Name

Brynie Lacob and Steven Silver

Number

OH 437

Subject

Canada--Emigration and immigration

Jews--South Africa

South Africa--Emigration and immigration

Interview Date

31 Aug. 2016

Interviewer

Miriam Borden

Total Running Time

AC 437 part 1: 22 min.

AC 437 part 2: 22 min.

AC 437 part 3: 3 min.

Use Restrictions

Please contact Brynie Lacob for permission before posting on the internet.

Please contact Steven Silver for permission before posting on the internet.

Biography

Brynie and Steven first met at a bar mitzvah when Brynie was twelve and Steven was thirteen. The two have been in each other’s lives in one way or another ever since.

Brynie came to Canada in 1988. She chose Canada partly because she had a boyfriend there and partly because she anticipated using it as a stepping stone to the United States. Instead, she found work, earned a master’s degree in psychology, and married. Her first marriage resulted in three children, all of whom she enrolled in Jewish day school.

Steven came to Canada in 1994, a number of years after the rest of his immediate family had immigrated. He became involved in Canada’s film and television industry and today is chief executive officer of Kew Media Group, a special purpose acquisition company. In April 2000, Brynie and Steven began dating. They married in 2006.

Brynie and Steven retain close ties to South Africa, frequently going back. While both are grateful to Canada for the opportunities it has given them, they continue to feel a strong connection to the smells, sounds, and warmth of their country of origin and have discussed returning for a few months each year.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Lacob, Brynie

Silver, Steven

Geographic Access

Durban (South Africa)

Johannesburg (Ont.)

Thornhill (Ont.)

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Copy Format

Digital file

Transcript

Part 1:

00:42 Brynie discusses her family's immigration to South Africa. Her paternal grandparents and maternal great-grandparents came from Lithuania. Her maternal grandparents were born in South Africa.

01:24 Steven discusses his family history. His paternal grandfather and great-grandparents came from Poland. His paternal grandmother was born in South Africa. His maternal grandmother came from Russia.

03:59 Steven was born in Durban and grew up in Johannesburg from age four. He came to Canada in 1994.

04:11 Brynie was born and raised in Johannesburg. She came to Canada in 1988 at age twenty-one.

04:49 Brynie discusses her family's Jewish practice. Her father's family was traditional. Her mother's family was secular.

06:09 Steven discusses his family's Jewish practice. His paternal grandfather was gabbai at the main synagogue in Durban.

09:05 Brynie discusses her personal practice of Judaism.

10:24 Steven discusses his personal Jewish experience. He attended Jewish day school, belonged to the Habonim youth movement, and attended ulpan in Israel in 1981.

12:09 Steven explains how his Jewish education and involvement in Habonim influenced him and other Jews to get involved with politics in South Africa.

12:55 Brynie discusses her family's involvement in politics. She explains that her mother was involved with the Progressive Reform Party (PRP). Brynie was not actively involved with politics.

14:45 Brynie explains her desire to leave South Africa. At age seventeen, she attended an exchange program for a year in the United States.

15:12 Steven discusses politics in his home and school life. He recalls an accident involving bringing a political activist to his school that left an impression on him.

16:53 Steven discusses his involvement with the National Union of South African Students while attending university. He was president in 1981.

17:30 Steven joined the African National Congress (ANC) when it was unbanned in 1990.

18:14 Steven discusses his involvement with the group End Conscription Campaign (ECC). He discusses getting arrested for his refusal to serve in the army.

20:18 Brynie discusses her relationship with her family's Black nanny.

21:26 Steven discusses his relationship with his family's Black nanny.

Part 2:

00:08 Brynie discusses the factors that led to her decision to leave South Africa.

01:10 Steven discusses his parents' and two young brothers' immigration to Canada in 1986. He explains his decision to remain in South Africa and the impetus that spurred him to leave in 1994.

02:43 Brynie describes her lack of preparedness upon arrival in Canada.

04:00 Brynie discusses her expectations of Canada when she arrived.

05:17 Steven explains the factors that facilitated his adjustment to Canada (e.g. family, employment).

