Remembering together The Canada Trail

The "Kanadaweg" project commemorates the special connection between Lahr's history and Canada at eight information boards throughout the city. 30 years ago, Lahr's almost 100-year garrison history came to an end with the striking of the Canadian flag and a symbolic handover of the key. For the last quarter of a century, Canadian NATO forces had lived and worked in the town, helping to write an important chapter in the town's history.

Over the years, a separate cultural and economic infrastructure with schools, sports and cultural facilities, stores and residential areas was built for the Canadian soldiers and their families. This also included their own supermarkets, ice rinks, a movie theater, a weekly newspaper, a radio station or a hospital. Some of these facilities were also open to the German population - at least at certain times. Thus cinemas and ice rinks, for example, became meeting places between Canadians and the rest of the population. When the Canadian armed forces and their families left, around 10,000 Canadian nationals were living in Lahr and the surrounding area.

To date, over 120 Canadian citizens have remained in Lahr. They live Canadian culture in clubs and veterans' groups, keep in touch with their homeland and fondly remember the special time they spent stationed in Lahr. Canadian soldiers and former soldiers who were once stationed here also regularly come to visit to see what Lahr looks like today and what remains from the "old days". The memory of the Canadians is still alive in Lahr, even if the buildings from that time are gradually disappearing from the cityscape.

The eight stations of the "Kanadaweg" are intended to give new space to remembrance. The information boards with texts and pictures refer to Canadian history and the former significance of the buildings and places. The supplementary website, which can also be accessed directly from the signs via QR code, creates an additional sustainable, constantly growing platform with anecdotes and further images and texts to collect memories of this special chapter in the city's history and make them tangible.

The "Kanadaweg" is a project of city museum of Lahr. It was created in close cooperation with Canadian veterans of the Lahr Brigade and various associations that remember the Canadian history. The sponsors are the town of Lahr, IGZ Raum Lahr GmbH and the Regionalstiftung der Sparkasse Offenburg/Ortenau. We would like to thank our colleagues from the following departments for their support: Building Management, Geoinformation, Green and Environment, Fire Department, Legal Department, Main and Personnel Office, Public Order Office, Press Office, City Treasurer's Office, City Planning.

With the kind support of: Royal Canadian Legion, Royal 22e Régiment, United Veterans, Veterans Canada NATO OTAN

The accompanying anecdotes are testimonies from Canadians and their families, as well as from people who came into contact with them during the stationing. This is the beginning of the Lahr City Museum's oral history project, which is gradually 'collecting' real-life stories. Oral history is characterized by the fact that witnesses recount their very personal lives and views, thus supplementing the results of historical research with their own experiences.

The interviews were conducted in autumn 2024 by Cornelia Lanz, Head of the Office for City History and Archives of the City of Lahr. You are heartily invited to tell your story at museum@lahr.de!

The "Canada Trail" project represents the relationship between the history of the town of Lahr and Canada through a series of hitherto unseen panels placed at various locations.

It was ten years ago that the history of Lahr as a garrison town came to an end with the removal of the Canadian flag and a symbolic remission of clefs. For almost a quarter of a century, the NATO forces who lived and worked in the town wrote an important chapter in the history of the town.

The Canadian soldiers and their families have developed a cultural and economic infrastructure with their own schools, sports and cultural institutions, shops and residential areas. The patinoires, a cinema, a hebdomadaire, a radio station and a hospital were part of it.

Certain of these installations were (at certain times) at the disposal of the residents. They served as places for meetings and exchanges. The contingent of Canadians at the time of the departure of the Canadian Forces and their families living in Lahr and the surrounding area amounted to around 10,000 people.

Today, there are more than 120 Canadians and Canadians who remain in Lahr. They share their culture through the clubs and the vetérans meetings, keep in touch with their people and often report back from their time in garrison. Very often and regularly, Canadians or former soldiers stationed in the city come or return to the city, that which it has become or that which remains of the "good old days". The memory of the Canadians is still very much alive in Lahr, even if a few of the many buildings are disappearing from the image of the town.

The huit stations of the "Kanadaweg" give a souvenir of a new élan. The "Canada Trail" stations provide information in the form of texts and images about the history of the Canadians and the buildings and sites. The QR code gives access via the Internet to a platform, often mise à jour, containing images, texts, anecdotes and souvenirs from this very special period in the history of the city.

Le "Kanadaweg" is a project of the Stadtmuseum Lahr. Its realization is a joint project with the veterans of the Canadian Brigade of Lahr and various associations, who are related to the history of the Canadiens of Lahr. Financial support was provided by the City of Lahr, IGZ Raum Lahr GmbH and the Regionalstiftung der Sparkasse Offenburg/Ortenau. We would like to thank our colleagues from the various services for their cooperation: Building Management, Geographical Information, Environment, Police, Justice, Central and Personnel Office, Public Order Service, Press Service, Municipal Treasury and Urbanism.

Avec le support amical de la Royal Canadian Legion, du Royal 22e Régiment, des United Veterans et des Vétérns Canada NATO OTAN.

Les anecdotes ajoutées sont des transmissions orales de canadiens, de leurs familles et de personnes qui les ont côtoyés durant leur séjour. C'est le début d'un projet grandissant de l'Oral History Projet du Musée de la ville de Lahr.

Oral History: Les anecdotes jointes sont des témoignages de Canadiens et de leurs proches, ainsi que de personnes qui ont été en contact avec eux pendant le stationnement. This is the beginning of the oral history project of the Museum of the City of Lahr, within the framework of which living history is "collected" little by little. The oral history is characterized by the fact that the subjects recount their lives and their point of view in a very personal way, thus complementing the results of the historical research with their own experiences.

The interviews were conducted in the spring of 2024 by Cornelia Lanz, Director of the Service d'histoire de la ville et des archives de Lahr. Don't hesitate to send your contribution to the address museum@lahr.de!