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Title
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Making a home away from home- How a German immigrant became part of the German- Canadian community.
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Description
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Barbara Weis, from Weimar, Thüringen, Germany, shares the story of her immigration to Canada in 1953. She guides the viewer along with her journey, starting with her reason for leaving due to a series of unfortunate events. When the family farm was taken over by German soldiers in the GDR (German democratic republic), the family was forced to evacuate their home and settle at refugee camps in Berlin and West Germany. It was during this time that they applied for a Canadian travel visa, which was approved three years later. She presents a detailed description about her initial experience when arriving in London, Ontario, Canada, after traveling across the Atlantic Ocean on a big ship for multiple days, and finally taking a train from Montreal to London.
Ultimately, she tells a little more about the major components that aided her transition, such as the extremely accommodating German community, composed of German nationals that had come to London in previous years, who helped her and her family adjust to their new life and feel at home in a new country. The German- Canadian club is also a major focus throughout the video, as it was here that she formed many lifelong friendships and found the support that she needed to become truly German- Canadian. The short- documentary is concluded with some short words about how her experience has impacted her life, her identity, and the life of those around her. A truly inspiring story about the importance of the bond between people who share similar experiences and life journeys.
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Subject
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Migration to Canada from Germany in 1953 and the challenges associated with this transition
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Creator
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Alina Droge
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Source
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Original
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Publisher
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Bridging Classroom and Community: Languages and Cultures in Action, Western University, Fall 2017
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Contributor
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Barbara Weis
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Rights
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Format
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Video
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Video
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Language
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English
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Type
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Moving Image
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Coverage
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POINT(1261085.5620304 6617815.5409882)|12|1259365.7288942|6618066.9471515|osm
Her journey from her birthplace Weimar, Germany to London, Ontario, Canada.
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Date
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December 7th, 2017
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Relation
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is part of the German collection
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Extent
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8.0 minutes
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producer
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Alina Droge
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director
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Alina Droge