry Alleged Atrocities". The Sault Star. 1951-05-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Canadian in North Korea". Edmonton Journal. 1951-06-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Reds Hail Mrs. Rodd; Weekly Paper Tells Ovation in Korea". The Windsor Star. 1951-06-08. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Was It Treason?' House Not Decided on Rodd Broadcast". The Gazette. 1951-06-26. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Donert, Celia (2016). "From Communist Internationalism to Human Rights: Gender, Violence and International Law in the Women's International Democratic Federation Mission to North Korea, 1951". Contemporary European History. 25 (2): 313–333. ISSN 0960-7773.
- ^ Kim, Taewoo (2020). "Frustrated Peace: Investigatory Activities by the Commission of the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) in North Korea during the Korean War". Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies. 20 (1): 83–112. ISSN 2586-0380.
- ^ "Kremlin 'Citadel of Peace' -- Mrs. Rudd". The Vancouver Sun. 1951-08-25. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Active Role for Women Advocated". North Shore Review. 1954-09-17. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marriage rules defined?". The Ottawa Citizen. 1966-11-25. p. 35. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Nora Rodd Speaker Here". Nanaimo Daily News. 1954-09-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barrington, Eleanor (1982-05-03). "World peace is real theme for Mother's Day/Eleanor Barrington". The Toronto Star. p. 49. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "R. S. Rodd New County Solicitor; Controversy Over his O.P.A. Job". The Windsor Star. 1945-05-02. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Prohibition is Demanded; Roscoe S. Rodd, Chief of Ontario Drys, Attacks 'Control'". The Windsor Star. 1932-03-05. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "R. S. Rodd Dies at 71". The Windsor Star. 1960-01-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Obituary for Nora Rodd". The Windsor Star. 1994-05-27. p. 51. Retrieved 2023-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.