Accession Number
2010-11-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-12
Material Format
textual record
textual record (electronic)
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
5 photographs (tiff and jpg) : b&w and col.
4 textual records (jpg)
Date
1965-2009
Scope and Content
This accession consists of records relating to the military career of Mikhail Lakrets. Included are five photograhs of Mikhail in uniform, two of which are attached to military documents detailing Mikhail's injury in the line of duty and his military file. Also included is a certificate of disability and a certificate confirming an official statement that he made about 3811 Jews being murdered in the town where his parents grew up. There are also photocopies of several newsclippings and a letter from the Canadian government relating to Russian veterans and social benefits.
Custodial History
The original records are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the Archives for copying as part of the Russian Jewish war veteran oral history program. The orignals were returned to the the donor on 22 November 2010.
Administrative History
Mikhail Lakrets was born in Proskurov, Ukraine. He was nineteen years of age when the war began. Lakrets was a private in aviation and reconnaissance and he later graduated from Tank College as a lieutenant. Lakrets was involved in the liberation of Leningrad, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. He received many decorations for his involvement in the liberation of these territories, as well as the Order of Patriotic War First Class, the Order of Red Star, two medals for courage and one medal for combat service.
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
Language note: Records are in Russian.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-11
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-11
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
5 photographs : b&w and sepia (4 tiffs)
1 folder of textual records
Date
1941-2007
Scope and Content
This accession consists of records relating to the military career of Grigory Genin. Included are three photographs of Grigory in uniform as well as two photographs of him with his Soviet troop. Also included are copies of newclippings as well as a poem about his experience written by a friend.
Custodial History
The original records are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the Archives for copying as part of the Russian Jewish war veteran oral history program.
The original records were returned to the donor by taxi cab on 22 November 2010.
Administrative History
Grigory Genin was born in Astrakhan, in southwestern Russian and later moved to Moscow. After finishing military high school he enrolled in the Riazan Artillery College on 1 June 1941. Genin was first sent to the front at the age of 18 and participated in the Stalingrad siege. For his military service, Genin received the Order of Patriotic War, the Order of Red Star, as well as several medals for the liberation of various territories and for the storming of Vienna and Budapest.
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
World War, 1939-1945
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-14
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-14
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
7 textual records (jpgs)
4 photographs (tiff and jpgs)
Date
1943-1999
Scope and Content
This accession consists of electronic copies of documents and photographs related to Isaak Zarembo's military career. The documents include certificates of disability, illness and participation in the war, a discharge booklet, and two booklets that accompanied his medals. The four photographs are of Isaak in his uniform, two of which are attached to documents.
Custodial History
The originals are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the Archives for copying and returned to the donor on 22 November 2010 as part of the Russian Jewish war veteran oral history program.
Administrative History
Isaak Zarembo was born in 1925 in Riga, Latvia. He was 16 years old when the Second World War began and joined the 43 Guards Latvian Division, 1st Attack Army in 1943 at the age of 20. He began as a private but later became a sergeant. He participated in battles of the Central Front in Latvia, on the river Ivekstve. He was wounded twice and was demobilized in 1945 due to his injuries. Zarembo received the Conspicuous Gallantry medal, the Order of Glory 3rd Class medal and the Order of Patriotic War 1st Class medal.
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
World War, 1939-1945
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-9
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-9
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff)
11 photographs (jpg)
1 cm of textual records (jpg)
Date
1933-1985
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs and textual records that document Liya's experience in the Soviet Union's military during the Second World War. Included are photographs of Liya with her battalion, the military portraits of her husband, Vladimir Liberova, and portraits of other relatives. Also included are scans of her military identification card, her certificate of injury, credentials for medals that she earned, her discharge certificate, and a document certifying that she was a member of the defense of Leningrad.
Administrative History
Liya was born in 1923 in Novozybkov, and later moved to Leningrad. She was drafted in 1942 to serve in the Soviet Union's anti-aircraft battalion. She was in the administration platoon where she was responsible for enforcing (?) blackouts, and searching the ruins for survivors to provide medical assistance. She was demobilized in 1945 and participated in the Victory Parade in Leningrad.
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.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Soviet Union
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-17
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-17
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
object
Physical Description
2 photographs : col. ; 10 x 15 cm and 11 x 9 cm and other material
Date
[ca. 1943] - 2010
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs, textual records and military medals and pins that document Iakov's experience serving in the Soviet Union's military during the Second World War. Included is a photograph of Iakov receiving a medal from the Russian Minister of Infrastructure to commemorate the 50th anniversary since the end of the war (1995), a photocopy of a docment certifying that he fought in the war, several thank you cards from the Russian president and the Russian Consulate to commemorate various anniversaries since the end of the war, a certificate documenting the battles Iakov fought in, newspaper clippings of articles written by Iakov about the war, and one photograph of Iakov at the Vaughan Community Center in Toronto with his English language classmates (2000). Also included is one CCCP Red Star pin, one medal to commemorate the 65th anniversary since the end of the war, and one military rank pin.
Custodial History
Part of the Russian Jewish War Veterans oral history program.
Descriptive Notes
Physical description note: includes 1 folder of textual records, 1 medal and 2 pins.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-21
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-21
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
3 photographs (tiff)
5 cm of texual records (jpg)
Date
1943-2010
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs and textual records that document Yakov's experience in the Red Army during the Second World War. Included is a photograph of Yakov in uniform with his family, Yakov's graduation portrait from pharmacy school (1951), and a photograph of Yakov's father (Gregory) in his military uniform, which he sent home from his military base in Lithuania (1944). Also included are various credential cards for medals Yakov received and a letter that was sent to Yakov from Toronto's Russian consulate.
Administrative History
When the Seond World War began, Yakov lived in Odessa and assisted the Soviet Union's war effort by digging trenches. His army unit was mobilized in 1943, just after he graduated from military college. After serving for three months, he was wounded in an attack. He recovered from his wounds and went on to fight in northern Donetsk and Dneper. His unit also passed the Kharkov and Poltavskaya regions. After his unit forced the crossing of Dneper, the Khrushchev got involved and transported the army to Kiev, where they were supported by the 209 Armoured Brigade. Here, Yakov's unit sometimes experienced up to twenty bombing and shooting attacks per day. During these attacks, Yakov was wounded twice in his legs. First, a bullet hit his leg and then a mine exploded. He still has shrapnel in his legs from this explosion.
Descriptive Notes
Language note: Russian
Location of originals: The originals are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the archives for copying and returned to the donor the same day as part of the Russian Jewish war veteran oral history program.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Soviet Union
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-12-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-12-5
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
2 photographs (jpg and tiff) : col. and sepia
2 textual records (jpg)
Date
1942, 2005-2010
Scope and Content
This accession consists of digital copies of two photographs and two documents related to the military career of Russian war vet, Shlomo Mushkat. The photographs are two portaits of Mushkat in military dress and the documents are a letter detailing his participation in the war as well as a letter from the Ukrainian Embassy on the 65th anniversary of the end of the war.
Custodial History
The original records are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the Archives for copying as part of the Russian Jewish War Vet oral history program.
Administrative History
Shlomo Zalmanovich Mushkat was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1940, he was drafted into the Soviet Army and a year later he was sent to the front. He was wounded in battle in 1941, but after recuperating in hospital was again sent back to the front. He participated in the battles of Smolensk and Leningrad. He received many medals for liberating Russian territories and cities, inlcuidng the Order of Glory.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-3-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-3-6
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
6 photographs (electronic) : b&w and col. ; 28 MB
3 textual records (electronic) ; 13 MB
Date
1945-2010
Scope and Content
Accession consists of electronic copies of photographs and textual records related to the Vesyoly's service with the Soviet army during the Second World War. There are also photocopies of a newspaper article and other documents detailing their military service attached to the accesssion form.
Administrative History
Yeugeny was born in Gomel Region, Belarus. He moved to Canada in 1981 with his wife, Sima. At the start of the Second World War, Sima was working in a hospital in Belarus as a civilian. She was drafted in 1943 at the age of nineteen and went to the Third Belarusian Front and served in Berlin and both North and South Korea as a nurse to Japanese prisoners.
Yuegeny was eighteen years of age at the start of the war and served in the air force in the Normandy Regiment and at the Ukrainian Front. He worked as a mechanic on the planes returning from battle. After the end of the war, Stalin sold the Soviet planes to the Chinese and Yeugeny tought their pilots how to operate them. He served for twenty-five years in the Soviet military.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-3-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-3-3
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
8 photographs (electronic) : b&w and col. ; 90 MB
Date
1950-2010
Scope and Content
Accession consists of eight electronic copies of original photographs of Avgust Vikhnina. The photos relate to his career in the Soviet military during the Second World War. The photographs consist of one portrait of Avgust in military dress, several snapshots taken at a Moscow parade in commemoration of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of the war, as well as snapshots taken at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa.
Custodial History
Photographs were loaned for copying as part of the Russian Jewish War Veterans oral history project. Originals were returned to donor.
