Name

Fred Schaeffer

Number

OH 24

Subject

Communities

Immigrants--Canada

Rabbis

Synagogues

Interview Date

11 Jul. 1980

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

Side 1: 31 minutes

Side 2: 9 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Fred Schaeffer's wife, Beverley, grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Beverley's grandfather, Hyman Kaplan, emigrated from Vilna, Lithuania in 1907, and after a few years in New York, moved to Toronto. Shortly afterwards, he became the first Jew to settle in Kirkland Lake in 1914.

In the 1920s, the Jewish community in Kirkland Lake built a permanent synagogue and acquired an aron kodesh of eastern European design, its lamps, railings, pews and reader’s desk, from the disbanded Ukrainishe Shul in Montreal. In the 1970s, the Kirkland Lake Synagogue disbanded and Fred and Beverly Schaeffer acquired the aron kodesh, all of its furnishings, the ner tamid, and the parochet. They generously donated these Jewish artifacts to Beth Tikvah Synagogue, Toronto, in 1988, in memory of Isadore Kaplan, father of Beverly Schaeffer and Erich Schaeffer, father of Fred Schaeffer.

Fred married Beverley in Toronto. Like many children from Kirkland Lake, Beverley had moved to the city to attend university. Fred and Beverley are keen collectors of Canadian art. He is a retired civil engineer and a former chair of the Canadian Art Historical Committee at the AGO.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Atkins (family)

Bucavetsky (family)

Cochrane (Ont.)

Etkins (family)

Mallins (family)

Purkiss (family)

Schaeffer, Fred

Geographic Access

Ansonville (Ont.)

Engelhart (Ont.)

Kirkland Lake (Ont.)

Krugerdorf (Ont.)

Ontario, Northern

Timmins (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 24 - Schaeffer\OH24_001_Log.docx

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 24 - Schaeffer\OH24_002_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Fred Schaeffer and Stephen Speisman discuss some of the earliest synagogues established in Northern Ontario.

In this clip, Fred Schaeffer relates colourful anecdotes about the first Jewish settler in the Swastika-Kirkland area, Roza Brown.

Name

Fanny Gertzbein

Number

OH 33

Subject

Charities

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

2 Oct. 1984

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Morris Silbert

Total Running Time

OH 033: 27:34 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003.

Notes

Language: Fanny often speaks Yiddish with Morris Silbert providing a translation.

Related group of records external to the unit being described: accession 2019-7/2 includes comments by Gella Rothstein on this oral history.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Fanny Gurtzbein (née Goldhar) immigrated from Poland to Toronto in 1903. Fanny lived with her parents and siblings in Toronto's Ward district. Although raised in poverty, Barney, Fanny's brother, went on to become a successful furrier; Fanny's mother, Tzyerl Goldhar, became the organizer of the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

Yiddish

English

Name Access

Goldhar, Myer

Goldhar, Tzeryl

Goldhar, Barney

Gurtzbein, Fanny

Geographic Access

St. John's Ward (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 33 - Gertzbein\OH33_001_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Joe and Minna Loewith

Number

OH 37

OH 38

Subject

Agriculture

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

3 Jun. 1984

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Morris Silbert

Total Running Time

OH 037_001: 31 minutes OH 037_002: 31 minutes OH 038_001 8 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Joe and Minna Loewith immigrated to Canada in November 1938 from the Sudetenland. After arriving in Canada, they settled on the Wren Farm outside of Hamilton, Ontario, along with their family and other members of the immigration group. They got married in 1942. Afterwards, they bought a farm from their brother-in-law and then lived with their three sons on the farm.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Loewith, Joe

Loewith, Mina

Silbert, Morris

Geographic Access

Hamilton (Ont.)

Sudetenland (Czech Republic)

Burlington (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 37, OH 38 - Loewith\OH37_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 37, OH 38 - Loewith\OH37_002_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 37, OH 38 - Loewith\OH38_001_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Minna Loewith recalls the events beginning in the summer through the fall of 1938 that led her family to emigrate from Czechoslovakia to Canada.

In this clip, Minna shares some of her earliest recollections of when she and her family arrived in Canada in November 1938.

In this clip, Joe Loewith explains the conditions for Czech immigration to Canada set by the CPR and how they were met.

Name

Dr. Mattie Rotenberg

Number

OH 63

Subject

Antisemitism

Rabbis

Charities

Influenza

Balfour Declaration

Immigrants--Canada

Women's clothing

Women

Department stores

Interview Date

26 Feb. 1976

Quantity

2 cassettes (1 copy)

2 WAV files

Total Running Time

62:52 sec.

Conservation

Copied to cassette in August 2003.

Copied to digital file in June 2014.

