Sherrie Todd-Beshore

After the First World War, people in Europe and North America hoped for peace and prosperity. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s dashed those hopes. In 1935, George and Mary Thomas were struggling to make ends meet by renting rooms in their house. One of their tenants, a German man, went missing on Christmas Eve. The police came to the Thomases' house to investigate, and the Thomases' peaceful Christmas was suddenly interrupted. The police found the tenant's dismembered body at a local meat packing plant. The victim was a spy, and his murder had been ordered by the German government. The Thomases were shocked to learn that a spy had been living among them. They also realized how close the war in Europe was to their own lives. The murder investigation was taken over by federal agents from both the United States and Canada. The Thomases were relieved that the case was being handled by experienced professionals, but they were also saddened by the violence and hatred that had come to their doorstep. The murder of the German spy was a reminder of the fragility of peace. It showed that even in a quiet town, far from the battlefields of Europe, people could be caught up in the violence of war.