Guest Post - A German POW Story Shared by Lutz Beranek

Lutz and Antje - taken at a Hannover Restaurant where they
kindly treated my friend, Kathy and me to supper

As promised in a previous post, here is the story Lutz Beranek shared with me some time ago. Lutz' dad was one of the German POW kept in Canada during WWII. While in Germany I had the joy of spending a weekend with Lutz and his wife, Antje.



Richard Beranek, Lutz' father, as a POW

My father was one of the last prisoners to come into the camp at Mafeking. He was also one of the youngest in the camp. The other prisoners were familiar with each other but for my father everything and everyone was new and strange. He wanted to be careful who to become friends with, for he didn’t know what kind of people his camp mates were.

 

However, it quickly became apparent that the other prisoners were nice people from Germany. They were all dependent on each other and had to make the best of this situation. On a day off two prisoners asked my father if he wanted to come along to explore the area. He agreed, knowing he’d get a chance to see something different, thus taking is mind off his imprisonment and homesickness.  The prisoners always spent a lot of time exploring the woods.

           So, the three set off for the woods. They talked of their home and enjoyed watching wild animals along the way. Soon, one of the prisoners found a little cute, black animal with a white stripe on its back.

“Come”' he said to my father.  “We’ll catch the animal and bring it back to camp for a pet. It will bring us a lot of joy.” The other two stood around the animal to prevent it from running away, while my father would try to grab animal. “It is actually quite simple.” His new friends reassured him.  Thinking this a good idea, my father walked towards the animal slowly, to keep from scaring it. Just as he moved to pick it up, the animal turned and sprayed a smelly liquid and disappeared. My father stank and the other two prisoners had a good laugh. First, my father was mad, but then he too found it funny.

“Herzlich willkommen ins Lager!” (Welcome to the camp) they said to my father, between laughs. Of course, this animal was a skunk and my father had never heard of such an animal. He learned, if you try to catch it, you will have to put up with its horrible smell. When they got to the camp, the other prisoners knew right away what had happened and enjoyed teasing him. My father then got lots of good advice on how he can get rid of the stench.

Now he too, knew how newcomers were welcomed and accepted into this camp. (Translated from German)

 Vielen Dank Lutz und Antje fuer diese lustige Geschichte, und auch fuer das wunderschoene Wochenende als ich in Hannover war!

 

German POW - the diary

Upon learning about my research, some friends kindly lent me a diary written by Helmut Weissenborn, a German POW. It's still in excellent condtion and as you can see, the cover looks like the uniform that the WWII German POW's here in Manitoba wore.

This book has beautiful penmanship and was illustrated by Karl Kafka - his illustrations go well with the author's sense of humour. It's written in rhyme which of course adds to the humour as well. For example, being behind barbed-wire (Stacheldraht in German) is described as staying in a Draht-Hotel. It took me a while to get used to the handwriting and the 'Berlin slang', which it's written in, so I'm sure some of the humour was lost on me.

 Nevertheless, I learned that everything in the book is about the author's time in England. And it's not like the book ends abruptly. It clearly doesn't. On the final page, Helmut tells his readers that even though the account of his time spent behind barbed-wire is recorded in a humous way, it's best to read between the lines, as it was not always easy. -- Seems like he used his sense of humour to help him cope with a difficult situation.

                                                  
                                                                 




 I haven't been able to find out if Helmut and Karl ever came to Manitoba. He mentions briefly that they're heading for Canada at some point, but it's not clear when. But, I'm assuming he did, since this book is in Winnipeg. 

This was given to my friends by an acquaintance who would have liked to have it translated. It was misplaced and thus forgotten for many years, and was just recently found. So my friends asked if I wanted to see it. Hopefully, I'll be able to learn more about this sometime... Where it was from and how the owner got it? Did she know the author perhaps, or his family?

Along with this diary was another little red booklet. It's full of POW illustrations and has no name in it. So I'm not sure if it was the same illustrator as the diary. As you can see, the sketches in the diary are not coloured as the illustrations in the little red book are.

I know, this does not have anything to do with my own research, but interesting and intriguing nonetheless. So I would appreciate any light anybody can shed on this.

To read my previous posts on this topic, you can click on German POW in the lables.

German POW - Postcard Humour

This postcard was illustrated by Hans Werner, a German POW, who at the time worked in the bush at Mafeking, known as Camp 12. When I first saw this card, I thought that there must be an interesting story to go with it. I later learned that indeed there is. Here is the story of Paul Nerger, a POW, who settled in Winnipeg after the war. (He's also the one who had the picture of the Hutterite children in his album. I still haven't figured out when he was at our colony.)