07:28 Steven discusses his early impressions of Canada. He highlights the feelings of security and safety in Canada.

08:59 Brynie and Steven discuss how they met. Brynie was married previously and had three children. Steven and Brynie married in 2006.

12:15 Brynie discusses her children.

12:55 Brynie discusses her professional career in social work and counselling.

13:33 Steven discusses his professional career. He graduated in law. His career focused on documentary and feature films. He current works as chief executive officer of a media company.

15:40 Brynie discusses her reception in Canada.

17:17 Steven discusses his perceptions as a South African in Canada.

18:04 Brynie discusses her involvement in the Jewish community in Toronto.

19:08 Brynie shares her impressions of raising children in Toronto and more specifically in Thornhill.

20:21 Brynie discusses her ongoing connection with South Africa.

Part 3:

00:00 Steven discusses his ongoing to South Africa.

01:05 Steven shares some comments on the current and future situation in South Africa.

01:51 Brynie discusses her outgoing interest in South African news and politics.

Source

Oral Histories

Political Activism

The Place I Call Home

Name

Nicole Cohen

Number

OH 422

Subject

Canada--Emigration and immigration

Jews--South Africa

South Africa--Emigration and immigration

Interview Date

18 Nov. 2015

Interviewer

Lisa Newman

Total Running Time

OH 422 part 1: 22 min.

OH 422 part 2: 18 min.

OH 422 part 3: 4 min.

OH 422 part 4: 10 min.

Biography

Nicole “Nicky” Cohen moved to Canada from Johannesburg when she was five years old. Thereafter, her family went back several times. Her last trip back as a child was at age twelve. It is from these trips that she has her earliest memories of South Africa.

In 2008, Nicky returned to South Africa with her husband and children for a cousin’s wedding. While back, they visited the apartment where Nicky’s mother had grown up. As luck would have it, they made the acquaintance of the maid taking care of the apartment and who turned out to be the daughter of Nicky’s own nanny, Ruth. Ruth met with the family several times and the two sides stayed in touch for many years.

Ruth has since passed away, but Nicky hopes to return to South Africa with her husband and children in the near future.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Cohen, Nicole

Geographic Access

Cape Town (South Africa)

Johannesburg (South Africa)

Soweto (South Africa)

Thornhill (Ont.)

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Copy Format

Digital file

Transcript

Part 1:

00:30 Nicole "Nicky" Cohen outlines her family history. Her great-grandparents came from Lithuania. Her paternal grandfather was born in Cape Town and her paternal grandmother was born in Johannesburg. Her maternal grandmother was born in Namibia. He maternal father and step-father were born in Germany and immigrated to South Africa in the 1930s.

01:40 Nicole discusses the birthplaces of her family. Her parents, Nicole, and her older brother were born in Johannesburg. Her younger brother was born in Toronto.

02:08 Nicole, aged five, immigrated to Canada with her parents on 19 March 1977.

02:23 Nicole recalls few memories from living in South Africa but shares some memories she gleaned from return trips and photographs.

03:37 Nicole recalls that her family would take four-to-six-week trips to South Africa every two years from 1977-1984.

04:52 Nicole's mother was a physiotherapist and her father was a travel agent.

05:30 Nicole explains why her parents decided to emigrate from South Africa.

06:58 Nicole discusses the maid (i.e., nanny), Ruth, from her childhood.

10:55 Nicole recalls other South African family friends they maintained when they moved to Toronto.

11:34 Nicole discusses living arrangements when her family came to Toronto. Her family settled in Thornhill.

13:15 Nicole discusses her education.

14:00 Nicole discusses the challenges of adjusting to a Toronto winter.

15:42 Nicole fondly recalls return visits to South Africa with her family.

16:45 Nicole describes attending a cousin's wedding to South Africa in 2008, twenty-four years after her last visit. She discusses the trip.

21:06 Nicole discusses the high crime rate in Johannesburg. She cites some specific examples.

