‘I had a normal childhood, then World War II arrived.’
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, October 24, 2017
By Wayne Hildebrand
Neepawa Banner & Press
How does a German prisoner of war come to be entertaining the residents of Country Meadows Seniors Home in Neepawa with his accordion? To answer that, one has only to ask Gerd Behrendt. “The answer is simple,” said Gerd. “I love to play music and I enjoy happy people around me.” Well, I thought, there has to be more to this story.
Gerd Behrendt was born in Remscheid, Germany in 1929 to parents Otto Behrendt and Anna (Stam). “I had a normal childhood,” said Gerd. “Then World War II arrived! I didn’t know it at the time, but the war set the course for me to immigrate to Canada.”
“I attended school in Remscheid until I was 14 years old”, Gerd relayed. “It was 1943 and the Allies were targeting urban areas for bombing raids. The German government was moving civilians out of the towns to the county. Our family relocated to an unpopulated area in northeast Germany and I took an apprenticeship with a farmer. I helped at a dairy operation and worked with racehorses on a stud farm. This is where I realized that I love animals and farming.”
“When I was 15 and 16 years old, like all German boys, I had to attend the Hitler Youth Army training program,” said Gerd. “In 1945 the Russian and American armies were closing in on Germany and I saw a Russian tank on the east side of our town. There was no way I was going to a Russian prison of war camp, so I ran away. I swam across the Elbe River, crawled out on the opposite shore, and came face to face with an American soldier with his rifle sighted on me. I surrendered and was sent to an American prisoner of war camp in West Germany. I have no idea what direction my life would have taken if I had ended up as a Russian prisoner. ”
“After the war ended I was released from the camp and worked at various farms,” Gerd relayed. “I really wanted to have my own farm and be my own boss, but buying a farm in Germany was financially impossible. That is when I got the idea of coming to Canada. I got married to my first wife Cristel in 1954. We immigrated to Canada in 1955. Looking back, I never regretted coming to Canada.’’
For five years, Gerd and Cristel worked a variety of jobs in Ontario and Manitoba. In 1960, Gerd’s dream came true. He bought a quarter section of land near Langruth, Manitoba. “I started with next to nothing,” Gerd said. “I bought all second hand equipment and taught myself how to weld and do repairs. It was not easy, but I didn’t worry. I was young, worked like a horse, and I loved it.”
“I started with milk cows and then expanded into pigs,” Gerd said. Gerd was a progressive farmer. He was the first Manitoban to use artificial insemination with hogs and he developed a purebred herd of Polled Herefords. He also operated a market garden business.
Gerd and Cristel had three children; Angela (1958), Harold (1963) and Karen (1966). “I love my kids,” said Gerd. Cristel was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 1987. Gerd met Elsie Henry and they married in 1991. They moved to the Village of Riding Mountain. Gerd sold his Langruth farm in 1993.
“Music has always been a big part of my life,” Gerd explained with a big smile. “On family road trips we would pile the five of us in our half ton cab and sing songs. My grandchildren enjoy it when I play and sing to them. I love entertaining. I was in a band in Langruth playing accordion for 21 years. I also play the fiddle. I play music at Country Meadows Seniors Home with a friend from Riding Mountain about once a month. Music makes people happy, and this is why I play.”
Gerd also enjoys painting. “I have the time now to do more painting,” Gerd said. “I had an art show with my daughter Angela in Winnipeg in 2015. Currently I am working on sketches and planning an exhibition in May 2018 at Arts Forward in Neepawa. My exhibition theme will be ‘Around and About the Riding Mountain’.”
At 88 years of age, Gerd is not one to sit still. “I wake up in the morning with things on my mind, and I go do it,” said Gerd. His positive attitude and energy is infectious. I met Gerd at The Neepawa Banner office. He had many of the staff laughing and enjoying his visit. At the end of our interview, Gerd shared his philosophy as a senior. “I am 88 years old,” he said. “How much time do I have left? If I can’t bring a little happiness to people, what else have I got?”