Paul had been at this camp for a year and had seen some wildlife, but never a moose. So he kept dreaming for that to happen. So, one fall day during a coffee break on the edge of the bush on the lake shore of Dawson Bay, Paul's dream came true. A pair of moose were out on a stroll along the beach. Unaware that this was mating season and could get dangerous, Paul took in this grand sight. Many years later he recalled the incident, deeming it the most memorable experience of his days in Camp 12.

"Seeing me, they started galloping right in front of me and away to my right. I was delighted! Then, hardly 100 feet away, the bull pushed his mate into a willow bush using his big shovels, then jumped into the air turning 180 degrees, leveled his antlers like a bulldozer and headed towards me." Needless to say Paul, grabbed the axe and along with a buddy, dove for cover behind a big rotten log and underbrush. "Mr. Moose hit some big brush not even 20 feet from where we were laying. He stood there for 20 minutes, awful long 20 minutes it was for us." They hid a while longer after the moose left to be on the safe side, then returned to camp. ('Lasting Impressions' - Swan River Historical Society.)

Obviously, Paul's bush buddies didn't want him to forget his 'dream encounter with moose'. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Hans Werner made him this birthday card and had all his friends sign it. The words at the top are a German birthday greeting. The card still exists; it's at Robert Henderson's Homefront Museum and Artifacts, in Regina, SK.

German POW - one lonely grave

Dear Readers,
I'm posting this in the hopes of  helping my friend, Robert Henderson - Homefront Museum and Artifacts (Regina, Saskatchewan) solve this mystery:

The Quest Continues - Who was this Unknown Soldier?

The quest for information relating to a unknown German Prisoner of War buried in the Whitewood Cemetary at Whitewood, Sask., is expanding.  Little is known about this almost forgotten World War Two veteran of the then enemy forces.  He apparently died on a West bound Prisoner of War train at Grenfell, Sask.  The next normal stopover location for necessary steam engine water was Whitewood. 

There, the body was removed and buried in the local cemetary, where it was marked by a wood cross, which presently has the inscription "UNKNOWN FOREIGN SOLDIER  WW11 POW".

How this individual became erased from the official files of German War dead is a mystery that none of the locals have been able to resolve. The grave site was drawn to the attention of Mr. Robert Henderson of the Homefornt Archives and Museum, Regina, Sask., and he has initiated extensive ongoing inquiries from other potential sources of information not yet contacted by the Whitewood local historians.

Perhaps you hold the key to resolving this mystery that time has developed.

Please contact the webmaster or homefront@sasktel. if you can assist in resolving this mystery.

Feel free to pass this on to others who may be able to shed some light on this intriguing story.

German POW Update - more art work

Again, this has nothing to do with my own research, but I'm fascinated with the amount of artwork these prisoners produced during their captivity in Canada. I recently found this site with artwork from a German POW. This particular piece is from the Thunder Bay Historical Museum. They have a collection of pieces from Hans Krakhofer, who as a prisoner of war, worked cutting timber at Red Cliff Bay on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario. This site has more of his pictures and an interesting account of his life. Hans settled in Canada after the war and worked at the Abitibi Power and Paper Company.

Makes me wonder if Canadian prisoners were as creative, or if they even had the opportunity to do things like that. From all accounts, WWII POW in Canada were treated very well; some even considered their time here as a holiday. "They were the best years of my life!" One prisoner told his family.

German POW Update - mystery photo solved

As you may recall in my last update, I was asking for help to find out where this photo was taken/ who is
 in it. Thanks to a friend in Winnipeg the mystery is solved. I don't know who was more excited when she called me about this only one day after I posted it. "The picture was taken at your colony!" my friend exclaimed and went on to tell me who some of the children are. The power of a post, eh?

 Interestingly enough, this same photo has been in her family for many years. I haven't been able to find out where they got it from. I've also since learned that my sister has had this photo for a while as well. A friend gave it to her after acquiring it from Canadian Mennonite University Archives.

However, this still leaves me with some questions. This photo came from the album of former POW, Paul Nerger, who settled in Winnipeg after the war and who has since passed away. I have a Curtis (the camp close to my colony) paylist for 1946 and his name is not on it. I do know that this camp existed in 1945 as well, but do not have a paylist from that year. Hopefully one day I will!
Furthermore, and too add even more intrigue, with the picture from CMU my sister also has two others with a group of boys, possibly taken at the same time and one has the date 1947 on it. However, I don't think that there were prisoners doing farm labour at that time. Is the date a mistake?
Keep digging, right?

