What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast

About What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast

What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast introduces new insights into the interviews from www.whatheycanteachus.ca (http://www.whatheycanteachus.ca). Host Frank Brueckner provides a lively and informative discussion of how German immigrants like Anneliese, Alma, Barbara and Lisa may have experienced the shift in culture around music, food, film and fashion as they navigated life between Germany and Canada.

Publisher

Chair in German-Canadian Studies

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Jun 2026

Latest episode

1 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

6 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Sept 2026

   What They Were Watching

   Film fans, this one's for you! Let's go behind-the-scenes with Frank Brückner as he traces the history of cinema, and how innovations in "moving pictures" shaped what Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese were watching before - and after - their journeys across the ocean. ----- Cover art by Alexe Normandin. Jingle music composed by Frank Brückner. All other sounds and voices (except for the interviews of What They Can Teach Us): © Frank Brückner Source Links: M (movie, 1931) Furtwängler - Götterdämmerung, Prologue Dawn (Live) Film Projector Sound Effect - Home and Office Sounds Charlie Chaplin - Kid Auto Races At Venice. High Quality "Moloch Motiv", from Metropolis Medley - Gottfried Huppertz (1927 78 rpm Record) Der Blaue Engel (1930) – Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt Die Drei von der Tankstelle (1930) – Ein Freund, ein guter Freund Die Deutsche Wochenschau (1943) Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944) Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war (1937) – Jawohl, meine Herren Die Mörder sind unter uns (1946) Schwarzwaldmädel (1950) Bush Pilot (1947) Lisa Schwabe, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Vancouver, B.C., Canada; September 29, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive. ----- Transcript: [Movie clip plays] These were excerpts from the 1931 German movie M by Fritz Lang. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time. It is highly unlikely that Barbara, Anneliese, Lisa or Alma saw M when it was released in German cinemas, as they were small children in 1931, and M deals with grim subject matter. However, as these women grew up, they became true film lovers and often went to the movie theater to see a new movie as soon as it came out. Welcome to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. My name is Frank Brückner and I created the series to provide additional context to the website, “What They Can Teach Us,” which was developed from interviews with four women who immigrated from Germany to Canada in the early 1950s. The website and podcasts were initiated and are supported by the Chair in German-Canadian studies at the university of Winnipeg. In these podcasts, you will learn what life was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Barbara, Lisa, Alma, and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, left Germany and crossed the Atlantic ocean to begin their lives anew in Canada. This is part 3 of a series of short podcasts, accompanying the interviews of “What They Can Teach Us”: What They Were Watching. Let's take a peek with our ears. [Movie clip plays] Among the many difficulties these women faced when they immigrated to Canada was the language barrier. Their English was not very good, if it existed at all. They came from a different culture and had just survived the most horrible war in world history started by their fellow Germans. They were seeking a new and better life in an unknown, sparsely populated country, 28 times the size of Germany. Barbara, Anneliese, Lisa, and Alma had to immerse themselves into every aspect of their new home country. Movies provided a genius way to do that as they are based in visual storytelling. New immigrants to Canada, even if they did not yet understand English, were mostly able to follow the plot of films that were showing in their local movie houses. By the time our four interviewees Anneliese, Barbara, Alma, and Lisa arrived in Canada in the early 1950s, the art of films with sound was only about 20 years old. Before sound films, which were also known as “talking pictures” or “talkies”, or Tonfilm in German, there were silent movies, often accompanied by live music to provide the score. Title cards explained the plot and or the dialogues. This silent film era spanned more than 30 years, from the late 19th century until the late 1920s. [Movie clip plays] Among the first inventors of film were the brothers Max and Eugen [sic] Skladano

2. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Epilogue

   Now that you've heard more about how music, food, film and fashion impacted the lives of our four interviewees in their journeys across the ocean, it's your turn to investigate. How have other immigrant groups experienced these - and other - aspects of migration? How has access to the comforts of home changed between the 1950s and our more well-connected modern-day world? Put your history caps on and go explore! And don't forget to check out whattheycanteachus.ca and listen to the full stories from Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese. ----- Cover design by Alexe Normandin Jingle music composed by Frank Brückner. All other sounds and voices (except for the interviews of What They Can Teach Us): © Frank Brückner Source links: Lisa Schwabe, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Vancouver, B.C., Canada; September 29, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive. Barbara Baanders, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Richmond, B.C., Canada; September 22, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive. Anneliese Lomer, Session 1, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Surrey, B.C., Canada; November 30, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive. Friedel Hensch & Die Cypros – Tango Max (1951) 1950S WOMEN’S BEAUTY & FASHION FILM   WOMAN’S FIGURE Best Of Bollywood - 1940 || Old Hindi Songs || Jukebox Panambitan - RUBEN TAGALOG @Harana Pilipino ----- Transcript: Lisa: "To immigrate? [Laughs] Well, when did I come to Canada? In 1951. I think one of the main reasons why I came to Canada was more adventure. We were cooped up in Germany, the war kept us down, so I thought, ‘Oh well, I like to see the world now.’” Barbara: “Why I went to Canada is because I was given the opportunity by the Canadian government to immigrate to Canada. The motive was that I wanted to have my own pottery and I knew in Germany without funds in my situation as a refugee I would never have the funds, the money to have my own equipment, to make pottery independently. And that is why I went here.” Anneliese: “My decision to emigrate, of course that was when I was still in Germany, and I had completed a nursing training and I was working in a mental institution as a nurse. And then it was a big PR rush from Canada to attract German people, German girls especially, actually I don’t remember them mentioning men.” You have been listening to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. A series of short podcasts providing additional context to the website “What They Can Teach Us”. You learned about various aspects of life in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Barbara, Lisa, Alma, and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, immigrated from Germany to Canada. [Music plays] [Advertisement] Shell pink silk linen in a sleek, slimline sheath, touched with Swiss-embroidered applique. We focused on popular music of their time and looked at the films people went to see in theaters back then. We cast a light on clothing fashions of the day and explored different regional cuisines. However, the four women portrayed on the website “What They Can Teach Us” only represent a sliver of the immigrant experience in Canada. Anneliese, Alma, Lisa, and Barbara came from Germany to start a new life in Canada. Many other newcomers came and still come to North America from all corners of the world. [Music plays] What was it like to immigrate from, say, Calcutta to Winnipeg in 1960? How difficult was it in 1973 to find spices in Calgary for an original Moroccan tagine or a jollof rice dish from Senegal? What did Filipino teenagers experience in the 1980s when they moved from Mindanao to Montreal? [Music plays] The immigrant experience is both inte

3. 