Administrative History
Avgust Vikhnina was born in Kharkov, in 1926. He was 15 when the war began and was drafted in 1943. Vikhnina served in the Artillery and fought in the Ukraine, Pribaltika and Prussia. He was decorated with the Order of Patriotic War First Class, the Medal for Valour, and the Medal for Combat Merits.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-4-9
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-4-9
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
5 photographs (tiff) : col. and b&w
Date
1944-2008
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs documenting Isaak Kogan's participation in the Russian military during the Second World War. Included are two photographs of Isaak at the Moscow hospital where soldiers were being treated for wounds to their legs and heads. One photograph is a portrait taken of Isaak while he was being treated here (16 Aug. 1944) and the other shows his father, also named Isaak and a captain who served in Berlin, visiting him on 14 August 1944. There is also one photograph of Isaak standing with his father and cousin Zachar Mendelson (served as an officer in the Soviet army) in Kiev just after the war ended on December 25,1946.
Accession also consists of one portrait of Isaak that was taken in Toronto on the sixtieth anniversay of the end of the war (2005), and one group portrait of Isaak with other Russian veterans who live in his apartment building at 6101 Bathurst Street (2008). Identified in the photograph is: (back row left to right) Vladimir (?) (a partisan during the war), Lev Pikus (partisan), Isaak Kogan, and (?). Bottom row (left to right): Anna Khaliavskaya, Mrs. Lev Pikus, and Sophia (?). This photograph currently hangs in the building's recreation room.
Custodial History
Records were loaned to the Archives for copying as part of the Russian Jewish War Veterans oral history program. The originals were returned to the donor.
Administrative History
Isaak Kogan was born in 1926 in Ukraine. He was fifteen when the war began, and was evacuated to Cheliabink, Ural. In 1943, he was drafted to the Belarusian Front. He served in the infantry as a submachine gunner. During a hard fight for the village of Butino, he was wounded in both legs and the fragments still remain in his legs today. He was injured two more times during the war and was demobilized in 1944. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-15
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-11-15
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
2 photographs (tiff)
1 cm of textual records (jpg)
Date
1946-2009
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs and textual records that document Boris' service in the Soviet Union's military during the Second World War. Included are two military portraits of Boris, letters from the Russian government to commemorate various anniversaries of the military's victory, Boris' Soviet Union travel pass (1990), and Boris' membership renewal booklet for the Association of Second World War Veterans Newkomers from USSR in Israel (1992–2000).
Administrative History
Boris was born in Belarus but moved to Israel later in his life. He was fourteen when the Second World War began. He served in Frontier Troops, NKVD (predecessor of KGB). Boris was a student in a military college until 1952. He began his military service as a private soldier but later became an officer. In 1944, he participated in the battles of Eastern Prussia, Latvia, and Belarus. He earned the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and the Order of Patriotic War, 2nd Class for his war service.
Descriptive Notes
Language: Most of the material in Russian.
Location of originals: The originals are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the archives for copying and returned to the donor on the same day as part of the Russian-Jewish war veteran oral history program.
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
Veterans
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Kravitz, Boris
Places
Israel
Russia
Soviet Union
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-12-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-12-4
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
6 photographs (jpg and tiff) : b&w and col.
4 textual records (jpg)
Date
1937-2009
Scope and Content
This accession consists of digital copies of several photograhps and documents related to the military career and the famiy of Eugene Katz. Included are two photos of Katz in military dress, one family photo, two photos and an accompanying letter about a memorial to his brother Ephraim, a portrait of Katz and his wife Mara and a few scanned copies of commemorative and Russian war medal booklets, which originally accompanied the medals bestowed on Katz.
Custodial History
The original records are in the possession of the donor. They were loaned to the Archives for copying as part of the Russian Jewish War Vet oral history program and were returned to the donor.
Administrative History
Eugene (Zalman) Katz was born in Vilnius, Latvia in 1925. He was fifteen years old at the onset of the Second World War and witnessed the destruction of his village, Disna, and the murder of his entire family by the Nazis. Katz was one of only twelve people to escape. He later became a partisan and then enlisted in the Soviet army, participating in battles near Konigsberg and Belarus. He was a machine-gunner in the infantry and artillery and helped halt a number of German attacks, including shooting down two tanks. For his heroism, he was decorated with eighteen medals, including the prestigious Medal for Courage.
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
Related material note: See vertical file under "Katz, Eugene"
Subjects
Soviet Union--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Guerrillas
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
Second World War series
Level
Series
ID
Fonds 2; Series 4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
Second World War series
Level
Series
Fonds
2
Series
4
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
cartographic material
Date
1942-1995
Physical Description
6 cm of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
During the Second World War, Dunkelman served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. After enlisting in 1940, he became a platoon commander. Dunkelman took part in the second wave of D-Day landings in 1944 and later assisted in the final Allied assault on Germany, earning the Distinguished Service Order. He left the army in 1945 after the war had ended. The Queen's Own Rifles Association and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science organized a reception in 1976 to honour the publication of Dunkelman's autobiography, Dual Allegiance.
Scope and Content
Series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the Second World War. Included are newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, and correspondence. Some files deal with Dunkelman's experiences during the war; others relate to Dunkelman's relationship with veterans after the war and, in one case, with his memories of the war. The files cover such subjects as The Queen's Own Rifles, Veterans, the liberation of The Netherlands, Aubrey Cosens (a soldier under Dunkelman’s command who was killed in battle but later honoured with the Victoria Cross), and the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
Notes
Physical description: Includes 85 photographs, 1 album, and 10 maps.
Name Access
Cosens, Aubrey, 1921-1945 (subject)
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Related Material
See fonds 2, series 6 for more information on Dunkelman's involvement in the Second World War.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2014-1-16
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-1-16
Material Format
moving images
textual record
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
1 document (electronic)
4 DVDs
1 scrapbook
Date
1988-2001
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material relating to the Maccabees Royal Canadian Legion branch 343, including a 1998 membership register, poppy sale information, correspondence and notes regarding Ben Sussman's application for a lifetime membership, information about the ticket sales and a copy of the certificate from 1997 JNF tribute dinner that honoured Albert and Pearl Cohen, and planning notes for the 50th anniversary banquet of the Maccabees in 1995. The accession also contains the draft of Albert Cohen's speech that he presented at the 50th anniversary dinner, as well as newspaper clippings from the Hamilton Jewish News and the Canadian Jewish News relating to the Maccabees, two certificates from the Grand Order of Israel Benefit Society recognizing Albert Cohen's 40 years of membership and an award of merit, and a eulogy in Yiddish, with some translation, written by a father about the son he lost, Balinson, in the line of duty. The DVDs contain footage from the 1997 JNF dinner honouring the Cohens, including Pearl Cohen speaking about early Hamilton, one clip from 1994 of Albert Cohen telling the history of the Maccabees, and video from the 50th anniversary dinner of the Maccabees where there were various speakers including an address by the guest speaker, Commander Sam Pasternack, who spoke about the contribution of Jewish soldiers in WWII (DVD, Maccabees dinner part 3).
Custodial History
Michael Cohen is the son of Albert and Pearl Cohen, and was in possession of the records prior to donating them.
Administrative History
Albert Cohen (1918-2006) who also went by the nickname "Boomie," was born on November 12, 1918 in Hamilton, Ontario. Pearl Cohen (nee Chaunce) (1919-2008) was born in Hamilton on September 2, 1919. Albert and Pearl married in 1941. In the same year, Albert volunteered to serve in the army as a staff sargeant stationed in Hamilton. He was later discharged in May 1946 after the war. Albert then joined Hamilton's Maccabees, Branch 343 of the Royal Canadian Legion. The branch was founded in 1947 and had a membership of 150 people. The Maccabees' membership was made up of Jewish veterans of WWII, and some veterans of WWI. The branch held meetings in Hamilton's Jewish centre. Albert served as president of the branch for almost 20 years, from 1975 to around 2000. The Maccabees were quite active, and helped raise money by selling poppies for Remembrance Day. The money raised would be sent to general hospitals, veterans hospitals, and families of needy veterans. Albert passed away on August 7, 2006, and Pearl passed away April 18, 2008.
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Cohen, Albert, 1918-2006
Cohen, Pearl, 1919-2008
Places
Hamilton, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-11-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-11-7
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
6 photographs : b&w and col. ; 13 x 18 cm or smaller
Date
[ca.1930]-[ca.1945], [197-]-[2015]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records pertaining to the military service of twin brothers Julius (Jack) Spiegel and Louis (Lou/Syd) S. J. Spiegel. Included are photographs of the young Spiegel brothers with their cousins in front of Central High School of Commerce, Dewson St., ca. 1930, original snapshots and portraits of Lou Spiegel in uniform during the 1940s, a hand drawn Easter greeting card signed by Lou Spiegel, and newspaper clippings concerning Lou's role as an aerial photographer for the U.S. Marine Corps unit and his return home to Toronto. There are wartime photocopies of photos including a portrait of Jack Spiegel in uniform, an image of Jack with his crew in front of military aircraft, and a modern day photo of Lou visiting Jack's grave in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Holland. Textual copies include, an annotated photocopy of Veteran Affairs Canada website listing of Jack Spiegel, including information on his burial location and his listing in the Second World War Book of Remembrance. There is a photocopy of Jack's obituary from the Canadian Jewish Congress Book Canadian Jews in World War II, Part II: Casualties, p. 75, and a copy of a letter from the Royal Canadian Air Force addressed to Jack's mother Mrs. Israel Spiegel, notifying her of her son's death. In addition, there is one colour photograph (197?) of promotional municipal campaign street signs for North York City Councillor and Controller, Irving Paisley.