Who knows, maybe this post will one day find it's way to a Nerger, who will be able to shed more light on this story. By all means, if you know someone with that last name, please pass this on. Thanks!

German POW Update - mystery photo

This journey has taken some interesting and intriguing paths, for sure! This latest path finds me wondering about this old photo that Robert Henderson (Homefront Museum in Regina) sent me. Imagine my surprise as I was casually leafing through a bunch of photos, and came across this one. It was copied from the album of a German POW, Paul Nerger, who at one point was stationed at a lumber camp near Mafeking, Manitoba. There are no Hutterite colonies in that area, so I'm assuming he also spent some time at a farm labour camp in the vicinity of a colony, as the children in the picture are clearly Hutterite. I believe Paul settled in Winnipeg after the war. So if you know anybody by that last name, please pass this post on to them. Thanks! If this photo seems familiar to you, or you think you know anybody in it, I would love to hear from you! Help me solve the mystery.


(If you missed my other POW updates, click on the label German POW on the sidebar.)

German POW Research - Literature

When I first delved into this research project, I didn't really know where to start looking, didn't know of any books on the subjects, nor anybody who was interested or who had researched this topic. So, I started online and soon found a number of books, articles and websites/blogs on POW. Then I went to our local library and sifted through old newspapers they had stored on microfilm. With the help of one of their volunteers I managed to find quite a few articles of the work camps in our area. Needless to say, these put some wind in my sail.
However, I was most grateful for some interesting and helpful books I found, most by Canadian authors:

• Park Prisoners - Bill Waiser
• Behind Canadian Barbed Wire - David Carter
• Winnipeg 8 The Ice-cold Hothouse - Charles Wilkens (includes Ernst Werdermann's story)
• The Sawmill Boys POW & Conscientious Objectors - Edward S. Stozek
• German Prisoners of War in Canada and their Artifacts - C.M.V. Madsen and R.J. Henderson
• Lasting Impressions - Historical sketches of the Swan River Valley (Includes on chapter on POW)

I was able to get all of these through our local library. In case anybody wants to learn more about this era, these books are a good place to start feeding your interest. I've since learned that there are quite a few others, but I haven't been able to acquire them yet.

If you've missed my other posts regarding this topic, you can click on German POW in the labels. And if you know anything about this, I'd love to hear from you. You can either leave a comment or email me, using 'contact me' in the sidebars. I've received quite a few interesting emails/comments since my first post. Thanks!

I'll leave you with another picture of a wood carving, with thanks to Edward Stozek.

German POW Research - Whitewater

When I first started sending out query emails regarding my POW research, I soon learned that there's this small network of writers/collectors/archaeologists... who've dedicated a lot of time to studying German POW in Canada history. I feel honoured that they took the time to answer my questions and share information and pictures with me. Not only that, they welcomed me into their circle: "There aren't very many of us dedicated types around trying to preserve the information and artifacts that relate," Robert Henderson (Homefront Artifacts and Museum) wrote. "So welcome to our small fraternity." I wonder if they have an induction ceremony. (-: Seriously though, with little to offer, much to gain, I'm grateful for these experts who are willing to share from their wealth of knowledge.

On that note, I came across this clip: (It doesn't have so much to do with my own research, however, I did find it interesting, as it does relate to POW in MB.)

'The Whitewater PoW Camp Archaeology Project is investigating the people and stories of a Second World War internment camp built in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada. Occupied from October 1943 to October 1945, the camp held 450 German Afrika Korps soldiers captured in Egypt after the Second Battle of El-Alamein. The research involves archival documents, oral history, and archaeological survey and excavation.' (CBC)

Adrian Myers, Stanford University was heading this dig. To learn more, visit his website:
http://whitewaterpowcamp.com/



German POW Update - Homefront Museum and Artifacts

In case you missed the previous POW posts: Researching POW... and connections.

Since I've started this research, I've come in contact with a number of very helpful people, thanks to readers who keep passing my POW posts on to others. I'm very grateful for that and also that some have taken time to share information and pictures with me. One of those people is Robert Henderson in Regina, Saskatchewan, who has an impressive POW artifacts collection - Homefront Museum and Artifacts. He's graciously sent me some pictures and has allowed me to share some with you. Robert does not have his own website, but his writings regarding POW and more can be found on Canadian Escapades and German Prisoners of War in Canada. Both sites are interesting and are good POW sources.

