Accession Number
1992-10-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1992-10-1
Material Format
graphic material
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm
Date
[ca. 1930]
Scope and Content
This accession consists of three copy photographs. Two of these photographs are of Camp Kindervelt in Rouge Hills, north of Ontario; the other photograph is of Branch 3, Labor League, Toronto.
Subjects
Camps
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1984-5-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1984-5-7
Material Format
object
graphic material
Physical Description
1 coin
16 photographs : b&w ; 7 x 10 cm
Date
1939-1945
Scope and Content
This accession consists of one Mount Sinai Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 522 G.R.C. 25th anniversary coin. The coin has the lodge's coat of arms on the recto and a set of tablets with the words "keep these and good fortune will be yours" on the verso.
Also included are 16 photographs of the Allied Forces (including the Canadian Army) at Bergen-Belsen in April 1945 following the liberation of the camp. Pictured are the general grounds, mass graves with sign markers, a group of (local German?) women crowded around the back of an army truck, army personnel observing and taking photographs of a deceased victim, a crematoria, and Sam Pizel (standing right) and other servicemen with a box of human ashes.
Administrative History
Sam Pizel (?-29 Sept. 2004) was married to Lily and was the brother of Irving Pizel.
Use Conditions
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.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digitized material.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Pizel, Sam
Bergen-Belsen
Places
Germany
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1976-5-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1976-5-1
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
1943-1944
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records relating to the work of the JPRC Summer Resorts Sub-Committee, which Hart D. Wintrob chaired. Material includes advice offered to Jews on appropriate behaviour at resorts frequented by non-Jews and efforts to have "Gentiles only" signs removed from resorts and other businesses. Also included is a list of JPRC members from which the members of the subcommitte were chosen and an agenda for a meeting of this group.
Subjects
Antisemitism
Resorts
Name Access
Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1979-4-4
Material Format
graphic material
moving images
Physical Description
18 photographs : b&w (9 negatives)
1 film reel
Date
1959-1965
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs documenting the Workmen's Circle (Arbeiter Ring) Peretz School and Camp Yungvelt. Also included is a film reel of activities at Camp Yungvelt from 1959.
Subjects
Camps
Schools
Name Access
Camp Yungvelt
Matenko, Isaac, 1874-1960
Workmen's Circle (Toronto, Ont.)
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2006-2-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2006-2-10
Material Format
graphic material
Physical Description
32 photographs : b&w ; 16 x 10 cm
Date
[ca. 1940]-[ca. 1949]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of thirty-two copy photographs of the Smith family, including images of the donor's father David during the Second World War while stationed in Quebec City, Halifax, England and eventually imprisoned in prisoner of war (POW) camp Stalag Luft III in Germany. In addition there are photographs of the donor's grandparents Max and Rose's singles resort at Port Carling in the Muskokas called Smith's Bay House and holiday photos from Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and a Passover seder. Additional locations of photos include Young Judaea's Camp Hagshama in Perth, Ontario and Toronto city street views of Bloor Street and Palmerston Boulevard.
Administrative History
Max and Rose Smith opened a resort for Jewish singles in Port Carling, Muskoka in 1938. The resort was kosher and offered Jewish content to visitors. Boys and girls bunked seperately.
Rose Smith sold the resort in 1955 shortly after Max passed away.
According to David Smith's daughter Miriam "What my dad and my aunt told me is that Smith's Bay House is where the young people went, not the older folks, as is stated in Andrew's article. I think the discrepancy is that after the war, when the soldiers came home, there were more young people around working and going on vacation. They told me that my grandfather would go around at 11pm, making sure all the visitors were sleeping where they should be and that there were no shenanigans going on! Also of note, the first summer they opened, 1938, in the first group of visitors included a young man who would become my aunt's husband. They met there. My aunt loved to tell that story."
Suzanne Smith (née Beskin) and David Samuel Smith met at Cornell University in the spring of 1946, after David returned from service in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Suzanne was living in the United States and attending Columbia University. She worked as a libraian at Cornell. David studied hotel administration. They married in 1947 and moved back to Toronto in 1948.
Use Conditions
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.
Subjects
Fasts and feasts--Judaism
Summer resorts
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Germany
Halifax (N.S.)
Muskoka (Ont. : District municipality)
Perth (Ont.)
Québec (Province)
Québec (Québec)
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 17
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
17
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1936-1992
Physical Description
47 m of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
By 1919 the plight of post-war eastern European Jewry and the need for a united community voice for Canadian Jewry led to the creation of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Its founding meeting was held on March 16, 1919 in Montreal. Though it briefly maintained a tiny regional office in Toronto, the CJC remained inactive until 1933, when it fully reconvened by opening offices in Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto. Egmont L. Frankel was the first president of the new central division in Toronto. While the national office in Montreal focused on the overarching issues of the social and economic rights of European Jewry, assistance for Jewish immigrants, and combating prejudice in Canada, the Toronto office dealt with local, violent anti-Jewish demonstrations as well as continuing discrimination both in employment and in access to public recreational facilities. The structure was based on regular national biennial plenary conferences, at which policies were delineated and national and regional executives were elected. Between plenary sessions, national and regional councils were in charge. These were augmented by the following standing committees: administrative, officers, personnel, financial, publications, and educational and cultural. Special committees were created to deal with issues such as: youth, community loans, kashruth, fundraising, Israel, Russian Jewry, and various emergency issues such as refugees, immigration, and housing.
During the 1930s the central division office moved several times and occupied offices in the following locations: Yonge Street, the Bond Street Synagogue, Scheuer House, the Zionist Building, and its long-term home at 150-152 Beverley Street, where it remained until its July 1983 move to the Lipa Green Building in North York.
The CJC's activities expanded to include taking responsibility for Jewish educational standards, but by 1941 its main efforts shifted to support for Canada’s war effort. Immediately after the end of the war, the focus again shifted to Jewish immigration projects and the maintenance of Jewish identity in small communities. By 1950, the CJC’s use of the title “division” was changed to “region” to accommodate internal operational divisions within each region. Also, by then, the central region was busy expanding its programs for all Ontario Jewish communities, creating a province-wide council of youth groups, and working with the newly-created Bureau of Jewish Education (later Board of Jewish Education, now Mercaz). Standardization of kashruth rules in Ontario was implemented. As well, regular educational conferences and cultural events were held throughout the province, while province-wide fundraising efforts in support of Moess Chittin for relief projects in Israel and for local Congress activities were expanded. Many of its educational and cultural responsibilities necessitated working with other Jewish organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS), Hadassah, the Canadian Legion, B’nai Brith, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress, and the many landsmenshaften (Jewish mutual benefit societies, each formed by immigrants originating from the same Eastern European community).
