Tunnels Under my Parents' Calgary Home, to Protect Jews in WW2

STORY BY: Virginia Duker
YEAR: 2013
LOCATION: Calgary, AB

Virginia grew up as a GenXer in Calgary. When her mom passed away and her parents' house was bulldozed, people told her that they found tunnels under the building, and under the homes of some Jewish neighbours. People had built these tunnels because of World War 2 in Germany (where Jews were persecuted by the Nazi regime), and they wanted to make sure Jewish Calgarians had a safe escape route. Thanks for sharing, Virginia!

Virginia later added that the house was built by "Heningers" - as in "Heninger Toyota" in Britannia, AB. Her parents bought the property in 1968, and the house was demolished and rebuilt in 2013, when the tunnels were discovered between the homes. "As a child I was always scared of this deep tunnel that seemed to go on forever behind a wall in the furnace room. I never did venture in as it seemed to take on a life of its' own. After Mom passed away in 2013 and the home was demolished, tunnels were discovered between our homes. It was then that it came out the previous owner, the Heningers as in Heninger Toyota who built the house had tunnels built as an escape route if needed as was so often the case in Germany in WW11."