Side 2 of the original cassette is damaged. The tape continually speeds up and slows down.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Mattie Rotenberg was the daughter of Russian immigrants. She grew up in Toronto's Ward district and received her degree in mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. In 1920, she became the first secretary of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society in Toronto.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto

Hillcrest Progressive School

Goel Tzedec Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

University of Toronto

T. Eaton Co

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

Introduction of Dr. Mattie Rotenberg to the audience 0:00-:49 Family History 0:50-4:00: Rotenberg, daughter of Russian immigrants, recounts the story of her parents’ immigration and arrival in Toronto during the early 1890s. 4:01-7:35: Rotenberg recalls her childhood memories of life growing up in Toronto’s Ward district during the era of “great” Jewish immigration. 7:40-11:10: Rotenberg recalls happy childhood memories living on Regent Street, then a primarily non-Jewish neighbourhood. 11:11-13:40: Rotenberg recalls the Great Fire of Toronto of 1904 that destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto. 13:45-15:19: Rotenberg recalls the open-air streetcar that ran along Toronto’s beltline, the City Dairy, and Riverdale Park. 15.20-18.02: Rotenberg recalls Rabbi Jacob Gordon of Goel Tzedec Synagogue and Rabbi Julius Price, the synagogue’s first English-speaking rabbi. 18:03-21:00: Rotenberg discusses her education at the Dufferin Elementary School and Jarvis Collegiate, her family’s first telephone, riding in a motor car, Massey Hall and Jarvis and Sherbourne Streets considered to be the choice residential district of the time. 21:01-22.00: Rotenberg recalls Dr. Sandler, Toronto’s first Jewish doctor to practice in Toronto’s non-Jewish community. 22:01-22:59: Rotenberg recalls the Queen Street shopping district, the Willinsky’s department store, and Hadassah’s first bazaar held at Toronto Armory. 23:00-23:47: Rotenberg recalls antisemitic incidents that occurred in Toronto during the late 1920s. 23:48-24.33: Rotenberg discusses the Orange Lodges’ influence on civic politics, prejudice towards the Jewish and Catholic communities, and the anti-French-language campaign Rotenberg discusses life in Toronto then and now 24.34-25.30: Rotenberg recalls the changes to Gerrard Sreet East, from a tree-lined street to concrete sidewalks. 25.31-26.48: Rotenberg recalls being the only Jewish student at Jarvis Collegiate. 26.49-27.20: Rotenberg discusses her Jewish education. 27.22-28.06: Rotenberg provides an anecdote about local Jewish news and gossip. 28.07-29.18: Rotenberg discusses the hardships of housekeeping. 29.20-30.25: Rotenberg discusses women’s fashion during the early 1900s. 30.26-31.05: Rotenberg discusses Eatons and Simpsons before the introduction of the cash register. 31:26-33.23: Rotenberg discusses life in Toronto during the early years of the First World War. Rotenberg recalls recruitment meetings held at the Armoury and the crowds that gathered to view war bulletins posted in the window the Telegram’s office on Bay Street. 33.24-36.28: In this portion of the interview, Rotenberg describes the University of Toronto as being an extremely “WASPish” place run by professors with chauvinistic attitudes 36.29-37.23: Rotenberg discusses the problem faced by Jewish women looking for a teaching position. 37:24-39:12: Rotenberg recalls Dr. (Canon) Cody, president of U of T, and his witch hunts for students believed to have Communist leanings. 39:13-40:05: Rotenberg recalls Toronto’s flu epidemic following the First World War. 40:06-41:07: Rotenberg recalls the announcement of the Balfour Declaration in 1918 and the city’s commemoration parade to honour the declaration. Side 2 0:00-:46 : Commemoration of the Balfour Declaration continued. 0:47-4.09: Rotenberg discusses her job as secretary to JIAS during the 1920s. She describes JIAS as an “embryo” started by a few dozen men working to provide aid for Jewish immigrants. *Speech garbled in some sections* 4:10-6:24: Rotenberg discusses the founding in 1929 of the Hillcrest Progressive Day School, whose main motive was to provide a comprehensive Jewish education. 6.25-6.36: Rotenberg discusses the making of liquid hydrogen at the University of Toronto’s physics building during the early 1920s. 6.36-10.00: Here the sound quality becomes poor and Rotenberg’s voice is garbled. 10:00- 21.45: Question period. Sound quality poor and garbled. END

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Sarah Green

Number

OH 4

Subject

Families

Immigrants--Canada

Neighborhoods

Interview Date

7 Jan. 1975

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Sophie Milgram

Total Running Time

38 minutes 44 seconds

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Sarah Green (née Patlik) grew up living in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood. The family home and scrap yard business were both located on Maria Street, which served as the centre for Jewish life in the Junction during the early 1900s. Sarah Patlik was involved with numerous charitable organizations including the Ontario Hospital School of Orilla and the Rubinoff and Naftolin Mishpocha.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Green, Sarah

Geographic Access

Kingston (Ont.)

Maria Street (Toronto, Ont.)

Portland Street (Toronto, Ont.)

Stanley Street (Toronto, Ont.)

West Toronto Junction (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 4 - Green\OH4_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Toba Fluxgold

Number

OH 8

Subject

Bakeries

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

1975

Quantity

1 cassette (1 copy) 2 WAV files

Interviewer

Sheldon Steinberg

Total Running Time

1:02 min.

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Digitized December 2014

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Conditional access. Researchers must receive permission from the interviewee or their heir prior to accessing the interview. Please contact the OJA for more information.

Biography

Toba Fluxgold was born in Warsaw, Poland and immigrated to Toronto with her father, older brother, and sister. Toba's father ventured into the bakery business and, in the early 1920s, opened his own kosher bakery in Toronto. Following her father's death in 1929, Toba’s brother Morris expanded and modernized the bakery and later sold it to Carmel Bakery. After her marriage in 1925, Toba moved to Arthur, Ontario, and returned to Toronto after the birth of her first child.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Yiddish

Geographic Access

Arthur (Ont.)

Elizabeth Street (Toronto, Ont.)

St. John's Ward (Toronto, Ont.)

Warsaw (Poland)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

Transcript exists for this oral history.

