Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Second World War album file

Level

Item

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

100

Item

1

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[May 1945]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Major Ben Dunkelman standing alongside an unknown soldier. They were billeted at a former German work camp in Doorn, Holland, which the Queen's Own Rifles liberated on May 7, 1945. Soldiers set up the camp to reference local landmarks in Cabbagetown, a neighbourhood in Toronto. There is sign behind them that reads: The Greatest Little Place in Canada, Cabbage Town.

Subjects

Soldiers--Canada

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Related Material

Library and Archives Canada Canadian Army Newsreel, No. 88 features the camp. The film has been digitized and can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ZkB4UX3BU

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

Series

Fonds

64

Series

5

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

architectural drawing

Date

1859-1980

Physical Description

35 cm of textual records

10 photographs

41 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

Series contains reference materials created by and written about the synagogues. Primary records include commemorative booklets, a small number of newsletters, brochures, and programs from special events. There are also newspaper clippings and copied articles providing histories of synagogues. There is a small number of photograph prints and negatives, but many of the files also include photographs from books, magazines or photocopies. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by city, then by synagogue. Not every synagogue the project team researched has a reference file, and there may be reference files for shuls for which no photographs survive.

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

64

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1859-1980, predominant 1977-1979

Physical Description

ca. 5178 photographs and other material

Admin History/Bio

The “Shuls Project” was the work of three University of Toronto architecture students, who in 1977 wrote a research paper on the eight Toronto synagogues built before World War II. Concerned at the lack of resources on these synagogues, Sidney Tenenbaum, Lynn Milstone and Sheldon Levitt foresaw the loss of communities’ recorded history as membership dwindled and elders passed on. The students conceived a project that would photograph and document every synagogue in Canada, gathering visual evidence, memorabilia, plaques and stories before they disappeared and history was lost. The students’ goal was to document synagogues’ architecture, art, and historical development through research, interviews and site visits.

The students secured a large portion of the required funding for the project from the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in Montreal, funding which was matched by the Canadian Jewish Congress. This financial support enabled Levitt, Milstone and Tenenbaum to begin their study, named “Shuls… A Study of Canadian Synagogue Architecture.” They began in the summer of 1977, traveling through the Western provinces. The next summer, they visited eight Maritime cities, Montreal and other Quebec communities. Financial support in the project’s second year was again provided by the Bronfman Family Foundation, along with the Canadian government and donations in kind from businesses, including Benjamin Photo Finishers in Toronto, and Polaroid. The summer of 1979 was spent in Ontario, with an added grant from Wintario. In total, the Shuls project team traveled over 24,000 kilometres, taking thousands of photographs and conducting several hundred interviews. Photographs were taken by Tenenbaum, with Levitt and Milstone assuming primary responsibility for researching synagogues’ history and gathering historic records. Interviews were conducted by all three researchers, in both English and Yiddish.

With no handy index of every shul in Canada, the researchers located small shuls by word of mouth. They spread word of their project and solicited assistance using press releases, letters to known communities, and slideshow presentations as they traveled. They would first examine a building to get an idea of a community’s character and heritage, then conduct interviews with designers, architects, rabbis and other prominent community members.

With the research and photographs created, the team compiled three catalogues of the Western, Eastern/Quebec, and Ontario phases of the project. These catalogues have entries on each synagogue that include historical summaries highlighting the founding, growth, mergers and decline of Jewish communities, their changing needs, changing architectural expressions and trends, and the evolving uses of synagogues over the course of the twentieth century. There are also building descriptions, some with critical comments by the authors, and lists of the photographs and slides produced.