Administrative History
Julius (Jack) Spiegel (1921-1944, Toronto), and Louis (Lou) Spiegel (1921-1999), are twin brothers born in Toronto on March 26, 1921. Their parents Israel Spiegel (b. 1878) and Eva (née Gelbwachs) Spiegel (b. 1880) of 430 Euclid St. Toronto, immigrated from Austria to Canada in 1894 and 1906 respectively.
According to the 1921 Canada census, Israel and Eva had 8 children; Nat Spiegel (b. 1903, U.S.A.), Morse Spiegel (b. 1906), Gertrude Spiegel (b. 1909), Beatrice Spiegel (b. 1911), Sydney Spiegel (b. 1915), Mildred Spiegel (b. 1917), and twin brothers Julius and Louis S. Spiegel (b. 1921).
Both Jack and his twin brother Lou, attended Central Technical High School of Commerce. Jack enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and trained as a wireless air gunner. He went overseas in May 1944 and successfully completed 10 military missions with his unit. Eyewitnesses reported to Lou that Jack parachuted out of his Lancaster Bomber that was shot down over the Rhineland battlefields in Germany . Originally buried by the Dutch Resistance, Jack was later moved to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Holland. His date of death was confirmed as October 28, 1944. According to his death certificate, the location of his death was Belgium, that he was married at the time of death and resided at 238 Beatrice St. Jack's brothers Sydney and Murray Spiegel, also served in the military during the Second World War. Sydney with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (administrative corps) and Murray with the U.S. Army Medical Department in Kansas.
Louis (Lou) Spiegel (1921-1999, Toronto) served during the Second World War for the Royal Canadian Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps as an aerial photographer. He later studied at U of T earning a bachelor's degree and transferred to USC (California) earning a master's degree in English and communications. He served as campaign director for the United Welfare Fund in 1954 and worked various jobs throughout his career as an educator in American Community Colleges. He was director of Unarius after Ruth Norman died and was awarded by the same institution with a doctor of psychic therapeutic science degree.
Irving Paisley (1919-2006) married to Adele Paisley, had a 30 year long career in municipal politics in the city of North York holding positions as Councillor, Controller, and Deputy Mayor. He spearheaded the building of York Finch Hospital and served as its founding Chairman. He was also a founding member of Temple Sinai, and founded Paisley Manor Insurance. Paisley’s accomplishments were recognized by the Federal Government and he earned the Centennial Medal for Service to the Nation in 1967.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Spiegel, Jack, 1921-1944
Spiegel, Lou, 1921-1999
Paisley, Adele
Paisley, Irving 1919-2006
Places
Toronto
Holland
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2006-4-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2006-4-4
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w (tif)
5 documents (tif)
1 folder of textual records
1 DVD
1 videocassette
Date
1941-2004
Scope and Content
Accession consists of copies of electronic copies of photographs, postcards and telegrams as well as newsclippings, a video and a DVD documenting the career of Sam Shapiro in the RCAF and his time as a Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft 3 in Poland.
Administrative History
Sam Shapiro enlisted as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 1940. He received his wings in Brantford and was sent overseas in April 1941 as a sergeant pilot. He was in Squadron ten and flew eight successful missions before his plane was shot down over Holland in August 1941, killing two of the crew.
Shapiro was captured by German forces on 17 August 1941 and was taken to Stalag Luft 3 camp in Poland, where the "Great Escape" took place. Shapiro was not part of the breakout, but did help dig the tunnel that allowed seventy-six of his fellow prisoners to escape.
While a Prisoner of War, Shapiro was promoted to warrant officer. He was liberated on 16 April 1945 and arrived in England five days later. Shortly after arriving home in 1945, Shapiro received the YMCA sports badge for his conduct in the POW camp and the Canadian Volunteer Service medal. He married his fiance Geraldine Perlman in 1945.
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
Canada--Armed Forces
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Shapiro, Sam.
Stalag Luft 3
Perlman, Geraldine
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2012-4-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2012-4-2
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
30 cm of textual records and other material
Date
[190-]-1994
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the literary and military careers of Leo Heaps, as well as a small selection of family photographs and textual records. Included are various manuscripts and other writings, newsclippings and documents related to Heaps' role as a British paratrooper and his subsequent awarding of the Royal Military Cross. The photographs document the Heaps family, as well as the underground resistance movement in Arnhem, of which he was a part.
The videocassette documents a family trip to Arnhem in 1994 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem.
Photo Caption (035): Seargent Alan Kettley of the Glider Pilot Regiment, [194-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2012-4-2. Courtesy of the Heaps Family.
Photo Caption (038): Gilbert Sadi-Kirschen known, head of the Special Air Service mission to Arnhem, [194-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2012-4-2. Courtesy of the Heaps Family.
Photo Caption (046): Major Tony Hibbot (left) about to take off for Arnhem, [194-?]. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2012-4-2. Courtesy of the Heaps Family.
Custodial History
The records were in the possession of Adrian Heaps, son of Leo Heaps.
Administrative History
Leo Heaps (1923-1995) was born in Winnipeg in 1923, the son of A. A. Heaps and Bessie Morris. His father A. A. was a founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the forerunner of the New Democratic Party. Leo Heaps was raised in Winnipeg and received an education at Queen's University, the University of California, and McGill University. During the Second World War, at the age of 21, Heaps was seconded to the British Army and found himself commanding the 1st Battalion's Transport. He participated in the Battle of Arnhem as a paratrooper.
Leo Heaps was awarded the Royal Military Cross for his work with the Dutch Resistance. His brother, David, had also achieved the same distinction, thereby making them the only Jewish brothers during the Second World War to win the decoration. After the war, Heaps went to Israel and aided their army in the establishment of mobile striking units. Whilst there, he met his wife-to-be, Tamar (1927-). Together they had one son, Adrian, and three daughters, Karen, Gillian, and Wendy.
During the Hungarian Revolution he led a special rescue team to bring refugees out and across the border. In the mid-1960s he returned to Britain where he dabbled in various entrepreneurial projects as well as writing several books, notably "The Grey Goose of Arnhem", telling his own story of Arnhem, the aftermath of the battle, and also the stories of other Arnhem evaders and their dealings with the Resistance.
Leo Heaps spent most of his life in Toronto, Canada, and was amongst the forty Canadian veterans who returned to Arnhem in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary. He died in 1995.
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.
Publication credit line must read: Courtesy of the Heaps Family.
Descriptive Notes
Physical Description note: Includes ca. 100 photographs; 1 videocassette (ca. 32 min) : col, sd. ; VHS, and 1 presentation piece : 52 x 49 cm.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Heaps, Leo, 1923-1995
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-6-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-6-7
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
[19--]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of a copy of Arnold Mest's memoirs detailing his role during the Second World War.
Administrative History
Arnold Mest (1921-2000) was a radio operator in the Canadian military during the Second World War. Born in Toronto, Mest was a typesetter for the Toronto Telegram. When it went out of business he moved to San Jose, California and worked for the Mercury News.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Mest, Arnold, 1921-2000
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1998-12-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1998-12-4
Material Format
graphic material
Physical Description
56 photographs : b&w and col. (27 negatives) ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
1 postcard
Date
1909-[ca. 1980]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of a collection of copy and original photographs documenting the life of the Dime family and their relatives in locations including Belleville, Oshawa, Toronto, the Muskoka Sanitorium, and Goose Bay, Labrador.
Photo Captions:
001: Sam and Dorothy Dime, Dime’s Drug Store, 568 Jarvis Street, Toronto, [1957?].
002: Street view of Dime’s Pharmacy, 568 Jarvis Street, Toronto, 1960.
003: Sgt. Sam Dime, Pharmacy, Goose Bay Labrador, 1944.
004: Ada Dime, with Ben [Safe] and Sam Dime, secondhand furniture, 56 King St. West, Oshawa, ON, 1921.
005: Sam Dime with dog [4F], Goose Bay, Labrador, 1944.
006: Sam Dime, 56 King St. W., Oshawa, ON, ca. 1920-21.
007: Rabbi Isaac Stein with grandchildren Izzie (left) and Donna, Toronto, 1930.
008: Portrait of Ada Dime (née Aronson) with her brother Sammy Aronson, 273 Yonge Street, Toronto, ca. 1915.
009: Portrait of David and Sammy Tobe, Belleville, ON, [1909]. Photograph by R. McCormick Belleville.
010: Morris Bernard of Belleville, Overseas, First World War, ca. 1918.
