Accession Number
2013-7-8
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-7-8
Material Format
textual record
moving images
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
1 optical disc (48:20 min.) : col. ; DVD
35 photographs : col. ; 16 x 11 cm
Date
2006-2012
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to the military career of Corporal Tamar Freeman, particularly her 6-month deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Included is postcard and email correspondence sent to her parents detailing issues of camp life, her religious observance, as well as her role as a medic; a DVD of the film "Sisters in Arms" written and directed by Tamar's sister, Beth Freeman; newspaper clippings and articles on Tamar and the film "Sisters in Arms"; photographs of Tamar receiving an award from the Canadian Jewish Congress, of her family greeting her at the airport upon return to Canada, a portrait of Tamar with another soldier and General Hillier, as well as images taken of fellow soldiers and the surroundings while in Afghanistan.
Administrative History
Corporal Tamar Freeman (1967-) is the daughter of Harvey and Gilda Freeman. She began her military career as an army reservist in 1990. As a reservist, she committed one day per week and one weekend per month to working in hospitals on board ships and in defence research facilities. In 2006, she joined the regular infantry as a medic in the Second Field Ambulance unit. She served in Kandahar for 6 months between 2006 and 2007 as a medic treating wounded soldiers, Afghan allies and civilians. She also served as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team at a village medical clinic. She received the Alan Rose Award for International Human Dignity from the Canadian Jewish Congress in 2007. Corporal Freeman is currently stationed at Base Borden in Ontario.
Use Conditions
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
Descriptive Notes
Use restrictions note: Personal emails are confidential and require the permission of Tamar Freeman before accessing.
Subjects
Afghan War, 2001-
Soldiers--Canada
Name Access
Freeman, Tamar
Places
Afghanistan
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-16
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-16
Material Format
moving images
Physical Description
3 DVDs
Date
2006-2007
Scope and Content
Video recordings of Transnistria Survivors' Association's annual commemomoration ceremonies (Haskara) that took place at Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto in 2006 and 2007.
Administrative History
Founded in 1994, the Transnistria Survivors’ Association works to provide a voice for and raise awareness of a lesser known group of Holocaust survivors. Transnistria was the Romanian authorities’ name for the former Ukrainian region located between the Rivers Dniester and Bug. It was placed under Romanian administration following the German and Romanian conquest of Ukraine in the summer of 1941. Prior to the Second World War, Romania was home to the third largest Jewish population in Europe; but beginning with the Citizenship Revision Laws of 1938, the Jews of Romania were deprived their citizenship rights and became the targets of repressive antisemitic policies and laws. Neighbours turned on neighbours. Thousands of Jews were murdered in pogroms, either by Romanian or German troops, Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or the local population. In 1941, the Jews who remained alive in the Provinces of Bucovina and Bessarabia were deported to camps and ghettos in Transnistria. Thousands were jammed into freight trains while others were marched by foot. Many died along the way. Between 1941 and 1944, it is estimated that German and Romanian authorities, along with Ukrainian collaborators, murdered or caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Ukrainian Jews in Transnistria. Some of those who survived these tragic circumstances, especially from Bucovina and Bessarabia, and made a new home in Toronto gathered together to lend each other support and to tell their largely unknown story of oppression and survival. The Transnistria Survivor’s Association organized yearly Hazkarah (memorial) services and its dedicated members continue to share their extraordinary stories of survival through speaking engagements at schools, colleges and synagogues. Past presidents include:
1. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly
2.Osias Nadel
3.Etti Ziegler
4.Lou (Leizer) Hoffer
As of 2017, the current President is Joe Leinburd.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Transnistria Survivors Association
Hoffer, Lou
Places
Transnistria (Ukraine : Territory under German and Romanian occupation, 1941-1944)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-4-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-4-4
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
ca. 35 photographs : b&w and col. ; 33 x 27 cm or smaller
Date
1891-2013
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting members of Harvey Freeman's family, several of whom served in the armed forces. Included are: family photographs, a Krugel family tree, a copy of Itzik Kriegel (Harvey's grandfather)'s army discharge, an attestation paper for Louis Krugel (Harvey's uncle), a signed program for a "stag whoopee dinner and night of blissful freedom" in honour of Lou Krugel's approaching marriage, and printed images of Harvey's daughter Tamar Freeman in Afghanistan. One of the photographs depicts Louis Krugel with professional wrestler and actor Tor Johnson, aka the Swedish Angel.
Photo Caption (001): Wellesley Public School, [ca. 1915]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (002): Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (003): Buba Sluva with Sara, Moe, Lou, and Harry, 1909. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (004): Berel Krugel in front of 22 Gerard Street West, Toronto, [ca. 1919]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (005): Wedding, 28 September 1926. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (006): Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (007): Baba Tzluva with Harry, [189-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (008): Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (009): Shabbat dinner, [ca. 1940]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (010): Norman, Buba Sluva, and Bert, [ca. 1922]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (011): Family portrait, 1909. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (012): Harry and Sara, 1916. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (013): Louis Krugel, [192-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (014): Louis Krugel and unknown man posing with boxing gloves, [1918?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (015): Louis Krugel, 1918. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (016): Harvey Freeman at Camp Borden, 1945. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (017): Unknown. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (018): Louis Krugel and unknown man, 1918. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (019): Louis Krugel with Tor Johnson, aka the Swedish Angel, [194-]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (020): Signed portrait of Louis Krugel. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Photo Caption (021): Louis Krugel, [192-]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2018-4-4.
Administrative History
Harvey Freeman was born on May 22, 1928. As a youth, he attended Harbord Collegiate and went on to join the militia, where he was the lone Canadian Jewish bagpiper.