Some of the prisoners created beautiful pieces of art. Robert tells me, "When the POW moved into new areas, there was always lots of scrap around, both wood, metal, glass.  They would make their own handicraft tools.  As time went on they would be allowed to order from mail order catalogues, like Eaton's, for wood working tools, etc. Better to have them employed in hobbies, rather than escape plans." Or worse. Some committed suicide because of boredom.

Here are a few pictures that Robert Henderson shared with me:

ship in a bulb... What a brilliant recycling idea!

And to think this was in the 1940's!



Birch bark album

the back of the album

some of the drawings that depict life behind barbed-wire

And my favourite. Apparently this was inspired by an actual
happening. Wouldn't you just love to know the whole story?





a wood carving

As you can see, some of the prisoners were great artists--

battling boredom behind barbed-wire, they produced priceless pieces!

Thank you Robert for sharing your beautiful collection with us!



German POW Update - connections

As promised, here's an update on my research: This is becoming more fascinating all the time, and the contacts I've been able to establish are certainly keeping me motivated, making this journey not only rewarding, but also enjoyable! I've...

• received some very interesting and helpful emails.
• found some great books by Canadian authors, (thanks to our local library) and talked with them. The information is certainly adding a lot of different perspectives, which is great!
• been given some photos taken at the camp near Newton, thanks to the Oakville Archives. Who knew that there's an Oakville Archives. It's just a village.
• found some old newspaper articles with the assistance of the Portage La Prairie Regional Library. These have helped me find the exact years when the POW were here.
• have acquired a pay list of German POW on the Curtis work camp, in our area. Included are some names that I already have. This was shared by a reader who's studying this same topic and has been to the Ottawa Archives. You can read more of his stories on his blog.
• watched Eva Colmers excellent documentary, The Enemy Within and have exchanged some emails with her. Her father was a German POW in Canada.
• learned many stories shared by Hutterites, Mennonites and others who knew these prisoners.
• and best of all I've come in contact with the family of one of these men. Bravo! They're being very kind and are helping me fill in some pieces. I cannot express how much this means to me

I'm very, very grateful to all the people mentioned here! You're definately the 'wind in my sail' right now!
Special thanks to all who passed my first POW post on to others. I appreciate this! Please continue to do so. Glad to have you all along for part of this historical ride!

Here's a melancholy German folksong that the prisoners sang when they visited my colony in 1946. It'about leaving loved ones behind and not knowing when you'll be able to return to them. 'In meiner Heimat da Bluehen die Rosen' (In my homeland, the roses are blooming)

Researching German WWII POW Visits to my Hutterite Colony

Thanks to inspiration from a friend, I've been spending much of my free time working on an intriguing project: During World War II, thousands of German prisoners of war were kept at a number of camps in Canada. During harvest many smaller satelite camps were set up in farming areas. From there the POW were assigned to help the farmers during this busy season. These camps, each with about twenty POW were guarded by WWI vets. One such camp was located just a mile east from our colony during summer and fall of 1945 and '46.

When the German prisoners learned about a Hutterite colony where people spoke their language, they lost no time acquainting themselves with them. The Hutterites were happy to make their acquaintance, since they hardly ever got a chance to speak German with non-Hutterites, but always English. So, with the bond of a commom language, coupled with Hutterite hearts feeling sympathy for the men who were kept in a strange land, they were warmly welcomed. Thus, this group of German men spent a lot of time at our colony, and the people who were here at the time still have very fond memories. It is for them, that I'm working on documenting this time in our colony's history.


While interviewing people I was able to learn some names:

• Ernst Werdermann (settled in Manitoba after the war)
• Kurt Sonntag
• Hans Schwarz
• Paul Schwarz
• Fritz Wanderberg (settled in Manitoba after the war)
• Hans Winter

Unfortunately, some of the others, only the first names were remembered: Bruno, Rudolf, Bubi, Rudi, Heinrich, Henry and one last name, Franz.

I can't help wondering if some of these men are still alive, or if their families know about their time spent at a Hutterite colony. It would mean a lot to me, as it would certainly enhance my article, if I'd be able to add some former POW perspective to it.

When I decided to post this to see what the world wide web comes up with, I knew it was like trying to find a Deutsch Mark in the Rhein, but I thought it was worth a try anyway. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Right? For who knows what this post will mean for my research! 


I'm hoping my readers will be kind enough to help me. If you have any German contacts, especially if they have the above mentioned surnames, could you please pass this post on to them? I would appreciate this very much and if anything developes, I will be sure to keep you posted. My heartfelt thanks in advance!


Should you have questions and/or thoughts about this, but don't want to leave a comment, feel free to click on 'contact me' right above my bio to the right of this post.