011: David Dime, (age 25), 1914. The Dutch Studio Vander Feen, 318 Yonge St. Toronto, ON, [192-?].
012: Unidentified group of children, [19--?].
013: Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Tobe with their children David and Sammy, Belleville, ON, [1920]. Photograph by R. McCormick Belleville.
014: Portrait of David and Ada Dime with daughter Anne, Belleville, ON, ca. 1915.
015: Mickey and Riva Marcus, Belleville, ON, ca. 1917-18.
016: Ada Dime, 30 Simcoe Street, Oshawa, ON, 1930.
017: Tobie Green (m. Dime), her brother Hershel Goldman and Goldie Fryman, St. Patrick Street Between Elm & Dundas, [Toronto], ON, 1924.
018: Cheder class, Oshawa Hebrew Congregation, Beth Zion,45 Albert Street in Oshawa, Ontario, 1922. Back row (L to R): Simma Engel, Rabbi Primack's son, Rabbi Primack's daughter, Annie Dime, Annie Hennick, Sara Rainish. Front row (L to R): Clara Engel (m. Rubin), Maxie Rainish, Irving Oilgissor, Becky Rainish, Sam Dime, [Primack child?], Rabbi Primack.
019: David Dime (back row, right), Muskoka Sands, July ca. 1922
020: Oshawa Belleville group, Belleville, Ontario, ca. 1930. Back row: Mr. Diamond, Goldie Engel, Abe Swartz, [unidentified], Faige Swartz, Sarah Golub, Sue [Sape], Hymie Golub. Front row: Mrs. Lepofsky, Mildred Golub.
021: National Council of Jewish Women, 44 St. George Street, ca. 1943. Also pictured is Betty Stone and Dora Stein (4th left).
022: Sam Dime, Dime’s Pharmacy, 568 Jarvis Street, Toronto, ca. 1951.
023: Dorothy Stein (m. Dime) at closing of canteen, 44 St. George Street, Toronto, 1945. Photographer Globe & Mail.
024: Ada and David Dime, Muskoka Sands, Gravenhurst, ca. 1922.
025: Canadian Jewish Congress Service Mens Club postcard, ca. 1940s.
026: Mrs. Ada Dime, Dime’s Dry Goods, 30 Simcoe St. S., Oshawa, ON, 1926.
027: David Dime (left), with orphans in Baron de Hirsch Farm in Saskatchewan, ca. 1906.
Administrative History
The donor Sam Dime served in the Second World War. In 1947 Sam and his wife Dorothy Dime (née Stein) opened Dime's Drug Store at 568 Jarvis Street in Toronto. The pair operated the Jarvis Street institution for thirty-nine years and officially closed their store in 1986.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Oshawa (Ont.)
Belleville (Ont.)
Muskoka (Ont. : District municipality)
Saskatchewan
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-10-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-10-2
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
40 cm of textual records and other material
Date
[192-]-[200-]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to the life and career of David Green and the Jaffey family. Records include sound and video recordings of events, Goodwill Sales accounting ledgers, meeting minutes from the Jewish Canadian Military Archives and Museum, David Green's military ephemera, manuals and reports of the Jewish Federation Board of Trustees and Bequest and Endowment Fund, and Jaffey family correspondence and photographs. Records also include certificates of appreciation awarded to David Green, mainly from UJA Federation.
Administrative History
David Green (1919-2014) was born in the Junction in west Toronto. He served as a private in the Canadian army as part of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He was captured and designated MIA when he was held as a POW in Belgium. He became a member of General Wingate Branch 256 Jewish Canadian Legion. In the mid-1940s he married his wife, Sylvia (nee Jaffey) (d. 2010) and they had a daughter, Miriam. He was a longtime volunteer for the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. In 1990, he was one of the first individuals to establish an Endowment Fund at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto.
The Jaffey family consisted of Kaby Jaffey, his wife, Nellie, and their children Sylvia, Jess and Albert.
Descriptive Notes
Physical description note: Accession also consists of photographs and textiles.
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
Charities
Families
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Green, David, 1919-2014
Places
Toronto, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2021-11-21
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2021-11-21
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
13 cm of textual records
Date
1927-1984, predominant 1927-1947
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Posluns family. Included are letters to Sam Posluns written in 1927, when Sam was in New York; letters to Sam Poslun written in 1947, when he was in Europe with the Tailor Project; miscellaneous newspaper articles; and a 1984 Negev Dinner book. Of note is a letter addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Posluns from Abby Fuhrman, whose son, David Fuhrman, went to live with the Posluns during the Second World War.
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.
Subjects
Families
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Posluns (family)
Posluns, Samuel, 1910-1994
Places
Europe
New York (N.Y.).
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2022-2-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2022-2-3
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
3 cm of textual records
Date
[1939?]-2020, predominant 1939-1946
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the immigration of Daniel Zultek from Poland to Canada under a Sugihara Visa in 1941 and documents pertaining to Sugihara visas and Chiune Sugihara (also known as Sempo Sugihara), a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania. Included are Daniel’s travelling documents dating from 1939 to 1941—an identification document, an immigration identification card, a quarantine/medical examination card issued by Nippon Yusen (also known as NYK Line), and a ship manifest; correspondence between Daniel and Polish consulates in Toronto and Montreal (1941-1943)—one of the letters (28 May 1942) was obtained by Daniel for the purpose of bringing his brother, who was still in Warsaw at that time, over to Canada; a memorandum from the Jewish Community of Kobe to Daniel (1941); records documenting Daniel's experience in serving in the Polish Armed Units in Canada (1941); work documents pertaining to Daniel’s career at Canada Motor Products (1941-1942); and a brief memoir written by Daniel with notations by his daughter Irene. Also included are newspaper clippings and book chapters documenting Daniel’s immigration to Canada via Japan under a Sugihara visa (1993-2020), a programme book of the Sempo Sugihara Tribute Dinner (1993), and a pamphlet of the Chiune Sugihara Memorial Hall in Japan.
Custodial History
The records were in the possession of Daniel’s daughter, Irene Henry, before being gifted to the Ontario Jewish Archives on Feb. 9, 2022.
Administrative History
Daniel Zultek (1910-1995) was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 1 September 1910, to Leon and Helena Zultek. Leon owned a large freight shipping company on the Vistula River, between Danzig and Gdynia harbours. Leon was a successful businessman, a community leader, a philanthropist, and a life member of the Jewish Kehilla Congress in Warsaw, which was allegedly the largest Jewish institution in Europe voted by the Jewish public. Daniel had been running the family business since 1932 until 1939 when the Second World War broke out. He was nominated to the board of directors of the company in 1938. In January 1939, Leon died of a heart attack. Daniel's mother Helena, sister Natalia, and most family members were murdered by Nazi Germany in concentration camps. The only survivors were Daniel, his elder brother Rafael, Irene (Rafael's first wife, who lived in Argentina), and four cousins name Daniel (surname unspecified), Rita (surname unspecified), Adam Zultek, and Dorka Zultek. On 6 September 1939, Daniel fled Warsaw, where was heavily bombarded by German troops, and headed for Pinsk, a city near the Soviet border. Half a month later, because Soviet troops invaded Pinsk, Daniel escaped to Vilnius in the neighbouring country Lithuania. In June 1940, the Soviet Union entered Lithuania. During that time, Daniel heard that the Japanese consulate in Kaunas was issuing transit visas. Fortunately, on 1 August 1940, Daniel received his visa from Vice-consul Chiune Sugihara. In the same month, he managed to escape Kaunas and headed for Moscow. With a Russian transit visa, he took the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok; from there, he took a ship for Tsuruga Port, Japan. During his stay in Japan, he learned that the British Embassy in Tokyo was recruiting volunteers to join the Polish Armed Forces in Australia, the United States, and Canada. Daniel volunteered and chose Canada as his destination. On 5 June 1941, he embarked on the ship, Hikawa Maru, in Yokohama and arrived in Vancouver on the 17th of the same month. From there, he headed for the Polish military base in Owen Sound, Ontario. Daniel received eight months of military training in Owen Sound but was honourably discharged owing to a cataract in his right eye. Fortunately, he was allowed to remain in Canada. After being discharged, Daniel worked various jobs to make a living. In 1941, he had jobs with Canada Motor Products and Frankel Engineering; from 1942 to 1945, he served de Havilland Aircraft as an inspector; from 1945 to 1948, he worked as a sales representative of an American milkshake and ice cream company named Mr. Gordon. While working at Frankel Engineering in 1941, Daniel met Mr. Epstein who introduced him to farming. In 1948, Daniel bought a one-hundred-acre farm in Brampton, Ontario. In the same year, he attended an agriculture college in Guelph, Ontario. While running the farm, he also opened Caledon Sand and Gravel, a company located in Caledon, Ontario, supplying sand and gravel for construction. His career also involved business in real estate. Daniel married Molly Mandel in 1943 and had three daughters Helen, Leona, and Irene. Molly (nee Mandel) Zultek (1915-1989) was a Torontonian of Russian descent. Her father, Albert Mandel, was one of the founders of the Congregation Knesseth Israel (also known as the Junction Shul) located on Maria Street in the Junction. Molly grew up in the Junction neighbourhood. In 1957, Daniel sold the farm and moved to Forest Hill Village a neighbourhood and former village in Midtown Toronto with his family. Daniel retired in 1988. In addition to business, Daniel also devoted his time to charity and social work. Daniel was an ardent Zionist and visited Israel twenty-seven times. He was director and a member of the board of governors of the Jewish National Fund. He was also a generous contributor to Jewish organizations and sponsored the Hebrew University and its students.
