02/24/2024
The Enemy Within
This 2003 feature-length documentary looks at German POWs from WWII who were housed in 25 camps across Canada. Filmmaker Eva Colmers follows her father's story - Theo Melzer - who spent three and a half years in a POW camp in Lethbridge, Alberta. Growing up in Germany, she had always been puzzled by her father's fond memories of his POW life, so when she moved to Canada, she set out to rediscover this story. What she found surprised her. Watch as Theo Melzer, along with other POWs, recount how their lives were changed by the unexpected respect and dignity they received at the hands of their Canadian captors.
There are a few things of significance about this film: one of the former POWs featured was Siegfried Osterwoldt who is the father of current Liederkranz member Ralph. The other thing is that there are three times during the film that music by Liederkranz is played in the background (both the Liederkranz and Donalee get mentioned in the closing credits).
The samples of Liederkranz singing are brief and they fade in and out. But if you pay close attention you can hear the choir at these times: 13:49-14:23 (Heimat), 33:30-34:03 (Heimat), and 46:40-48:00 (Heilig ist der Herr).
This feature-length documentary looks at German POWs from the WWII who were housed in 25 camps across Canada. Filmmaker Eva Colmers follows her father's story - Theo Melzer - who spent three and a half years in a POW camp in Lethbridge, Alberta. Growing up in Germany, she had always been puzzled by....
