Series

This series focusses on the difficult period when Maurice Baribeau was incarcerated by the German army. It documents the pilot's arrest and his transfer from Norway to Germany. In his diary, Maurice Baribeau recounts numerous details about daily life in a prisoner of war camp. The documents associated with his imprisonment chronicle how the German army managed prisoners of war.

While the series offers insight into what it means to be a prisoner in wartime, it also reveals the plight of the families of soldiers missing in action. Letters document the long months of anxiety and helplessness experienced by those on the other side of the Atlantic as they tried to get more news about their loved ones at the front. Although Maurice Baribeau's family members did not know if they would ever see the pilot alive again, several weeks after his capture they did learn that he had survived, but was now a prisoner of war. Various letters reveal the emotions that gripped them, right up to Maurice's release.

In addition to documenting the support Maurice Baribeau's friends offered to his family, the series chronicles the assistance provided by various government, military and humanitarian associations and organizations. In letters dated from September 18, 1944, to July 4, 1945, there are weekly updates on the research being done to locate Maurice Baribeau, although the conditions of his imprisonment and his numerous movements from one German camp to another complicated matters.

In addition to Maurice Baribeau's personal accounts, the series is composed of official German camp documents identifying the pilot, as well as letters sent from Quebec and Europe by members of the Baribeau family and government, humanitarian and military organizations.

The series is composed of the following subseries:

P796/B1 Personal documents

P796/B2 Government, military and humanitarian organizations