Otter Post

I recently did a post about my research about PoWs in Riding Mountain for NiCHE's (Network in Canadian History and Environment) blog, "The Otter." If anyone is interested, the link to the post is http://niche-canada.org/node/10678

"The Canadian Bush"

"In the name of all the wood-cutters, I would convey greetings to you and the entire camp. We find ourselves in the midst of the Canadian bush here, in the so-called Riding Mountain National Park. There is no barbed wire here, but instead a definite boundary has been set by red markings on trees. The woods principally leaf, and partly mixed. The ground is slightly hilly and swampy in part.” - Camp Spokesman Leo Manuel, November, 1944.

Among my interests is looking at how the PoWs reacted to and interacted with the environment that surrounded them. Most, if not all, of the PoWs had been captured in the North African desert in 1941 and 1942 and, after a brief internment in Egypt, had been sent to North America. First interned at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, they were moved to the vast Albertan prairie at camps in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. A year or two after their capture, these men were now working in the middle of the Canadian "bush."

Camp medical staff outside of one of the camp buildings.
Note the elk antlers above the door as well as the black bear and dogs.

Free to roam through the immediate area around the camp, PoWs looked to their surroundings in different ways. Among the first, and most popular, activities was hiking through the bush. Though the PoWs were quickly introduced to the dangers of wandering through the bush in the late fall (19 PoWs got lost and were introduced to the Manitoba winter), the continued their wandering until the camp closed in 1945.

Manuel also stated that the area was abundant with game, including wolves, deer, elk, bears, and moose. While some PoWs simply enjoyed listening to the elks bugling and the wolves howling, others picked up antlers shed by deer, elk, and moose as souvenirs. It was not long before nearly every building in the camp featured some form of antlers hanging above the entrances.

Whether PoWs were canoeing in their hand-made dugout canoes, playing with the camp bear, or getting lost while hiking around Whitewater Lake, the "wilderness" defined their experiences and drastically changed the way they thought about Canada and wartime internment. This will be my next project as I return to school in the fall.

2013 PoW Wagon Tours

As summer rolls around once more, it is once again time for our "From North Africa to the North Woods" wagon tours here in Riding Mountain National Park.

Loaded onto four wagons, visitors become new prisoners heading out to the former site of the Riding Mountain Park Labour Project (also known as the Whitewater Lake PoW Camp) under the strict supervision of the guards. Learn what life was like at the camp as the guards and prisoners (interpretative staff) bring history to life through stories and photographs. Once at the camp, enjoy a traditional German meal, similar to that served to the prisoners at the worksites. After lunch, explore the site of the former camp with the aid of a GPS and myself.

Tour dates are July 20th and September 1st.

Tickets are $62.00 each or $55.80 for Friends members and are available at the Nature Shop (RMNP Visitor Centre) or by calling (204) 848-4037.  If you have any questions, feel free to phone that number or ask me.

The wagons depart from the north end of the Bison enclosure in Riding Mountain National Park at 9:15am and we return at 2:30pm.

Tickets are already selling and they will fill up a few weeks in advance!

Long Way From Home - Part 2

Another mail-related post today but one with an interesting twist. This PoW cover and letter was addressed to Erwin Stöckl, a German PoW based out of Medicine Hat's Camp 132. The letter, sent by Erwin's aunt, Magda, arrived in Canada in April 1944. It is unknown whether Erwin was at Camp 132 when he received this letter or whether he was working at an Ontario labour project.

Seven months later, in November 1944, Erwin was working at a labour project near Adams River, Ontario. On November 12, he and another PoW, Wolfgang Berter, left the camp either for a hike to explore the area or in an attempt to escape. A search was called for when the two men did not return by the evening but the search was eventually called off when the two men could not be found.

On May 26, 1945, the bodies of Stöckl and Berter were found by the Ontario Provincial Police, having died from exposure to the elements. The two men were initially interred in Kenora's Lake of the Woods Cemetery but were relocated to Kitchener, Ontario, where they remain today.

The letter was likely among Stöckl's personal effects returned to his family after his death.

"Veteran's Veteran"

Came across this while doing research about the Veterans' Guard of Canada. I can only hope I can pass for fifty when I'm his age!

Article from the Winnipeg Tribune, October 1, 1942.

"Real Photo"

Continuing on my last post's theme, I thought I would show some more examples of PoW postcards. Unlike the ones in my last post, these ones are "Real Photo" postcards. In most PoW camps, a military or civilian photographer visited the camp and took photographs of the PoWs for the purpose of sending them home. This was generally done to show the families of the PoWs that the men were alive and well in Canada - this being a bit of Canadian wartime propaganda!

The first image is a group of PoWs at Camp 30 in Bowmanville, Ontario. The majority of the PoWs in Bowmanville were officers and included members of all branches of the German military. This particular image shows members of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Heer (Army). This postcard was sent by either the man on the far left or right in the front row. These two individuals were part of the German Customs branch so I'm not sure how they ended up in Canada! Interestingly enough, another copy of this postcard is in the hands of another collector (link).

The next photo is a group of sailors at Camp 21 in Espanola, Ontario. The sender, Heinz Alsleben, was one of forty survivors of U-93, a German U-Boat sunk in January 1942.

Postcards

 Kriegsgefangenenpost

Well it has been awhile since there has been a new blog post so I thought I had better change that! Today I would like to show some examples of Kriegsgefangenenpost, or Prisoner of War Mail, sent by German PoWs here in Canada to their friends and families back home. I briefly covered one example of PoW mail from a PoW that was at the Riding Mountain Park Labour Project but today I would like to show some of the lighter sides of postcards.

The standard issue postcard, an example of which I linked in the previous paragraph, were made available to all German PoWs in Canada. However, for those who found this postcard too simple or boring, PoWs had the option of purchasing different types of postcards to send home. Among these postcards made available for purchase were those printed by War Prisoners' Aid YMCA. These postcards were often sold at PoW canteens and featured images of the lighter side of internment life. The artwork was done by a German PoW and a series of approximately twenty of these postcards was produced. The following are some of the examples in my collection, all of which were unused. I hope you enjoy!