The compilation of materials and preparation of these catalogues took place at the Project’s offices at 26 Ava Road in Toronto, and continued through the summer of 1980 when the Ontario catalogue was completed. In 1985, Tenenbaum, Milstone and Levitt published a book highlighting their work, called Treasures of a People: The Synagogues of Canada.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of the records created and collected by the team of students conducting the Shuls study from 1977 to 1980. The majority of the fonds is made up of graphic material, in the form of 35mm colour slides and black-and-white Polaroid prints and (print-size) negatives. There are approximately 5110 photographs in the fonds. Fonds also consists of notes and inventory forms of buildings' architectural features. There are no interview transcripts, but the fonds does include three audio cassettes with recorded interviews and shul tours. Reference materials used in researching the history of the shuls include dedication and anniversary commemorative books and programmes, newsletters, articles and newspaper clippings. In addition the fonds contains 47 blueprints, the majority from Montreal synagogues. The fonds is arranged in the following series: 1. Quebec synagogues; 2. Ontario synagogues; 3. Western Canada synagogues; 4. Eastern Canada synagogues; 5. Reference.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 92 cm of textual records, 42 architectural drawings, 3 audio cassettes, and 1 drawing.

Physical extent note: many of the slides were culled because they were felt to be reproductions. Some of the synagogue images in the research book may therefore not be included in the fonds.

Name Access

Shuls Project

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Creator

Levitt, Sheldon

Milstone, Lynn

Tenenbaum, Sidney T.

Places

Canada

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

12

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains photocopied pages from the synagogue's 1949 Dedication program.

Name Access

Beth Isaiah Congregation (Guelph, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Guelph (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

23

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[ca. 1910]-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 photographs : b&w prints (2 negatives) ; 12 x cm

Scope and Content

File contains notes, lists, clippings, copied pages from directories and 4 unidentified photographs (2 negatives).

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

33

Material Format

architectural drawing

Date

1947

Physical Description

7 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

File contains 7 blueprints for the 1947 extension and alterations to the shul.

Name Access

Congregation Ahavath Shalom

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

41

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1859-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

File contains photocopied articles, a newspaper clipping, photocopied photographs, a greeting card with photograph on cover, copies of the 1859 contract commissioning the erection of the synagogue as well as a list of specifications for the masons, and blueprints for the 1967 extension.

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

45

Material Format

textual record

Date

1932-[ca. 1965]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains dedication book for new building (1960), copied articles, assorted pamphlets and programmes.

Name Access

Temple Emanu-El (Montréal, Quebec)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

48

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1949, 1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 architectural drawing

Scope and Content

File contains a form letter from the congregation regarding High Holiday services (17 July 1978), and a blueprint for the auditorium building (1949).

Name Access

Young Israel of Montreal

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

49

Material Format

textual record

Date

1925, 1945

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains one copied newspaper article and several other transcribed newspaper articles.

Name Access

House of Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Moose Jaw (Sask.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

54

Material Format

textual record

Date

1944, [1975?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains two short historical overviews.

Name Access

Temple Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Ottawa (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

66

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1920-1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 architectural drawing

Scope and Content

File contains a copied photograph from The Jewish Post, the congregation's constitution adopted in 1920, and a blueprint from 1955.

Name Access

Agudas Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Saskatoon (Sask.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

75

Material Format

textual record

Date

1935-1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a 1979 newsletter, "Voice of Radom," and copies from the 10th and 30th anniversary booklets.

Name Access

Beth Radom Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

96

Material Format

textual record

Date

1930-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains the shul's dedication programme from 1930, the 25th (1954) and 49th anniversary programmes (1978).

Name Access

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim

Subjects

Anniversaries

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Windsor (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

2

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1898, [192-?]-1997

Physical Description

80 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Dunkelman (1913–1997) was a successful businessman and president of Tip Top Tailors. He had a distinguished military career in both the Canadian Army during the Second World War and in the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Benjamin was born in Toronto to David Dunkelman (1883–1978) and Rose (née Miller, 1889–1949). He had three sisters and two brothers: Joseph, a movie executive; Ernest, a manufacturer; Zelda; Veronica; and Theodora. His father, David, was a successful entrepreneur who established Tip Top Tailors in 1910. Both David and his wife Rose were fervent Zionists.