Descriptive Notes
LANGUAGE NOTE: some of the material is in Japanese and has been translated into English. Translated documents are available at S:\Collections\2022-2-3.
Availability of other formats: digital preservation copies for most documents have been created and are available in PDF, JPG, and TIF formats.
Subjects
Immigrants
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Warsaw (Poland)
Lithuania
Japan
Toronto (Ont.)
Owen Sound (Ont.)
Brampton (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-5-14
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-5-14
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
27 photgraphs : b&w and col. (jpg)
Date
1940-[2004?], predominant 1940-1945
Scope and Content
Accession consists of scanned photographs documenting Esther Mager's experience serving in the Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Also included is one wedding portrait of her husband and one photograph of Esther with her children and grandchildren. The verso of scanned photographs were also scanned to show annotations and dates on the originals.
Administrative History
Esther (nee Mendelson) Mager was born in Montreal on December 3, 1917 to Max and Lillian Ray (nee Bloomfield) Mendelson. Her mother passed away nine months after her birth, duing the flu epidemic of 1918, and her father remarried Sarah Wallman. Max had six additional children with Sarah. From the age of tweleve to about the age of eighteen, Esther worked in her father's jewellery store, Thompson's Jewellery, located on Philips Square. There she performed various jobs such as, polishing jewellery and assisting customers. Around the age of eighteen she began work as an assistant bookkeeper for a company that manufactured refrigerators where she was paid $25 per week.
In 1941, Esther joined up with the Canadian Air Force, where she performed motor transport and was paid $28 per week. She met her husband, Saul Mager, on a blind date in Montreal while on leave from her post in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Saul was in the dress manufacturing business in Toronto. They married in 1945 and had two sons together; Mark (b. 1946) and Howard (b. 1949).
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
Families
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-4-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-4-7
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
2 photographs (tiff) : col. and b&w
Date
1965, 1985
Scope and Content
Accession consists of two photographs documenting Lev Mikhailovich Pikus's involvment with the partisans in the Brest Underground during the Second World War. Included is one photograph of Lev meeting with other partisans in Minsk in 1965. Identified are (left to right): Alexander Poliakov, Vasily Nesterenko, Lev Pikus, Alexandra Nesterenko, and Tzila Vladiminova. Also included is one portrait of Lev in military uniform that was taken in 1985.
Custodial History
Records were loaned to the Archives for copying as part of the Russian Jewish War Veterans oral history program. The originals were returned to the donor.
Administrative History
Lev was fourteen when the Second World War began and living in Brest, Belarusia. He joined the Brest Underground (podpolye), which was linked to partisan detachment. As part of his service in the underground he collected arms and sent them to partisans and spread anti-Nazi leaflets among the Brest population. Under the cover of a beggar, he went to railway stations to collect information about Nazi trains. He sent this information to the partisans so they could blow up the trains.
Subjects
Guerrillas
World War, 1939-1945
Places
Minsk (Belarus)
Source
Archival Accessions
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
2015-8-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-8-10
Material Format
textual record
graphic material (electronic)
moving images (electronic)
Physical Description
10 cm of textual records
2240 photographs (jpg and gif)
8 moving images
Date
1944-2015 (predominent 2008-2015)
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to the activities of Alex Levin, a Jewish war veteran and Holocaust survivor. Records include letters written to Levin from school children following various speaking engagements; interviews with Crestwood School, CHAT, and Netivot Hatorah; a recording of the Saluting Our Italian Heroes commemorative event; recordings of Remembrance Day ceremonies hosted by the Canadian Jewish War Veterans (Toronto Post); and photographs documenting events attended by Levin including Holocaust remembrance events, Yom Hashoah, Remembrance Day ceremonies, March of the Living, Miracle Dinners and Proms, Azrieli Foundation events including the launch of Levin's book "Under the Yellow and Red Stars", school visits, JWV programs with Sunnybrook veterans, portraits of Levin through the years and various scanned images of Levin's family.
Administrative History
Alex Levin (1932-2016) was born in 1932 in Rokitno, Poland. In 1941, the Germans invaded Rokitno and established a ghetto and formed a Judenrat to carry out their orders. In 1942, the Ghetto was evacuated and the Jews were brought to the town's marketplace to be transported by train to be killed. Levin was ten years old when he escaped into the nearby forest with his brother Samuel where he lived for 18 months in a hole in the ground. He was twelve when he emerged from hiding to find that his parents and youngest brother Moishe had been murdered. In 1944, he joined the Soviet forces as a messenger boy. After the war, he was sent to the USSR and enrolled in cadet school, remaining in the Soviet army until forced out for being Jewish in the 1970s. An engineer by training, Alex came to Canada in 1975 via Austria and Italy, and now lives in Toronto where he regularly speaks about his experiences in the Holocaust.
Subjects
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Levin, Alex, 1932-2016
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
William Stern fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 33
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
William Stern fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
33
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Date
[ca. 1913]-1984
Physical Description
264 photographs (98 negatives) : b&w and col. ; 28 x 35 cm or smaller
2 folders of textual records
Admin History/Bio
William (Bill) I. Stern (1921-2007) was born Izick Stern in Toronto on 24 February, 1921, to Moishe (Morris) Shternshis (ca. 1893-1976) and Fanny Rumianek (ca. 1896-1991). He was an active and respected member of both the Toronto and Hamilton Jewish communities.
Bill began his education in Toronto at Grace Street and Givens Street elementary schools. He later attended the Central Technical Institute for chemistry. In the late 1930s, Bill left Central Tech to work for his father, but eventually returned to school until the start of the Second World War. At this time, Bill enlisted in the Royal Canadian Airforce and served as a Leading Aircraftsman for three years in France, Belgium and Germany. At the end of the war, he returned to Central Tech and completed his junior matriculation (grade 12) in January of 1946. In December 1946, Bill married his first wife, Toronto-born Laura Rubinstein (1923-1963). The couple had two children, Hershel (1953-) and Sheila (1957-1996).
From 1946 to 1951, Bill studied social work at the University of Toronto through a government sponsored program for war veterans. When he graduated, he practiced social work at several community institutions such as the Children's Aid Society, the University Settlement House and St. Christopher House, in Toronto. In 1956, he was offered a position as director of activities for the Hamilton Jewish Community Centre (JCC). He remained in Hamilton at this post until 1960 and then returned to Toronto as a divisional director of the United Jewish Welfare Fund, where he initiated the fund's Social Planning Department. In 1963, upon the death of his wife Laura, Bill returned to Hamilton as the director of the JCC, and later the executive director of the Hamilton Council of Jewish Organizations (CJO), a position which he held for nine years from 1964 until 1973.
After two years with the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Buffalo, Bill returned to Toronto in 1975 and briefly served two years as the executive director of the Canadian Zionist Federation, Central Region. He then returned to private practice, working as a community consultant and later as a job placement coach at the University of Toronto's School of Social Work.
Bill was an active supporter of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and the author of "You Don't Have to Be Jewish", a book on Jewish film. He held several positions with philanthropic organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Jewish Home for the Aged and Baycrest, and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science. He was also a volunteer at the Ontario Jewish Archives. Bill lived in Toronto with his second wife of more than thirty years, Elizabeth Uptegrove (1952-), until his passing on 18 April 2007.
Custodial History
Records were in the possession of Bill Stern until they were donated to the Archives.
Scope and Content
This fonds consists of photographs documenting the Stern and Rumianek families, individuals and organizations from the Hamilton and Toronto Jewish communities, as well as Bill Stern and his fellow servicemen during the Second World War.
The fonds has been arranged into the following series: Family photographs; Military photographs; Hamilton Jewish community photographs; Toronto Jewish community photographs; and Camp photographs. The photographs have been described at the item level and have been arranged chronologically. The textual material consists of two files containing records related to Bill Stern's professional and philanthropic career, as well as some family invitations.
Name Access
Stern, William, 1921-2007
Subjects
Communities
Families
World War, 1939-1945
Related Material
See "Stern family" clipping file
Creator
Stern, William, 1921-2007
Accession Number
1980-2-1
1981-9-4
1985-6-6
1986-1-8
1991-5-5
1991-5-6
1994-1-4
2004-5-96
2004-5-135
2004-5-141
2005-5-2
2005-5-9
2006-2-8
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2018-10-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-5
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of graphic material and textual records
1 folder (oversize) of graphic material and textual records
1 scrapbook ; 37 x 31 cm
Date
1916-2008, predominant 1940-1998
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the Rother family, in particular Irving and Florence Rother. Included are: three of Irving Rother's Second World War letters; professional and educational certificates for Irving Rother; service records for Irving Rother; records documenting the sale of the family's Rother Cigar Store; a letter to Dr. and Mrs. Rother from Lester C. Sugarman welcoming the couple and their family to Holy Blossom Temple; records (including group portraits) of Hadassah-WIZO Rishon Chapter, which Florence Rother belonged to; and an Alpha Phi Pi scrapbook.