During the 1960s, the central region began sending Moess Chittin relief shipments to Cuban Jews unable to acquire kosher foods for Passover. Its lobbying efforts included participation in the Royal Commissions on Hate Propaganda, and its greatest success came with the introduction and implementation of Ontario’s fair employment and fair accommodation practices legislation, an achievement in which Congress played a pivotal role.
From 1971 to 1989 the major focus became international and national lobbying for, and providing support to, Soviet Jewry. Virtually all local and Canadian efforts to assist the Soviet Jewish “refusniks” were organized and coordinated in Toronto by the Ontario region office, which provided staff and funding for the many lobbying activities and public demonstrations that characterized this successful effort.
As of November 1975, the central region’s responsibilities in Toronto were radically altered. To improve cost efficiency in Toronto, CJC educational and social service program activities were merged with similar programs already provided by Toronto’s United Jewish Appeal. The UJA assumed sole responsibility for these amalgamated programs in Toronto and was renamed Toronto Jewish Congress. The central region still retained province-wide responsibilities for Ontario’s smaller Jewish communities, and its office remained in Toronto. Also, following this reorganization, its name was changed to Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Although CJC no longer provided direct social and educational programs to Toronto, the TJC’s senior executive was, at the time, still obliged to continue to keep it notified about developments concerning previous Congress responsibilities.
From 1983, the Ontario Region's offices were located in the Lipa Green Building at 4600 Bathurst Street. It continued its work of financially supporting various Israeli institutions and fostering Canada-Israel relations. It also spearheaded the movement to support and protect Jews in Arab lands, especially in Syria. Funding for the CJC came from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, which restributed a portion of the funds raised by the local Jewish federations across Canada.
The CJC dissolved in 2011. Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) acts as the Jewish community's primary lobby group.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records of the Ontario Region office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Of primary importance in documenting this organization’s history are its minutes of the Executive and Administrative Committees and the various standing, and short-term committees such as Community Organization, Finance, Fund Raising, Educational and Cultural, Research, Immigration, War Efforts, and Jewish Education. Most of these records are still managed all together within Fonds 17, Series 1. Fonds 17, Series 2 contains the general subject and correspondence files of these committees. Records in both series require further processing.
Records now found in Series 3 document the efforts of the Committee for Soviet Jewry in coordinating the activities of the many Toronto and Ontario organizations involved in assisting Soviet Jewry during the 1971 to 1989 period.
Series 4 consists of administrative and committee records of the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies in Toronto from 1938 through 1967. These document its work rescuing the survivors of European Jewish communities, settling as many as possible in Ontario, and providing assistance to those attempting to obtain restitution payments.
Series 5 consists of the records of the Community Relations Committee (1938-1976). Responding to depression-era anti-Semitism in Canada, the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith together established in 1938 a new joint committee. Since then this Committee has documented racist threats in Canada; initiated advocacy activities to work for improved civil rights; promoted legislation combating hate; worked to ensure equality of access to employment, education and accommodation; and investigated specific incidents of discrimination. The Committee, for example, played a key role in achieving the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1944, and the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1951, key steps leading to Canada’s current Human Rights Code. Although originally named Joint Public Relations Committee in 1938, a series of name changes later occurred; s follows: Joint Community Relations Committee, Central Region (1962-1978), Joint Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1978-ca. 1991) Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1991-present) Records in this series were reorganized into 5 sub-series and a further 9 sub-sub-series during the 2009 to 2011 period. For further details please view the database records for Fonds 17, Series 5. Although this series will eventually hold all CRC records up to 1992, only those prior to 1979 are currently fully processed.
Notes
Physical description note: Includes 1839 photographs, 89 audio cassettes, 11 videocassettes, 4 drawings, and 6 microfilm reels (16 mm).
Processing note: Processing of this fonds is ongoing. Additional descriptive entries will be added in future.
Name Access
Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region
Subjects
Pressure groups
Access Restriction
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records
Arrangement
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records.
Creator
Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region (1919-2011)
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4057
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4057
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1920]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Samuel, Rose, and David Smith on the Smith farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario. The farm was owned by Jacob and Rose Smith.
Subjects
Farms
Mothers and sons
Portraits, Group
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4058
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4058
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1920]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print of Samuel and David Smith at their farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario. The Smith farm was owned by their parents, Jacob and Rose.
Subjects
Boys
Brothers
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4059
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4059
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1922]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Jacob Smith holding his nephew Donald Davis, at his farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario.
Subjects
Farmers
Infants
Portraits
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4060
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4060
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1930]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of David Smith (pictured on the horse) with his brother-in-law, Max Weisbrod, at Jacob and Rose Smith's farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario.
Subjects
Farms
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4061
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4061
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1924]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Jacob Smith seated on horse-drawn field machinery at his farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario.
Subjects
Farms
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4062
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4062
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1922]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Jacob Smith with his brother-in-law Frank Davis at the Smith family farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario.
Subjects
Farms
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4063
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4063
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1925]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Admin History/Bio
Jacob Smith was married to Rose Smith.
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Jacob Smith with his dog at his farm in Cedar Valley, Ontario.
Name Access
Smith, Jacob
Subjects
Dogs
Farms
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-12-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3795
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3795
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1911
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 21 x 26 cm and 12 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Sam Kreiger with his brother Charles (on right) in front of the Kreiger Bros. store in Conn, Ontario.
Name Access
Kreiger Bros. Store
Kreiger, Charles
Kreiger, Sam
Subjects
Brothers
Storefronts
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1985-9-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Name
Max Federman
Material Format
sound recording
Interview Date
19 Mar. 1976
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Max Federman
Number
OH 149
OH 150
Subject
Communism
Immigrants--Canada
Labor unions
Interview Date
19 Mar. 1976
Quantity
2
Interviewer
Ben Schneider
Total Running Time
OH149A: 30. minutes OH149B: 30. minutes OH150A: 1. minute
Conservation
Copied August 2003
Use Restrictions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Biography
Max Federman was born in Poland. In 1919, he moved to Germany where he attended school. He joined his father in Toronto in 1920. A union leader, labour Zionist, and ardent anti-Communist, Max became actively involved in the union movement and served as representative of the Local Fur Workers Union. He was involved in a twenty-year battle with the Communist leadership of the International Furrier Union until they disbanded and merged with the International Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union. Max was involved in Jewish community organizations including the Histadrut, Borochov School, and the United Jewish Welfare Fund.
Material Format
sound recording
Name Access
Federman, Max
Goldman, Emma
Schneider, Ben
Geographic Access
Germany
Poland
Toronto (Ont.)
