New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum

05/30/2026

This week's post is about another artefact from the New Brunswick Internment Camp. This fireplace was from the Officers' Mess Hall on the other side of the road from the camp. It's where the guards would have their meals. When the camp closed down in 1945, the buildings inside the camp and on the other side of the road were sold off and turned into sheds, cottages, homes, and more.

The Officers' Mess Hall was sold to two individuals: William Goguen and Private Fred Daigle (one of the guards). They divided the building into two sections, and one became the Daigle family's home. In taking his section, Daigle tried to take the fireplace as well, but it fell apart. He took what pieces he could and, using some other wood from the building, transformed the stone fireplace into a decorative Christmas fireplace for his family.

As you can see in the photos, the right half of the fireplace has been stripped down to the original wood, so you can see what it looked like before the remodelling. The left half is what the Daigle family's Christmas fireplace looked like. The fireplace was donated by Daigle's daughter, Irene, in 1998.

The top photo is one of two guards from the camp. The man on the left is Private Fred Daigle. The photo was taken in 1942 at a military training center in Fredericton.

If you want to see more posts like these, follow us here on Facebook. Also, don't forget to stop in at the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum to see the artefacts for yourself! We hope to see you here!

05/27/2026

We hope you're all having a great spring and enjoying the rain this week!

Just a heads up to anyone planning to visit the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum tomorrow, May 28th: we will be closing at 2:30pm rather than 5:00pm. Hours will continue as normal in the days to follow:

Monday-Friday: 10am-5:00pm
Saturday-Sunday: 12pm-5pm

Sorry for any inconvenience!

We hope to see you here this museum season!

05/23/2026

Over the past several months, we've looked at many people who had connections to the New Brunswick Internment Camp. This week, however, we're looking at an artefact from the camp.

This carved wooden shark doesn't have much of a story. We don't really know the inspiration behind it or who specifically made it. We can still appreciate the hard work and dedication that went into it, though! Typically, the internees didn't have fancy tools at their disposal, so even simpler designs were more difficult to make than they might seem.

It must've taken several hours; carving each individual tooth, the tail, the fins, and even adding the little gills on the sides would've been impressive work! On top of that, it's also sanded smooth.

Don't forget to come check out the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum in Minto, New Brunswick, as we are now open for the summer season! We'd love to see you and to help share the stories associated with this often-forgotten part of New Brunswick's history. Also, follow us here on Facebook to keep up with our weekly posts!

05/18/2026

It's that time of year! The New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum is officially opening for the summer season tomorrow, May 19th!

Our hours are 10am to 5pm Monday through Friday, and 12pm to 5pm Saturday and Sunday.

There are many fascinating stories to hear and artefacts to see, and we can't wait to share this part of New Brunswick's history with you. We hope to see you here this summer!

05/16/2026

This weekend's post is about an internee from the first phase of the New Brunswick Internment Camp. His name was Alfred Stenger. Stenger was born and raised in Berlin and attended university there in 1924.

In February of 1935, he sent his elderly parents to London because of tensions in Germany. Stenger followed them to London in March of the same year, but went back to Germany several times to visit friends. In his back and forth, Stenger was caught and imprisoned in October of 1936. He was released in February of 1939, but then interned in England, and later Canada, in May of 1940.

After his time of internment, Stenger moved to Ottawa. He was interviewed for volume 1 of Ted Jones' 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘳𝘦 while living in Ottawa. At the time of the interview, he was a retired Doctor of Economics.

We don't have a picture of Alfred Stenger, but if you have one or know of one, please let us know!

We hope to see you here at the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum in Minto, New Brunswick, this summer! Also, if you want to stay up to date on these posts, please follow us here on Facebook. There are many incredible stories associated with this camp!

05/14/2026

This week's post is about a man named Kaspar Naegele. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany. After his time interned in Canada, he attended McGill University. Later, he earned his Master's degree at Columbia University in New York in 1947 and a Doctorate from Harvard in 1952.

Naegele went on to teach at Harvard, the University of New Brunswick, and the University of Oslo in Norway. He also joined the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the University of British Columbia in 1954, eventually becoming a professor there in 1963.

His work in sociology became well known in many countries, and he was a highly respected teacher, especially at the University of British Columbia.

If you want to hear more stories about internees and artefacts from the New Brunswick Internment Camp, follow us here on Facebook and come visit the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum in Minto, New Brunswick. There is much to be learned about this often-forgotten piece of New Brunswick's history.

