Accession Number
1998-3-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1998-3-3
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 scrapbook
Date
[1928?]-[1985?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of one scrapbook documenting the personal and athletic (boxing) activities of Sam Cynamon. The majority of the material relates to life in Winnipeg and Montreal.
Subjects
Athletes
Boxers (Sports)
Places
Montréal (Québec)
Winnipeg (Man.)
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
2017-9-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-9-4
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
38 cm of textual records
6 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller
Date
1914-2017
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records relating to labour and the garment industry in Toronto, Montreal, and Hamilton. Newspaper clippings, book chapters, scholarly articles, lecture notes, book reviews, short stories, statistical and demographic records, records relating to Queen's University, and records relating to Beth Israel Congregation in Kingston, Ontario are included. Organizations mentioned are the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA). Some personal family records are also included. Records printed on pink paper are photocopies from the ILGWU and ACWA archives at Cornell University.
Administrative History
Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky was Professor Emeritus at Queen's University, Department of History, and author of several books on the history of Canadian Jewry and labour issues in Canada. His books include: Shtetl on the Grand (2015); Joe Salsberg: A Life of Commitment (2013); Canada's Jews: A People's Journey (2008); Branching Out: The Transformation of the Canadian Jewish Community (1998); Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community (1992); and The River Barons: Montreal Businessmen and the Growth of Industry and Transportation, 1837-53 (1977). Tulchinsky was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1933 to Harry and Anne Tulchinsky. He resided in Kingston, Ontario until his death on 13 Dec. 2017.
Use Conditions
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
Descriptive Notes
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: This accession also includes numerous books, some of which don't relate to our mandate. The books that we have retained have been integrated into the OJA's library holdings. USE CONDITION NOTE: Access restricted until ten years after the donor's death, at the donor's request. Records will reopen on Dec. 14, 2027. LANGUAGE NOTE: Some of the material is in French.
Subjects
Labour and unions
Fashion and clothing
Name Access
Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017
Places
Hamilton (Ont.)
Montréal (Québec)
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-4-14
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-4-14
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
34 photographs (tif) : col. and b&w
Date
[1952]-1989
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs belonging to Lea Garvin depicting her home in Montreal that she shared with her parents and sister, travel in the Laurentian Mountains, her work as a practical nurse with the Red Cross, her move to Toronto and celebrating her mother Yolanda's 100th birthday at Baycrest.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Families
Places
Montréal (Québec)
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-1-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-1-4
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
22 cm of textual records
Date
[ca. 1928]-[200-?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records relating to labour and the garment industry in Toronto, Montreal, and Hamilton. Included are research leads as well as copies of relevant records held at various repositories in Canada and the United States including Library and Archives Canada, Archives of Ontario, Queen's University and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) archives held at Cornell University. Also included are newsclippings, journal articles and correspondence from Tulchinsky to various individuals associated with the clothing trade asking for interviews or information for his research on the garment industry in Canada. Finally, there are copies of a few PhD dissertations on the subject.
Administrative History
Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky was Professor Emeritus at Queen's University, Department of History, and author of several books on the history of Canadian Jewry and labour issues in Canada. His books include: Shtetl on the Grand (2015); Joe Salsberg: A Life of Commitment (2013); Canada's Jews: A People's Journey (2008); Branching Out: The Transformation of the Canadian Jewish Community (1998); Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community (1992); and The River Barons: Montreal Businessmen and the Growth of Industry and Transportation, 1837-53 (1977).
Tulchinsky was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1933 to Harry and Anne Tulchinsky. He resided in Kingston, Ontario until his death on 13 Dec. 2017.
Use Conditions
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
Subjects
Labor unions
Clothing trade
Name Access
Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017
Places
Hamilton (Ont.)
Toronto (Ont.)
Montréal (Québec)
Source
Archival Accessions
Address
33 Robert Street
Source
Landmarks

Lansdowne Public School at one time had a high concentration of Jewish students due to its close proximity to Kensginton Market. A 1944 study shows that 778 Jewish students attended Lansdowne Public School (now known as Lord Lansdowne Public School) in that year.
Address
33 Robert Street
Time Period
1888-
Scope Note
Lansdowne Public School at one time had a high concentration of Jewish students due to its close proximity to Kensginton Market. A 1944 study shows that 778 Jewish students attended Lansdowne Public School (now known as Lord Lansdowne Public School) in that year.
Category
Education
Source
Landmarks
Address
1110 Brydon Bay Road
Source
Landmarks

Camp Shalom was founded in 1948 by the Zionist Organization of Canada as a summer camp for youth between the ages of 9 and 13. Located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Camp Shalom was one of the most successful of the Zionist camps. Camp Shalom was administered by the National Camps Association in conjunction with a regional committee, although, the daily operation and staffing of the camp was provided by Canadian Young Judaea. The camp still exists today and is jointly operated by the Toronto Zionist Council and Canadian Young Judaea.