Benjamin attended Upper Canada College and, at the age of eighteen, visited Palestine for the first time. While in Palestine, he worked for a year on a kibbutz, mostly as a guard. During the Second World War, he served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada; as major, he gained respect for his knowledge of mortars. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945 for his role in the final Allied assault on Germany. Two years later, Benjamin returned to Palestine to join the Haganah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. As a commander, he captured Nazareth and brought northern Galilee under Jewish control. Near the end of the war, he met and married Yael Lifshitz (m. Dunkelman), a corporal in the Israeli army. Benjamin was elected national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada in 1977.

In addition to his work as a soldier, Benjamin was a successful businessman. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father stepped down; he was also director of Colonial Finance Corporation, president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre, and president of Renforth Developments. Besides operating the Dunkelman Gallery, Benjamin and his wife, Yael, ran the Constellation Hotel and Dunkelman’s Restaurant.

Dunkelman later wrote of his experiences in both wars in his autobiography "Dual Allegiance" (published by MacMIllan). As well as the DSO, Dunkelman was awarded the Fighter’s Decoration of the State of Israel (1970), and an Israel Bonds Award Dinner in Tribute to Ben Dunkelman (1977). He was a guest of honour both at a reception hosted by the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the veterans of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (1976) and at a 7th Brigade Reunion in Israel (1991).

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Benjamin Dunkelman's personal, business, and military activities. Included is personal and business correspondence and other records, maps, photographs, news clippings, and scrapbooks assembled by Dunkelman. The bulk of the records relate both to Dunkelman’s autobiography Dual allegiance and to his military career in the Second World War and in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Other records relate to his business work with Tip Top Tailors, the Constellation Hotel, Dunkelman’s Restaurant, and the Dunkelman Gallery, as well as to his Zionist actvities, his writing and public speeches, and his personal life.

The fonds is organized into the following series: Personal records and correspondence, Zionist materials, Businesses, Second World War, Arab-Israeli War, Dual Allegiance, and Speeches.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 218 photographs, 60 maps, 7 postcards, 5 architectural drawings, and 3 albums.

Associated material note: see the Ben Dunkelman fonds at Library and Archives Canada.

Name Access

Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997

Subjects

Authors

Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949

World War, 1939-1945

Related Material

See fonds #39 (Rose Dunkelman fonds).

Creator

Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997

Accession Number

2000-3-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1995

Physical Description

10 cm of textual records

43 photographs

2 postcards

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman’s family/private life and such hobbies as yachting and travel. Included are photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, invitations, certificates, speeches, a travel diary, a passport, and a scrapbook. The series is made up of two sub-series: 1. David and Rose Dunkelman (including biographies of those in the Dunkelman family) and 2. Theodora Dunkelman (Ben Dunkelman’s sister).

Name Access

Dunkelman, David, 1883-1978 (subject)

Dunkelman, Rose, 1889-1949 (subject)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Zionist series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

2

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

1927-1996

Physical Description

6 cm of textual records

2 photographs

4 postcards : b&w and col. ; 9 x 14 cm

Admin History/Bio

Dunkelman, like his parents, was an active Zionist throughout his life. As a young man from 1930-1931, he lived in Israel and later fought in the Arab-Israeli War. Following the war in 1948-49, he wrote articles, kept correspondence, encouraged investment, and gave speeches in support of Israel. He was also on the executive committee of Israel Speaks, an American publication, and was a member of the Zionist Organization of Canada (ZOC). In 1976, Dunkelman agreed to be the deputy president of the ZOC’s Charitable Fund.

Scope and Content

The series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman's Zionist activities. Included are legal papers, photographs, correspondence, articles and newspaper clippings.

Notes

Herb Mowat was a Canadian Zionist who maintained a correspondence with Dunkelman during the 1950s and 1960s. Dunkelman acquired some of his records.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Second World War series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

4

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

1942-1995

Physical Description

6 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

During the Second World War, Dunkelman served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. After enlisting in 1940, he became a platoon commander. Dunkelman took part in the second wave of D-Day landings in 1944 and later assisted in the final Allied assault on Germany, earning the Distinguished Service Order. He left the army in 1945 after the war had ended. The Queen's Own Rifles Association and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science organized a reception in 1976 to honour the publication of Dunkelman's autobiography, Dual Allegiance.