Original Format
Audio cassette
Copy Format
Audio cassette
Digital file
Transcript
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 149, 150, Max Federman\OH 149, 150 notes.pdf
Source
Oral Histories

In this clip, Max Federman describes the conflict between the Federation of Labour and Communist International Union from 1938–1956. He discusses the steps by which the International Fur and Leather Union disaffiliated with the International Union to join the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union in 1956.

In this clip, Max Federman discusses his early involvement with a trade union while living in Germany in 1919.

Name
Edna Jacobs
Material Format
sound recording
Interview Date
Dec. 1985, Mar. 1986
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Edna Jacobs
Number
OH 125
Subject
Families
Travel
Education
Occupations
Antisemitism
Girl Guides
Religion
Volunteers
Interview Date
Dec. 1985, Mar. 1986
Quantity
1
Interviewer
Nancy Draper
Total Running Time
Side 1: 36 minutes Side 2: 46 minutes
Conservation
Copied August 2003
Use Restrictions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Biography
Edna Jacobs (née Frankel) was born on 20 March 1904 in Toronto. Her parents, Sigmund and Paula Frankel, were early immigrants from Germany. Edna attended Havergal from kindergarten through high school. She studied general arts for two years at the University of Toronto. She married Arthur Jacobs, the son of Rabbi Solomon Jacobs, in 1936. Together, they had one daughter, Patsy, and a baby who died during infancy. Edna was involved with the Girls Club and the Junior Council of Jewish Women.
Material Format
sound recording
Language
English
Name Access
Toronto Girl's Club
Toronto Council of Jewish Women
Geographic Access
Toronto
Germany
Original Format
Audio cassette
Copy Format
Audio cassette
Digital file
Transcript
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 125 - Jacobs\OH125_001_Log.pdf
G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 125 - Jacobs\OH125_002_Log.pdf
Source
Oral Histories

In this clip, Edna Jacobs shares memories from a trip she and her family took to Biblis, Germany to celebrate her grandparents’ golden anniversary.

In this clip, Edna Jacobs reminisces about several prominent Toronto Jewish families.

Name
Roy Waisberg
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
9 Jun. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Roy Waisberg
Number
OH 369
Subject
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Interview Date
9 Jun. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (WAV file)
1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Marie Eve Deleris
Total Running Time
23:57 seconds
Notes
This interview is part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
http://www.thememoryproject.com/search?query=waisberg
Biography
Roy Waisberg born in Toronto in 1920. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force with 409 squadron as an airplane electrician from 1941 to 1945. Stationed overseas in various cities in Britain, France, Belgium, and Germany, Roy married his wife Hila while serving in Europe. Hilda came to Canada as a war bride.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Belgium
France
Germany
United Kingdom
Original Format
DVD
Transcript
00:00: Roy served in the RCAF with the rank of aircraftsman, second class. 00:21: Roy was born in Toronto and lived in the Queen and Broadview area. His parents immigrated to Canada from Russia circa 1904. 00:59: Roy briefly addresses his Jewish upbringing. 1:46: Roy explains why he enlisted. 2:56: Roy discusses other Jews who served with him. In particular, he mentions (?)Wunch and Norman Layton (formerly Leibowitz). Norman later became president of General Wingate Branch and is buried in that section of the cemetery. 5:08: Roy comments that Jews in his squadron were treated well. He did not follow kashrut. 620: Roy shares some memories. 7:30: Roy lists the countries in Europe in which he was stationed. He points out that Normandy was a war zone. He describes his duties as an electrician in the ground crew. 9:02: Roy mentions his contact with civilians while overseas and continues to list locations where he served. 11:40: Roy recalls when the war was over. 14:21: Roy discusses how he met and married his wife while he was serving in Europe. His wife, Hilda, came to Canada after the war with other war brides. 18:04: Roy explains that his wife adjusted well to Canada. He discusses how they brought his mother-in-law to Toronto and how they cared for her. 19:43: After the war, Roy worked in his father’s business selling lighting fixtures and electrical parts. 22:25: Roy discusses his involvement in Jewish life (e.g., attending synagogue daily).
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Harold Wolfman
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
9 Jun. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Harold Wolfman
Number
OH 377
Subject
Canada--Armed Forces
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
World War, 1939-1945
Interview Date
9 Jun. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (WAV file); 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Shayla Howell
Total Running Time
30:36
Notes
Harold was interviewed as part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
Biography
Harold served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1941 to 1945 as an air frame mechanic. He was stationed in England, France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Belgium
England
France
Germany
Netherlands
Original Format
DVD
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Jack Gang
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
9 Jun. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Jack Gang
Number
OH 378
Subject
World War, 1939-1945
Interview Date
9 Jun. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (WAV file); 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Stephanie Markowitz
Total Running Time
34:19
Notes
Jack was interviewed as part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
Biography
Jack was a private in the Polish Army from 1944 to 1946. He was stationed in Europe and involved in liberation campaigns in Poland and Germany.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Germany
Poland
Original Format
DVD
Source
Oral Histories
Name
David Abells
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
14 Jun. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
David Abells
Number
OH 389
Subject
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Interview Date
14 Jun. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (WAV file); 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Shayla Howell
Total Running Time
39:26
Notes
David was interviewed as part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
Biography
David served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1942 to 1945 as a wireless operator. He was stationed in Europe in Normandy, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, and Germany.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Belgium
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
Normandy (France)
Original Format
DVD
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Hyman Arlin
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
14 Jun. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Hyman Arlin
Number
OH 393
Subject
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Interview Date
14 Jun. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (WAV file) 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Stephanie Markowitz
Total Running Time
27:33
Notes
This interview was part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories/1113:hyman-arlin/
Biography
Hyman Arlin was born in 1924. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a tank gunner with the Canadian Artillery from 1942 to 1946. Hyman was stationed in Europe and was involved in the liberation of the Netherlands and the occupation of Germany.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Germany
Netherlands
Original Format
DVD
Transcript
00:15: Hyman was born in Bailystok, Poland in 1923. He came to Montreal with his family at age two. 00:59: Hyman explains why and when he moved to Toronto. 2:04: Hyman explains that while his father, a teacher of “cantors and rabonim,” was Orthodox, the family home was quite liberal. 2:58: Hyman explains his reasons for enlisting in the army at age nineteen in 1942. He completed basic training in Camp Shiloh, Manitoba, where he learned to drive a tank and took a course in signaling. 4:39: Hyman went overseas and was stationed in England at Camp Borden. He explains he met his future wife there. They were married two years later. 5:41: Hyman served in Belgium, Holland, and Germany. He was part of the occupation of Germany. 6:04: Hyman recalls the voyage overseas and to Camp Borden. He learned to drive a tank. 7:01: Hyman recalls his first time he saw action in Holland near the end of the war. 7:34: Hyman remained for six months after the war to serve in occupied Germany. 7:50: Hyman returned to Canada in May 1946. Betty, his wife, arrived in September 1946. 8:18: Hyman shares an anecdote from the war. He describes his regiment being saved by other Canadian troops when they were surrounded by three companies of Nazi paratroopers. 9:36: Hyman recalls an incident when he briefly served as an interpreter in charge of repatriation of Austrian prisoners of war in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. 11:45: Hyman’s three brothers and brother-in-law served in the Canadian army. 12:09: Hyman relates an anecdote involving meeting up with one of his brothers in Brussels. 15:14: Hyman reports that he did not encounter any direct antisemitism while serving in the army. 17:37: Betty speaks of the her family’s evacuation from London. 19:04: Hyman relates how he and Betty met and courted. He describes how he snuck out of camp to visit her. 21:40: Following the war, Hyman returned to Montreal. He worked as a grocery clerk in 1946. In 1947, he opened his first grocery store. 22:35: His first child was born five years later. 24:49: Hyman relates that he was the youngest of eleven children. He describes the demands of running a small grocery business. He notes that, because of time constraints, he was not involved in the Jewish branch of the Canadian Legion until he moved to Toronto.
