The card is simple. Handcrafted from a piece of birch bark, the card features a decorative border surrounding the text while a sprig of ground pine, or princess pine, fits neatly in small sleeves cut in the bark. A short message reads “Wuensche Dir Mein Lieber Erhard, Frohe Weihnachten Und Ein Glückliches Neues Jahr – Daddy” or, in English, “Wishing you, my dear Erhard, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – Daddy”
But the reverse suggests a more sombre note on its origins and the sender: E. Wiesenberger. Concentration Camp. Petawawa, Ontario.
Erhard Weisenberger was twelve years old when his father, Erhard Sr., was arrested and detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in September 1939. Erhard Sr. was a Montreal-based hairdresser who, prior to emigrating to Canada with his family in 1927, had served in the Germany Army during the First World War. He was an active member of several German organizations in Montreal, activity that caught the attention of the RCMP. While the exact reason for his arrest is unknown, he was deemed a potential threat to Canadian national security and taken into custody.
Erhard Sr. was subsequently transferred to the newly-opened Camp P at Petawawa, Ontario. Like the many other internees, he spent Christmas and New Years behind barbed wire fences, the only contact with their family members being letters and postcards, but this was to be the first of several. In 1940, he was transferred to Camp K at Kananaskis, Alberta, and then to Camp B near Fredericton, New Brunswick the following year. It was not until June 1942 that he was released, finally rejoining his wife, son, and daughter in Montreal.
May you all find time to spend with your loved ones.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
POWs in Canada 
Thanks for the document, but it is a good examp