Re: “A word and a missing suitcase,” Issue #2-2011, p. 30

I am sad to say that I was not impressed with Sara Beck’s article about Alfred Bader’s wartime POW experiences. It seems to me the author was dramatizing an incident that was not as serious as she wanted it to be. She is lucky that she does not know the gravity of the gruesome war, and Holocaust, that were going on at that time.

I do not think it is honourable to Alfred Bader that it be made public that he held a grudge about his suitcase. He was in a strange land and was robbed of his last few belongings, but I am sure there are nicer things to say about him, especially when so many Canadians were fighting overseas. I cannot imagine they put the brightest officers in charge of his suitcase. The brighter soldiers and officers were needed to fight off evil. 
 

Writer Sara Beck replies: “Dr. Bader asked me to research and write this story with an emphasis on the suitcase and the trial that followed. He personally approved both the version that was printed and the longer version available online. Clearly, he feels it a story worth telling. I encourage Alison SteinKopf and anyone else who is interested to read the full version of the story, which can be found online at http://queensu.ca/news/alumnireview/word-and-missing-suitcase.” — Ed.