“Resigned to My Sad Fate:” Arthur Nantel and the Prisoner of War Experience

Authors

Tim Cook
Mélanie Morin-Pelletier

Abstract

In September 1914, forty-one-year-old artist Arthur Nantel, from Montreal, Quebec, enlisted as a private in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Travelling overseas with the First Contingent, his trial by fire came during the Second Battle of Ypres, in April 1915. Captured during the battle, Private Nantel spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Germany. During his captivity, Nantel left a unique visual legacy of his experiences. Based on several documents written by Nantel in 1919 and on thirty-one of his works of art held at the Canadian War Museum, this article explores his war service and works of art that provide a rare glimpse into the Allied prisoner of war experience in Germany.

En septembre 1914, Arthur Nantel, un artiste montréalais de quarante et un ans, s’enrôlait comme soldat dans le Corps expéditionnaire canadien. Mobilisé au sein du premier contingent, Nantel subit son baptême de feu lors de la deuxième bataille d’Ypres, en avril 1915. Capturé pendant la bataille, l’artiste a laissé un héritage visuel unique, témoignant de son expérience de la captivité. Cet article, fondé sur des documents qu’il a rédigés en 1919 et sur trente et une de ses oeuvres qui se trouvent au Musée canadien de la guerre, examine son service militaire et donne un rare aperçu de l’expérience des prisonniers de guerre alliés en Allemagne.

Recommended Citation

Cook, Tim and Morin-Pelletier, Mélanie "“Resigned to My Sad Fate:” Arthur Nantel and the Prisoner of War Experience." Canadian Military History 31, 1 (2022)