   1 Aug 2026

   What They Were Wearing

   Travel back along the threads of time as Frank Brückner weaves a brief history of fashion. Learn when humans began wearing clothing, and when garments went from simple practicality to a display of cultural identity. Follow our interviewees as they share what clothing meant to them when they made their way to Canada. ----- Cover design by Alexe Normandin. Jingle music composed by Frank Brückner. All other sounds and voices (except for the interviews of What They Can Teach Us): © Frank Brückner Source links: Oktoberfest 2025, Munich - Opening Day Royalty free music to use in your YouTube video - Oompah polka Record Needle Scratches   Sound Effects (High Quality) Seagull sounds Foghorn Sound Effect - Isolated Ship Horn Glückliche Kühe auf Schweizer Alpen - das Paradies auf Erden Böhmische Polka Skoda Lasky   Schade Um Die Liebe Scary Cold Howling Snowstorm in a Frozen Arctic Environment for Relaxation, Sleeping and Fantasy. Oxen Cart Schmiedehandwerk vom feinsten  in UHD 4K Hot iron meets cold water!🔥💧#blacksmith #shorts #metalart #metalwork #foryou #forging What is the effect of a blacksmith putting iron bars in water#workers #works #blacksmith Edith Piaf - Ça ira Siegfried Arno - Wenn die Elisabeth nicht so schöne Beine hätt (1930) Normandy, The Airborne Invasion of Fortress Europe Sirenenalarm im Zweiten Weltkrieg - Berlin 1945   Fm Si 41 Ju87 Stuka Dive Bombers in Action with Sound and Sirens WW2 Luftwaffe Footage FASHION MEANS BUSINESS   1947 LOOK AT WORLD FASHION  CHRISTIAN DIOR, BERGDORF GOODMAN, VOGUE  56774 An Evening Fashion Show at the Savoy Hotel London (1951)   Vintage Fashions Christian Dior's  New Look  Fashions   Movietone Moment   12 Feb 16(1947/48) Everything You Need to Know About Christian Dior’s New Look Silhouette | Vogue Anneliese Lomer, Session 1, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Surrey, B.C., Canada; November 30, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive. Barbara Baanders, Oral History interview by Alexander Freund (Richmond, B.C., Canada; September 22, 1993), Identity in Immigration Collection, Alexander Freund Fond, German-Canadian Oral History Archive, University of Winnipeg Oral History Archive. ----- Transcript: Ach, Deutschland. Every day is Oktoberfest. Lederhosen and dirndls everywhere you go. Wait. If you think that's what Germans wear, think again! Welcome to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. My name is Frank Brückner and I created this series to provide additional context to the website “What They Can Teach Us,” which was developed from interviews with four women who immigrated from Germany to Canada in the early 1950s. The website and podcasts were initiated and are supported by the Chair in German-Canadian Studies at the University of Winnipeg. In these podcasts you will learn what life was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, left Germany and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin their lives anew in Canada. This is part 4: What They Were Wearing. Of course, dirndls and lederhosen exist and are still worn on special occasions in certain regions of Germany, but they are only one of many traditional folk costumes, or Trachten, in the country, and you would have a hard time finding them outside the alpine regions of Bavaria, Austria or South Tyrol in northern Italy. Germany is a modern global culture, and today when you see people wearing traditional costumes in Germany, they could be women in hijabs, men in turbans or yarmulke, or women in saris or traditional African fabrics, or in dirndls. Based on the regions our four interviewees Anneliese, Barbara, Alma and Lisa came from, it is highly unlikely that any of them were wearing dirndls or other kind of traditional garb when they arrived in Canada in the early 1950s. Germany was a modern European country, both before and af

4. 

