The TRC Gallery exhibition Textile Tales from the Second World War includes a number of war-time Mennonite quilts with a special history. Monika Modersitzki, a German quilter, has written the following blog:
In 1987 they emerged out of nowhere – quilts with the label „GIFT OF CANADIAN RED CROSS“. Some of them showed up at a flea-market in Munich, Germany, others for sale in bulk at a farmhouse nearby. It was pure chance that someone happened to identify these gifts. Obviously the sellers had no idea what to do with the old „stuff” and knew nothing about its possible value – not to speak of the historical dimension.
Canadian relief quilts being displayed at the TRC. Photograph by Monika Modersitzki.
During and after the Second World War, the Canadian Red Cross had organised the shipments of quilts to Europe, but somehow not all of the quilts were distributed in Europe to people in need. Many of them were apparently stowed away and forgotten.
When the quilts turned up in 1987, yet unidentified, many of them were very dirty or damaged. When Christl Tumat, a quilter in Munich, found one of these quilts, she immediately informed her quilting friends in nearby Groebenzell about discovering those “Canadian Red Cross quilts” near Munich. The “Groebenzeller Quiltgruppe” bought about twenty of them that were still in a reasonable condition. The quilters are still using them in their own homes.
Elisabeth Greil remembers:
“What a touching gesture! Canadian women made thousands of quilts for the suffering population of war-torn Europe - even for their former enemies during WW II, Germany and Austria. The quilts warmed and comforted many during the harsh winters of the 1940s. Sadly, some of the quilts were forgotten in a freight wagon at the Vienna train station. They were found decades later during a clean-up. A dealer offered them for sale at an antique market at the Nockherberg. My assumption is that he didn’t know what a treasure he had, given that some of the quilts were in poor condition.
9-patch quilt, donated via the Canadian Red Cross in mid-1940s. Photograph by Monika Modersitzki.
Fortunately, Mrs. Tumat, one of the quilters in the Munich area, discovered the quilts at the market. She convinced the dealer to offer the entire collection of quilts he stored in a barn in Alling for sale. It was 1987. The Groebenzeller quilters jumped at the chance to purchase these special quilts. The quality varied greatly. Some were wholecloth quilts, with only one seam in the middle printed with flowers or checks. Others were real works of art.
I bought an especially nice 9-patch of lovely fabrics. Unfortunately many of the colours had faded over the years. All the quilts were made traditionally: the top of cotton, loose cotton as wadding and with cotton backing, hand-quilted. The prices varied in the beginning. I paid 220 Marks for my 9-patch and fifty for plain ones. I own five of these historical quilts. I am grateful to own a bit of this peace offering. It would be wonderful if the descendants of the Canadian quilters hear that the work of their mothers, grandmothers or aunts still exists and is admired.”
Monika Modersitzki, 25 September 2020
