Germany, Kriegsmarine. A POW-Made Bottle Opener/Stopper Figurine Set, Camp 30 in Bowmanville, Ontario

A one-of-a-kind German prisoner-of-war made bottle opener/stopper figurine set, made by an inmate of Camp 30, located in Bowmanville, Ontario. It is constructed of wood, and consists of three figurines in the shape of German naval personnel. The figurines are singing, with the center figure holding an accordion. All three singing heads are removable, revealing a bottle opener, corkscrew, and cork (left to right). The figurines are fastened to a wooden base that serves to display the set. The bottom of the base is painted in white, reading “Bowmanville Camp 30 1943”. It measures 203 mm (w) x 68 mm (l) x 178 mm (l). With light chipping to the sailor’s caps on the two far-left figurines, in overall better than very fine condition.

Footnote: The Bowmanville prisoner-of-war camp (also known as “Camp 30”) was a Canadian POW camp for high ranking German officers during World War II, and is located in the community of Bowmanville, Ontario, in Canada. Construction on the complex was completed in 1927 and it first served as the Bowmanville Boys Training School, until 1941, when it was remodelled into a POW camp within seven months with the addition of barbed wire fences, guard posts, gates, and barracks. Notable prisoners included Georg Friemel, Otto Kretchmer, Hans Hefele, and Horst Elfe. Life at Camp 30 was considered comfortable, with gardens, a pool, and a recreation center built specifically for the prisoners. Inmates were privy to lectures by professors from the University of Toronto, and entertained themselves with puppet shows, theatrical events, and crafting of furniture and other items to earn money to be spent on alcohol, cigarettes, and other items from the Eaton’s catalogue. After the war, Camp 30 remained a boys’ training school until 1979, and was then used for various academic uses until 2008. In 2013 it was named a National Historic Site. It is still vacant today.