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the Second World War. Included are newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, and correspondence. Some files deal with Dunkelman's experiences during the war; others relate to Dunkelman's relationship with veterans after the war and, in one case, with his memories of the war. The files cover such subjects as The Queen's Own Rifles, Veterans, the liberation of The Netherlands, Aubrey Cosens (a soldier under Dunkelman’s command who was killed in battle but later honoured with the Victoria Cross), and the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

Notes

Physical description: Includes 85 photographs, 1 album, and 10 maps.

Name Access

Cosens, Aubrey, 1921-1945 (subject)

Subjects

Canada--Armed Forces

World War, 1939-1945

Related Material

See fonds 2, series 6 for more information on Dunkelman's involvement in the Second World War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

5

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

1943-1991

Physical Description

15 cm of textual records

28 photographs

20 maps

Admin History/Bio

Dunkelman joined the Machal (foreign fighters for Israel) in 1948 at the onset of the First Arab-Israeli War and was active in helping the fledgling Israeli Army break out of Jerusalem and find a road to Tel Aviv. The Burma Road—named after a Second World War Burma supply route—was a makeshift route from Jerusalem to Tel-Aviv. Israeli soldiers, including Dunkelman, drove a convoy at night along a little-used route to reconnect the two cities. Later in the war, commanding the 7th Brigade, he captured Nazareth and northern Galilee. After Dunkelman had left the Israel Defense Forces in 1949 to seek work as a businessman, he kept in contact with the armed forces of Israel through such organizations as the Jewish War Veterans of Canada, the 7th Brigade Veterans Fund, American Veterans of Israel, the Association of Jewish War Veterans, and the Mahal Association.

Scope and Content

Series consists of reports, clippings, correspondence, photographs, and maps and documents recording Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the First Arab-Israeli War. The series branches into the following topics in this order: Machal; the 7th Brigade; Operation Hiram; Operation Dekel; the Burma Road; the Israel Defence Forces; a Profile of Ben Dunkelman; and Arab-Israeli War veterans.

Subjects

Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Related Material

See fonds 2, series 6 for more information on the war. Dunkelman wrote an autobiography, Dual Allegiance, based on his experiences in the First Arab-Israeli War and the Second World War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Business series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

3

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

architectural drawing

Date

1898, 1941-1988

Physical Description

56 photographs and other material

Admin History/Bio

Ben Dunkelman’s involvement in business was wide-ranging. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father and as president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre. Along with his wife, Yael, he also opened the Dunkelman Gallery for modern art and Dunkelman's restaurant.

Scope and Content

Series consists of photographs, correspondence, pamphlets and papers documenting Benjamin Dunkelman’s business activities. The files are organized into three sub-series: Tip-Top Tailors, Constellation Hotel, and Dunkelman Gallery.

Notes

Physical description: Includes 6 cm of textual records, 5 architectural drawings, and 1 postcard.

Subjects

Business

Physical Condition

Most photographs are warped.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

2

Series

1-1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1991

Physical Description

5 cm of textual records

3 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Rose and David Dunkelman, Benjamin Dunkelman's parents, were staunch supporters of Toronto's Zionist community. David was a leader of the Zionist Organization of Canada for more than 50 years, while Rose was publisher and first managing editor of the Jewish Standard, a Toronto-based Zionist magazine she founded with her husband. In addition, she was the first vice-president of the Hadassah Organization of Canada and president of the Hadassah Organization of Ontario. Both fervently supported Zionist projects.

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of photographs, clippings, obituaries, correspondence and biographical information in connection with Rose, David and Ben Dunkelman. The sub-series contains a pamphlet from the Toronto Zionist Council in 1957 celebrating the council’s 50th anniversary and praising Rose Dunkelman. There are also copies of articles about Rose Dunkelman by H.M. Kaiserman and Meyer W. Weisgal.

