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THE FILM
Has the war come home to Canada?
A forgotten piece of Canadian History revealed
In the spring of 1940 small towns across Canada awakened to the sound of Nazi jackboots. German soldiers, sailors and pilots marched down main streets to hastily constructed camps for some 40,000 German fighters imprisoned as POWs on Canadian soil.
With growing ranks of German prisoners and Nazi armies nearing its shores, Britain saw POWs as a potential threat and opted to send them to Canada . Between 1940 and 1946 there were 26 camps in Canada where POWs lived in relative luxury. But it wasn't a vacation for everyone. Day-to-day camp life was run by the inmates and organized along military lines. Committed Nazis, frequently in command positions, made life miserable for those deemed less committed to the Nazi cause.
Hitler's Canadians tells the little known story of German POWs behind Canadian barbed wire during World War Two. It features dramatic re-enactments of daring and hilarious escapes, the biggest prison rebellion in Canadian history and surprising interviews with former prisoners whose words reflect the contradictory and complicated nature of the time.
Without exception, the former POWs interviewed in Hitler's Canadians realized that if it wasn't for their time behind Canadian barbed wire, they might never have survived the war. It was a time when Canada 's fundamental decency shone through.
Awarded the Jury Award at the 2008 Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival
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Produced for Storyline Entertainment Production Inc. by 1672392 Ontario Ltd. in association with History Television, Historia and with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Cable Industry, Telefilm Canada: Equity Investment Program, CTF: Licence Fee Program, Rogers Documentary Fund and The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit
© 2007 1672392 Ontario Ltd.
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