Fringe Fest play shines spotlight on If Day, when 'Nazis' invaded Winnipeg
Production takes a fictional look at a real stunt that helped spur war efforts in Manitoba and beyond
On a cold February day more than 80 years ago, Winnipeggers got a chilling glimpse of what the city would look and feel like if the Nazis won the Second World War.
"This was 1942 — the war wasn't going very well," said Gilles Messier, a Winnipeg-based history writer and playwright.
"[There was] an idea — 'hey, why don't we pretend to be invaded by Germans, and show people what it's like in Europe, and bring the war home, and the reality of what they're fighting for, what could happen if we lose.'"
So on Feb. 19, 1942, during the height of the war, the City of Winnipeg staged "If Day," an elaborate one-day simulated Nazi invasion and occupation of the Manitoba capital. It was intended to boost the sale of war bonds, which funded war efforts at the time.
The massive stunt included more than 3,800 volunteers dressed in Nazi uniforms who rolled in tanks right through downtown Winnipeg.
It also included a staged firefight, mock German aircraft flying overhead, the "arrest" of prominent politicians to be taken to internment camps, the takeover of newspapers and radio stations, and public burning of books.
Messier said that from all accounts, If Day painted an eerie picture for Winnipeggers and North Americans of how European nations were experiencing real-life Nazi takeovers at the time.
The staged invasion of Winnipeg is the inspiration for Messier's new play If Day, a fictional and humorous take on the events of Feb. 19, 1942, running at this year's Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, which features shows from Winnipeg and around the world.
"It's a fictionalization, because the actual event went exactly as they planned," Messier said. "But I've written a sort of a farce, a comedy of errors, where it goes horrifically wrong.
"But the setup of it, the basic premise, is based on reality."
'A real worldwide success'
Messier said the play features a range of characters, and examines how each of them would react to seeing If Day play out, blending both humour and more serious moments.
And while the stories in the play are made up, Messier said the production is also a chance for audience members to learn about a real part of Winnipeg's wartime history that many might not know about.
"I find it so fun to integrate as much fact into these fictional narratives as possible, where you can't tell where one begins and the other ends," he said.
WATCH | A March 2025 report on the day fake Nazis 'invaded' Winnipeg:
Bill Zuk, a Winnipeg-based historian and the secretary of the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, plans to take in Messier's show this week at the Fringe Fest.
He said while the play shows a comical version of things going wrong on If Day, accounts indicate the actual event couldn't have gone better, with widespread media coverage of the event, including major Canadian and U.S. newspapers and newsreel companies filing stories.
"It became a real worldwide success," said Zuk. "People around the world heard about If Day in Winnipeg."
Zuk said once the Fringe Festival wraps up, a professional film crew is scheduled to record the live show in a local studio, and there are plans for a free screening of a film version of the play at Winnipeg's Caboto Centre on Sept. 24.
The screening will be part of multiple events in Winnipeg that Zuk and others have been organizing this year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the Allied victory.
The anniversary should also serve as a reminder to Canadians about what can happen when dictators and authoritarian regimes gain power, he said.
"I think we're once again in a very perilous time," said Zuk. "But one thing the Second World War taught us is that we have the ability to come out of this on the right side of it."
Despite themes of war and military takeovers, Messier said he wants people to remember that above all else, his play If Day is meant to make people laugh.
"It's got something for everybody," he said. "If you want to learn a little bit of history, I pride myself on putting together really accurate sets and costumes.
"And if you want to laugh, if you want to see a good old-fashioned farce, go see If Day."
Messier's production is one of the more than 140 shows now running in venues around central Winnipeg as part of this year's Fringe Festival. If Day runs at Venue 6 — the Tom Hendry Warehouse Theatre — with performances at various times until July 27, the last day of the festival.
A schedule for If Day, and all the other shows at this year's festival, is available on the Winnipeg Fringe website.
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