View of internment camp in late summer/fall, oil painting by Oscar Bendl

Oil painting on card stock of the barrack buildings and an internee in late summer/fall at Petawawa Internment Camp. Two barracks or dormitories are visible in the background. An internee with a red circle on the back of his jacket is seen in the right foreground. A flower garden is visible in the left foreground. In the central mid-ground are trees with leaves that are beginning to change colour.

Barracks were wooden, single-storey structures which ranged in size depending on the camp — those at Petawawa contained 60 internees and had toilets, sinks, showers, and electric lighting. Regardless of location, the barracks contained wooden tables and benches, and a wood stove for heating in winter. Internees slept on bunk beds with a thin mattress. Every barrack was assigned a number and was represented by an appointed barrack leader. Internees had to keep their barracks clean. Barracks were inspected daily.

Not much is known about the artist of this work — Oscar Bendl — other than he was presumably a German-Canadian internee who interacted with the Italian Canadians also held at Camp Petawawa. This painting was among the materials owned by internee Giacomo Venzon.