Harvey made his living in business, working in different areas including furniture manufacturing and property management. As part of a change in lifestyle, he took up marathons in his early seventies.
Harvey has four children.
Use Conditions
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
Descriptive Notes
ASSOCIATED MATERIALS: Records for Harvey's daughter Tamar can be found in Accession 2013-7-8.
Subjects
Afghan War, 2001-
Families
Soldiers--Canada
Name Access
Freeman, Harvey
Freeman, Tamar
Johnson, Tor, 1903-1971
Places
Afghanistan
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-7-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-7-6
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
62 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller
4 cm of textual records
Date
1920-2018
Scope and Content
Accession contains material documenting Gabriella Szanto and her family. Included are family photographs, vital records, correspondence, and a 2018 Baycrest calendar that features a portrait and short biography of Gabriella.
Custodial History
Shirley Worth served as the executor of Gabriella Szanto's estate. Following Gabriella's death, Shirley donated the records that make up the accession to the Ontario Jewish Archives.
Administrative History
Gabriella "Gabi" Szanto (née Lazlo) was born in Budapest, Hungary on 26 January 1916. Gabriella's parents, Arnold and Ilonka Lazlo (née Diamenstein), were women's clothing manufacturers who employed twenty-five people. Their skills complemented each other: Arnold had studied design in Berlin for two years while Ilonka was a dressmaker. On 18 May 1919, Arnold and Ilonka had their second child, George.
During the Second World War, Gabi and her mother moved to the outskirts of Budapest where they passed as Catholics, rarely leaving their house. Miklos Szanto—the man Gabriella married after the war—was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp. Gabriella's brother, George, was sent to a camp in Siberia and did not survive. It is not known where or how Gabriella's father survived the war.
After the war, Gabriella, her mother and father, and her husband Miklos reunited in Budapest. The four lived in the family apartment near the city opera house.
During the period of Communist rule, Gabriella and Miklos bribed their way out of Hungary and travelled to Vienna. From Vienna, they travelled to Australia, where they lived for five or six years, working as a short order cook and a seamstress respectively.
At some point, Gabriella and Miklos made the decision to immigrate to Canada. Their first stop—most likely in the 1950s—was Montreal. There, Gabriella worked for a high-end retailer before moving with her husband to Toronto one year later. In Toronto, Miklos worked again as a short order cook at the Noshery Restaurant on Eglinton, holding this job until he retried. Gabriella, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress until she was in her mid-80s.
In their retirement, Gabriella and Miklos spent two months each winter in Florida. Gabriella died in 2018.
Use Conditions
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.
Descriptive Notes
LANGUAGE NOTE: English, Hungarian, German.
Subjects
Families
Holocaust survivors
Immigrants--Canada
Name Access
Szanto, Gabriella, 1916-2018
Places
Australia
Austria
Canada
Hungary
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-8-15
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-8-15
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
27 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller
1 folder of textual records
Date
[192-?]-[2003?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting William Ladner's family in Europe and his immigration to Canada. Included are photographs of his family, his immigration identification card, certificate of Canadian citizenship, and a fax from he received from his paternal uncle in the United States.
Administrative History
William Ladner is a Holocaust survivor, born en route from Austria to Antwerp, Belgium in 1940. As a child, William Ladner and his mother fled to Belgium from their home in Austria following the arrest of his father by the Nazis. Will's parents had attempted to immigrate to Switzerland but were turned away. Both of Will's parents perished during the Holocaust. William's father was an [electrician] and his mother a nurse. At the time of their immigration, Belgium was occupied by Germany having capitulated on the terms of unconditional surrender on May 28, 1940. Germany invaded Belgium and Holland on May 10, 1940 (Plan Yellow). Desperate for work, Mrs. Ladner reported to an employment office but was quickly discovered to be Jewish and deported to Malines. Deportation trains from Malines to Auschwitz began on August 4, 1942. Will has records documenting the movement of his parents during the war up until their deaths. Will's mother arranged for his safekeeping during the war by placing him in an orphanage operated by a Catholic Convent before she was deported to Auschwitz where she was murdered. After the war, arrangements were made by a cousin [Schindler] who worked for the British Intelligence in Birmingham, as well as William's mother's sister, who resided in Birmingham, England. Will Ladner immigrated to England in January 1946 to join his aunt. He then moved to Canada.
Photo captions
001: Kurt Ladner and Willie Ladner reunite, (Dedham, Massachusetts), ca. 2003
002: Willie Ladner (back) reunites with his paternal uncle Kurt Ladner, and Kurt’s wife Elizabeth Newman, (Dedham, Massachusetts), ca. 2003
003: Passport photo of Willie Ladner, (Willowdale, ON) 25 Apr. 1997
004:J Portrait of Berta Berger, (Vienna, Austria), ca. 1938. Written on reverse “Bertha Berger married Ladner, born 30. May 1919 in Vienna Austria.”
005: Willie Ladner in orphanage attire, (Antwerp, Belgium), ca. 1945. Written in German on the reverse: “Meinem Liebsten Groszmutterchen, Millionen Kusse, Harry William Ladner.”
006: Willie Ladner (right) holding hands with another child at the orphanage, (Antwerp, Belgium), ca. 1945
007: Portrait of Berta Ladner with her infant son Willie Ladner, (Antwerp, Belgium), 1940.
008: Portrait of Berta Ladner, (Vienna, Austria), [1935?].
Descriptive Notes
Related groups of records external to the unit being described: Other records relating to William Ladner and his family can be found in Accession 2018-8-5.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Orphans
Places
Belgium
Austria
Source
Archival Accessions