Source

Oral Histories

Name

John Furedi

Number

OH 78

OH 79

Subject

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Immigrants--Canada

Farmers

Communities

Synagogues

Interview Date

29 Jul. 1976

Quantity

4 cassettes (2 copies)

3 WAV files

Interviewer

Larry Troster

Total Running Time

OH78_001: 45.20 minutes OH78_002: 45.30 minutes

Conservation

Copied to cassette in August 2003

Copied to digital file in December 2013

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

John Furedi was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1925. During the Second World War, John was drafted into the Hungarian Labour Service System (Munkaszolgalat). After the Nazi occupation of Hungary in March 1944, John was deported to the Kistarcsa transit camp. Between 1945 and 1948, John travelled throughout Europe and returned to Budapest during the takeover of Hungary by the Communists. The revolution and anti-Jewish sentiment forced many Jews, including John and his wife Stephanie, to flee Hungary. In 1956, they immigrated to Canada and lived in Montreal for one year. In 1958, with the aid of a six-thousand-dollar loan provided by the Jewish Colonization Association, John became the first Jewish chicken farmer to settle in Beamsville, Ontario. John went on to become an active member of Beamsville's Jewish community and participated in the establishment of the community’s first congregation in 1966.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Furedi, John

Jewish Colonization Association

Geographic Access

Beamsville (Ont.)

Hungary

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 78 - Furedi\OH78_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 78 - Furedi\OH78_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Paul Abeles

Number

OH 87

Subject

Farmers

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

14 Jun. 1976

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Larry Troster

Total Running Time

45.05 minutes

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Paul Abeles was born on 15 November 1906 in Czechoslovakia. He was a successful businessman and part of a group of four local businesspeople, with Leon Rotberg, Jack Rotberg, and Jack Brown, who bought and rented business properties in the city. The group were also referred to as the “Brantford Companies,” set up to own and manage warehouse properties in the City of Brantford.

Paul was active in the Brantford Jewish community and represented Brantford at the Second Regional Leadership Conference in London, Ontario on 27 March 1960, where over seventy-five representatives of regional Jewish communities gathered. At this conference, Paul was presented with an award of recognition for his volunteer endeavours.

Paul was one of thirty-nine families who immigrated to Canada in 1939 from Czechoslovakia and placed on farms. He was married to Rita Abeles (née (Glaser). He passed away in March 1989.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Geographic Access

Brantford (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 87 - Abeles\OH87_Transcript.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Tobie Taback

Number

OH 136

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

Interview Date

23 Feb. 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Jack Lipinsky

Total Running Time

34 minutes 58 secons

Conservation

Copied November 2006

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Tobie Taback was the long-time secretary for the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society in Toronto. She retired in 1982.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (Toronto, Ont.)

Taback, Tobie

Lipinsky, Jack

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Tobie Taback discusses the helplessness faced by the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society in bringing immigrants out of Europe during the period of Canada's strict no immigration policy.

In this clip, Tobie Taback discusses the activities of Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS) employees during the years 1937–1939, the obstacles they faced vis-à-vis immigrant applications and the "parcels to Russia and Poland" aid program run by JIAS.

Name

Jack Shindman

Number

OH 138

OH 139

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

High Holidays

Immigrants--Canada

Quantity

4 audio cassettes (2 copies)

4 WAV files

Interviewer

Danny Drutz

AccessionNumber

1983-1-10

Total Running Time

1:30 minutes

Conservation

OH 139 Copied August 2003

OH 138 digitized in 2016

Notes

Related material note: Accession 1983-1-10 includes typed, unpublished manuscript of Jack Shindman's memoir.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Jack Shindman was born in Rovno, Ukraine and immigrated to Toronto in 1923. Shindman worked in a junkyard and advanced to millinery work, becoming executive of his union. After purchasing property at 150 Avenue Road, he opened a laundry business on the ground floor and lived with his family on the top floor. Shindman formed the Obecz-Valin Farein of Toronto, an association for landsleit of his hometown and worked for HIAS/JIAS helping immigrants procure immigration documents.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Greene, Lorne, 1915-1987

Geographic Access

Rovno, Ukraine

Toronto, Ont.