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Sam Rose
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
29 Jul. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Sam Rose
Number
OH 400
Subject
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Royal Canadian Army (RCA) 29 July 2010 1 reference DVD (Wav file); 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interview Date
29 Jul. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (Wav file); 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Historica Dominion Institute
Total Running Time
51:02
Notes
Sam was interviewed as part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
Biography
Sam Rose served in the Royal Canadian Army in the Second World War. He participated in the invasion of Juno, acting as a member of the advance party. He was also stationed in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
Belgium
France
Germany
Netherlands
Original Format
DVD
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Max Moskoske
Material Format
moving images
Interview Date
29 Jul. 2010
Source
Oral Histories
Name
Max Moskoske
Number
OH 401
Subject
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Interview Date
29 Jul. 2010
Quantity
1 reference DVD (WAV file); 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
Interviewer
Sam Gojonovich
Total Running Time
14:33
Notes
Max was interviewed as part of the Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on 13 May 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
Biography
Max served in the Royal Canadian Army from 1941 to 1945 as an engineer. He was involved in building roads and bridges in England, Holland, and the border of Germany.
Material Format
moving images
Geographic Access
England
Germany
Netherlands
Original Format
DVD
Source
Oral Histories
Part Of
William Stern fonds
Military photographs series
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 33; Series 2; Item 21
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
William Stern fonds
Military photographs series
Level
Item
Fonds
33
Series
2
Item
21
Material Format
graphic material
Date
May 1945
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 19 x 24 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of Bill Stern in Celle, Germany with six other army and airforce servicemen. They are sitting in an army jeep, holding their rifles. Seated on the far right is Bill Stern and leaning against the jeep on the far left is Jimmy Thompson.
Notes
The photograph is mounted on cardboard.
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.
Places
Germany
Accession Number
2004-5-96
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Subject files sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-22; File 13
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Subject files sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-22
File
13
Material Format
textual record
Date
1993
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of correspondence and Legislative Assembly of Ontario transcripts related to the Government of Ontario's response to antisemitism.
Name Access
Harnick, Charles
Ontario. Legislative Assembly
Subjects
Antisemitism--Ontario
Legislative bodies--Ontario
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2017-2-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-2-12
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
45 cm of textual records and other material
230 photographs : sepia and b&w ; 23 x 30 cm and smaller
8 sound recordings (50 wav files; 1 microcassette)
1 artifact
Date
1937-2004
Scope and Content
Accession consists of textual records, photographs and audio recordings documenting the lives of Dick Steele, his wife Esther, and friend Bill Walsh. The materials are mostly correspondences between Dick and Esther during his internment at the Don Jail and Ontario Reformatory in Guelph, and from Dick and Bill's military service overseas during the Second World War. They also include correspondences between Esther and Bill, Bill and Anne Walsh, "Jack" and Esther, and other family and friends. Some of the letters show evidence of being censored. There are news clippings in English and Yiddish about the family from various newspapers including the Canadian Tribune (a Communist Party paper). There is a letter Esther wrote to campaign for Dick's release from internment, part of women's activism in this period. There is also a photocopy of a memoir written by Moses Kosowatsky and Moses Wolofsky "From the Land of Despair to the Land of Promise" ca. 1930s.
The photographs include Dick and Bill in the army during the Second World War, a signed picture of Tim Buck addressed to Esther and the twins and a photo of Dick delivering a speech related to the Steel Workers. Also included is a recording of edited sound clips of Bill and Esther talking about Dick, Esther speaking about the letters, (how she received letters and flowers from Dick after he had already been killed), Bill reading a letter Dick wrote to Esther that he left with friends in England to send her in the case that he was killed (which he was), recordings of "Bill Walsh Oral history" Vols.1 and 2 compiled by Leib Wolofsky's (Bill's nephew), and 5 audio recordings by Adrianna Steele-Card with her grandparents Bill and Esther. There is also a microcassette labelled "Joe Levitt."
The accession also includes the stripe of a German corporal that Bill captured as a prisoner, peace stamps and an early copy of Cy Gonick's A Very Red Life: The Story of Bill Walsh, edited by Bill.
Administrative History
Richard "Dick" Kennilworth Steele is the name adopted by Moses Kosowatsky. He was born in 1909 in Montreal to Samuel Kosowatsky and Fanny Held. He lived in a laneway off Clark Street, below Sherbrooke, where his father collected and recycled bottles. He grew up with his siblings, Joseph, Mortimer, Matthew, Gertrude, and Edward.
Bill Walsh (birth name Moishe Wolofsky) was born in 1910, to Sarah and Herschel Wolofsky, the editor of the Keneder Adler (Montreal's prominent Yiddish newspaper). He attended Baron Byng and then Commercial High School, where he met Dick Steele. Bill recalled that Dick denounced militarism in the school when a teacher tried to recruit students to be cadets.
Bill moved to New York City in 1927. His brother, who was living there, helped him get a job as a messenger on Wall Street. He also worked in the drug department at Macy's while attending courses at Columbia University in the evening. Dick worked on a ship for a year and then joined Bill in New York City in 1928. Dick worked at a chemical plant called Linde Air Products while also studying in the evenings at Columbia University.
In 1931, Dick and Bill boarded a ship together in New York bound for Copenhagen. Together, they travelled across Europe, witnessed a Nazi demonstration in Breslau, Germany, and found work in Minsk and Moscow, Russia. This trip inspired them to become Communists. In 1933, Bill's father was on a Canadian trade mission to Poland, which he left to "rescue" his son from the Bolsheviks. Bill agreed to return to Canada after being advised to do so by the Comintern. He then changed his name to Bill Walsh to protect his family.
