Most of the roughly 40,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) sent to Canada during the Second World War were captured in now well-known campaigns like that in North Africa and Normandy or they were shot down during the Battle of Britain or plucked from the cold Atlantic waters. But some came from lesser-known battles andContinue reading “From Norway to Northern Ontario: One POW’s Journey to Canada”
Tag Archives: Camp 23 – Monteith
All Bottled Up – Ships in Bottles Revisited
Seven years ago, I posted an article about ships in bottles made by German POWs in Canada. Since then, I’ve added more examples to my collection and thought I would revisit the topic share some of them and to share what I have learned about the manufacture of these unique items. Following their arrival inContinue reading “All Bottled Up – Ships in Bottles Revisited”
POWs and “the good ol’ hockey game”
On first glance, it may seem a simple photo of a hockey game and soldiers looking on. But on a closer look, something stands out – the soldiers are not Canadian. They are German. This picture, which I was very pleased to add to my collection, is a relatively rare photo of German POWs atContinue reading “POWs and “the good ol’ hockey game””
Easter, 1945
Happy Easter! Here is the menu card for Easter, 1945 at Camp 23 (Monteith, Ontario). “Aschinger” was the name of the dining hall, named after a famous Berlin restaurant.
Snapshot from Neys
While picture postcards of German prisoners of war in Canada are not particularly uncommon, examples from certain camps can prove more difficult to find (for more on PoW picture postcards, see my earlier post here). In my experience, images from Camp 100 at Neys, Ontario are among those harder to find. I was therefore quiteContinue reading “Snapshot from Neys”
Gone Fishing
Undoubtedly the most unusual find this summer was a PoW-made fishing rod. While I have come across the odd mention of PoWs fishing in labour projects in Manitoba and Ontario, this is the first time I’ve encountered material evidence of this. Made from a broom handle and what appears to be can lids, the fishingContinue reading “Gone Fishing”
“German POW’s Buried in Bleak Northern Bush”
The following newspaper article appeared in the April 12, 1950 issue of the Globe and Mail. Having first come across this a few years ago, it remains one of my favourite articles and I thought I would share. While these graves were relocated to Kitchener, Ontario in the 1970s, the article provides an interesting perspectiveContinue reading ““German POW’s Buried in Bleak Northern Bush””
A Secret Message
In the summer, I ran the first of a series of posts about prisoner of war mail (see here) and I briefly mentioned the censorship of PoW mail. Incoming and outgoing mail was censored by Canadian military and civilian officials to prevent PoWs from leaking sensitive information about Canadian wartime operations, their locations, and informationContinue reading “A Secret Message”
POWs in Canada 