Petawawa internment camp

Black and white photograph taken during the winter of the internment camp in Petawawa, ON. A barbed wire fence runs vertically down the centre of the image. Men can be seen walking through the gateway toward a parked truck. A barrack building can be seen in the left background, while a guard tower is visible in the centre background. During World War I the camp was used to intern enemy aliens from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In World War II German Canadians were the first to be sent to the camp in 1939. Italian Canadians followed in June 1940. The original photo captions reads: Prisoners lead their own lives: German songs ring out into the night from Petawawa internment camp. German is the language prisoners use as they go about their work of chopping wood. Whenever possible the men are allowed to follow their own trades or professions. Four men are elected to represent each of the huts occupied and through them guards transfer messages other than work command to the prisoners.