Administrative History
Florence Rother (née Warshavsky) was born in 1919. In 1998, she was honoured for her service to the Rishon Chapter of Toronto Hadassah-WIZO. She died at home on 9 July 2016.
Dr. Irving Rother was born in 1919. He studied at the University of Toronto, where he was part of the Phi Delta Epislon Fraternity. He graduated in January 1943 with a Doctor of Medicine degree. During the Second World War, he held the rank of captain in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) and served in Canada, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe. After the war, Rother moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he served on the house staff of Sinai Hospital first as assistant resident on the pathology service and then as intern and assistant resident on the medical service.
In 1953, Dr. and Mrs. Rother and their family became members of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto.
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.
Subjects
Families
Physicians
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Rother (family)
Rother, Florence
Rother, Irving, 1919-2018
Places
Baltimore (Md.)
England
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2007-6-36
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2007-6-36
Material Format
textual record
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
3 photographs : b&w (jpg)
1 textual record
Date
1923-2004
Scope and Content
Accession consists of one issue of the Jewish Standard, from June 2004, two scanned copy photographs of Sid Slepkov during the Second World War, and one scanned copy photograph of Sid's father Morris in front of his clothing store, the Fashion Cloak and Fur Co. in St. Catharines, Ontario.
The photographs are as follows:
1. Sydney Slepkov in decompression chamber, Second World War.
2. Morris Slepkov outside his store, 1923.
3. Sydney Slepkov, 1944.
Custodial History
The original photographs are in the possession of the donor. The OJA was granted permission to scan the photos in June 2007, as part of the Ontario Small Jewish Communities initiative. These copies were then donated to the Archives on 2007-06-04.
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
World War, 1939-1945
Business
Communities
Name Access
Slepkov, Sid
Slepkov, Morris
Places
St. Catharines, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-18; File 49
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-18
File
49
Material Format
textual record
Date
1995
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of programs, the text of a speech, and a media list for the opening of the exhibition Liberation, Survival and Freedom: A Tribute to the Allied Armed Services and the 250,000 Survivors of the Holocaust.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-18; File 50
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-18
File
50
Material Format
textual record
Date
1995
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of a flyer promoting the 1995 Gathering in Israel commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation
Places
Israel
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2010-5-15
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-5-15
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
34 photographs : b&w, some sepia toned ; 17 x 23 cm or smaller
1 cm of textual records
Date
1944-2000
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs and textual records that document Bernard's activities in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Included are images of Bernard and his photography school classmates; shots taken just after the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated, including shots of captured SS guards and of the Sunday picnics organized for the children; and images taken by Bernard while he was on leave. Accession also includes Bernard's unpublished memoir of his war experience (2000) and one letter written by Bernard to his family while he was stationed in Germany (1945).
Administrative History
Bernard Louis Yale was born in Toronto on 3 May 1922 to Morris Yalofsky and Ann Yalofsky (née Krasnanski). Although Morris and Ann were both born in the Ukraine, they resided in Romania prior to their immigration to Canada in 1922 Morris worked in Toronto as an upholsterer until his untimely death at the age of thirty-five.
Bernard attended Central Commerce high school and upon graduating registered for a chartered accounting course. He worked as an accounting student for the chartered accountant Jules Newman.
During the Second World War, Bernard served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a photographer. He arrived in England in 1944 and was posted shortly thereafter to 443 Squadron, 144 Wing (a Spitfire Wing) in the town of Ford. While stationed there, he was responsible for servicing cinegun cameras that captured the damage caused each time the Spitfires fired ammunition at a target.
From Ford, Bernard moved with his squadron to various other towns including Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer (during the invasion of Normandy), Chartres, Louvain, and other towns in Belgium and Holland. In 1945, his squadron began moving into Germany and encountered slave labourers who had just been liberated. Soon after, Bernard was posted to serve in the occupation forces with 84 Group Disarmament Staff. His unit was responsible for disarming and dismantling the German air force. As part of this unit, Bernard processed photographs of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp guards, the burning of the wooden quarters used for Bergen-Belsen’s inmates, and other structures and remains found there. A squadron leader in Bernard’s unit, Ted Aplin, organized Sunday picnics for the children of Bergen Belsen during the summer of 1945. Bernard captured many photographs of these outings.
After the war, Bernard returned to Toronto and resumed work as a chartered accountant. He married Esther Wineberg in 1950 and together they had three children: Robert Yale (b. 1954), Sharon Yale (b. 1957), and Martin Yale (b. 1960). Bernard passed away on 16 September 2001.
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.
Associated material: See Ted Aplin fonds at Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections at York University, Toronto.
Subjects
Concentration camps
Photographers
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)
Places
Europe
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-6-17
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2010-6-17
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
1 photograph : b&w ; 8 x 6 cm
Date
[ca. 1944] - [ca. 2003]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of one photograph of Norman Gulko that was taken in Holland near the end of the Second World War and Norman's unpublished war memoir entitled "A Toronto Boy Goes to War."
Administrative History
Norman Gulko was born in Toronto on 4 March 1923. He was conscripted into the Royal Canadian Army in late 1942 and joined Canada's active service in 1944. Norman was initially stationed in Italy but was moved to various other cities in France, Holland, and Germany. After the war, Norman received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and worked as a social worker in Toronto from 1952 until his retirement in 1988.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digitized material.
Subjects
Portraits
Veterans--Canada
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Gulko, Norman
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-5-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-5-5
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 album
2 cm of textual records
25 photographs : b&w
Date
1930-2006
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the Shaffer family of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Records include photographs of Sam Shaffer and his family, wartime letters written by Sam to his mother, correspondence related to Sam's bid to serve on the Thunder Bay Port Authority as well as the bar mitzvah album for Martin Feld Shaffer from April 3, 1971. The album includes greeting cards and telegrams from relatives and friends as well as several photographs.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Families
Bar mitzvah
Name Access
Shaffer, Nancy, 1929-2013
Shaffer, Martin, 1958-2012
Shaffer, Samuel, 1925-2011
Places
Thunder Bay (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-1-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-1-7
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
30 cm of textual records
ca. 20 photographs
Date
1929-1982
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the Heaps family. Included are general letters and postcards, wartime correspondence, political materials, photographs, and newsclippings. Of note is a 1948 letter written (but perhaps not sent) to David Ben-Gurion describing various issues he was finding with the Israeli army. There is also a great deal of correspondence between Leo, David and A. A. during the war, including some letters describing his escape from Arnhem and a letter describing the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945.
Administrative History
Leo Heaps (1923-1995) was born in Winnipeg in 1923, the son of A. A. Heaps and Bessie Morris. His father A. A. was a founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the forerunner of the New Democratic Party. Leo Heaps was raised in Winnipeg and received an education at Queen's University, the University of California, and McGill University. During the Second World War, at the age of 21, Heaps was seconded to the British Army and found himself commanding the 1st Battalion's Transport. He participated in the Battle of Arnhem as a paratrooper.
Leo Heaps was awarded the Royal Military Cross for his work with the Dutch Resistance. His brother, David, had also achieved the same distinction, thereby making them the only Jewish brothers during the Second World War to win the decoration. After the war, Heaps went to Israel and aided their army in the establishment of mobile striking units. Whilst there, he met his wife-to-be, Tamar (1927-). Together they had one son, Adrian, and three daughters, Karen, Gillian, and Wendy.
During the Hungarian Revolution he led a special rescue team to bring refugees out and across the border. In the mid-1960s he returned to Britain where he dabbled in various entrepreneurial projects as well as writing several books, notably "The Grey Goose of Arnhem", telling his own story of Arnhem, the aftermath of the battle, and also the stories of other Arnhem evaders and their dealings with the Resistance.
Leo Heaps spent most of his life in Toronto, Canada, and was amongst the forty Canadian veterans who returned to Arnhem in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary. He died in 1995.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digitized material.
Subjects
Concentration camps
World War, 1939-1945
Zionism
Name Access
Heaps, Leo, 1923-1995
Heaps, David
Heaps, A. A.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-5-13
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-5-13
Material Format
textual record
object
graphic material
Physical Description
7 cm of textual records and other material
3 objects
Date
[194-]-[201-]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Nathan Isaacs. Included are letters, photographs, service records, a sight log, a book with photographs of fighter planes active in the Second World War, and telegrams congratulating Nathan's family on Nathan coming home. Also included are a number of objects: Nathan's dog tags, navigator wings, and crest; a flask with Nathan's initials on it; another item with Nathan's initials that he received upon enlisting in 1942 and which would have held a mirror, nail file, and possibly a comb; a cigarette lighter made from an empty shell by ground crew; and, finally, a Bomber Command bar that was issued to Nathan in 2013.
