Edgar Pankratz

Theo Dirks was born in a Mennonite village in the Ukraine. During the Second World War, he and his family were exiled to Siberia, but through disastrous circumstances managed to escape and come back home. When the Germans arrived, Theo was drafted, first as a translator and then into the SS. In the meantime, his family was evacuated by the German Army, ending up in Poland, then East Germany. Theo found them there after being released from a prisoner of war camp. Fleeing persecution, they ended up in a Mennonite refugee camp and finally in Canada. Theo’s spotty education was a handicap he managed to overcome and to enter medical school. His life was full of amazing events that led to a remarkable outcome.