Margarete “Marga” Hanna was born in 1941 in the Polish city of Łódź, to Alfred and Else Hein. Her father, a chemist, passed away from leukemia just months after her birth. Her mother, employed as a secretary, was left to raise baby Marga and her older brother, born in 1939, on her own.
As World War II came to a close in the winter of 1944, the Allied leaders (Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt) enforced the expulsion of ethnic Germans who had settled in countries to the east of Germany. It was, in part, a retributive act following the horrors of the war, and as many as 14 million ethnic Germans were disowned and forced to flee their homes with only what they could carry. Of these, between 500,000 to 2 million died during their expulsion and flight west. It is important to note that Germans had been invited by various rulers to re-settle into countries like Poland, Czech, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Yugoslavia as early as the 12th to 14th Century. Marga’s family tree traces her father’s family’s arrival in Poland to the 17th Century.
Marga’s mother was among those disowned, displaced, and expelled, journeying with her two small children (Marga just four years old) by foot and whatever transport they could find. The chaos of war still raged around them. Marga’s memories of that time are vivid, witnessing frequent bombings, Russian tanks and soldiers on the move west, artillery fire, burning buildings, and lifeless bodies scattered along the roads. It took weeks before they reached the border between East and West Germany.
There, the Red Cross took responsibility for the exhausted and starving refugees or what was left of them, attempting to place them in towns and villages where residents might take them in. Arriving in one such village late at night on an open truck, Marga, her mother and brother were the last to be placed. This is a moment which Marga recalls clearly: a woman owner of a substantial village home, sitting in her large kitchen peeling hot boiled potatoes, responded with open hostility to the Red Cross worker and refused Marga’s mother and her children shelter and food. They had to go back into the cold night to keep searching for a place to sleep.
Eventually, they found a newly widowed mother, who had lost her husband to the war, and her son. They were kind and allowed Marga’s family to stay in their home, making them feel welcome. Marga, her mother and brother lived in the village for the next ten years, and her mother became a valued member of the community. When Marga was 14, her family emigrated to Canada on the invitation of relatives who had left Germany shortly after WW I.
The small family joined relatives—cousins of her father—who had settled on farms in Saskatchewan. Their first Canadian home was in Saskatoon. Family members welcomed them. Marga completed her high school education there and went on to earn a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree at the University of Saskatchewan.
Marga was soon hired as a Social Worker and transferred to Prince Albert, where she carried a large rural chid welfare caseload managing adoptions, foster home placements, and child protection. It was there that she met Wayne, a Social Work student from Winnipeg completing a field placement as part of his Master’s program. He was assigned to Marga’s caseload, which introduced him to the responsibilities she carried in her large region.
Marga and Wayne married in 1965 and moved to Winnipeg, where Marga completed her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) at the University of Manitoba. The following year, they relocated to Regina, where both worked as Social Workers.
In 1968, Wayne was invited to help redesign a program for troubled youth at Shawbridge near Montreal —formerly a punitive institution modeled after England’s Borstal system. The goal was to transform it into the Shawbridge Treatment Center. Marga taught there for a year and continued her education. By 1971 she had earned her diploma in Art Education at Concordia University. While Wayne continued work at Shawbridge for three years, Marga transitioned to teaching within the Protestant School Board of Montreal.
Their first child, Damon, was born in 1971 at Montreal General Hospital. Their second son, Ryan, followed in July 1972. Marga decided to focus on mothering. As Wayne was accepted into the Ph.D. Program in Organizational Development and Social Work at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, the family moved there in 1972. They lived there for the next two years. Marga did part time studies at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
They returned to Montreal in the summer of 1974, and Marga resumed her Master’s studies, specializing in Arts and Psychology. She graduated with her M.A. in 1981.
While living in Montreal/St Therese, as a stay-at-home mom/student, Marga also taught art classes from home, though the demands eventually proved too great to balance with family life.
In 1980, Wayne accepted a position with the consulting firm Coopers & Lybrand and the family moved to Toronto. Marga enrolled in a two-year diploma program in the emerging field of Art Therapy at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. On successful completion, she accepted a new position as an Art Therapist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, where she joined a multidisciplinary treatment team serving youth with moderate to severe psychological disorders. She remained there for five years.
In 1989, Coopers & Lybrand transferred Wayne to Vancouver. Marga left a meaningful role behind to support the move. Their younger son Ryan, still a teenager, chose to stay behind in Toronto, living with a friend’s family, to complete his high school studies in a special school for gifted teens. He later completed studies and worked in both filmmaking and acting before choosing a more financially stable career as a lawyer.
Their elder son, Damon, found success in Vancouver organizing large-scale musical events, but later, having returned to school to complete an MBA, launched his career as a management consultant in Toronto.
In 1994, Marga assumed a two-year administrative and teaching position in Australia, at the University of Western Sydney, with the assignment of developing and establishing a new M.A. in Art Therapy in collaboration with a colleague from the University of London, Goldsmith College, in England. The venture proved a success, and the program is now firmly established within the Faculty of Psychology there. Australia proved to be an unforgettable adventure. Years later Wayne and Marga circumnavigated the Australian continent to explore its natural marvels and see old friends.
On returning from Australia in 1996, Marga accepted a position as a Registered Clinical Counsellor with Vancouver Family Services, specializing in Trauma Treatment for Adults. For a number of years she also developed courses at, and taught, Art Therapy at the Adler University in Vancouver. She retired in 2015, at the age of 74, but continues to stay active as a volunteer in the community at large.
Marga’s German ancestry has always been an important part of her life. She has visited Germany often to maintain her language and connections with her beloved relatives.
Faith, Community, and Legacy
Although Marga was raised Lutheran and fondly remembers attending church in the village where she spent her early school years, she cites Cologne Cathedral as a deeply spiritual touchstone. Throughout their many relocations, the Hanna family attended a variety of churches. Once settled in Vancouver, Marga felt the need for a lasting spiritual community.
Wayne, raised in the United Church, had long been influenced by anthropologist Margaret Mead, who was connected to the Unitarian Church in Chicago. This connection led them to explore and ultimately join the North Shore Unitarian community.
Since 1988, Marga has been a faithful choir member and has twice served on the congregation’s Board. She has also made a significant and lasting impact as the leader of the Heart, Mind, and Spirit Team. Marga’s gentle yet steadfast presence has made her a quiet force and a guiding influence within the NSU community.