Administrative History
Nathan Isaacs (né Isaacovitch) was born on 20 November 1922. He enlisted on 5 August 1942. After training, Nathan worked in the kitchen at a Royal Canadian Air Force base in Aylmer, Ontario, while awaiting deployment to Europe. After being flown to Yorkshire, England, Nathan went on to fly thirty-five missions. He was twenty-one when he flew his first.
Following the war, bombers like Nathan received little in the way of recognition on account of the heavy civilian casualties caused by bombing. In 2013, Julian Fantino, minister of veterans affairs, gave out the Bomber Command bar to recognize Second World Bombers, including Nathan. That same year, thanks to a photograph that accompanied a Toronto Star article about Second World War bombers, Nathan was reunited with John Mulholland, the pilot with whom he flew his final mission.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Six of the photographs and four of the textual records have been scanned and are available as JPEG, TIFF, and/or PDF files.
Subjects
Bomber pilots
Veterans
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Isaacs, Nathan, 1922-
Places
Canada
Europe
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds
Toronto Section series
Education Portfolio sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 38; Series 7-6; File 10
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds
Toronto Section series
Education Portfolio sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
38
Series
7-6
File
10
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1974-1984
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
37 photographs : b&w and col. (16 negatives and 8 slides) ; 21 x 18 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
File consists of a graphic press cutting, photographs, negatives and slides related to the Soviet Jewry program. Some are of a separated refusenik family, and fundraisers in aid of Soviet Jewry. There is also an announcement of a Separated Family Week with Jim Peterson, M.P. Willowdale, as guest speaker.
Name Access
Peterson, David, 1943-
Subjects
Jews--Soviet Union
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds
Toronto Section series
Toronto Section archival material sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 38; Series 7-13; File 43
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds
Toronto Section series
Toronto Section archival material sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
38
Series
7-13
File
43
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1973-1994
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
21 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
File consists of photographs, newsclippings, and literature pertaining to refuseniks and activists in Moldavia, and of the fundraising and support NCJW are providing.
Subjects
Jews--Soviet Union
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-18; File 44
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-18
File
44
Material Format
textual record
Date
1994-1995
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, and media releases regarding the production of a souvenir remembrance book to honour the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation.
Subjects
Anniversaries
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
2
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1898, [192-?]-1997
Physical Description
80 cm of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Benjamin Dunkelman (1913–1997) was a successful businessman and president of Tip Top Tailors. He had a distinguished military career in both the Canadian Army during the Second World War and in the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Benjamin was born in Toronto to David Dunkelman (1883–1978) and Rose (née Miller, 1889–1949). He had three sisters and two brothers: Joseph, a movie executive; Ernest, a manufacturer; Zelda; Veronica; and Theodora. His father, David, was a successful entrepreneur who established Tip Top Tailors in 1910. Both David and his wife Rose were fervent Zionists.
Benjamin attended Upper Canada College and, at the age of eighteen, visited Palestine for the first time. While in Palestine, he worked for a year on a kibbutz, mostly as a guard. During the Second World War, he served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada; as major, he gained respect for his knowledge of mortars. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945 for his role in the final Allied assault on Germany. Two years later, Benjamin returned to Palestine to join the Haganah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. As a commander, he captured Nazareth and brought northern Galilee under Jewish control. Near the end of the war, he met and married Yael Lifshitz (m. Dunkelman), a corporal in the Israeli army. Benjamin was elected national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada in 1977.
In addition to his work as a soldier, Benjamin was a successful businessman. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father stepped down; he was also director of Colonial Finance Corporation, president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre, and president of Renforth Developments. Besides operating the Dunkelman Gallery, Benjamin and his wife, Yael, ran the Constellation Hotel and Dunkelman’s Restaurant.
Dunkelman later wrote of his experiences in both wars in his autobiography "Dual Allegiance" (published by MacMIllan). As well as the DSO, Dunkelman was awarded the Fighter’s Decoration of the State of Israel (1970), and an Israel Bonds Award Dinner in Tribute to Ben Dunkelman (1977). He was a guest of honour both at a reception hosted by the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the veterans of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (1976) and at a 7th Brigade Reunion in Israel (1991).
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records documenting Benjamin Dunkelman's personal, business, and military activities. Included is personal and business correspondence and other records, maps, photographs, news clippings, and scrapbooks assembled by Dunkelman. The bulk of the records relate both to Dunkelman’s autobiography Dual allegiance and to his military career in the Second World War and in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Other records relate to his business work with Tip Top Tailors, the Constellation Hotel, Dunkelman’s Restaurant, and the Dunkelman Gallery, as well as to his Zionist actvities, his writing and public speeches, and his personal life.
The fonds is organized into the following series: Personal records and correspondence, Zionist materials, Businesses, Second World War, Arab-Israeli War, Dual Allegiance, and Speeches.
Notes
Physical description note: Includes 218 photographs, 60 maps, 7 postcards, 5 architectural drawings, and 3 albums.
Associated material note: see the Ben Dunkelman fonds at Library and Archives Canada.
Name Access
Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997
Subjects
Authors
Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
World War, 1939-1945
Related Material
See fonds #39 (Rose Dunkelman fonds).
Creator
Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997
Accession Number
2000-3-4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2016-1-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-1-6
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
30 cm of textual records
285 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 12 cm of smaller
Date
1975-1985
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the activities of the Royal Canadian Legion, General Wingate Branch 256. Included are meeting minutes from 1975-1977; an album containing photographs, event materials, and newsclippings celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legion in 1984, remembrance day memorial and an event in tribute to Phil Givens; and one scrapbook containing newsclippings, photographs and other textual records related to various activities of the Branch and its membership, including a tribute to Ben Dunkelman and a 99th birthday celebration for Norman Creed.
Custodial History
The records were originally loaned by the donor to an OJA researcher who arranged to have the materials donated to the OJA.
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
Name Access
Royal Canadian Legion, General Wingate Branch 256 (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
Jewish community involvement series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 92; Series 4; File 8
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
Jewish community involvement series
Level
File
Fonds
92
Series
4
File
8
Material Format
textual record
Date
1986-1991
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Admin History/Bio
In 1970 many Jewish groups in Ontario organized to help Refusniks who were being persecuted in the Soviet Union and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. In early 1971, the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, these various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Ontario.
The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the steering committee reporting to the action committee. By 1977, the action committee and the steering committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee). J. B. Salsberg was the first SCSJ Chairman, serving in this capacity until 1976.
Scope and Content
File consists of records documenting J.B. Salsberg's involvement in the CJC's Committee for Soviet Jewry. Included are booklets, reports, agendas, correspondence, meeting minutes, conference material for the Regional Conference on Israel and Soviet Jewry, and newspaper clippings.
Subjects
Committees
Jews--Soviet Union
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Committee for Soviet Jewry series
Level
Series
ID
Fonds 17; Series 3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Committee for Soviet Jewry series
Level
Series
Fonds
17
Series
3
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1967-1992
Physical Description
4.5 m of textual records
1822 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
Admin History/Bio
The earliest impetus for the creation of a Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) committee to focus on the issue of Soviet Jews was in response to the infamous “Leningrad trials” of thirty-one dissident Soviet Jews in the winter of 1970. Concurrently, the Soviet government began to systematically persecute almost all Jews who applied for permission to emigrate. The issuing of exit visas was refused (the genesis of the term “refusenik”), usually on exaggerated claims of national security, after which the applicants were often dismissed from their jobs, recalled to military service, or similarly persecuted by state authorities. Those who publicly protested such treatment were subsequently arrested, detained for long periods, or tried as examples to others and sent to Siberian labour camps.
When information about the plight of Soviet Jews reached Canada, Toronto’s Jews responded immediately and decisively. Synagogue congregations, student groups, women’s organizations, professional organizations and community groups all established independent committees to aid Soviet Jews directly and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. Very quickly these committees began organizing mass rallies, letter writing campaigns, petitions, targeted protests and direct aid involving large numbers of people and considerable fundraising efforts. From 1971 to the late 1980s the cause of Soviet Jewry remained, along with support for The State of Israel, the most significant issue to the Jewish community.
The Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC in early 1971 in order to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, the various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Toronto and the rest of Ontario. Organizations coordinated by the Action Committee included university student groups, the Group of 35, Women for Soviet Jewry (WSJ), B’nai B’rith, and the Canadian Zionist Federation (CZF). The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the Steering Committee reporting to the Action Committee. By 1977, the Action Committee and the Steering Committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee).
