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Postcard sent by POW at Camp 30
1945
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

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Even though the German POWs were very well treated at Bowmanville, especially in comparison to the treatment of the Allied Pows, ther German's missed their home. They needed to fill their days with activities, sports and recreation, to keep from thinking about their families and the war at home. They were very aware that the war was being fought on theri land and in their homes and that there was utter devastation in their homeland. To be so very far away and know that your family was sufering was extremely difficult. It is also important to make the distinction between German soilder and Nazi. There were no Nazis held at Camp 30, they were primarily interred at two camps in Alberta. The German's held at Camp 30 in Bowmanville were either career soilders or enlisted men. When the war was over, the Germans were shown films of their homeland to prepare them for their return. Camp 30 closed in 1945 and the prisoners were immediately sent back to England for processing to their homeland. It would take up to two years for some of the POWs to eventually be returned home.