Cape Breton senior recalls life in German-occupied France, mother’s death during Second World War
It has been 80 years since Christiane Tanner's mother was shot and killed by German soldiers during the Second World War.
The Cape Breton senior still vividly remembers the day it happened near the end of the war in 1944.
"My mother's brother called us, and he said, 'Your mother has been shot,” Tanner recalled on Sunday, the day before Remembrance Day.
Tanner was 16-years-old when her mother was killed while cycling across a bridge manned by German troops on her way home from picking up grass to feed rabbits in her garden.
She is now 96, and has been living in her home in Westmount, N.S., for decades.
As a teenager, she spent four years living under German occupation in her native France.
"When we came back from the evacuation (to a town in Spain), when we came home.. we had a big house,” Tanner remembered. “A beautiful, big house, and the Germans had taken the house for themselves."
After what she remembers as a peculiar time, living with the enemy, France was liberated by Allied troops - beginning with the storming of the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
"But, I did not have a mother. That was more important to me than the end of the war,” Tanner said.
Still, the war's end allowed her to move on with her life and eventually to England where she met the man who would be her husband.
What brought her husband Jeff - and eventually Christiane - to Cape Breton was the construction of the Seal Island Bridge in 1960, which he was working on.
"I came to see it, and he said, 'Maybe we could live here,’” Tanner said.
All these years later, Tanner says Remembrance Day comes with mixed feelings.
Though living in Cape Breton for as long as she has, she has always been grateful for the Canadian soldiers who helped free her home country from occupation.
"And I watch it (Remembrance Day services), you know, and think of those soldiers who liberated us in the landing on the north,” Tanner said. “But I think to me, it's a moment of sadness as much as joy. To think, '10 days later, she would have survived.. this would not have happened.'"
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Downtown Vancouver stabbing suspect dead after being shot by police
A suspect is dead after being shot by police in a Vancouver convenience store after two people were injured in a stabbing Wednesday morning, according to authorities.
DEVELOPING As police search for suspect, disturbing video surfaces after U.S. health-care CEO gunned down in New York
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed Wednesday morning in what investigators suspect was a targeted shooting outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference.
'Utterly absurd': Freeland rebuffs Poilievre's offer of two hours to present fall economic statement
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has rebuffed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's offer to give up two hours of scheduled opposition time next Monday to present the awaited fall economic statement as 'utterly absurd.'
Transport Minister to summon airline CEOs as Air Canada set to charge carry-on fees for some passengers
Transport Minister Anita Anand says she will be calling Canadian airline CEOs to a meeting in mid-December after Air Canada says it will charge some passengers for carry-on bags in the new year.
WATCH: Suspects armed with hammers hit Markham jewelry store
Six suspects are in custody in connection with a smash-and-grab robbery at a jewelry store in a Markham mall that was captured on video.
Why are some Canada Post outlets still open during CUPW strike?
As many postal workers continue to strike across the country, some Canadians have been puzzled by the fact some Canada Post offices and retail outlets remain open.
Mattel sued over 'Wicked' dolls with porn website link
Mattel was sued this week by a South Carolina mother for mistakenly putting a link to an adult film site on the packaging for its dolls tied to the movie 'Wicked.'
Mitch Marner to wear red and white Maple Leaf as Canada rounds out 4 Nations roster
Mitch Marner was among the 15 players added to Canada's roster for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament Wednesday.
French government toppled in historic no-confidence vote
French opposition lawmakers brought the government down on Wednesday, throwing the European Union's second-biggest economic power deeper into a political crisis that threatens its capacity to legislate and rein in a massive budget deficit.