Destination: The Americas
Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba (MB)
Archivist: Rose VetterA New Beginning in Winnipeg
By Rose VetterOn my 14th birthday my family received the letter we had been anxiously waiting for - final clearance to emigrate to Canada. A week later, on March 1st,1950 my parents, my older sister and I embarked upon our journey of hope to begin a new life. After fleeing from Neusatz in the Batschka, we had led a rootless existence for six years in various camps and locations in Germany. My uncle in Winnipeg, who had offered to sponsor us, had booked tourist class passage for us on the Swedish ship MS Gripsholm, which was relative luxury for those times.
The first leg of our journey was an overnight train trip from Bremen over Copenhagen, Denmark to the Swedish port of Göteborg, where we boarded our ship. Crossing the stormy Atlantic Ocean was an experience I'll never forget - I was so seasick I thought I was going to die! When we finally landed at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, we boarded yet another train and traveled for three days before arriving at our destination on March 16th. We had been in transit for 16 days. Upon our arrival at the CNR Station, we were greeted by my uncle, as well as a Palanka Landsmann. We were puzzled by their dialect, for it was different from that spoken back home. Being a combination of Schwäbisch and English, it took us some time to get accustomed to some of the strange words. We soon found out that most of the Donauschwaben who had come to Canada before World War II had adapted to the schönste Lengwitsch!
Photo of my sister Christine and me (on the left) in front of the Bremer Überseeheim (Bremen Overseas Home), where we were processed for immigration to Canada in January 1950.
Two refugee girls wearing fur coats - an unusual sight in post-war Germany! Needless to say, we were the object of envious looks and comments, but we were fortunate thanks to my wonderful American aunt who had sent us parcels with clothing collected from her friends and relatives.
[Click to enlarge]
For the next few months we lived in my uncle's 2-bedroom home in Winnipeg's famous ethnic North End, where many Donauschwaben had settled. We even reunited with a few Palanka families who had also fled in 1944. Once settled in my uncle's home, my parents wasted no time in looking for work. Their biggest concern was to repay the money for our trip as quickly as possible. My father found work in a shoe factory, my mother became a cleaning lady for Jewish people and my sister went to work in a glove factory. Most of the garment industry at that time was owned by Jews and many immigrants found employment there. It became a trend for many German immigrants lacking English language skills to seek employment with Jewish people, as their Yiddish dialect made it easy to communicate. I was enrolled in nearby St. Joseph's Parochial School and put all my concentration into learning the English language. Needless to say, my uncle's house became a bit cramped for eight people and once my parents had a little income, we moved into a little rented suite. It was furnished with just the barest essentials bought in a second-hand store; until our trip expenses were paid back to my aunt and uncle, luxuries such as an electric stove or refrigerator were out of the question. Meanwhile we lugged heavy pails of coal up the stairs to heat our huge cast iron stove. Our butter and milk were cooled in a sink full of water in the summer and between the storm windows in the winter.
Only seven weeks after our arrival in Winnipeg, the devastating Red River Flood took place, causing severe destruction in the city and its infrastructure. About 100,000 people were evacuated and the city turned to the Canadian Army and the Red Cross for help. In the 1960's a floodway was constructed to divert part of the waters of the river during flooding periods.
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