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”
Tag Archives: Prisoner of War
A Sewing Kit with a Story
This may not be the most exciting of artifacts at first glance but it does have a story. This is a sewing kit, also known as a “housewife,” that was issued to Canadian soldiers during the Second World War. The design had changed little from those issued in the First World War and they included,Continue reading “A Sewing Kit with a Story”
National Canoe Day
June 26 is National Canoe Day and I thought I would take a quick look at Prisoners of War and Canoes in Canada during the Second World War. Prisoners of War in Canada spent the early war years in internment camps behind barbed wire but this changed when the Canadian government approved their employment inContinue reading “National Canoe Day”
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.
Volkstrauertag 2017 (German Remembrance Day)
The annual German Remembrance Day service will be held Sunday, November 19, 2017. This service takes place at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario (119 Arlington Boulevard) at 2:30 p.m. For more information, please click here.
Prisoner of War Canoes
Today (June 26) marks National Canoe Day so what better way to celebrate than a post on PoW-made canoes! In May 1943, the Canadian government approved the use of prisoner of war labour to help boost the struggling lumber and agricultural industries. From 1943 to 1946, thousands of German PoWs, Enemy Merchant Seamen (EMS), andContinue reading “Prisoner of War Canoes”
“K.G. Lager 133 – Ozada, Kanada 1942”
Camp 133 near Ozada, Alberta seems to have been among the most popular locations for Prisoners of War in Canada to paint during the Second World War. Situated on the Mortley Flats, the camp offered stunning views of the nearby Rocky Mountains and, despite living in tents during a wet summer and cold fall, wasContinue reading ““K.G. Lager 133 – Ozada, Kanada 1942””
Happy New Year 1946
Wishing a Happy New Year to all my readers! In 1945, PoW Willi Nötel gave this Happy New Year card to his fellow PoW and friend Erich Neumann in Camp 132 at Medicine Hat, Alberta. Both the double-sided card and envelope are hand-made, presumably by Nötel, and note he even replicated the postal cancellation onContinue reading “Happy New Year 1946”
Camp 40 (Camp A) – Farnham, Quebec
I whipped this map up for a reader researching his father earlier today and thought I would share. The image shows the layout of the internment Camp at Farnham, Quebec overlaid on some modern satellite imagery from Google. Camp A, as it was initially known, opened in October 1940 and initially held civilian internees andContinue reading “Camp 40 (Camp A) – Farnham, Quebec”
POWs in Canada 