Name Access

Dunkelman, Rose, 1889-1949

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

Theodora Dunkelman sub-series sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

2

Series

1-2

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-Nov. 1953

Physical Description

3 folders of textual records

26 photographs

2 postcards

Admin History/Bio

Theodora Dunkelman, one of Ben Dunkelman’s three sisters, was an actress who obtained her bachelor's degree in fine arts and drama from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1946. She died in 1947.

Custodial History

Ben Dunkelman acquired some of his sister's records after her death.

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of four files of photographs, clippings, brochures and documents. It includes a scrapbook containing clippings and brochures about Theodora Dunkelman’s acting performances and her sister Zelda’s marriage to Morton Harrison Wilner. Other clippings in a separate folder refer to the Theodora Dunkelman Training Workshops which were established in her honour in 1950 at Hadassim, the Canadian Hadassah’s Children’s Village in Israel. A final folder contains Theodora Dunkelman’s bachelor’s degree.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Travel sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

2

Series

1-6

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

1931-1975

Physical Description

2 cm

Admin History/Bio

Following the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-49, Ben Dunkelman frequently travelled to Israel for pleasure as well as for business. Although he once went leopard hunting in Africa, Dunkelman usually visited the Middle East or the United States when outside Canada.

Scope and Content

Sub-series contains maps, a passport, a 1953 travel diary and some correspondence. The records relate to Benjamin Dunkelman’s travels to Israel. The sub-series includes files for Dunkelman’s passport and his travel maps.

Subjects

Israel

Travel

Creator

Dunkelman, Benjamin

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Correspondence sub-series sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

2

Series

1-5

Material Format

textual record

Date

1948-1995

Physical Description

2 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Dunkelman maintained private correspondence with a wide variety of friends, from well-known people such as composer Leonard Bernstein, former Israeli defence minister Shimon Peres and former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to his father David, the lawyer Carl Goldenberg and his father-in-law, David Lifshitz. One correspondence is with Fred Johnson, an acquaintance from the end of the Arab-Israeli War. Fred Johnson helped Ben and Yael establish themselves in Israel in the years following the war. Johnson wrote to Dunkelman in 1975 and they resumed correspondence.

Scope and Content

Sub-series contains 12 files of personal correspondence between Benjamin (and sometimes Yael) Dunkelman and family, friends and acquaintances on such subjects as Ben and Yael's marriage, buying a new apartment, condolences for the death of a friend's mother, Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and a retirement application.

Subjects

Letters

Creator

Dunkelman, Benjamin

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Zionist series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

2

File

6

Material Format

textual record

Date

1944-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

3 postcards: col.; 9 x 14 cm

Custodial History

Ben Dunkelman acquired some of Herb Mowat's papers after his death.

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence related to Herb Mowat. In addition, the file contains brochures, rough letters to the editor, a report, Canadian House of Commons Debates for 1 February 1944 (which contains remarks on Jews in Palestine starting on page 77), clippings, poems and three postcards sent to the Dunkelmans.

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Business series

Tip Top Tailors sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

2

Series

3-1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1898, 1941-1988

Physical Description

4 cm of textual records

16 photographs

Admin History/Bio

David Dunkelman, Benjamin's father, started Tip Top Tailors in Toronto in 1909, and by 1950 it had become a thriving business, with more than 1000 outlets across the country. During the 1930s, Ben had worked for the company, and following the Arab-Israeli War in 1948-49, he returned to Tip Top. He took over as company CEO in the 1950s until the company was sold to Dylex Ltd. in 1967.

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of photographs, correspondence and clippings documenting David and Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the family firm, Tip Top Tailors.

Name Access

Tip Top Tailors

Physical Condition

Most photographs are warped.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

11

Material Format

textual record

cartographic material

Date

[194-?]-1986

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

2 maps

Admin History/Bio

At the beginning of the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948, Arab forces controlled the roads between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where Jewish forces were stationed. Dunkelman assisted in finding an alternative route between the two cities, which was called the Burma Road. Operation Maccabee on 1 May 1948 was a plan to use air strikes against Arab forces in order to assist Jewish convoys travelling along the Burma Road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Scope and Content

File consists of two copies of a map of a section of the Burma Road, a report on Operation Maccabee, and a 1986 historical article about the Burma Road.