   1 Jul 2026

   What They Were Eating

   Feast your ears on this episode about food history in Germany and Canada. Host Frank Brückner talks traditional German dishes, food rationing in the postwar period, and migrants adjusting to the cuisine of a new country. ----- Cover art by Alexe Normandin. Jingle music composed by Frank Brückner. All other sounds and voices (except for the interviews of What They Can Teach Us): © Frank Brückner Source Links: Eine Stunde Restaurant-Hintergrundgeräusche Furtwängler conducting Mozart's Don Giovanni Overture Salzburg 1954 (In Colour) Kalenderblatt: 20.6.1948 Die D-Mark kommt. Einführung der  Deutschen Mark  in den westlichen Besatzungszonen Trizonesien-Song  - De facto national anthem of Allied-occupied Germany Seagull sounds Beaverbrae food storage quote: Wanted On Voyage: MIGRANT BEAVER-- D.E.V. BEAVERBRAE ----- Transcript: Rehrücken…Pfälzer Saumagen…Ochsenmaulsalat...Spargel mit Kartoffeln und Butter...Blutwurst...Schäufele...Handkäs mit Musik...Bismarckhering…Stutenkerl...Rote Grütze…Rauchbier…Schwäbische Maultaschen…Frankfurter Rindswurst…Thüringer Rostbratwürste…Leipziger Allerlei…Riesling und Roggenmischbrot. All of these are traditional German dishes, coming from various regions of the country. They range from deer roast to blood sausage to white asparagus with potatoes and butter to spicy sour milk cheese and smoked beer. Surprised? German cuisine is so much more than the cliché bratwurst and sauerkraut with a frosty Bierstein or a glass of sweet Riesling wine. Welcome to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. My name is Frank Brückner and I created the series to provide additional context to the website “What They Can Teach Us”, which was developed from interviews with four women who immigrated from Germany to Canada in the early 1950s. The website and podcasts were initiated and are supported by the Chair in German-Canadian Studies at the University of Winnipeg. In these podcasts you will learn what life was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, left Germany and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin their lives anew in Canada. This is part 2 of a series of short podcasts accompanying the interviews of “What They Can Teach Us”: What They Were Eating. Let's get a taste of it! When Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, immigrated from Germany to Canada in the early 1950s, they would have had a hard time finding dishes they were accustomed to eating in the old country, certainly not in a restaurant. And if they wanted to cook it themselves, many of the ingredients would have been difficult to find. They shared a similar experience with many immigrants to Canada in the 1950s. Imagine a French person searching for one of the incredible variety of cheeses in France. Or someone from India missing the spices of their homeland. Despite all these delicious dishes mentioned in the beginning, if there's one thing that native Germans would miss once they moved abroad, it is bread. There are about 3,000 types of bread in Germany, more than in any other country in the world. Bread is ingrained in daily life. A typical day starts with a few slices of bread topped with cheese, cold cuts or jams, and it ends with Abendbrot, which literally translates to “evening bread”. Even now, it can still be very hard to find a loaf of good bread that would satisfy a German bread lover's sensitive palate. Luckily, more than 70 years after Lisa, Alma, Barbara and Anneliese arrived, thanks to globalization, many foods, spices and other ingredients have become available in Canada. Even delicious German bread can be found, made here by Canadian bakers. Roggenmischbrot…Roggenmischbrot…Roggenmischbrot…Roggenmischbrot… Roggenmischbrot…Roggenmischbrot. The situation was very different around the time our four protagonists arrived in Canada. Immediately after the war, food was rationed, and millions of people in Europe

5. 

   1 Jun 2026

   What They Were Listening To

   Mosey into this melodic episode exploring the pre- and postwar music scene in Germany and the kinds of music that Anneliese, Alma, Barbara and Lisa and others of their generation would have been listening to in their youth and in their lives abroad. ----- Cover graphic by Alexe Normandin. Jingle music composed by Frank Brückner. All other sounds and voices (except for the interviews of What They Can Teach Us): © Frank Brückner Source links: Music searches https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=musik+in+deutschland+1951&atb=v355-1&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=music+in+canada+1951&atb=v355-1&ia=we 1950s, français, hits 1951, français, divers Radio Tuning FX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2qShK5lZOs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pumgHCBx9iY WW2 sound collage collected from various sources and assembled by Frank Brückner: Normandy, The Airborne Invasion of Fortress Europe Sirenenalarm im Zweiten Weltkrieg - Berlin 1945   Fm Si 41 Ju87 Stuka Dive Bombers in Action with Sound and Sirens WW2 Luftwaffe Footage SR 2 – Der Klang des Jahrhunderts: Hier ist England (1938) Comedian Harmonists - In einem kühlen Grunde Glenn Miller – In The Mood Duke Ellington –  Jam With Sam Yves Montand –  Les Grands Boulevards Jo Stafford – You Belong To Me Die Kleine Cornelia (Conny Froebess) – Pack die Badehose ein Rudi Schuricke – Capri Fischer Peter Alexander - Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores Marlene Dietrich - Muss I denn ----- Transcript: [Music plays] Our past isn't just black and white pictures and dates in the history book. The past is colorful and cinematic, musical and moving, dreadful and wonderful, just like today. Welcome to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. My name is Frank Brückner and I created this series to provide additional context to the website “What They Can Teach Us”, which was developed from interviews with four women who immigrated from Germany to Canada in the early 1950s. The website and podcasts were initiated and are supported by the Chair in German-Canadian Studies at the University of Winnipeg. In these podcasts you will learn what life was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, left Germany and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin their lives anew in Canada. This is part 1: What They Were Listening To. Let's dive right in. This episode started with a bang, literally. What you heard was a collage of actual sounds from World War II, ending with the last line of an old German folk song from the 1800s, recorded in 1932 by the Comedian Harmonists. It says, ich möchte am liebsten sterben/dann wäre es auf einmal still, which roughly translates to, I would rather be dead, only then it would finally be quiet. Although the song is about a broken heart, the sentiment expressed in those last words might have been exactly what many people felt during this horrible war. And then the war ended, and it was quiet indeed. Well, not really. Nazi Germany was beaten and conquered, and the music of the liberation in western Europe was swing. After 12 years of a brutal dictatorship that imprisoned people, or worse, for listening to what the Nazis called degenerate music, Germans enjoyed the new freedom to listen to whatever they wanted to. And along with the American, British, French and Canadian occupying forces came military radio stations, broadcasting the hit tunes from back home. [Music plays] As swing became less fashionable, music changed, but the topics remained the same. Love, longing, and even everyday themes such as this song from 1951 about packing your swim trunks and going for a swim in Berlin's Lake Wannsee, sung by an eight-year-old girl from Berlin. [Music plays] After years of deprivations and restrictions, Germans weren't satisfied with a vacation at home. They were longing to travel to sunny southern Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, this time as peaceful vacationers. A good number

