Transcript​​

“To immigrate? [Laughs] Well, when did I come to Canada? In 1951. I think one of the main reasons why I came to Canada was more adventure. We were cooped up in Germany, the war kept us down, so I thought, ‘Oh well, I like to see the world now.’”[i]

 

“Why I went to Canada is because I was given the opportunity by the Canadian government to immigrate to Canada. The motive was that I wanted to have my own pottery and I knew in Germany without funds in my situation as a refugee I would never have the funds, the money to have my own equipment, to make pottery independently. And that is why I went here.”[ii]

 

“My decision to emigrate, of course that was when I was still in Germany, and I had completed a nursing training and I was working in a mental institution as a nurse. And then it was a big PR rush from Canada to attract German people, German girls especially, actually I don’t remember them mentioning men.”[iii]

 

You have been listening to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. A series of short podcasts providing additional context to the website “What They Can Teach Us”. You learned about various aspects of life in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Barbara, Lisa, Alma, and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, immigrated from Germany to Canada.

 

[Music plays]

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We focused on popular music of their time and looked at the films people went to see in theaters back then. We cast a light on clothing fashions of the day and explored different regional cuisines.

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However, the four women portrayed on the website “What They Can Teach Us” only represent a sliver of the immigrant experience in Canada. Anneliese, Alma, Lisa, and Barbara came from Germany to start a new life in Canada. Many other newcomers came and still come to North America from all corners of the world.

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[Music plays]

 

What was it like to immigrate from, say, Calcutta to Winnipeg in 1960? How difficult was it in 1973 to find spices in Calgary for an original Moroccan tagine or a jollof rice dish from Senegal? What did Filipino teenagers experience in the 1980s when they moved from Mindanao to Montreal?

 

[Music plays]

 

The immigrant experience is both international and individual and there are many reasons for someone to leave their home country for a new unknown one. All the journeys and all the experiences of those who came before us have helped to shape the unique individuals we are today.

 

[Speaking in different languages]

 

If the website and the podcast of “What They Can Teach Us” has inspired you to investigate your own family history, go for it! And perhaps you will also find a way to share what you've discovered.

 

This is the epilogue to the series of podcasts accompanying the website “What They Can Teach Us”. The website and podcasts were initiated, funded, and supported by the Chair in German-Canadian Studies at the University of Winnipeg.

 

Researched, written, produced, and read by me, Frank Brückner.

 

[i] Lisa Schwabe, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Vancouver, B.C., Canada; September 29, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive.

[ii] Barbara Baanders, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Richmond, B.C., Canada; September 22, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive.

[iii] Anneliese Lomer, Session 1, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Surrey, B.C., Canada; November 30, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive.

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