Gunther and Elisabeth Sparkuhl

Gunther Sparkuhl was born in 1924 in Zarrentin in northern Germany. Elisabeth Sparkuhl (née Hund) was born in 1929 in Speyer in the Rhineland. They met after the Second World War and were married in Speyer in 1949. They had two children, Joachim born in 1950, and Rudy born in 1952.

Germany in the mid-nineteen fifties was still a divided country, under military occupation, and struggling to recover from the devastation of the war years. Then in 1953, Soviet troops intervened to suppress a popular uprising in East Germany. In 1956, they crushed the revolution in Hungary. The Cold War had begun and renewed conflict in Europe appeared to be a distinct possibility. It seemed a good time to be elsewhere. I can recall my parents listening unhappily to news broadcasts on a large old radio. I'm sure they didn't want us to experience the deprivations and dangers that they had lived through during the war.

Although the German economy was gradually improving and Gunther had a secure job with the chemical firm BASF, he was attracted by the economic opportunities that the New World seemed to offer. He applied both to Canada and Australia and when the Canadian government approved the application, Gunther and Lisa made the difficult decision to emigrate. They knew little English and had no relatives living in Canada to whom they could look for assistance in establishing themselves.

In the spring of 1957, we travelled by train from Heidelberg to Bremerhaven and there boarded the Arosa Sky for passage to Canada. The ship, which had most recently served as a hospital ship during the Suez crisis under the name "La Marseillaise", had just been refitted as a passenger liner and was making her maiden voyage on the transatlantic route. The cabins still smelled of fresh paint and diesel oil, an unpleasant combination during the days of seasickness that were to follow. The Arosa Sky left Bremerhaven on May 17th with close to a thousand passengers and made a rough crossing in heavy seas and generally poor weather. I can still recall the sense of excitement and relief as the passengers gathered to watch the coast of Canada come into view.

We landed in Halifax and cleared immigration at Pier 21, but didn't get to see anything of the city itself. We were soon aboard a train for a slow journey through the Maritimes and then along the St. Lawrence to Montreal, where we eventually settled. Canada was just entering an economic slowdown in 1957 and the next few years were difficult, but Gunther and Lisa persevered, became Canadian citizens, and ultimately prospered in their new home.