The men and women who fought in the last Great War have gone from Canim Lake. Yet the lives of some here were touched by that war in indelible ways, for it is the nature of war to sweep everyone, the innocent and complicit alike, into a maelstrom of upheaval and destruction.

This is the story of two close friends. Born on opposite sides of the most destructive war in human history, they now share a deep mutual esteem and a common commitment to their community. By the way they live their lives and treat their neighbours, they strengthen the peace achieved at so dear a cost.

Marga’s story

Marga Hausmann was four years old when the Second World War broke out. She lived with her parents, two siblings and grandparents on the family farm in the small village of Kleinwolshendorf in the eastern part of Germany.

“I remember the bombing attacks. We would rush to the basement of our old home with its thick stone walls. My whole body would be shaking in fear. After the raid, mom would make us cocoa to calm us down.

“The Americans came on a Sunday evening in May 1945. My family was preparing a meal. They sent me out into the garden to gather some radishes and green onions. I made it to the garden, but not to the radishes.

“Up drove the biggest tank. The hatch opened and out came the American soldiers. Within minutes our big old farmhouse, built in 1708, was filled with mostly smiling soldiers. We had two POWs living with us, Nikel from Kiev and Pierre from Paris. They worked on our farm and became part of our extended family.

“My mother, a widow by this time, did not believe in any war, and treated those two prisoners the same as everyone else. They told the Americans about us, and we all had supper together.

“Others in our village of 30 farm houses did not fare so well. Many were locked up and could not feed their animals, which cried so loudly from hunger, I can still hear it. Soon, it was people who cried for hunger.

“The army went through the planted crops. In the fall, there was no harvest. Some fields were mined.

“Germany was kaput - totally. It was chaos, cities bombed, homeless people trying to get back to their own land, and others fleeing on foot from the advancing Russian Army.

“When Germany was divided, we fell into the Russian zone and became the DDR. For the next 40 years, everything changed. Our family farm was confiscated by the Communist state. We had been on that farm since 1535 working on the land we loved.

“We could still live in the house, but the fences came down and outbuildings were destroyed — to make room for large-scale farming. We were told what to grow and how much we had to produce. Nothing could be kept for ourselves. We ate dry bread, potatoes and whatever nature gave up.”

When Marga was 18 in 1953, she boarded a train that ran close to the West German border. When it slowed to negotiate a switchyard, she evaded Russian soldiers, jumped from the train and ran 80 metres to cross the border.

She emigrated to Canada that year.

Marga’s future husband George Hausmann also emigrated in 1953. They met at a social a few months after arriving in Canada and married in 1956. After a lifetime working in Ontario and British Columbia, they retired to Canim Lake in 1994.

Joan’s story

Joan Rochester was born two years before the war started in 1937. She lived with her parents on the outskirts of Jarrow-on-Tyne.

“We lived in northeast England, three miles from the coast on the River Tyne, near the largest ship-building port in England. There was also a lot of petroleum stored there.

“The port was heavily bombed. I remember the planes coming across and I watched them out the window. I spent a lot of time in our air raid shelter. Dad dug it underground in our garden.

“Most families dug one for themselves, but sometimes our neighbours would share ours. It had blankets and pillows and toys in it.

“There was a shortage of food. I remember the weekly ration books. Each got two ounces (about 55 grams) of tea, two ounces of butter and two ounces of sugar. There were large lineups to buy stuff.

“Even though it wasn’t allowed, my dad managed to get some chickens so we had eggs and, in the summer we had potatoes, so we would eat chips and eggs. The fat went on our bread as a spread.

“I remember having to go to the dentist because my gums would bleed and that was due to a lack of vitamin C. I used to get my gums painted because the diet was so deficient in fruit and vegetables.

“At Christmas, I got an apple, an orange and a pomegranate in my stocking. That’s all I got, but it was a great treat.

“By the end of the war, I was going to school. Canada sent food. I got a container of honey, which I had never seen before, and a can of apple juice.

“Today, I find it impossible to waste. I have to eat everything on my plate. And my kids would never dare leave anything on their plates.”

Joan emigrated to Canada in 1968, settling with husband Malcolm in Vancouver

They moved to Canim Lake in 1992.

We remember

The experiences of these women in wartime Germany and England affect the way they face the world today.

Marga and her husband, George, are fiercely Canadian. They are known in the community for welcoming strangers and the hospitality they provide to newcomers and visitors. Together they tend the immaculate lawns and gardens that surround their church in 100 Mile House.

Joan and her husband, Malcolm, live quietly in their home on Canim Lake, close to the land in their extensive gardens. They are known for their thoughtfulness and generosity as well as the gentle and graceful respect they give to everyone know them.

There could not be a better way to honour the sacrifices of those who fought for peace than to live in those ways. Surely, our everyday actions in our communities become the foundation for peace beyond our communities.

Through their example, these two friends remind us how to truly “remember.” It is in their “remembering” we find forbearance, reconciliation, and friendship offered. It is in following that path that at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we remember.