Related Material

See fonds 2, series 6 for more information on the Burma Road.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

6

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

[194-?]-1997

Physical Description

30 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Ben Dunkelman published his memoirs with MacMillan of Canada in 1976 under the title Dual Allegiance. Although nearly thirty years had passed since his involvement in the Second World War and the First Arab-Israeli War, Dunkelman began researching his memoirs in the 1950s and an early version of the book, Israel Assignment, was finished in 1959. After further research, writing and correspondence with publishers, Dunkelman finally secured publication of the manuscript with MacMillan of Canada under the title Dual Allegiance, which was published in 1976. The response to Dual Allegiance after its publication in November came quickly. MacMillan collected many of the newspaper reviews and sent them to Dunkelman. Ben Dunkelman also wrote several different screenplays based on his autobiography. These range from plot summaries to a full-length screenplay submitted to Charles Greene which includes directions for camera shots.

Scope and Content

Series consists of correspondence, research notes, novel notes, manuscripts, reviews, film/TV scripts, clippings and publicity material related to Ben Dunkelman’s autobiography, Dual Allegiance, which was published by MacMillan in 1976. The series contains drafts of Israel Assignment. It also contains some correspondence, both between Dunkelman and MacMillan about the book, and from readers commenting on it. The series is organized into several general areas in the following order: research, manuscripts, publicity, correspondence and Film/TV scripts.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 30 maps, 4 photographs, and 2 albums.

Subjects

Authors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1

File

23

Material Format

textual record

Date

1931-1940

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Dunkelman received this passport in 1931 and over the next nine years used it to travel to such places as Palestine--when he went to work for a year on a kibbutz--Italy and the United States.

Scope and Content

File consists of one Canadian passport.

Physical Condition

Passport is in good condition.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Zionist series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

2

File

5

Material Format

textual record

Date

1944-1955

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Custodial History

Ben Dunkelman acquired some of Herb Mowat's records after Mowat's death.

Scope and Content

File consists of essays related to Zionism. The file also includes a letter-to-the-editor Mowat wrote to the Toronto Telegram in 1955 and an article on bridges he first published in 1944.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of an article published on 11 February 1949 in The Evening Telegram (Toronto). The author, Margaret Aitken, writes about Dunkelman and another Jew, Maurice Pearlman, who both decided to fight for Israel in the Arab-Israeli War.

Name Access

Aitken, Margaret

Pearlman, Maurice

Physical Condition

Record is fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

2

Material Format

textual record

Date

1948-1966

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of news clippings related to Dunkelman's role in the Arab-Israeli War, and to his brother-in-law, Morton Wilner, who was married to Dunkelman's sister Zelda. The clippings come from such newspapers as The Globe and Mail, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Day-Jewish Journal.

Name Access

Wilner, Morton

Physical Condition

Records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

7

Material Format

cartographic material

Date

1943-1950

Physical Description

13 maps

Scope and Content

File contains maps relating to Dunkelman's activities during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949.

Subjects

Israel

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

10

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949-1973

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains clippings from Israeli newspapers and one magazine about the 7th Brigade. The latter includes a cartoon of Dunkelman.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

12

Material Format

textual record

Date

1948-1991

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains three items: one nine-page report containing information about the upcoming Operation Dekel, such as the number of enemy forces and organization plans; one letter to Dunkelman from Uri Givon, a researcher studying the 7th Brigade and Operation Dekel; and three pages of notes Dunkelman made in response to this letter.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

15

Material Format

textual record

Date

8 Nov. 1948

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a photocopied letter from Meyer Weisgal to Rose Dunkelman about Ben's marriage to Yael. The letter refers to the surrender of Nazareth during Operation Dekel, a document Ben had signed.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

