Seeing the Sights

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to do some exploring in the area south of Riding Mountain National Park. As many of you may be aware, PoWs from the camp in Riding Mountain were known to wonder outside the camp boundaries, in this case marked by red flag or paint or trees. Ten kilometers of bush separated the camp from the park boundaries and a small number of prisoners made good use of their days off to try and figure out what was on the "outside".

By early 1944, the PoWs were familiar with the area and had made contact with some of the locals living on the borders of Riding Mountain National Park. In a number of occasions, these locals, the majority of which were Ukrainian farmers, welcomed the PoWs into their homes as liberators. One has to remember that the Ukraine had suffered severely under Soviet occupation so many Ukrainians viewed the Germans as liberators. This we know now was not the case. Regardless, the PoWs became fast friends with some locals and began attending some of the dances and viewing the local attractions.

Trying to find some of the locations that the PoWs visited is a very interesting experience. It is quite something to imagine PoWs wandering through the fields in the middle of winter or during the night. I have some records of the locations and places visited by the PoWs but trying to find them, or trying to find whether they still exist sixty years later, is not always an easy task. After a fruitless search for one location, we stumbled across this: the Zaporoza school.

Unlike many of the schools that were once scattered throughout rural Manitoba, this building has survived. This was just one of the schools visited by PoWs wandering near the village of Seech, usually on their way to see the Ukrainian Orthodox schools.

It was a teacher at this school that was found in the company of PoWs from Riding Mountain. Her story is featured in Bill Waiser's "A Teacher's Tale". The encounter eventually cost her the teaching position and proved that the prisoners were certainly leaving the boundaries of the Riding Mountain camp.

Anyways, shows that there are still lots of history still hiding around!

The Manitoba Winter

Today - 68 Years Ago
November 1, 1943

The news of a "mass breakout" in Riding Mountain spread across the region as RCMP officers constantly patrolled the parks borders, searching for the missing nineteen PoWs. As the police tried getting pictures of the missing men to aid in the search, spelling errors and poor phone communication hampered their efforts. Regardless, patrols were assembled and searched the area around the camp and the major roads. Increasing snowfall, which during the middle of the night had increased to a small blizzard, severely hampered the search effort. Regardless, preparations were made for a manhunt in the morning.

Winnipeg Free Press - November 1, 1943

The story was picked up by the major newspapers, eager for news of what could be one of the largest escape attempts in Canada during the war. The escape made the front page of the Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg Free Press, and Minnedosa Tribune and an article was even printed in the Globe and Mail. The attached Winnipeg Free Press article tells most of the story.

PoWs Landmann and Schneider were the first to return shortly aften nine in the morning and seven more followed shortly after. The others arrived after lunch, while the final two were picked up by an RCMP patrol.

What promised to be "Manitoba's largest manhunt" was cancelled as the PoWs were placed in custody. While the camp staff decided the fate of the PoWs, the nineteen men were definitely glad to be back indoors.