In 1934, Bill moved to Toronto. He worked as the educational director for the Industrial Union of Needle Trade Workers and the Communist Party, where he met Esther Slominsky/Silver, the organization's office manager. Dick joined Bill in Toronto soon after. Bill introduced Dick and Esther, who then married. In 1940, Esther gave birth to twin sons, Michael and John Steele. Esther was born in Toronto in 1914 to Joseph Slominsky and Fanny (Blackersany?). Her siblings were Bella, Eileen, Morris, and step-sister Eva. Her father, Joseph, was a cloak maker and Esther also worked in the garment industry. Her mother Fanny passed away in 1920 at the age of twenty-six from tuberculosis.
Dick was a metal worker and became a union organizer in the east end of Toronto. He was the head organizer of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the Steel Workers Organizing Committee of Canada (SWOC) until 1940, when he was dismissed for being a Communist. Bill helped organize Kitchener's rubber workers into an industrial union and was also an organizer for the United Auto Workers of Windsor, Ontario.
Jack Steele, an alias for Dick's brother Mortimer, fought with the Mackenzie-Papineau Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Jack Steele was recalled to Canada in October 1937 to rally support for the efforts in Spain, returned to the front in June 1938, and was killed in action in August. Some of Dick's letters to his wife, Esther, are signed "Salud, Jack" and were likely written in 1940 when the Communist Party (CP) was banned by the Canadian government under the War Measures Act.
In November 1941, after Mackenzie King's call for enlistment, Dick wrote to the Department of Justice to ask permission to join the army. He never received a reply. On 1 April 1942, Dick's home was raided and he was interned at the Don Jail until September 1942, when he was moved to the Ontario Reformatory in Guelph. Esther wrote a letter to the minister of justice, Louis St. Laurent, to appeal on his behalf.
Major public campaigning by Communists and the wartime alliance with the USSR after 1941 shifted public opinion toward the CP, and the Canadian government slowly began releasing internees in January 1942. Dick was released in October 1942 and enlisted at the end of the month. Dick died on 17 August 1944 in Normandy, France. He was a tank driver in the Canadian Army.
Bill was similarly arrested in 1941, spending time in jail and then an internment camp with other members of the CP. He joined the Canadian Army in 1943 and fought in Holland and Belgium. Bill was first married to Anne Weir who died of a brain hemorrhage in 1943, just before he enlisted. The family believes this may have been due to drinking unpasteurized milk. Encouraged by Dick Steele to take care of his family should he pass in the war, Bill married Esther Steele in 1946. They had a daughter named Sheri and were members of the United Jewish People's Order. For twenty years, Walsh worked for the Hamilton region of the United Electrical Workers (UE). Bill remained a member of the CP until 1967, when we was expelled for criticizing another union leader. He died in 2004. Esther passed away in 2010 at age ninety-six.
Use Conditions
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
Descriptive Notes
RELATED MATERIAL NOTE: Library and Archives Canada has the William Walsh fonds and MG 28, ser. I 268, USWA, vol.4, SWOC Correspondence, has various letters from Dick Steele ca. 1938. Museum of Jewish Montreal has an oral history with Leila Mustachi (daughter of Max Wolofsky, Bill's brother) where she speaks about Bill, Dick and Esther. USE CONDITION NOTES: For "Bill Walsh Oral history" Vols.1 and 2, some contributors stipulate that recordings are restricted to personal use only and must not be used for any commercial purpose.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Politics and government
Labour and unions
Name Access
Steele, Michael
Steele, Dick
Walsh, Bill
Walsh, Esther Steele
Places
England
Fort William (Ont.)
Germany
Guelph (Ont.)
Hamilton (Ont.)
Montréal (Québec)
Netherlands
Oshawa (Ont.)
Ottawa (Ont.)
Thunder Bay (Ont.)
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-4-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-4-2
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
4 photographs : b&w and col. ; 19 x 24 cm or smaller
2 folders of textual records
Date
1946-[197-]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Dorothy and Paul Eker, the grandparents of Glen Eker. Included are: four photographs (one of Dorothy, two of Paul, and one of Osgoode Hall Law School Graduating Class of 1952); a document acknowledging the appointment of Paul to the position of notary public in the province of Ontario; a document calling Paul to the degree of barrister-at-law; and a document certifying Paul's swearing in as a solictor general of the Supreme Court of Ontario.
Custodial History
Associated materials: Other accessions donated by Glen Eker include 2018-3-1, 2018-4-1, 2018-4-16, and 2018-5-1.
Administrative History
Glen Eker was born in Toronto, Ontario to Paul Eker and Dorothy Horwitz. He grew up in the Forest Hill neighbourhood of Toronto before moving with his family to Hamilton. He received two master’s degrees (one in sociology, the other in political science) from McMaster University and a third master’s degree (in library science) from the University of Toronto.
Glen's wife, Deborah Pekilis, was born in Montreal and lived there until her parents moved to Toronto. She was the librarian for the Jewish Genealogical Society and sat on the Hamilton Historical Board. She is currently a writer.
Glen has worked as a research assistant and a teaching assistant at McMaster and has taught at Ryerson University and Mohawk College. At present, he works as an estate and genealogy researcher.
Glen has published a book on Karl Marx, five indexes of Jews in Canada, and one index of Amish and Mennonites in Canada. His genealogy articles have appeared in various magazines and his short stories and poems have appeared in print as well.
Glen has worked on his family genealogy for a number of years. His paternal family line derives from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland while his maternal line derives from Byelorussia and Romania. He is descended from the Horwitz and Strachman families on the latter.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Lawyers
Name Access
Eker (family)
Eker, Glen
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-5-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-5-1
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
5 photographs : b & w ; 23 x 18 cm or smaller
Date
[191-]-1949
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting members of Glen Eker's family. Included are: copies of Benjamin Eker's military records, black and white photographs of Dorothy Horwitz and Paul Eker from their wedding album, and a Bayview Pharmacy Christmas card.
Administrative History
Glen Eker was born in Toronto, Ontario to Paul Eker and Dorothy Horwitz. He grew up in the Forest Hill neighbourhood of Toronto before moving with his family to Hamilton. He received two master’s degrees (one in sociology, the other in political science) from McMaster University and a third master’s degree (in library science) from the University of Toronto.
Glen's wife, Deborah Pekilis, was born in Montreal and lived there until her parents moved to Toronto. She was the librarian for the Jewish Genealogical Society and sat on the Hamilton Historical Board. She is currently a writer.
Glen has worked as a research assistant and a teaching assistant at McMaster and has taught at Ryerson University and Mohawk College. At present, he works as an estate and genealogy researcher.
