In the middle of the most destructive conflict in human history, the Second World War, almost 40,000 Germans civilians and prisoners of war were detained in internment and work camps across Canada. Prisoners of the Home Front details the organization and day-to-day affairs of these internment camps and reveals the experience of their inmates. Auger concludes that Canada abided by the Geneva Convention; its treatment of German prisoners was humane. This book sheds light on life behind barbed wire, filling an important void in our knowledge of the Canadian home front during the Second World War.

Martin F. Auger's profile page

Martin F. Auger is completing his doctorate in history at the University of Ottawa. His thesis examines aircraft design and development in Canada during the Second World War.

The issue of the labour and re-education camps set up during World War II has been widely addressed over the last sixty years, but few works offer a strictly Canadian point of view, and even fewer focus on Quebec. Thus, Martin F. Auger’s work is most welcome. He describes the living conditions to which prisoners, mostly Germans and Italians, were subjected for several years, and explains the various reasons that drove Canadian authorities to set up such labour camps. … In short, Auger’s work is indispensable for anyone interested in Canada’s national war effort during the Second World War.

Canadian Army Journal, Vol.10.1

The memoir material provides an ideal counterpoint to the basic history gleaned from the government sources, and the author weaves an excellent narrative from the various strands involved. …In his recommendation of this book, my colleague Kent Fedorowich describes it as ‘the benchmark for the future study of Canada’s … history as a captor power during the Second World War’. I would go further and say that in several respects it sets benchmarks for all future regional and local studies of prisoners of war and internees, be they in Canada or elsewhere.

War in History, Issue 14-4

Auger has written a readable narrative that uses insightful analysis grounded in primary research from a regional perspective. The book is highly recommended for general and specialist readers.

International History Review XXVIII, 4

Prisoners on the Home Front sheds some much needed light on an under-represented topic in Second World War historiography. … This book has forged a new path for the study of Canadian internment camps during the Second World War.

Canadian Military History, Spring 2008