During World War II, 12,000 Nazis were kept in a POW camp in Medicine Hat, Alberta, a remote city with about the same population as the camp. The POW camp operated as a nearly autonomous region during the war, and the city enjoyed the additional jobs it provided. That all changed when two men were beaten and hanged by their fellow prisoners.
What followed was an investigation that uncovered a shadow Nazi government, including a Gestapo responsible for enforcing loyalty to the Fuhrer. Charges were laid and it culminated in the last, mass hanging in Canadian history.
Nathan Greenfield, an author of 7 books on military history, discusses how liberally Canada interpreted the Geneva convention and the role homosexuality played in the trial, both for the defence and the prosecution. Listen in!