Glen has published a book on Karl Marx, five indexes of Jews in Canada, and one index of Amish and Mennonites in Canada. His genealogy articles have appeared in various magazines and his short stories and poems have appeared in print as well.
Glen has worked on his family genealogy for a number of years. His paternal family line derives from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland while his maternal line derives from Byelorussia and Romania. He is descended from the Horwitz and Strachman families on the latter.
Descriptive Notes
Associated materials: Other accessions donated by Glen Eker include 2018-3,1, 2018-4-1, 2018-4-2, and 2018-4-16.
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
Families
Married people
Name Access
Eker (family)
Eker, Glen
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-8-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-8-12
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
sound recording
Physical Description
4 folders
2 audio discs (ca. 82 min.) : vinyl
Date
1903-1986
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Nirenberg family. Included are four folders of textual and graphic material documenting folk singer Miriam Nirenberg (née Goldberg), her husband Eliezar Nirenberg, and their two sons, Les and Harvey Nirenberg. Included also are two copies of Miriam Nirenberg's Folksongs in the East European Jewish Tradition on vinyl.
Use Conditions
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Access copies (jpg) have been created for the photographs; preservation copies (tif) have been created for the most fragile documents.
Finding aids: Caption table available for photographs.
Asssociated material: Records of Mariam Nirenberg's niece, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett,are located in the YIVO Archives and Library, including Kirshenblatt-Gimblett's field recordings of Mariam Nirenberg.
Accruals: Further accruals are expected.
Subjects
Families
Folk singers
Name Access
Nirenberg (family)
Nirenberg, Mariam
Places
Europe, Eastern
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-3
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of textual records and graphic material
1 photo album
Date
1942-1986
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Strauss family. Included are: an invitation to a testimonial dinner in honour of Carl Strauss (1965), family photographs, interviews with Nathan Strauss (1983 and 1986), family trees, certificates for Naomi Fay Strauss, and a photo album made by Irene Strauss for her father.
Custodial History
Records were donated by Aviva Shiff Boedecker, the daughter of Naomi Fay Shiff (née Strauss).
Administrative History
Nathan Strauss was born on 8 July 1906 in Brooklyn, New York to Carl and Rose Strauss (née Rosen). In 1910, Nathan and his family immigrated to Toronto. The family lived on Benale Street for a short time before moving to Manning Avenue.
Nathan attended Manning Avenue Public School from 1911-1918. In 1918, he began attending Parkdale Collegiate Institute. In 1921, he began his postsecondary studies at University of Toronto, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1925. From 1925-1928, he trained as a lawyer at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Nathan began practicing law soon after graduating from Osgoode Hall. He founded a law firm and was active in the profession until his retirement in 1994.
Nathan also volunteered in the legal field. In 1961, he was elected president of the County of York Law Association. One year later, in 1962, he became bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Sixteen years later, in 1978, he became life bencher.
Nathan married twice. His first wife, Lena Fisher, died in 1952. His second wife was Dr. Lilly Offenbach Strauss. He had two children: Albert and Irene. Nathan died on 22 November 1999.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: JPEG and TIFF copies are available for many of the photographs.
Subjects
Families
Name Access
Strauss (family)
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-4
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of graphic material and textual records
Date
[193-?]-[196-?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Glen Eker and his family. Included are photographs of Glen Eker and his parents in Banff Alberta, Glen's graduation pictures from McMaster University, and other family photographs.
Administrative History
Glen Eker was born in Toronto, Ontario to Paul Eker and Dorothy Horwitz. He grew up in the Forest Hill neighbourhood of Toronto before moving with his family to Hamilton. He received two master’s degrees (one in sociology, the other in political science) from McMaster University and a third master’s degree (in library science) from the University of Toronto.
Glen's wife, Deborah Pekilis, was born in Montreal and lived there until her parents moved to Toronto. She was the librarian for the Jewish Genealogical Society and sat on the Hamilton Historical Board. She is currently a writer.
Glen has worked as a research assistant and a teaching assistant at McMaster and has taught at Ryerson University and Mohawk College. At present, he works as an estate and genealogy researcher.
Glen has published a book on Karl Marx, five indexes of Jews in Canada, and one index of Amish and Mennonites in Canada. His genealogy articles have appeared in various magazines and his short stories and poems have appeared in print as well.
Glen has worked on his family genealogy for a number of years. His paternal family line derives from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland while his maternal line derives from Byelorussia and Romania. He is descended from the Horwitz and Strachman families on the latter.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: JPEG and TIF copies are available for 30 of the photographs.
Subjects
Families
Name Access
Eker (family)
Eker, Glen
Places
Canada, Western
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-10
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of graphic material and textual records
Date
1925-1980
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Kirschner family, in particular Maurice and Gertrude Kirschner. Included are family photographs, wedding telegrams, marriage certificates, certificates of naturalization, and passports. Individuals identified in the photographs include: Ann Kirschner, Chaim Kirschner, Gertrude Kirschner (née Taylor), Hannah Kirschner, Helen Kirschner, Joseph Kirschner, Maurice Kirschner, Shlomo Kirschner, Ruth Lowe, Bernice Taylor, Leah Taylor, and Saul Taylor.
Administrative History
Gertrude Kirschner (née Taylor) was born on 29 November 1907 in Toronto, Ontario. She lived with her parents at 770 Markham Street and finished high school. On 3 July 1932, she married Maurice Kirschner, with whom she had two daughters: Helen (b. 1934) and Elaine (b. 1942). The couple lived at 770 Markham Street until they bought their first home at 46 Gloucester Grove. They became founding members of Beth Sholom Synagogue on Englinton Avenue. Gertrude died 7 June 1982.
Maurice Kirschner was born on 13 August 1904 in Lyck, Germany. He was trained as a watchmaker and opened a watch repair shop on Bay Street, just north of Queen. The shop was demolished to make way for the new city hall. Maurice subsequently went to work for Sayvette, where he remained for the rest of his career. He died on 15 February 1980.
Use Conditions
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digital copies (jpg, tif) have been created for thirty-one documents.
Subjects
Families
Immigrants--Canada
Married people
Name Access
Kirschner (family)
Kirschner, Gertrude
Kirschner, Maurice
Places
Germany
Ontario
Soviet Union
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-3
Material Format
graphic material
Physical Description
7 cm of graphic material
Date
[191-?]-[197-?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Glen Eker and his family. Included are photographs of Glen Eker, his parents Paul and Dorothy Eker, his uncle Irving Howard, and his grandparents Joseph and Rebecca Horwitz.
Administrative History
Glen Eker was born in Toronto, Ontario to Paul Eker and Dorothy Horwitz. He grew up in the Forest Hill neighbourhood of Toronto before moving with his family to Hamilton. He received two master’s degrees (one in sociology, the other in political science) from McMaster University and a third master’s degree (in library science) from the University of Toronto.
