![Them Rickety Stair](http://www.photolena.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/DSC09526.jpg")
Deep in the farmlands of Bowmanville lies a group of boarded up buildings, bordered on one side by a townhome development and the other by pristine fields and forests. It is the only intact camp for German prisoners of war that is known of still left in Canada, and perhaps the world.
Originally built as a delinquent boy’s school with a collection of 18 buildings scattered over several dozen hectares of rural land, I could only count 9 during this visit. Starting in 1941, this camp was said to be the only one used by the Allies to house the Third Reich’s army officers from the Afrika Corps, fliers from the Luftwaffe, and naval officers from the Kriegsmarine captured during the War.
The camp was not run like a traditional detainee center. The prisoners had access to an indoor pool (still there), tennis courts, a theatre, concert stage, and could purchase beer and cigarettes from Eaton’s mail order catalogue. Security was enforced by the Veteran Guards of Canada and the 60 miles of barbed wire fence.
The boarded up buildings have sat vacant since the last owner, a school, vacated the premises in the fall of 2008 and so far noone has stepped up with the money or a plan to preserve the site. The property has been purchase by the Kaitlin Group – a housing developer – who feels there’s no merit in preserving the site and will demolish these buildings, along with their history, in the spring of 2009 to make way for new homes.
Perhaps a better use for this facility – the last of its kind in Canada – would be to use at least one building as a museum. I, for one, had no idea it even existed or that we had PoWs in Canada. Such a shame that we’re paving over history for townhomes.
Update: 2 weeks after photographing the site, a fire ravaged several of the historic buildings essentially guttin them.
