Discovery Hall

2008 TEMPORARY EXHIBITS: Prisoners of War

Exhibits

Exploring Southwestern Alberta

CURRENT TEMPORARY

2008 Temporary Exhibits

2007 Temporary Exhibits

2006 Temporary Exhibits

Curriculum coordinated school programs

Exhibits
Wendy Aitkens, Curator
Tel: [403] 320.3907
Email: waitkens[at]galtmuseum[dot]com
 
 
 

Second World War POW Experiences

OPENING RECEPTION FRI MAY 09.08 | 7:00 pm [by invitation]

Most of Canada's military involvement has been highly visible to the people of Canada.

A little known story from WWII is that nearly 34,000 German prisoners of war were sent to internment camps in Canada. As part of the war effort, Alberta housed and manned four of the largest camps. Many Albertans who served overseas were made prisoners in Germany, including those captured at Dieppe in 1942 and members of the Royal Canadian Air Force shot down over enemy territory.

This exhibit compares the prison experience of Canadian and German POWs.

EXHIBIT PARTNERS
 

Opening of Galt Hospital by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, 1910 Photograph shows Sir Wilfrid Laurier, officials, spectators, etc. in front of the Galt Hospital on the occasion of the opening of the 1910 building. P19831002000. The photo and negative were copied from slide 2016 donated by Alex Johnston. Reproductions available: contact the Archives Department.

Museum
Community Days

Free admission and special activities throughout the day!

Sat MAY 10 | 10:00-4:30

11:00 | 3:00 Film: The Enemy Within [NFB, 2003, 52 min], Eva Colmers documentary on German soldiers in Lethbridge.

1:00 Hip Hip Hooray, a quartet of the Southern Accord Chorus highlighting music of the 1930s and 1940s.


Tue JUL 01 | 10:00-6:00

10:30 | 1:30 Film: The Enemy Within [NFB, 2003, 52 min], Eva Colmers documentary on German soldiers in Lethbridge.

noon | 3:00 Film: Hitler's Canadians [Storyline Entertainment, 2007, 48 min], the story of German POWs in Canada.

details>>

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IN THE NEWS...

May 10, 2008: Lethbridge Herald

Exhibit shows ingenuity of PoWs

They were the ultimate survivors, employing resourcefulness that would put the television reality show participants to shame...

ON THE WEB...

links of interest   Veterans Affairs Canada
   
   
   
    Hitler's Canadians
     
    Wartime Memories Project - POW camps
   
 
For You, The War is Over blog
     
   

 
POW Radio

Click on image to see
the artifact in 3D

This short-wave radio is part of the Galt Museum Collections, and originated from Camp 133 in Lethbridge [1942-1946].  According to a September 1946 article in the Lethbridge Herald, the “powerful short wave receiving set” was “constructed secretly by German prisoners at the internment camp during the Second Great War”.  The radio was the second found concealed in the camp and was discovered when the donor’s grandfather, Ted Emery, was working on the camp’s former public address system. 

Ref. # P20050004000
 

Cafe Galt

JUN 11
  
Prisoners Almost Outnumbered Citizens
   
SEP 10  
The Canucks and Jerry: Behind the Barbed Wire
     
   

MAY 17-JUN 14

With few supplies and far from home, Prisoners of War had to be creative and resourceful to survive. Items were reused and adapted. Tin cans were made into bowls, cups, trays and even stoves. Some of the items and skills used by POWs will be highlighted in this weekly family program.

details >>

COMMUNITY DAY IMAGE: Opening of Galt Hospital by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, 1910 Photograph shows Sir Wilfrid Laurier, officials, spectators, etc. in front of the Galt Hospital on the occasion of the opening of the 1910 building. P19831002000. The photo and negative were copied from slide 2016 donated by Alex Johnston. Reproductions available: contact the Archives Department.

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