Glen's wife, Deborah Pekilis, was born in Montreal and lived there until her parents moved to Toronto. She was the librarian for the Jewish Genealogical Society and sat on the Hamilton Historical Board. She is currently a writer.
Glen has worked as a research assistant and a teaching assistant at McMaster and has taught at Ryerson University and Mohawk College. At present, he works as an estate and genealogy researcher.
Glen has published a book on Karl Marx, five indexes of Jews in Canada, and one index of Amish and Mennonites in Canada. His genealogy articles have appeared in various magazines and his short stories and poems have appeared in print as well.
Glen has worked on his family genealogy for a number of years. His paternal family line derives from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland while his maternal line derives from Byelorussia and Romania. He is descended from the Horwitz and Strachman families on the latter.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: JPEG and TIF copies are available for 22 of the photographs.
Subjects
Families
Name Access
Eker (family)
Eker, Glen
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-12
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
ca. 7 cm of textual records and other material
Date
1930-[200-?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Wahl family. Included are: certificates, clippings, correspondence, graduation exercises, ephemera, invitations, and photographs. Individuals documented in the records include: Carole Rohold, Charis Wahl, John "Jack" Wahl (1907-1994), Michael Wahl, Pauline Wahl, Stephen Wahl, and Sydney Wahl (1913-2015).
Administrative History
John "Jack" Wahl was born on 29 December 1907; Sydney Wahl (née Katzman) was born on 14 August 1913. The couple had three children: Pauline Willis (née Wahl), Stephen "Steve" Wahl, and Charis Wahl. Jack was a lawyer while Sydney was a homemaker. Jack died on 22 December 1994; Sydney died on 8 August 2015.
Subjects
Families
Name Access
Wahl (family)
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-13
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-13
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of textual records
Date
1993-1998
Scope and Content
Accession consists of meeting minutes of the Southern African Jewish Association of Canada (SAJAC). The earliest minutes are from 8 May 1993; the latest minutes are from 12 January 1998.
Subjects
Immigrants--Canada
Name Access
Southern African Jewish Association of Canada
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-1-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-1-3
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
[1927?]-1974
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting members of Ellen Kurtz-Cohen's family. Included are a t'naim document and ketubah as well as marriage certificate for Anshel Tepperman and Fannie Tepperman and a death certificate for Anshel Tepperman.
Administrative History
The Tepperman family came to Canada from Poland: Anshel Tepperman was born in Ozarov in 1903; Fanny Tepperman was born in Ivaniska. Anshel was the first to arrive in Canada, arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 10, 1921. The two occupied at least two addresses once in Toronto: 62 Lipincott Street and 96 Roberta Drive. Fanny arrived almost three years later, arriving in Halifax on March 16, 1924. The couple had three children: Ruth (1928-2016), Maurice (1929-1984), and Cecile (b. 1936). Anshel died on July 17, 1974; Fanny died on September 27, 1994.
Subjects
Ketubah
Married people
Name Access
Tepperman, Fanny
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-11
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-11
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
2 scrapbooks
Date
2003-2005
Scope and Content
Accession consists of two scrapbooks documenting Carson Phillips' work in the field of Holocaust education. The scrapbooks contain newspaper articles; promotional postcards; Yom HaShoah remembrance cards; newsletters; and correspondence, much of it related to an exhibition titled Janusz Korczak and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto. The latter was presented by the Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario, a partnership between UJA Federations Canada and Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Holocaust survivor Max Eisen features prominently in many of the articles.
Administrative History
Carson Phillips earned his doctor of philosophy degree from York University. Since 2008, he has served as managing director of the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre. He is the recipient of several awards including the 2013 BMW Canada Award from the Canadian Centre for German and European Studies at York University. He also serves on the editorial board of Prism: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators.
Subjects
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Eisen, Max
Phillips, Carson
Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-8-14
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-8-14
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
multiple media
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records ca. 2cm of textual records
12 photographs : b&w and col ; 30 x 35 cm or smaller
1 scrapbook
Date
1900-1950, [196?], 1970-1995
Scope and Content
Accession consists of 12 photographs (ca. 1900-1930, 196?) of members of the Schönberger family, including family portraits, class portraits, and a group photograph of the United Cloth Hat & Cap Makers Union Local No. 41. Accession also contains a scrapbook (ca.1937-1945) kept by Walter Schoenberger consisting of ca. 90 photographs and other graphic materials (eg. cigarette cards, photographic postcards) documenting his life in Vienna, England, Quebec and Toronto. This scrapbook includes photographs of Schoenberger's internment at a Kitchener Camp in Kent, England, as well as photographs of a parade at Old City Hall in Toronto.
Accession also consists of 1 folder of textual records, including Canadian citizenship and naturalization documents, a Vienna drivers license, one postcard, wedding invitations and certificates, newspaper clippings, personal writings, and a death certificate. There are also a number of documents ca. 1939-1942 relating to Walter Schoenberger's time at the Kitchener Camp in England, including letters from the Red Cross, the American Embassy to Vienna, the American Consulate General in London, the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, the Central Council for Jewish Refugees Agricultural Committee, and Tip Top Tailors.
Accession also includes Victory Bonds certificates (1943-1945), an issue of the Toronto Star from December 3, 1992, a Toronto Transit Commission map, a program for a "Life Begins at 65" celebration for George Burns, and a book entitled "Collective Poems - The Terrace Holocaust Survivors Group" consisting of poetry by Holocaust survivors. Also included are documents relating to the Schwab family.
Ancestor chart of Mindy Schönberger
Custodial History
Collection of Walter Schoenberger, donated by daughter Mindy Pollishuke.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Tailors
Immigrants--Canada
Labor unions
Clothing workers
Postcards
Refugee camps
Refugees
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
England
Austria
Germany
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-11-9
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-11-9
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
1922–1953
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Cohen family. Included are an agreement between Moses Nepomjesze and J. L. Shekter dated 18 April 1922 regarding the bringing of three individuals–Hannah Nepomjesze and, A. Yudel Nepomjesze, and Raphuel Nepomjesze–to Toronto on or before 20 July 1922; an unsigned document in which Goldie Sherman appoints Moses Nepomjesze (Cohen) as her attorney; an agreement made in duplicate on 17 July 1922 between Morris Cohen and Jas. L. Shekter; landing cards for Chana Niepomieszcze (the donor's grandmother) and Rafael Niepomieszcze (the donor's father) stamped 14 September 1922; a receipt of payment for $6 dated 29 December 1931 and issued to Morris Cohen; an undated application for vise [sic] form with Chana's signature in Yiddish; a youth aliyah certificate of honour issued to Mrs. M. Cohen in May 1942; a sworn oath dated 9 June `1953 by Benjamin Sherman saying he knew Morris Cohen as Moshe Gersch Nepomyashtski Berkovitch when he resided in Uman in Kiev, Russia; a sworn oath by Asher Olshinetsky saying he has known Morris for forty-two years; and the second page of a document signed by Goldie Herman and Jas L. Shekter.
