Oral History 17.05.24ADHG with Antoinette Dallimore and Herman Godefroy
Museum researchers conduct recorded interviews with immigrants, refugees, settlement workers and others who have lived experiences relating to immigration. As a learning institution, these accounts help us understand how individuals recollect, interpret, or construct meaning from events and experiences that are within living or family memory. Excerpts of these audio and video interviews, such as those accessible here, are used by the museum in various ways. Please consult the Reproductions and Use information page for details on how to request the original, unmodified recording.
Antoinette recalls being told that she could not play with a childhood friend because the friend’s father thought that she was a Displaced Person.
My friend had said, “Why don’t you come over to my house and show me all your Christmas presents, and see what you got?” So I did, I took my Christmas presents over to her, knocked on the door, and her dad answered the door. And at—I asked for her, and I don’t remember what her name is, and he said, “She’s not home.” And I said, “Well, I can hear her upstairs.” And then he said, “She’s playing with somebody else.” And you think, and then I said, “Well, she asked me to come.” And he said, “She’s not home. And she’s—well, she can’t play with you, because you’re a DP.” And then the door slammed in my face. And I went home and cried and asked my parents why, and so they were able to tell me what a DP was, because I had no idea at the time, but I knew it wasn’t good. So I would say that that was one of the main experiences that affected my whole life and why I never told anybody that, till I was older, that I was an immigrant, because I didn’t want people to know.
Antoinette Dallimore and her brother Herman Godefroy were born in the Netherlands in 1945 and 1946, respectively. Their parents decided to immigrate to Canada because of Herman’s asthma. The family arrived in 1953, and spent six weeks in immigration quarters when their father’s employment arrangements fell through. After leaving Pier 21, they moved at least six times within the Halifax area before settling permanently in British Columbia. Being Canadian was very important to the family, and they all obtained their citizenship as soon as they could. After high school, Herman briefly joined the air force before beginning a career in accounting. Meanwhile, Antoinette realized her childhood dream of becoming a nurse. The siblings have remained very close throughout their lives, and still live in British Columbia.
Video oral history conducted by Jan Raska on 24 May 2017 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This interview is not restricted; please contact Museum staff for access to full interview.
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