70:. On one occasion, the prisoners threatened to strike because "pyjamas they'd ordered from the Eaton's catalogue failed to arrive on time" (they thought the guards might have stolen the order). However, relations between the prisoners and their guards were often amicable and it was rumoured that the camp staff were being supplied with alcohol distilled by the prisoners.
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served as guards at the camp. However, prisoners quickly took advantage of their relative freedoms to explore their surroundings and fraternize with the locals. Many of these civilians were of
Ukrainian descent and it is believed they were sympathetic to the German prisoners as they hoped that the
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The decision to have a prisoner of war labour project in Riding
Mountain National Park was the result of a fuelwood shortage in the winter of 1942 and 1943. To free up men for the war effort it was decided that German prisoners of war would be employed. The majority of the prisoners were former
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Germany Army would overthrow the
Soviets in Ukraine. As such, prisoners went drinking in town, courted local women, and attended dances. The prisoners were also allowed to have pets in the camp, one of which was a juvenile black bear.
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soliciting the sale of the government-owned buildings. The remaining prisoners were transferred to other labour projects across the country while the buildings and amenities were auctioned off and removed from the park.
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Whitewater was the only POW camp in North
America not to be bounded by a fence or barbed wire, as its isolation made escape unfeasible. Members of the
34:. Operating from 1943 to 1945, the camp was built on the northeast shore of Whitewater Lake, approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) north-west of
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Following the end of the war and the achievement of a fuelwood surplus, the camp closed in late 1945. That year an advertisement appeared in the
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Internees were paid 50 cents per day to cut down trees; prisoners were allowed to use their wages to order from the
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38:. The camp consisted of fifteen buildings and housed 440 to 450 prisoners of war.
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Today, little remains of the camp. In 2010 and 2011, a PhD Candidate from
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Prisoner of War Camp in Riding
Mountain National Park in 1944
273:. Vol. 56, no. 217. 10 September 1945. p. 2
193:"Archaeologists dig up former PoW camp in remote Manitoba"
59:, sent to Canada after being captured in battles like the
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WW2 labour camp for German prisoners-of-war in
Manitoba
219:"Dig resurrects history of Manitoba's German PoW camp"
293:"Whitewater – Prisoners of War Camp research"
267:"The Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 1945-09-10 (Page 2)"
315:"2011 Brandon University Archaeology Field School"
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384:World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Canada
165:"Whitewater POW Camp Archaeological Project"
99:ran an archaeological project at the site.
242:"Hard-partying PoW camp a historical gem"
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217:Johnson, Andy (7 August 2011).
379:Archaeological sites in Canada
240:Redekop, Bill (28 June 2011).
191:Fong, Petti (19 August 2011).
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374:Riding Mountain National Park
28:Riding Mountain National Park
22:was a labour camp for German
61:Second Battle of El Alamein
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75:Veterans' Guard of Canada
271:Winnipeg Evening Tribune
120:"Whitewater P.O.W. Camp"
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167:. Stanford University
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350:50.8161°N 100.3683°W
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246:Winnipeg Free Press
93:Stanford University
355:50.8161; -100.3683
97:Brandon University
95:and students from
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68:Eaton's catalogue
63:in North Africa.
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318:. Retrieved
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197:Toronto Star
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169:. Retrieved
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57:Afrika Korps
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341:100°22′06″W
368:Categories
338:50°48′58″N
221:. CTV News
103:References
20:Whitewater
36:Winnipeg
32:Manitoba
148:"Nazis"
42:History
320:7 July
299:1 July
277:7 July
251:1 July
225:1 July
202:1 July
171:1 July
126:7 July
151:(PDF)
322:2012
301:2012
279:2016
253:2012
227:2012
204:2012
173:2012
128:2012
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