Custodial History
Records were discovered in the house the donor's uncle, Harold Cohen, after he passed away.
Administrative History
Originally from Russia, Morris Cohen came to Canada in 1911. His wife, Chana, and son, Ralph (1911–2000), stayed behind until such time as Morris was able to bring them over. In 1922, Chana and Ralph made the trip to join Morris in Canada. Chana's visa application from that year gives her age as thirty-one and her son's age as nine. The same visa indicates that Morris was living at 537 Cannon Street in Hamilton, Ontario and that he was working as a merchant/tailor. Once in Canada, Morris and Chana had one more child, Harold. At some point, Morris, Chana, and their family relocated to 350 Euclid Avenue.
A note on names: Several of the individuals documented in the records changed their names. According to one record signed by an acquaintance of Morris' from Russia, Morris was originally named Moshe Gersch Nepomyashtski Berkovitch and changed his name Morris Cohen shortly after coming to Canada. In other records, the same individual is referred to as Moses Nepomjesze (Cohen). According to his granddaughter, Carol, Morris was told he could not keep his name and was given the surname Cohen–this despite the fact Morris was not a kohen. After arriving in Canada, Chana adopted her husband's new surname: a certificate issued to the former is made out to "Mrs. M. Cohen." In writing the above account, the archivist has used the names by which the individuals were best known.
Use Conditions
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Also available as PDF files.
Subjects
Families
Immigrants--Canada
Name Access
Cohen (family)
Places
Ontario
Russia
Source
Archival Accessions
Level
Item
ID
Item 1253
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
1253
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1898
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of members of the Frankel family on a visit to Biblis, Germany.
Front, left to right: Carl Frankel; Egmont Frankel; Beno Frankel. Lena Frankel is holding Roy Frankel.
Name Access
Frankel, Beno
Frankel, Carl
Frankel, Egmont
Frankel, Lena
Frankel, Roy
Subjects
Families
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.
Places
Germany
Accession Number
1977-4-7
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2927
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2927
Material Format
graphic material
Date
July 1940
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Item is a panoramic photograph of individuals and families who were part of the Mozirer Sick Benefit Society sitting outside at a picnic at Appleton Farms, Ontario.
Notes
See also #1891 for negative.
Name Access
Appleton Farms
Mozirer Sick Benefit Society
Subjects
Picnics
Portraits, Group
Societies
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1981-7-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3519
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3519
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[ca. 1936]
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Admin History/Bio
Jack Sillen represented the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA).
Name Access
Sillen, Jack
Ontario Amateur Wrestling Championships
YMHA
Subjects
Wrestlers
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1982-6-8
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3516
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3516
Material Format
graphic material
Date
June 20, 1942
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
This photograph depicts those who participated in the Airmens Physical Training Instructor (P.T.I.) course.
Identified in the third row, extreme left: Jack Sillen.
Name Access
Sillen, Jack
Trenton Air Station
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1982-6-8
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 457
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
457
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1937
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 7 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of Ida Strauss and Rose Kenwick (Kanowich) now Hersh at Camp Camperdown, July 1937.
Notes
Inscribed on front: "Camp Camperdown 1937" and on back "Camp Camperdown July 25, 1937 Ida Strauss and Rose Kenwick".
Name Access
Camp Camperdown
Kenwick, Rose
Strauss, Ida
Subjects
Camps
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
Acquired April 7, 1975.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 537
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
537
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative); 13 x 18 cm and 4 x 5 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a copy photograph of Kiwa Torem at Camp Borden, Military W.W. II, 1943.
Name Access
Canadian Forces Base Borden (Ont.)
Torem, Kiwa
Subjects
Military bases
World War, 1939-1945
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
Acquired June 22, 1975.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 538
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
538
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1943
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 4 x 5 cm)
Scope and Content
Item is a copy photograph of Kiwa Torem at Camp Borden, prior to going overseas, 1943.
Name Access
Canadian Forces Base Borden (Ont.)
Torem, Kiwa
Subjects
Military bases
World War, 1939-1945
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
Acquired June 22, 1975.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 1489
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
1489
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1934
Physical Description
1 photograph: b&w (1 negative)
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of the class of Mr. A. T. Humphrey standing on the front steps of the Ogden School. Some of the boys are wearing "Leafs" and "Comets" sweaters.
Name Access
Ogden School
Humphrey, A. T.
Subjects
Students
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1977-8-28
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 1785
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
1785
Material Format
graphic material
Date
June 1935
Physical Description
1 photograph: b&w (1 negative)
Name Access
Lansdowne School
Subjects
Students
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.
Places
Ontario
Accession Number
1979-11-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Samuel Posluns fonds
Level
File
ID
Fonds 70; File 5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Samuel Posluns fonds
Level
File
Fonds
70
File
5
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1947
Physical Description
51 photographs : b&w ; 17 x 12 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
File consists of black-and-white photographs related to the Tailor Project, including photos taken at Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp showing the Tailor Project team testing candidates. Other photos include scenes of devastation in Hanover, documentation of concentration camps at Belsen and Dachau, and two photos of Posluns with unidentified individuals taken at the Munich Military Post Officers Club. Other identified individuals include Max Enkin and Samuel Herbst.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Refugee camps
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.
Places
Germany
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
The Shuls Project fonds
Ontario synagogues series
Level
Series
ID
Fonds 64; Series 2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
The Shuls Project fonds
Ontario synagogues series
Level
Series
Fonds
64
Series
2
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1979
Physical Description
5 cm textual records
ca. 3187 photographs : col. slides, b&w prints, b&w negatives
Scope and Content
Series consists of the records of 111 Ontario synagogues, sixty-seven of them in Toronto. The records include black-and-white Polaroid prints, some with negatives, of the exterior and interior of synagogues, including cornerstones and interior artifacts and furnishings; 35 mm colour slides of the same; and 35 mm black-and-white negatives with images of dedication, memorial, and donor plaques. Series also contains forms filled out (for some synagogues only) for the Canadian Inventory of Historic Buildings. These forms detail the buildings' architectural details such as size, shape, construction, windows, doors, trim, stairs, etc. As well, most files contain an inventory sheet of resources gathered (eg. articles, synagogue booklets), including a listing of photographs taken.
The series is arranged alphabetically by city, then synagogue.
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
Ontario
Source
Archival Descriptions