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

OH138 Side One 00:00: Jack explains the complicated, drawn-out process of arranging immigration to Canada. 00:14: Jack explains that his future father-in-law had a brother, Abe, and his wife, Molly, who could help with immigration. 1:33: Jack explains how steamship tickets were procured from his future mother-in-law and her three daughters but not for him and his three sisters due to insufficient funds. 3:15: Jack explains that he continued to work with HIAS/JIAS to help immigrants procure documents before departure in Rovno. His older sister worked as a dressmaker. 4:38: Jack discusses the proposal and wedding to his wife Raizel. Jack describes how he took his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to Warsaw before their departure to Canada. Jack returns to Rovno. 7:42: Jack discusses the agreement he made with his mother-in-law about joining them in Canada. The family in Canada sent a letter promising to send four tickets. 9:42: Jack discusses the circumstances surrounding the birth of their son. 10:11: Jack discusses various legal obstacles that prevented them from immigrating to Canada. 13:53: Jack explains how he and his family were able to secure a special permit procured by Mrs. Dworkin, a steamship agent. Jack, his wife, his son, and his three sisters arrived in Toronto in April 1923. OH138 Side Two 00:00: Jack explains that the Polish regulations limited the amount of time Russians were permitted to remain in Poland if they were waiting to travel abroad. He explains how he deceptively was able to obtain Polish passports for himself, his wife, and his sisters to enable them to remain in Poland for a longer time. 3:58: Jack discusses his efforts at finding work. 5:56: Jack relates an incident involving his youngest sister getting burned from boiling water while taking a bath. He discusses the exemplary care provided by a doctor, Dave (?)Perlman. 8:32: Jack discusses how he was able to find work at his uncle’s junk yard in the Junction. He worked with Joe Tenenbaum. 9:51: Jack describes a flat the family lived in on Stephanie Street. 11:01: Jack discusses his struggle trying to find a job. He explains how he was quickly able to advance while working in a millinery job. 14:58: Jack explains how he became an executive of his union. He was advised by Joe Salsberg to request higher wages. OH139 Side One 00:00: Jack explains that his sisters and sister-in-law got married. 1:37: Jack discusses Benny’s bar mitzvah. 2:28: Jack discusses forming the Obecz- Valin Farein, an association for lantsleit (people from his home town) to send parcels to help people back in Russia from 1934–1939. The organization existed until 1968. 4:54: Jack bought a building at 150 Avenue Road. The family lived upstairs with a laundry on the main floor. 5:53: Jack discusses the dissolution of the organization. 7:00: Jack explains how he purchased a building at 150 Avenue Road and the neighbouring building at 152 Avenue Road. 9:42: Jack discusses his son’s service in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War. 13:19: Jack discusses his attempt to purchase a property on Davenport Road that could be used as a laundry business for his son. OH139 Side Two 00:48: Jack explains that Benny opted to go to university after the war rather than go into his father’s business. 1:57: Jack discusses building a house. 3:02: Jack discusses Jack’s girlfriend who later became his wife. He discusses the wedding at Shaarei Shomayim. 7:16: Jack explains how his son, Benny, and his daughter Adele’s husband, Don, started to work in Jack’s businesses in1952/53. Danny Drutz explains the careers of Don and Benny. 10:34:Danny Drutz discusses Edith’s education and completing a degree at Queen’s University and a course in Lorne Green’s school for acting. 11:10: Danny Drutz discusses Edith’s life course: her work, her engagement and marriage to (?) Lennie Hauser, and her move to London. 13:02: Danny Drutz discusses Lennie’s work with the Department of External Affairs of Canada in diplomatic service. 14:20: Danny Drutz discusses Edith’s work with Information Canada.

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Rabbi Elimelech Ittamar

Number

OH 141

Subject

Education

Immigrants--Canada

Rabbis

Synagogues

Zionists

Interview Date

11 May 1976

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Doris Newman

Total Running Time

Side 1: 46 minutes Side 2: 19 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Rabbi Ittamar was born in Poland. He came to Toronto in 1923. He attended Landsdowne and Ryerson Public Schools in Toronto for one year and then continued his education at a theological seminary in New York, which later became Yeshiva University. Throughout his life, Rabbi Ittamar was an ardent Zionist. From 1930 until June 1932, Rabbi Ittamar served as rabbi of Beth Jacob and Adas Yisroel Synagogues in Hamilton. He then worked as principal of the Seattle Talmud Torah and attended graduate school at the University of Washington for three and a half years. He served for twenty years in Detroit as rabbi and president of Yeshiva. He made aliyah in 5715 (1955), when he was invited by Chief Rabbi Herzog to become secretary of the chief rabbinate. He was married (nee Unger) in 1936 and had two children, Tamar and Yehoshua.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Ittamar, Elimelech

Geographic Access

Toronto

Hamilton

Detroit

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 141, Rabbi Elmelech Ittamar\OH 141 notes.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Rabbi Ittamar shares some of his early memories as a boy in Toronto.

While attending Yeshiva in New York, Rabbi Ittamar headed the debating team. In this clip he describes his first English-speaking public presentation while representing the debating team in 1930 at the Jewish People’s Institute in Chicago.

Name

Max Federman

Number

OH 149

OH 150

Subject

Communism

Immigrants--Canada

Labor unions

Interview Date

19 Mar. 1976

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Ben Schneider

Total Running Time

OH149A: 30. minutes OH149B: 30. minutes OH150A: 1. minute

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Max Federman was born in Poland. In 1919, he moved to Germany where he attended school. He joined his father in Toronto in 1920. A union leader, labour Zionist, and ardent anti-Communist, Max became actively involved in the union movement and served as representative of the Local Fur Workers Union. He was involved in a twenty-year battle with the Communist leadership of the International Furrier Union until they disbanded and merged with the International Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union. Max was involved in Jewish community organizations including the Histadrut, Borochov School, and the United Jewish Welfare Fund.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Federman, Max

Goldman, Emma

Schneider, Ben

Geographic Access

Germany

Poland

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 149, 150, Max Federman\OH 149, 150 notes.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Max Federman describes the conflict between the Federation of Labour and Communist International Union from 1938–1956. He discusses the steps by which the International Fur and Leather Union disaffiliated with the International Union to join the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union in 1956.

In this clip, Max Federman discusses his early involvement with a trade union while living in Germany in 1919.