05/07/2026

Today's post is a little bit of a change of pace. We're not talking about an internee today, but instead someone who had a different kind of connection to the camp. Donald Macleod was originally from Glengarry County, Ontario, but lived in Fredericton for many years. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's from Queen's, and his Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cambridge. Macleod was on the research staff at Queen's for a few years before he worked as Senior Plant Pathologist with the Dominion Field Laboratory of Plant Pathology of the federal Department of Agriculture.

In addition to his agriculture-related careers, he became a benefactor of the Archives, taking photographs and collecting documents. From 1930 to 1950, many people were cleaning out their attics in Fredericton, so Macleod made arrangements with the dump keeper to collect any interesting old papers, and over the years, accumulated many papers for the Provincial Archive.

His connection to the New Brunswick Internment Camp came in the 1940s. Macleod would visit the camp regularly to show the internees movies. After the camp was closed, he came back to film the site.

Unfortunately, we don't have a picture of Donald Macleod, but if you have one or know of one, please let us know!

If you want to keep up on these posts, follow us here on Facebook! We'd also recommend coming to visit the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum this summer, as we have many artefacts to see and stories to tell. We hope to see you here!

04/28/2026

This week's post is about an internee named Siegmund Spieler. Spieler was born on November 20th, 1907, in Leipzig, Germany.

Before emigrating to Great Britain in February of 1938, Spieler was part of many communist parties and organizations in various places, such as Germany, Switzerland, and what is now Czechia.

Considered an enemy alien in Britain, he was sent to be interned in Canada from 1940 to 1942. During this time, he worked in welding.

Spieler later returned to Germany in 1946 and got back into politics. From 1952 to 1953, he served as deputy department head in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spieler eventually passed on December 25th, 1985, in East Berlin.

We unfortunately don't have a picture of Siegmund Spieler, but if you have one or know of one, please let us know!

If you want to keep up with these posts, follow us here on Facebook! We also recommend coming to check out the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum in Minto, New Brunswick, this summer. There is lots to learn and many interesting artefacts to see, so we hope to see you here!

04/19/2026

This weekend's post is about a man who was interned at the New Brunswick Internment Camp named Peter Fuld. Fuld was born in 1921 in Germany to a Jewish father and a German mother. His father, Harry Fuld, was the founder of Germany’s first telecommunications service provider, H. Fuld & Co. Fuld was only 11 years old when his father passed away.

He was then sent by his mother, Ida Fuld, to London for school. She was afraid that, being the son of a Jewish man, Fuld would have troubles in Germany under the N**i regime. Unfortunately, England considered him an enemy alien, since he'd come from Germany, and he was sent to be interned in Canada. Upon release (he was assisted by a family from England, the Birks), Fuld attended the University of Toronto. On his first day of law school, he met Ivy Lawrence, the first Black Canadian woman to graduate from the University of Toronto’s then law school, and the two quickly became close.

Fuld and Lawrence moved to London after they earned their law degrees. Though he wanted to marry her, Fuld and Lawrence never married and eventually parted ways. They remained good friends.

Fuld eventually passed away at 41 years old due to brain cancer.

Please follow us here on Facebook to keep up with these posts, and add the New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum to your summer 2026 bucket list! There is lots to see and learn here at the museum, and we'd love to have you!

04/19/2026

The NB Internment Camp Museum is seeking a new board member

420 Pleasant Drive, Minto, NB
https://www.nbinternmentcampmuseum.ca/

Our vision is to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to learn about the NB Internment Camp through conservation and
education.

We are looking for someone who:

* Can bring fresh ideas and a collaborative spirit to the board.

*Is interested in history, education, and the community.

* Has experience in any of: non-profit governance, museum work, education, or community engagement. (While this would be great, it isn't necessary.)

What you can expect:

*The board meets about 6 times/ year (sometimes virtually, sometimes in person)

*Collaborative decision-making alongside a dedicated and passionate team.

*Opportunities to influence the direction of the museum

Commitment:
*The role requires attendance at regular board meetings, participation in committees, and support of museum initiatives.

If you are interested, please reach out to the President of our Board of Directors, Derrick Bishop, at [email protected] to discuss.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum is one of only two museums of its type in Canada, the museum tells the often-forgotten story of the Maritimes' only WWII internment camp. This Museum has been open to the public since 1997. We are located at 420 Pleasant Drive, Unit 1 in Minto, NB.