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

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

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

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

13

Material Format

cartographic material

Date

[196-?]

Physical Description

3 maps

Scope and Content

File consists of two photocopied maps of Haifa showing the road to Nazareth, and one photocopied map of Nazareth.

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

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

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

2

Material Format

cartographic material

Date

1953-[196-?]

Physical Description

8 maps

Scope and Content

File contains eight maps of Israel related to Dunkelman's research into his activities in the Arab-Israeli War, in particular Operations Dekel and Hiram. Seven of these maps are photocopies. The one original is a map of Haifa and the surrounding area.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

3

Material Format

cartographic material

Date

1954

Physical Description

1 map

Scope and Content

File contains one map of Haifa (Israel) and the surrounding area related to Dunkelman's research into his activities in the Arab-Israeli War.

Physical Condition

Record is fragile and in places held together with tape.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

5

Material Format

textual record

cartographic material

Date

[195-?]-[196-?]

Physical Description

7 maps

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains maps, notes and drafts relating to Dunkelman's research into Operation Dekel and the 7th Brigade's conquest of Nazareth. The file also includes photocopies.

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

1

Material Format

textual record

cartographic material

Date

[195-?]-1974

Physical Description

14 maps

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of maps of Israel, along with some photocopied text about the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War.

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

83

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

1988

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 photograph : col. ; 5 x 10 cm

1 map

Admin History/Bio

Max Chait fought with the 7th Brigade in the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War under Ben Dunkelman's command.

Scope and Content

File consists of a letter to Ben Dunkelman from Max Chait, who comments at length on Dunkelman's book Dual Allegiance. Enclosed with the letter and its envelope are one photograph of Max Chait and one map of Rosh Pinna.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

101

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

1948-[197-]

Physical Description

1 album

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains an album consisting of correspondence, photographs, clippings and a war diary in connection with the Arab-Israeli War.

Physical Condition

Some records are fragile.

Source

Archival Descriptions