Name

Dora Till

Number

OH 151

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Labor

Labor unions

Women

Occupations

Interview Date

4 May 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

46 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Dora Till (née Tobias) was born in New York City in 1896. She came to Toronto in 1900. She married Morris Till in 1918. They had one daughter, Cecile. As a youth, Dora was involved with Herzl Girls and the Boot and Shoe Society. Dora was active in community service and contributed greatly to social service work. She was co-founder and first president for the Mothers' and Babes' Summer Rest Home, vice president of the Hebrew Maternity Aid Society, a board member for the Jewish Family and Child Services, an executive for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, honorary vice president of United Jewish Welfare Fund, on the board of Canadian Jewish Congress and past president of the Naomi Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Herzl Girls Boot and Shoe Society, 1920

Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home

Baycrest Hospital

United Jewish Welfare Fund

Beth Tzedec Synagogue

Timothy Eaton Company

Till, Dora

Geographic Access

Toronto

Bronte

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Dora Till discusses some of the services provided by Hebrew Maternity Aid.

Dora Till was co-founder and first president for Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home. In this clip, Dora describes the efforts to solicit and fundraise on behalf of the Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home.

Name

Kalmen Kaplansky

Number

OH 109

Subject

Antisemitism

Human rights

Immigrants--Canada

Labor

Labor unions

Refugees--Canada

Interview Date

20 Sep. 1985

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

109A: 60 minutes 109B: 6 minutes

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Kalmen was born on 5 January 1912 in Poland. He worked in Montreal as a typesetter and linotype operator. He was active in the labour and human rights movements in Canada. Kalmen served as the director of the Jewish Labour Committee in 1945. In collaboration with the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canadian government, and trade unions, the Jewish Labour Committee helped Jewish displaced persons immigrate to Canada by securing them employment. Kalman sat on the Refugee Status Advisory Committee for the federal government.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Kaplansky, Kalmen

Platnick, Phyllis

Jewish Labour Committee

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 109 - Kaplansky\OH109_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 109 - Kaplansky\OH109_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Kalmen Kaplansky discusses some of the obstacles to the relocation of displaced Jews to Canada after the Second World War. He describes a tripartite proposal involving consultation and cooperation among trade unions, management, and government, which enabled the immigration project.

In this clip, Kalmen Kaplansky explains that bribery, corruption, and perjury were a way of life after the Second World War. He relates anecdotes as an example.

Name

Al Hershkovitz

Number

OH 111

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Labor

Labor unions

Refugees--Canada

Zionists

Interview Date

19 Nov. 1985

Quantity

1 cassette (1 copy)

1 WAV file

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

40.30 minutes

Conservation

November 2006

Digitized in 2014

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Al Hershkovitz was a fur union representative who helped organize the project that brought furriers from the displaced persons camps of Europe to Canada in the late 1940s. As a union representative, Al was granted temporary military rank in order to enter the displaced persons camps in Europe. He became part of the selection committee responsible for determining which displaced persons could come to Canada.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Hershkovitz, Al

Federman, Max

Kerbel, Joe

Silver, Harris

Jewish Labor Committee

Canadian Jewish Congress

Jewish Immigrant Aid Society

International Fur and Leather Workers Union

American Federation of Labor

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Europe

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 111 - Hershkovitz\OH111_Log.wav

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Max Enkin

Number

OH 113

OH 114

Subject

Antisemitism

Immigrants--Canada

Labor unions

Nonprofit organizations

Occupations

Refugees--Canada

Interview Date

13 Apr. 1986

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

OH113: 19:40 minuets

OH114:

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Digitized 11/28/2011

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Max Enkin was founder and a leading member of the Jewish Vocational Service of Toronto. The original purpose of the organization was to help survivors of the Second World War find employment. In 1947, as associate administrator and representative for the men's clothing sector in Ontario, Max Enkin became involved in the Tailor Project. The project was designed to identify and select skilled tailors from the displaced persons camps of Europe and help to settle them in Canada.

Max Enkin was awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of services to the Wartime Prices and Trade Board.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Enkin, Max

Platnick, Phyllis

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 113, OH 114 - Enkin\OH113_001_Log.docx

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Max Enkin discusses the organizations, government departments, and union representatives involved in the development and implementation of the Tailor Project.

In this clip, Max Enkin discusses the Liberal government

Name

Claire and Al Roebuck

Number

OH 115

Subject

Tailors

Refugee camps

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

9 Feb. 1986

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

30.05 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Claire and Al Roebuck were involved in the Tailor Project to bring skilled trade workers from the displaced persons camps of Europe to Canada after the Second World War. Claire worked for the Canadian Overseas Garment Worker's Commission with Thomas Aplin.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Europe

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Morris Silbert

Number

OH 123

OH 124

Subject

Agriculture

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

Communities

Interview Date

1986

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Brooky Robins

Total Running Time

OH123_001: 30 minutes OH123_002: 31 minutes OH124_001: 46 minutes OH124_002: 44 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Morris Silbert was born in 1912 on a farm outside of Hamilton. His parents came from Lithuania. His father arrived in Canada in 1905, and his mother and three older siblings joined him in 1906. Morris spent his youth growing up on farms. At the age of sixteen in 1928, he and his family moved to Hamilton. In his youth, Morris was involved in several Jewish organizations, including Young Judaea, AZA, and Hashomer Hatzair. He was married in 1938. He served in the army in 1943 during the Second World War. Morris was the second vice president of the Council of Jewish Organizations. He also served on the executive board as chair of the nursery school board and participated in several committees.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Silbert, Morris

Robins, Brooky

Geographic Access

Hamilton

Wentworth

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 123, OH 124 - Silbert\OH123_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 123, OH 124 - Silbert\OH123_002_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 123, OH 124 - Silbert\OH124_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 123, OH 124 - Silbert\OH124_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Morris Silbert shares memories about Jewish peddlers who were welcomed on his family's farm in southern Ontario. He includes names of peddlers with descriptions of their wares and their carts.