6. 

   1 Jun 2026

   TRAILER: What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast

   Produced in collaboration with the University of Winnipeg's Chair in German-Canadian Studies, we present: What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast! Host Frank Brückner introduces you to the web resource, What They Can Teach Us, featuring interviews with four German immigrant women who came to Canada in the 1950s. Using historical research mixed with interview excerpts, he will guide you through topics such as Music, Food, Film and Fashion and how they relate to the lives of Alma, Barbara, Lisa and Anneliese. ----- Cover graphic by Alexe Normandin. Jingle music composed by Frank Brückner. All other sounds and voices (except for the interviews of What They Can Teach Us): © Frank Brückner Source Links: Furtwängler conducting Mozart's Don Giovanni Overture Salzburg 1954 (In Colour) Heinz Rühmann & Hans Albers – Jawoll, meine Herren Tanker blasting foghorn Seagull sounds Guy Mitchell – My Truly, Truly Fair Schwarzwaldmädel (film) She Walks In Beauty - Fashion Show at Savoy Hotel, Pt. 2 (1951) The Sound of Steam Trains ----- Transcript: The past. Black and white photos. Stiff looking people. And important dates in a history book. Dead. Long ago. Boring. Or was it? Nothing could be further from the truth. The past was as colorful and cinematic, musical and moving, dreadful and wonderful as our life is today. Welcome to What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. A series of short podcasts of varying lengths providing additional context to the website “What They Can Teach Us”. You will learn what life was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Barbara, Lisa, Alma and Anneliese, like so many of our parents and grandparents, immigrated from Germany to Canada. They listened and danced to the pop music of their day, the mid-century equivalent to modern day's R&B and rock music. [Soundtrack] They left behind a food culture which was very different from Canadian food culture. Oxenmaulsalat. Spargel mit Kartoffeln und Butter. Blutwurst. Schäufele. Handkäs mit Musik. They came from a country with a highly developed film industry to one that was still in its early stages. [Movie dialogue in German] And, of course, they were interested in fashion. Yes, people in those black and white pictures were actually wearing colorful clothes. [Advertisement] Each podcast focuses on one specific topic. That means you can listen to the podcasts in no particular order or without having to follow a storyline. These podcasts might inspire you to investigate your own family's history: where they came from and when, and what they experienced. Moving from one country and culture to another is a big adventure and often requires a lot of courage and strength. Humankind has always been on the move. And the regular arrival of newcomers in our global communities opens new horizons, offers new philosophies and fresh perspectives on our familiar way of life. We experience new spices and smells, as well as new music, film, fashion and food. In a nutshell, immigration enriches us culturally and makes a country and a society strong and resilient. This ongoing series will add new podcasts in irregular intervals, so stay tuned for What They Can Teach Us: The Podcast. And check back regularly for new episodes.

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.