Tag Archives: Woodland Cemetery

“Unknown, Foreign Soldier, WWII POW”

Tucked away among the graves in the cemetery in Indian Head, Saskatchewan is a simple white cross bearing a plaque, “Unknown / Foreign Soldier / WWII POW.” Having learned about the grave from a fellow researcher, I visited the cemetery back in 2015. Since then, I have unsuccessfully tried to identify who may be buriedContinue reading ““Unknown, Foreign Soldier, WWII POW””

Volkstrauertag 2015 (German Remembrance Day)

The annual German Remembrance Day service will be held this coming Sunday, November 15, 2015. This service takes place at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario (119 Arlington Boulevard) at 2:30 p.m. For more information, please visit the German Embassy’s website.

“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””

German Remembrance Day 2014

As I am in the midst of my comprehensive exams, this is a just a quick update! The annual German Remembrance Day service is being held on Sunday, November 16. This service takes place at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario (119 Arlington Boulevard) at 2:30 p.m. For more information, please visit the German Embassy’s website.

PoWs who Died in Canada – Johann Schäfer

Johann Schäfer was one of the thousands of German soldiers captured in the North African Campaign. A member of the German Afrika Korps, Schäfer was in his early twenties when his war ended in 1941 or 1942. Following a brief period in a primitive internment camp in North Africa, Schäfer and his comrades found themselvesContinue reading “PoWs who Died in Canada – Johann Schäfer”

A Long Way From Home

Tucked away in a corner of Kitchener’s Woodland Cemetery lies the final resting place of 187 German Prisoners of War who died in Canada during their internment. One hundred and forty-eight of these men were German PoWs from the Second World War while the remaining thirty-nine were civilian prisoners from the First World War. ThoseContinue reading “A Long Way From Home”

Volkstrauertag – German Remembrance Day

Today, I attended the German-Canadian Remembrance Society’s annual German Remembrance Day (Volkstrauertag) service at the Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario. Honouring the sacrifices made by veterans on both sides as well as the victims of war, this moving ceremony was attended by representatives of the Federal Republik of Germany, the province of Ontario, the citiesContinue reading “Volkstrauertag – German Remembrance Day”