In this clip, Morris Silbert shares memories about Jewish peddlers who were welcomed on his family

In this clip, Morris Silbert describes the restructuring of the Hamilton Jewish community as a result of the Depression in the 1930s. He explains how the Council of Jewish Organizations was formed to replace United Hebrew Association.

Name

Dr. Esther Volpe and Ida Siegel

Number

OH 161

OH 162

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Nonprofit organizations

Interview Date

4 Jan. 1971

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Eva Kayfetz and Stephen Spiesman

Total Running Time

OH161 Side 1: 47 minutes OH161 Side 2: 47 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Notes

Toronto Historical Society lecture

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Esther Volpe (née Shulman) was born on 24 February circa 1898. As a child, she and her family briefly lived in Romington, Ontario and Havlock, Ontario. Her family later settled in Toronto. In her youth, she participated in the Herzl Girls' Club. She attended University of Toroonto in the Faculty of Arts. She married Dr. Aaron Volpe in 1921. Esther was involved in several Jewish organizations, including the old Mount Sinai Medical Auxillary, Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, UJA Appeal, JIAS and BBYO and non-Jewish organizations, including Toronto Local Council of Women. She represented the Jewish community of Toronto on the Wartime Price and Trade Board and helped organize the Ontario Food Council.

Ida Siegel (née Lewis) (1885–1982) was born on 14 February 1885 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1894, Ida and her family moved to Toronto. On 14 February 1905, Ida married Isidore Hirsch Siegel. They had six children. An extremely active communal leader, Ida helped found Daughters of Zion in 1899, the Herzl Girls Club in 1904 and Hadassah in 1916. In the mid-1920s, Ida established the Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home,a camp for poor women with young children. She helped organize the first free Jewish dispensary in Toronto, which eventually developed into Mount Sinai Hospital. Ida was also very active in womens peace movements, the Toronto Board of Education and the Toronto Bureau (elected to board, 1930-36) of Jewish Education. In 1917, Ida helped to organize Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, which later became the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Volpe, Esther

Siegel, Ida

Kayfetz, Eva

Speisman, Stephen

Hadassah-WIZO

National Council of Jewish Women

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In 1947, Esther Volpe was elected president of the National Council of Jewish Women. In this clip, Esther discusses how, with the support of the United Welfare Fund, the Canadian Jewish Congress, and JIAS, she helped make arrangements for groups of Jewish refugees who settled in Toronto.

In this clip, Esther Volpe explains her involvement in the creation of the Good Age Club, the first recreational program for Jewish seniors.

In this clip, Ida Siegel relates anecdotes from her childhood growing up in downtown Toronto.

Name

Blanche Haber

Number

OH 189

Subject

Boardinghouses

Families

Immigrants--Canada

Occupations

Interview Date

18 Dec. 1987

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Kaylee Gollom Miller

Total Running Time

Side 1 - 31 minutes Side 2 - 31 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Blanche Haber (née Heller) was born in a small town in Russia in 1893. She came to Toronto at age eight. Her father worked as a peddler. She married Isadore Haber in 1915. Three of her five children died from illness in their childhood. Before her marriage, Blanche worked as a seamstress. Isadore worked as a tailor, primarily for Eaton's. Like her mother, Blanche took boarders into her home at 112 Parliament Street once married.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Haber, Blanche, 1893-1994

Haber, Isadore, 1887-1982

Manischewitz (family)

Geographic Access

Halifax (N.S.)

Parliament Street (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 189 Haber\OH 189 notes.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Blanche Haber describes taking boarders into her mother’s and her own home at 112 Parliament Street.

In this clip, Blanche Haber fondly remembers the warm relationship that developed between her family and the Manischewitz family. She explains that Joe Manischewitz boarded at her family’s home while his family built a matzah factory in Toronto.

Name

Dr. Sydney Wise

Number

OH 278

Subject

Business

Immigrants--Canada

Physicians

Interview Date

29 Sep. 2003

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Ellen Scheinberg

Total Running Time

Side 1: 46 min.

Side 2: 30 min.

Conservation

Digital copy made April 11, 2011.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Dr. Sydney Wise was a Toronto physician and a long-time volunteer at the Ontario Jewish Archives. Sydney was married to Mimi Wise, who had been an active member of Hadassah-WIZO for most of her life. Sydney's father, Anshel Wise, opened a cigar store on Dundas Street, which later turned into a steamship agency called A. Wise Travel Bureau. The latter helped bring immigrants over from Europe.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Wise, Anshel

Wise, Sydney

Scheinberg, Ellen

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

In this portion of the interview, Syd describes his father Anshel Wise’s cigar store and travel business, which opened in the Ward in 1918. Anshel was one of the first steamship agents in Toronto.

In this portion of the interview, Sydney describes his entry into medical school at the University of Toronto. He outlines some of the challenges encountered by Jewish medical students in their search for internship positions.

Name

Irving Milchberg

Number

OH 333

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Holocaust survivors

Refugees--Canada

Interview Date

26 Jul. 2007

Quantity

1 mini DV ; 1 archival DVD ; 1 reference DVD

Interviewer

Sharon Gubbay Helfer

Total Running Time

1 hr

Notes

Part of Ontario Small Jewish Communities Project.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Biography

Irving Milchberg, the Holocaust survivor known from Joseph Ziemian's book "The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square," used to sell cigarettes to Nazis in Warsaw as an oprhan during the Second World War.

