Earlier this year I watched the movie The Magic of Ordinary Days, which tells the story of an arranged marriage in rural Colorado during World War II. The main character befriends two Japanese girls who are interned at a nearby camp, and later mention is made of German POWs who also work as farmhands. This reminded me that I had heard of German POWs working in the sugar beet fields on the Canadian prairies during the war. I decided to do some research and was fascinated by what I discovered. I hope you’ll learn something new, too.
Who?
More than 34,000 German POWs (soldiers, sailors, and airmen) were sent to Canada during World War II. Escapes were attempted, many probably as a game to escape boredom. Only one POW was not recaptured: Franz von Werra managed to return to Germany where he was decorated by Hitler personally, rejoined the Luftwaffe, and died later that year.
More than 400,000 Germans were sent to the United States, of whom 2,222 (less than 1%) tried to escape.
When?
In June 1940 Churchill asked Canada to accept 3,000 civilian internees and 4,000 German POWs from British camps. In January 1941, 1,000 Luftwaffe POWs were also sent to Canada. After German forces were defeated in North Africa in 1942, 10,000 Germans were sent from Cairo, Egypt to New York, then shipped by train to Alberta. Although 6,000 POWs asked to remain in Canada after the war, all were required to return to the UK before being sent back to Germany. Later many immigrated to Canada. In 1971 the remains of the POWs who died in Canada (most from natural causes or timber industry accidents) were moved to the German War Graves Section of a cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario.
In the United States POWs arrived between 1943 and 1945. By 1946 all had been returned to their home countries. In the following years some exchanged letters with friends they had made during their stay in America.
Where?
POWs were sent to 26 different camps in Canada. Many were in northern Ontario and Quebec, but the largest camps in North America – holding 12,500 men each – were in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, Alberta. These camps had 350-man dormitories, recreation halls, educational huts, workshops, and dining halls. Hard-core Nazis were usually sent to the Medicine Hat camp.
In the United States 500-600 centres were created in rural areas to detains POWs. Most of them were in the South (because of available space and the warm climate), but others were in the Great Plains and the Midwest.
Why?
The simple answer is that Great Britain was running out of space to keep prisoners. The other side of the coin is that North America was suffering a shortage of workers for farms and factories.
What?
In both Canada and the United States POWs were protected under the terms of the Geneva Convention. This meant that they could not be forced to work unless they were paid, they could not work in any area directly related to the war effort, and they could not work under dangerous conditions.
In Canada most POWs worked on farms or in logging camps. They were paid $2.50 per day minus room and board. Some locals and guards said that POWs ate better than they did. POWs enjoyed sports such as soccer, boxing, wrestling, tennis, and skating, and sometimes formed musical groups. They were allowed to wear uniforms and insignia inside camp and were provided with good winter clothing.
In the United States POWs worked as hospital orderlies, in mills and canneries, and on farms. They were paid up to $1.50 per day and worked alongside local workers, distinguished only by their “PW” insignia. They received good food and clothing, and had access to recreation such as books, sports, chess, and theatre. Prisoners were often allowed to sunbathe and play soccer; some ate supper with local families.
It isn’t hard to see why many German POWs maintained friendships after the war and even immigrated to North America. I wonder if any novels have been written about them. If you know, please leave a comment below!
Sources
- “America’s Forgotten German POW Camps” from the Daily Mail
- “German POWs on the American Homefront” from Smithsonian Magazine
- “The Happiest Prisoners” from Legion: Canada’s Military History Magazine
- “Life on the Homefront: Axis Prisoners in Canada” from the Canadian War Museum
- “Prisoner of War Camps in Canada” from the Canadian Encyclopedia
Not a novel, but an autobiography.
I read a bio by a former German PoW who was held in the UK and the US. It was a fascinating read. He wrote the book for his grandchildren, and it got published. I can’t for the life of me find the name or ISBN. I found in the Perth, Western Australia library.
He was an enlisted rank tank driver who had a knack for languages. He was fluent in English. He drove a tank on the eastern front in Russia until he was injured. They sent him to the western front where he was captured by the Allies in Holland.
He ended up in the US. Being a smart guy, not a Nazi member, and fluent in English, he thrived. He ended up working in the admin offices for the PoW camps. Hanging out with pretty girls who also worked there.
He really enjoyed his time. He told one hilarious story where he was camped in Phoenix. He was given an army jeep and another PoW and told to report to a military base in San Bernardino. He got lost. He panicked when he crossed the Colorado River at Blythe and mistook the agriculture check point as a military police check point. He thought him being a German PoW driving around alone in a US Army jeep was going to get him shot. He was shocked that all they asked was if he had any fruit with him.
After the war ended, he ended up being sent to work on a farm in England for a few years . He fell in love with the farmer’s daughter. They married, he stayed there, and they raised a family there.