18

Material Format

textual record

cartographic material

Date

[194-?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

2 maps

Scope and Content

File consists of two maps and one report. One map is hand-drawn and depicts the plan for Operation Hiram, and one map shows Haifa and part of northern Galilee where Hiram took place. The report is in Hebrew and contains 28 pages.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Arab-Israeli War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

5

File

20

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File includes copies of two reports Dunkelman submitted to Israeli command in January 1949: four copies of the report dated 3 January 1949 and three copies of the report dated 24 January 1949. The reports suggest changes to the administration of the Israel Defence Forces. In addition, the file contains undated notes and rough charts relating to the structure of Israeli military command during the Arab-Israeli War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Second World War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

4

File

2

Material Format

textual record

Date

1945

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of three newspaper articles related to Ben Dunkelman's success as a soldier in the Second World War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Second World War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

4

File

3

Material Format

cartographic material

Date

1942-1943

Physical Description

10 maps

Scope and Content

File consists of nine operational maps and one map index of Europe. Dunkelman used the maps while fighting with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada during the Second World War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Second World War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

4

File

4

Material Format

textual record

Date

[194-?]-[198-?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of clippings related chiefly to Ben Dunkelman's work as a soldier during the Second World War. Several clippings, however, relate to his role in the Arab-Israeli War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Second World War series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

4

File

7

Material Format

textual record

Date

[194-?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains two newspaper articles related to Ben Dunkelman's activities during the Second World War. One refers to Sgt. Newell Corrigan, a man under Dunkelman's command in the Queen's Own Rifles.

Notes

Availability of other formats: Digitized material.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Zionist series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

2

File

4

Material Format

textual record

Date

1927-1941

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a postcard from Menachem Ussishkin to David and Rose Dunkelman, and two clippings about Ussishkin from Karnenu and the Palestine Review.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-1

File

1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of a Mourner's Kaddish for David Dunkelman, Ben's father, who died in 1978. The file includes a 2-page speech about David Dunkelman's business success, and refers to Rose Dunkelman's role in assisting David with Tip Top Tailors. The file also contains a photograph of David Dunkelman and four other men (likely all businessmen) walking along a boardwalk, likely in Atlantic City. Identified in the photo is (left to right): [Samuel Posluns?], Louis Gelber, Percy Hermant, [unidentified], and David Dunkelman.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-1

File

2

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-[194-?]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w ; 14 x 20 cm and 19 x 25 cm

Scope and Content

File contains two portraits of David Dunkelman.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series

Personal series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-1

File

3

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains three obituaries for Rose Dunkelman, Ben Dunkelman's mother. The articles come from The Telegram, The Jewish Standard, and The Toronto Daily Star.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-1

File

6

Material Format

textual record

Date

1931-1991

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains two articles and one cover page from The Jewish Standard relating to the Zionist activities of Rose and David Dunkelman.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-1

File

7

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949-1955

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains writings and correspondence mainly paying tribute to Rose Dunkelman and her Zionist work.

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

Theodora Dunkelman sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-2

File

1

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[192-?], Nov. 1953

Physical Description

26 photographs : b&w ; 14 x 9 cm or smaller

2 postcards : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of graphic material relating to Theodora Dunkelman. The majority of the images are of Theodora as a young girl during a family trip to Florida. Also included are photographs taken at Camp Modin and of Theo with her father, David Dunkelman. Finally, file includes a post card of a sulphuric acid plant in Haifa and a boat.

Physical Condition

One photograph is torn.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Personal series

Theodora Dunkelman sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

1-2

File

3

Material Format

textual record

Date

1939-[194-]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of one scrapbook made up of programs and newspaper clippings relating chiefly to Theodora Dunkelman's performance in various theatre productions at Hart House. The scrapbook also includes clippings in connection with the marriage of Theo's sister Zelda Dunkelman to Morton Wilner. Of note is a document describing the family's grief after Theo's untimely death, as well as invitations to the installation of the Alpha Nu Chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Phi fraternity.

Subjects

Scrapbooks

Source

Archival Descriptions