Monday 19 March 2012

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!

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