By Rachel Gold – Contributor

From 1941-1945, there were various internment camps in the Québec and Ontario region that held Jewish refugees who were considered “prisoners of war” as well as actual prisoners of war. In these camps were Jewish refugees from Europe who tried to flee from war-torn European countries to the United Kingdom, where they thought they would be safe. People like Dr. Walter W. Igersheimer, who was the subject of The Lost History of Jewish Refugees event hosted by Ian Darragh as part of Humanities Week.

Dr. Igersheimer was born in Germany to Jewish parents in 1924. However, when the war broke out, he and his family fled to the United Kingdom for safety. Originally, Igersheimer believed he was exempt from being sent to an internment camp, but Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that anyone who had a German passport, no matter who they were, were automatically Nazi sympathisers. During this time, many Jews tried to flee Europe to any country that would take them, including the U.S. and Canada. Unfortunately, they were refused and sent back. 

In 1940, Churchill set up a tribunal system to identify Nazi sympathisers while the British government suffered major losses, turning their backs on the Jewish refugees. Churchill and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made a deal to accept combatant POWs and civilian internees from the United Kingdom, who were then sent to “camps.”

In Camp N, which was located on the grounds of the Quebec Central Railway’s Newington Yard, Jews and captured Nazi soldiers were held together. The Nazi’s got the best quarters in these camps and duty. There were reports that the Nazis in these camps would often threaten to cut the throats of the Jewish prisoners. Eventually, once more prisoners came in, they were separated. Depending on if you were Jewish, Catholic, or a captured Nazi determined where you were sent; people often changed their papers so they would be with their friends. Jews were often sent to the camp in Sherbrooke, whereas the Nazis were sent to other camps including Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the camps, uniforms had a giant red circle in the back in case the prisoners tried to escape. The guards, who were former war vets, were known to say “we know you’re Jews, this is best for you.”Igersheimer was held in Camp N for one year before he was released in 1943. He was able to be released due to the local Jewish community who sought legal help to get him out. He was later sponsored by the local Rabbi and his family. Because of this, Igersheimer was able to go to Yale School of Medicine and become a well-known psychiatrist and group therapy pioneer. He teamed up with Darragh to create his memoir to educate people about one of Canada’s hidden histories.