Part 2:

00:00 Nicole continues to discuss the high rate of crime in Johannesburg. She discusses driving through shanty towns in Cape Town and Soweto.

02:05 Nicole recalls visiting the apartment where her grandmother had lived. She discusses some of the security enforced by gates and guards. She shares an anecdote involving her family's maid, Ruth. She describes how she reconnected with Ruth and her daughter while visiting her grandmother's former apartment.

13:00 Nicole expresses a desire to return to South Africa.

13:55 Nicole discusses relatives who remain in South Africa. She notes her father's first cousin and daughter who live in Johannesburg. She discusses where other relatives are currently living.

Part 3:

00:00 Nicole discusses the close relationship between her family and their maid, Ruth. She describes how her family supported Ruth and her family.

01:20 Nicole explains how her parents and grandmother remained in contact with Ruth even after her grandmother immigrated to Canada. She recalls an anecdote involving her family arranging for Ruth to visit Toronto when she was temporarily working with a South African family in New York in the late 1980s.

02:54 Nicole discusses the difficulty her father encouraged when he initially attempted to immigrate to Canada in 1976. She cites a fictitious letter of employment for her father that enabled her family to immigrate. The letter is on file in the archives.

Part 4:

00:00 Nicole describes photographs. Some of the photographs were taken during former and recent trips to South Africa. Some photographs include images from shanty towns, Soweto, Sun City, relatives, Nicole's grandmother's apartment, etc.

Source

Oral Histories

A Big Part of my Life

Name

Colleen "Chips" Klein and Paul Klein

Number

OH 444

Subject

Canada--Emigration and immigration

Jews--South Africa

South Africa--Emigration and immigration

Interview Date

13 Mar. 2017

Interviewer

Lisa Newman

Total Running Time

OH 444 part 1: 7 min.

OH 444 part 2: 7 min.

OH 444 part 3: 37 min.

OH 444 part 4: 2 min.

Biography

Although they both grew up in Jewish neighbourhoods, Chips and Paul met for the first time at Margate, a decidedly non-Jewish seaside resort on South Africa’s southern coast. Chips’ grandmother, who was with Chips at the time, scouted the area for Jewish men, which is when she spotted Paul. Convinced the two were bashert, she indulged in a little matchmaking, with the result that Paul phoned Chips when he returned home. While they did break up at one point, Chips’ grandmother’s judgment was vindicated when the two married at Cyrildene Shul in Johannesburg a few years later.

When their children were three and five years old, the couple made the decision to immigrate to Canada. Paul, an engineer by training, was transferred to Guelph. There, the family joined the local synagogue and enrolled their children in public education. It was while living in Guelph that Chips and Paul became involved in work combating antisemitism. Growing up in Jewish communities, neither had encountered much antisemitism, but living in a small town they were forced to come to terms with being different.

Once their children were grown up, Chips and Paul moved to Toronto, purchasing a house in Thornhill in order to be close to the South African community. Both Chips and Paul are involved in Jewish education through their local synagogue and remain active in a variety of sports. In addition to their faith, sport is one of the ways they stay in touch with their grandchildren, which is why Chips says, “As long as we’re able, we’re going to keep doing it.”

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Klein, Colleen

Klein, Paul

Geographic Access

Guelph (Ont.)

Johannesburg (South Africa)

Thornhill (Ont.)

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Copy Format

Digital file

Transcript

Part 1:

00:00 Chips discusses the areas in Johannesburg where she was born and raised.

01:30 Chips discusses her education. She attended King David School. She notes that her parents may have been founding members of King David.

02:37 Chips discusses her career in dance as a dancer and as a teacher in her own dance school.

05:22 Chips describes growing up in South Africa. She discusses her family's warm relationship with their servants.

06:20 Chips mentions her own political involvement as a teenager in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She explains why and her husband decided to leave South Africa.

Part 2:

00:00 Paul discusses his parents' arrival to South Africa. His father fled from Berlin in 1937. His mother fled from Frankfurt, Germany in 1936. His father served in the British army during the war.

01:34 Paul explains why his father did not join a synagogue. Paul did not have a bar mitzvah. He recounts an incident that he attributes to his connection to Judaism.

02:55 Paul explains that having Jewish friends only became an issue for him when he started dating.

03:20 Paul explains that his father's fellow workers were secular German Jews.

03:40 Paul discusses his limited Jew upbringing. He discusses how and why he started to learn about and practice Judaism.

05:02 Paul has one sister living in Montreal. He discusses other relatives, some of whom survived the Holocaust.

06:30 Paul discusses how he met Chips.

Part 3:

00:00 Chips discusses how she met Paul.

00:48 Chips and Paul describe how they reconnected with Chips when Paul graduated from engineering.

03:49 Paul discusses their early marriage. He explains the factors that contributed to his decision to leave South Africa and immigrate to Canada. He expresses satisfaction with their decision to come to Canada.

05:25 Chips notes their children's positive comments about growing up and living in Canada.

05:56 Paul discusses his professional career.

07:30 Chips discusses their friends' and relatives' reactions to their decision to leave South Africa. They left in 1975. Chips' and Paul's parents immigrated to Canada around 1981.

09:18 Paul describes his parents' reaction to their decision to emigrate.

10:14 Chips discusses her parents' comments about leaving South Africa.

10:49 Chips and Paul discuss their return visits to South Africa. Chips describes her children's impressions of South Africa.

12:45 Chips discusses their early time in Canada. They first came to Guelph. She discusses establishing a Jewish home/environment for their children.

13:42 Paul recounts antisemitic incidents while living in Guelph.

15:20 Paul discusses their involvement with a program out of Lipa Green focused on assisting small Jewish communities. He comments on the program's success. Paul served as vice-chair.

16:50 Paul discusses the impact of the program on his children. He describes their strong connection to Israel.

17:37 Chips and Paul explain the program and how it was implemented.

18:46 Paul discusses his involvement with the synagogue in Guelph and in Toronto.

20:39 Paul explains why they decided to move to Thornhill in 1991. They belong to a synagogue on Green Lane.

21:33 Paul explains that the company he worked for in South Africa transferred him to Canada.

22:32 Chips discusses her community involvement including participation in Hadassah-WIZO and participation in the synagogue.

23:26 Chips discusses the creation of a business. She discusses her involvement in a women's inventors project. Chips mentions that she and Paul run a business together.

25:47 Chips describes her involvement in the development of a book to assist women with the patenting and marketing of products. She describes a federal government initiative that she was involved in to develop a book for the government to help women entrepreneurs. She also assisted with the development of a books for teachers and Girl Guides geared toward female inventions.

27:52 Paul discusses an acclaimed dance program that Chips was involved with South Africa.

30:22 Chips and Paul discuss their involvement in Jewish education. Chips spearheaded an adult education program for women and men. Paul discusses his involvement teaching Parshat HaShavuah.

35:45 Chips discusses her family's involvement in sport, including marathons and skiing.

36:47 Paul ponders the question of feeling Canadian.

Part 4:

00:34 Chips comments on when she first considered herself Canadian.

02:02 Paul mentions a National Film Board documentary about Jews in small communities and their inclusion in the film.

Source

Oral Histories

An Entrepreneurial Spirit

Always a Stranger

Antisemitism in Canada

Small Town Life

Address

1 Camp Gesher’s Rd

Time Period

1963-present

Scope Note

Camp Gesher originated in 1963 from a merger between Camp Revivim (serving campers from Ottawa and Toronto) and Camp Kissufim (serving campers from Montreal). It is part of Habonim Dror, the Labour-Zionist youth movement and is located near Cloyne, Ontario.

History

Camp Gesher’s small size is central to the spirit of the camp where a culture of acceptance, individuality and mutual respect is fostered. The camp philosophy revolves around socialist ideals and its structure is similar to that of a kibbutz. Hebrew is used in day-to-day conversation and there are many opportunities to learn about Jewish and Israeli history and culture. There is a kosher kitchen and Shabbat and Havdalah are celebrated.

Category

Camps and Resorts

Source

Landmarks