Address
1110 Brydon Bay Road
Time Period
1948-present
Scope Note
Camp Shalom was founded in 1948 by the Zionist Organization of Canada as a summer camp for youth between the ages of 9 and 13. Located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Camp Shalom was one of the most successful of the Zionist camps. Camp Shalom was administered by the National Camps Association in conjunction with a regional committee, although, the daily operation and staffing of the camp was provided by Canadian Young Judaea. The camp still exists today and is jointly operated by the Toronto Zionist Council and Canadian Young Judaea.
Category
Camps and Resorts
Source
Landmarks
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
Jewish communal series
Canadian Zionist Federation sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 51; Series 9-2; File 14
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
Jewish communal series
Canadian Zionist Federation sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
51
Series
9-2
File
14
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Apr. 1984
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 20 cm
Admin History/Bio
Max Shecter was born on July 7, 1923 to Joseph and Helen Shecter. He was married to Florence Fox and they had three children named: Trudy, Debbie and Barry. Max Shecter was the Secretary -Treasurer for Toronto Bedding Company Limited. He was an active member of the Toronto Jewish Community and was affiliated with the following organizations: Beth Sholom Congregation, United Synagogues of America, B'nai Brith, Israel Bond Organization, Joint Community Relations Committee, Canadian Jewish Congress, Zionist Organization of Canada and United Jewish Appeal's Furniture division.. Max Shecter was honoured with a Beth Sholom Israel Bond Dinner for dedicated leadership and by Upper Canada Lodge, B'nai Brith in 1959.
Scope and Content
File consists of one photograph of Phil Givens' retirement party at the Bonaventure Hotel in Montreal. Identified in the photograph are (left to right): Min Givens, Phil Givens, and Max Shecter.
Notes
Photograph is by Howard Kay Photography (Montreal)
Places
Montréal (Québec)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2023-2-8
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2023-2-8
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
ca. 18 cm of textual records
207 photographs : b&w and col. ; 28 x 32 cm or semaller
Date
[ca. 1890]-2016
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to Clara and Sándor Rosenbaum, and their extended families. Included are documents and photographs documenting their lives in Hungary prior to the Holocaust, as well as their lives after immigrating to Tangier and, subsequently, Canada. Also includes Holocaust accounts and restitution papers, immigration documents, vital documents, correspondence, paper money, a late 19th- or early 20th-century prayer book, and a book of Shabbat songs.
Administrative History
Clara (Klára) Szabó was born in Bölcske on 28 Nov. 1920, the daughter of local lawyer Imre Szabó (born on 2 Jun. 1893 in Bölcske) and Vilma Szabó (née Stern, born in Bölcske in 1892). She had three siblings: Elizabeth (Erzsébet), born on 30 Dec. 1913; Anna, born on 10 Jan. 1915; and András, born on 5 Dec. 1916. The family lived in Paks, where she spent most of her youth. She went to elementary school in Paks, but moved to Budapest in 1935 to attend boarding school, returning to Paks in 1939. Her father committed suicide on 3 Mar. 1940. She married Sándor Rosenbaum in Paks on 14 Jan. 1941. While visiting her sister in Békéscsaba, the whole family were deported to Auschwitz: Clara, her mother, her brother, her two sisters, and her two-year-old niece. From Auschwitz, Clara and her sister Elizabeth were sent to Ravensbrück, and from there to Neustadt bei Coburg, where they worked as forced labourers at a Siemens factory. The rest of her family were killed in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. On 15 Apr. 1945, Clara and Elizabeth escaped from a forced march and headed towards the American advance. After the war, Clara and her husband reunited, and in 1946 relocated to Tangier, where Sándor's brother, Nikolas, had been living since 1940. There, they had two children: André (born on 27 Aug. 1949) and Anique (born on 1 Oct. 1950). They lived there until 1956, when the family relocated to Montreal. There, she was the president of the Dayan Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO from 1980 to 1982. She moved to Toronto in 1997 to be closer to her children. Clara died on 6 Feb. 2016 in Toronto.
Sándor (Alexander) Rosenbaum was born in Paks on 28 Jul. 1906, the son of Mihály (Michael) Rosenbaum (merchant, born on 1875 or 1876) and Regina Freund (1882-1932). He had three siblings: Hedvig (married to Oskar Barotti), Sari (married to Zoltan Barotti), and Nikolas. During the war, from May 1943 to Sep. 1943, he served at the Jewish labour service squadron No. 104/3, in Budapest, at the post office No. 70 labour service. The squadron was then moved to the Carpathians, and Sándor worked as a farm labourer in the region. He served as a yellow armband labour serviceman in the Carpathians until the end of Oct. 1944. He escaped from the labour camp with a friend, hiding in the Carpathian forests for a few weeks. After the war, Sándor changed his last name to Rostás to sound more Hungarian, later changing it back to Rosenbaum. He immigrated with his wife Clara to Tangier, and later to Montreal with their two kids, having worked most of his life as a businessman. He died in Montreal on 6 Jul. 1987 and was buried at Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery in Outremont.
Subjects
Holocaust survivors
Families
Name Access
Rosenbaum, Clara (Klára), 1920-2016
Rosenbaum, Alexander (Sándor), 1906-1987
Places
Hungary
Tangier (Morocco)
Montréal (Québec)
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions