Neys Provincial Park Recognizes Detention of World War II Military Prisoners of War and of Enemy Aliens Sent to Canada with Plaque Unveiling
Flanked by members of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, Dr.Richard Alway, Mrs. Lucy Spence and Mr. Paul Mengelberg pose around the newly unveiled historic plaque. Submitted photo
Harper Government Commemorates Detention of Second World War Prisoners of War and Great Britain’s Enemy Aliens
Historic Second World War Event Contributed to Allied War Effort
CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO: Parks Canada – History and Culture Interview with internment camp resident
NEYS PROVINCIAL PARK, ON — The Honourable Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today commemorated the national the historic significance of the “Detention of Second World War Military Prisoners of War and of Enemy Aliens Sent to Canada from Great Britain”, as a National Historic Event.
“This historical event was an important element of Canada‟s contribution to the Allied war effort and defence strategy,” said Minister Kent. “Internationally, Canada‟s fair treatment of military prisoners was noted, and it influenced the permanent post-war settlement of former detainees in Canada.”
The ceremony took place Saturday morning at the site of former camp 100, now part of Neys Provincial Park near Marathon in Ontario. Between 1940 and 1947, there was a network of 26 permanent camps and dozens of work camps across the country. Several facilities were located in the remote Lake Superior region of Northern Ontario. A former prisoner of war at the Angler Lake Camp 101, Mr. Paul Mengelberg, participated in Saturday’s commemoration.
Canada became the wartime home for about 34,000 military prisoners of war. The same camps were also used to intern close to 4000 of Great Britain’s enemy aliens; mostly German and Austrian civilians who had fled to Great Britain. Often, the experience of detainees in Canadian camps created a fondness for Canada, with hundreds of them eventually immigrating here after the war.
“Our Government is committed to commemorating events in Canadian history that are of profound importance to our national character and unique identity, such as the wartime detention of military prisoners and of Great Britain “enemy aliens””, said Minister Kent.
“Ontario is proud that Neys Provincial Park has been chosen as the location for the commemorative national plaque that gives formal recognition to the important contribution made by Camp 100 – and the 25 other detention camps across the country – to Canada‟s war effort,” said Michael Gravelle, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources.
Created in 1919 and supported by Parks Canada, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Government of Canada, through the Minister of the Environment, regarding the national historic significance of places, people, and events that have marked Canada’s history. Parks Canada manages a nation-wide network of national historic sites that make up the rich tapestry of Canada’s cultural heritage and which offers visitors the opportunity for real and inspiring discoveries.
THE DETENTION OF SECOND WORLD WAR MILITARY PRISONERS OF WAR AND OF ENEMY ALIENS SENT TO CANADA FROM GREAT BRITAIN
From 1940 to 1947, Canada was the wartime “home” for more than 38,000 prisoners of war and “enemy aliens” sent from Great Britain. This detention constitutes an important element of Canada’s contribution to the Allied war effort and defence strategy, as camps located throughout the country were used to hold combatants from the German armed forces as well as merchant mariners and Great Britain’s enemy aliens far from the theatres of war. On the home front, the detention benefited Canadian society, notably through the establishment of work programs for the production of non-military goods and the employment of members of the Veterans Guard of Canada as camp guards. Internationally, Canada’s fair treatment of military prisoners was noted, and it influenced the permanent post-war settlement of former detainees in Canada.
In the first years of conflict, the British government had amassed a significant military prisoner and civilian internee population, and, until 1940, they were safely detained in Great Britain. As the threat of German invasion loomed, however, this population posed a security threat and a resource drain. Consequently, the British government requested the transfer of its enemy aliens and of prisoners of war. With its vast open spaces and available resources for such an operation, Canada was an ideal location for housing some of these men.
The effort involved an intricate network of 26 permanent and dozens of temporary internment camps in remote areas throughout Canada. While the bulk of the population that was detained at the request of the British government was made up of combatants from the battlefields, waters, and airspace of Europe and Africa, it also included German and Italian merchant mariners, seized from ships in the Atlantic or Canadian ports. As well, some 4,000 “enemy aliens” who had been arrested in Great Britain due to fears of pro-Nazi action were sent by the British and then interned in these camps. Most of these enemy aliens were returned to England or released in Canada by November 1943. By 1948 all prisoners of war had been repatriated, with the exception of a handful of escapees and those who had died here.
The German prisoners of war within Canada were relatively well treated. Indeed, their detention in Canada was seen as a model of compliance with the 1929 Geneva Convention. Often, the experience of prisoners of war in Canadian camps created a fondness for Canada, with hundreds of them eventually immigrating here after the war. Furthermore, the need for camp security led to the employment of members of the Veterans Guard of Canada, composed primarily of First World War veterans who were keen to participate in the war effort.