Milchberg, the leader of a group of orphaned Jewish children hiding their identities, used to gather at Three Crosses Square, the centre of the German occupation of Warsaw, to sell cigarettes. The group went wandering around under the very noses of policemen, gendarmes, Gestapo men, and ordinary spies.

Before joining the cigarette sellers, Milchberg twice escaped from the Nazis. The first time he scaled a fence and fled the Umschlagplatz, where Jews were put aboard trains to the Treblinka death camp. The second time, he managed to break the bars of the train taking him to Treblinka and scramble out. His father, mother, and three sisters were all murdered by the Nazis.

In 1945, Milchberg made his way to Czechoslovakia, then Austria, then to a camp for displaced people in occupied Germany, where he learned watchmaking, which became his lifelong occupation. In 1947, he moved to Canada, ending up in Niagara Falls, where he opened his own jewellery and watch business. In 1953, he met his wife, Renee, who had survived the war. They had two children and three grandchildren. Milchberg died in January 2014 at the age of eighty-six.

Material Format

moving images

Geographic Access

Niagara Falls, Ont.

Original Format

Mini DV

Copy Format

DVD

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Nathan Rivelis

Number

OH 405

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Small business

Communities

Interview Date

3 Aug. 2010

Quantity

1 reference CD

1 archival DVD

Interviewer

Rheta (nee Rivelis) Rosen

AccessionNumber

OH 405

Total Running Time

1:11 minutes

Biography

Nathan Rivelis, father of Rheta Rosen (née Rivelis), was born in the early 1900s in the Ukraine. Nathan immigrated to Canada in 1919, making his home in Lachine and Saint-Jérôme, Quebec. In 1926, Nathan moved to North Bay, Ontario. There, he opened a small, family-run clothing store and grew it into Rivelis' Department Store, remaining in business until 1983.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Rivelis' Department Store (North Bay, Ont.)

Geographic Access

North Bay (Ont.)

Québec (Province)

Ukraine

Original Format

DVD

Transcript

0.0-.39: Interviewer checking the tape recorder Family History .40-35.54: Nathan Rivelis was born in the early 1900s in Miskiva, (spelling) a town located between Odessa and Kiev in the Ukraine. Approximately 2,000 Jews lived in Miskiva alongside a small non-Jewish population. The market place was the primary source of income for the Jewish population. Nathan had five siblings: Tzipa, Moshe, Hannah, Eva, and Esther. When Nathan was ten years old, his father passed away, leaving his mother, Bluma Rivelis (née Dubin) to provide for the family on her own. With Nathan’s help, Bluma supported the family by running a grocery store and selling liquor. Nathan describes the difficult life and persecution of Miskiva’s Jewish peasantry from the early 1900s through the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Many Russian Jews fled Russia for America, and it was Abram, Nathan’s brother-in-law, who was the first family member to immigrate to Canada. With money received from Abram, Nathan secured passage to Canada for the rest of the family. Immigration to Canada 35.55-42.47: Nathan arrived in Canada in 1919, making his home in Lachine, Quebec. After six years working as a presser and in dry goods, Nathan opened a business in St. Jerome, Quebec. North Bay 42.48-48.50: In 1926, after vacationing with the Herman family and encouraged by a positive impression of North Bay, Nathan closed his dry goods business in St. Jerome and moved to North Bay. After a brief stint as a peddler, Rivelis purchased the dry goods business of E. I. Green. To help with the business, Rivelis moved his mother and sister Esther to North Bay. After his marriage in 1929, they returned to Montreal. Rivelis grew his small, family-run clothing store to a large department store and remained in business until 1983. Family history continued 48.51-57.21: In this portion of the interview, Nathan discusses his feelings of fear while living in Russia, always worrying what the next day would bring. When Nathan arrived in Canada, he felt free and happy. Nathan discusses his father’s family. Some family members immigrated to Milwaukee while some remained in Russia. 57.28-1.02.29: This is a personal conversation between Nathan and his daughter. They discuss Nathan’s mother, her difficult life in Russia, her life in Canada, and her death at the age of ninety-four.

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Stephen Pincus

Number

OH 415

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

26 Apr. 2015

Interviewer

Jessica Parker

Total Running Time

1 hr. 23 min.

Use Restrictions

Restriction noted by interviewee on video/oral history release form: The foregoing is subject to OJA obtaining my prior written consent prior to placing any of the interview on the internet (other than password protected communications)

Researches should be directed to the access copy created by Stephen Pincus.

Biography

Although he grew up in South Africa, Stephen was born in England where his father was studying. When they returned to South Africa in 1963, they visited Israel on the way, and five-year-old Stephen fell in love with the exotic, young Jewish state.

As a teenager, Stephen was active in Habonim, South Africa’s largest Zionist youth movement and became head of that movement in the late 1970s, running the largest Jewish youth camp in the world. Stephen was also elected chair of South Africa’s Zionist Youth Council, the umbrella body for all-Jewish youth organizations in the country. He and his wife Michelle then moved to Israel with a Habonim group that established Kibbutz Tuval in the western Galilee.

In 1982 Stephen came to study in Toronto. He served as administrator of Bialik Hebrew Day School and as camp director of Camp Shalom, while completing MBA and LLB degrees, and was awarded the Gold Medal at Osgoode Hall Law School. Stephen and Michelle started a family and both their own parents immigrated to Toronto.