The first Chairman of the SCSJ was the prominent Toronto politician and activist Joseph B. Salsberg. Later chairs, including Sam Filer, Phyllis Sugar, Reg Adelman, author Jeanette Goldman, Joyce Eklove, and Judge Ted Matlow were also involved with affiliated local groups whose activities were coordinated by the SCSJ. Sam Filer, its first permanent Secretary, became in 1976 its second Chairman. He also served as Chairman of the Toronto Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and was an original co-founder of Lawyers and Jurists for Soviet Jewry. Similarly, Phyllis Sugar was a Co-chair of the ACSJ with Reg Adelman in the early to mid-1970s, while simultaneously serving as the Chair of WSJ. Genya Intrator, the first Chair of WSJ in the early 1970s, later served as first Chair of the Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry. Despite having its first meeting in Winnipeg, the Canadian Committee had most of its leadership and activities in Toronto. Toronto residents Sydney Harris (later Judge Harris), David Satok, Genya Intrator and David Sadowski all chaired this committee as it developed a national agenda through contacts with affiliated organizations across the country, while coordinating internationally with groups such as the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews based in New York.
Towards the end of the 1980s, many of the restrictions regarding exit visas for refusniks were removed and increasingly Russian Jews began to immigrate to Israel, the United States and Canada. A large percentage of the latter settled in Toronto. By 1991, in response to the changes in Russia and the former Soviet republics, the CJC’s local and national Soviet Jewry Committees were wound up and their leadership began to focus on new issues, such as the integration of Soviet Jewish immigrants into Canada and the continuing struggle to fight antisemitism in the successor states of the former Soviet Union. To this end, the CJC formed a Political Liaison Committee in the early 1990s. Internationally, however, many Russian Jewish advocacy groups continued to operate on the foundation of activism and community organization established during the decades of solidarity built around the Soviet Jewry cause.
Custodial History
The records in this series were accumulated and maintained in the offices of the CJC under the jurisdiction of Samuel Resnick, in his role as the Director of the Community Action for Israel Committee, and as the main CJC staff employee for overseeing the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, which eventually coalesced as simply the Committee for Soviet Jewry circa 1977. By 1980, Resnick’s title was Director of the Committee for Soviet Jewry, Central Region, making him the primary full-time staffer of the CJC involved in the Soviet Jewry cause.
Scope and Content
Series consists of extensive planning, administrative and operational records including meeting minutes, correspondence, budgets and membership lists. Records pertaining to activities include numerous event and protest photographs, articles, petitions, posters and other press materials. Records related to the gathering of information regarding Soviet Jewry include transcripts of telegrams and telephone conversations, background fact sheets and many individual case files.
This series has been arranged into six sub-series. Sub-series 1 consists of Ontario Region committee meeting agendas and minutes. Sub-series 2 consists of the correspondence files documenting various activities of that committee. Sub-series 3 consists of the agendas, minutes and general correspondence of the National Committee for Soviet Jewry. Sub-series 4 consists of records documenting affiliated Jewish organizations that collaborated with the CJC in protesting the persecution of Soviet Jews. Sub-series 5 consists of records documenting the various protest activities such as lobbying, letter writing, public rallies, marches and demonstrations. Sub-series 6 , Rufusnik Cases, consists of 3 sub-sub-series, containing individual case files, large published lists, and reference publications about Soviet Jews who were refused permission to emigrate (refusniks).
Notes
Physical extent note: although over 28 m of Soviet Jewry records were originally transferred to the OJA, more than 23 m of those records have been culled due to their origin (non-Canadian sources), format (outside periodicals and publications), because they were merely externally-created reference materials, or because they were part of the very large volumes of duplicates that made up the majority of the box contents. Records documenting the activities of other CJC Committees have also been removed for future processing within more appropriately-titled series within Fonds 17.
Subjects
Committees
Jews--Soviet Union
Arrangement
Because the Soviet Jewry records donated by the Canadian Jewish Congress had not been maintained in a discernable original order, they had to be reorganized into their current arrangement by the processing archivist.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2020-1-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2020-1-1
Material Format
textual record
text
Physical Description
1 book
1 folder of textual records
Date
1959-2011
Scope and Content
Accession consists of materials collected by Lil Blume for an anthology called "Letters and Pictures from the Old Suitcase". The anthology was published in 2011 for a Jewish Literary Festival that Lil Blume ran in 2010. Included in the collection is handwritten autobiographical pages as well as photocopied pages from Miriam Beckerman. In addition, there are two photocopies of a 1959 letter to the Irgun regarding redirecting of reparations due to Moshe Beckerman. The document provides a summary of Moshe Beckerman's wartime experience including enlistment with the British Military serving with the Regiment of Royal Engineers (1940), transfer to Greece (1941), capture by Germans (1941), escape and recapture in Italy and eventual internment in Minchen and then Danzig prior to his release in 1945 by the second British Army.
The Beckerman's contribution to the anthology included translated copies of four Yiddish language letters written by Miriam and Moshe Beckerman to Miriam's parents in Toronto while the couple were living in Palestine and then Israel in 1947 and 1948.
In addition, there is a copy of the publication "Letters and Pictures from the Old Suitcase" edited by Ellen S. Jaffe and Lil Blume. Contributors to the anthology listed in alphabetical order include Alvin Abram, Larry Anklewicz, Miriam Beckerman, Maxianne Berger, Steven Michael Berzensky, Helen Blum, Aha Blume, Lil Blume, Baila Ellenbogen, Shelley Halpern Evans, Joi Freed-Garrod, Ellen S. Jaffe, Beth Kaplan, Nomi Kaston, Agnes Klinghofer, Myrna Neuringer Levy, Carol Lipszyc, Malca Litovitz, Janice Masur, Seymour Mayne, Maria Meindl, Wendy Morton, Sharon H. Nelson, Aviva Ravel, Karen Shenfeld, Ken Sherman, Sharon Singer, Joan Sohn, J.J. Steinfeld, Pia Taavila, Carolynne Veffer, and Thomas Verny.
Custodial History
Miriam Beckerman sent handwritten autobiographical pages as well as photocopied pages to Lil Blume, as part of her contribution to the anthology that Lil Blume published in 2011.
Administrative History
In 2011, Lil Blume published an anthology called "Letters and Pictures from the Old Suitcase". The publication was edited by Ellen S. Jaffe and Lil Blume for a Jewish literary Festival that Lil Blume ran in Hamilton in 2010.
Miriam Beckerman (née Dashkin) is a Yiddish literature translator. She attended the Farband Folks Shule in Toronto during the 1930s and later worked as a bilingual secretary (Yiddish and English) at the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. In 1946, she travelled to Israel where she met her husband, Moshe Beckerman, at a kibbutz. The couple married in October 1947 and emigrated from Israel to Toronto with their children in 1952. Beckerman continues to work as a Yiddish translator for individuals, scholars and institutions. She has a number of published translations, including her recent collaborative work "A Thousand Threads: a story through Yiddish letters." Her work has been recognized by the Dora Teitelboim Foundation of Coral Gables, Florida. Her husband Moshe passed away in 1993.
Use Conditions
Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
Israel--Emigration and immigration
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
Part Of
General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 74; Item 28
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
74
Item
28
Material Format
graphic material
Date
7 Sept. 1980
Physical Description
1 photograph : col. ; 13 x 9 cm
Notes
Credit: Royal Canadian Legion / Sacks.
Name Access
Royal Canadian Legion
Mount sinai Cemetery
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
Cemeteries
Accession Number
1987-12-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 74; Item 30
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
74
Item
30
Material Format
graphic material
Date
22 Sept. 1985
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of the General Wingate Branch, Royal Canadian Legion and Jewish war veterans memorial service held at Mount Sinai Cemetery. Identified in the photograph are Barry Goldman (5 yrs.) and Randy Goldman (6yrs.). Their father Israel Goldman is buried in the cemetery. On the far left is Ernie Stein, a Jewish war veteran and member of the colour party.
Notes
Photograph is by Graphic Artists, Toronto
Name Access
Goldman, Barry
Goldman, Randy
Stein, Ernie
Royal Canadian Legion
Mount sinai Cemetery
Goldman, Israel
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
Cemeteries
Physical Condition
Good
Accession Number
1986-12-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 74; Item 31
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
General Wingate Branch 256, Royal Canadian Legion fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
74
Item
31
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1986
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of the annual remembrance parade of Wingate Branch Royal Canadian Legion, held at Mount Sinai cemetery. Identified in the photograph are Jack Arons (left, with glasses) and Lee Pritzker (centre right).
Notes
Photograph is by Graphic Artists, Toronto
Name Access
Pritzker, Lee
Arons, Jack
Royal Canadian Legion
Mount sinai Cemetery
Subjects
Canada--Armed Forces
Cemeteries
Accession Number
1986-12-3
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2015-11-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-11-5
Material Format
graphic material
Physical Description
3 posters : col. ; 60 x 45 cm and smaller
Date
[198-]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of three posters: a North American Jewish Students' Network poster with the words, "Black Jews of Ethiopia, Why Not This Year in Jerusalem? Next Year May Be Too Late"; a Canadian committee for Soviet Jewry poster with an illustration by Selma Hurwitz; and a Toronto Action Committee for Soviet Jewry poster with the words, "Speak Out For Soviet Jewry, Let My People Go".
Subjects
Jews, Ethiopian
Jews--Soviet Union
Name Access
North American Jewish Students' Network
Source
Archival Accessions