Stephen is a senior partner and executive committee member at Goodmans LLP, is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading business lawyers, and has played a pioneering role in the development of the country’s capital markets. He is is the founding chair of the Canada Africa Chamber of Business, a director of Kew Media Group, a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel, chair of the board of Makom, and founder of Kaleidoscope, a unique multi-dimensional Israel engagement program.

He and his wife Michelle; their two married children, Daniel and Lisa; granddaughter Olivia; and therapy dog Mannee all live in Toronto.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Pincus, Stephen, 1958-

Geographic Access

England

Original Format

Digital file

Copy Format

Digital file

Transcript

00:56 Stephen discusses his family background, including notable forebears, his grandparents' immigration in the early 1900s, and the largely Lithuanian composition of the South African Jewish community.

03:04 Stephen discusses his South-African-born parents' backgrounds and how they met.

05:14 Stephen mentions that he was born in England in 1958, while his family was abroad for his father's medical studies. He lived there until they returned to South Africa in 1964.

06:25 Stephen remembers arriving in South Africa and all the family that had come to greet them who hadn't seen his parents for eight years. He mentions that all correspondence happened via mail.

08:01 Stephen describes his family's relationship to Judaism: They were Orthodox in name, but took a pragmatic approach. Stephen went to public school and received a lot of his Jewish education from Habonim.

09:27 Stephen describes his bar mitzvah celebrations. Stephen remembers preparing his speech. He enjoys public speaking and this was a starting point.

10:49 Stephen talks about the Habonim youth movement. Stephen's involvement began in his early teens. He became the head of the movement in the late 1970s and ran the camp for a couple of years. Stephen is organizing a trip this summer to Israel for alumni of Habonim.

14:50 Stephen explains that he has a foot in South Africa, Canada, and Israel.

15:43 Stephen talks about the unique environment in South Africa that contributed to Zionism. He talks about the Soweto Uprising in 1976. Israel was a place where South African Jews could create something better. Stephen finds it ironic that some see in Israel a continuation of apartheid.

19:53 Stephen talks about his parents' view of his involvement in Habonim. He relates a story where his father became upset when Stephen participated in a march protesting a United Nations resolution instead of studying for an exam.

21:37 Stephen's father was risk-averse and practical. He wasn't keen on Stephen moving to Israel and would discourage his son indirectly. Stephen went to Israel anyway.

22:20 Stephen's parents did not give voice to strong political views. Stephen remembers being at a poetry reading at a friend's parents' house when he was eight. It was his first mixed-race experience. Stephen and his friends were politically active in high school and as undergraduate students.

24:27 Stephen explains how Zionism and Israel were his major focus while the South African situation was secondary. Stephen remembers visiting Soweto a number of times.

26:00 Stephen discusses the paradox of under apartheid while opposing it. He sees this as a central issue that white South Africans of his generation faced. He discusses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings of the 1990s.

28:24 Stephen recounts how Israel fell into the arms of South Africa after being pushed away by various African states in the 1970s.

29:03 Stephen describes his involvement in resuscitating Machon Le'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz, a year-long leadership course for youth leaders in Israel. South African Jews would defer their army service to participate. In 1975, the South African government determined it would not let Jewish students defer for this purpose.

31:16 Stephen discusses his decision to leave South Africa.

32:51 Stephen discusses how not going on Machon is one of his regrets.

33:28 Stephen discusses the places he considered immigrating to. He was focused on going to Israel and was part of a group that went to live on a kibbutz in the western Galilee.

37:24 Stephen discusses previous trips to Israel. The first time he went to the country was when his family went from England to South Africa. This was before the Six-Day War and he remembers barbed wire in Jerusalem. Stephen thinks he probably fell in love with Israel at this time.

38:32 Stephen explains the meaning of the words machon and garin.

39:23 Stephen describes the kupah meshutefet ("common treasury box") economic system. The system didn't last very long.

40:16 Stephen describes how his family and friends reacted to the news that he was making aliyah.

41:09 Stephen discusses a car trip he and his wife took throughout South Africa. He relates how they were caught in a flood and ended up being taken in by a Black family. Stephen reflects on the irony of their situation.

44:07 Stephen discusses he and his wife's arrival in Israel. Stephen was accepted by Hebrew University to study law. Ultimately, he and his wife chose to move to Toronto at the beginning of 1982.

45:06 Stephen shares what he brought with him to Toronto from South Africa.

47:20 Stephen discusses his initial trip to Canada in January 1982. He thinks that it was the coldest winter Toronto experienced until 2014. He discusses some of the hurdles he faced adjusting to the new climate.

51:33 Stephen discusses settling in Canada and going to school.

56:25 Stephen discusses opening an issue of the Canadian Jewish News and seeing that a summer camp was looking for a director. He was director for a couple of years and he and his wife would spend their summer at the camp.

57:05 Stephen discusses how Habonim was different from Camp Shalom, the camp he worked at in Canada.

58:24 Stephen discusses his transition from being involved in a Zionist and socialist youth movement to ending up in business and corporate law. He notes that he has shifted in a number of respects in terms of his perspective on economic values, social values, and religious values.

1:02:55 Stephen discusses his experience integrating into Canadian society.

1:05:20 Stephen contrasts his parents' experience coming later in life with his own experience. They had a wonderful time when they came because there was a large community of retired South African expatriates by then.

1:09:54 Stephen discusses the role of the local Jewish community, and local South African Jewish community, played in his acclimatization.

1:11:59 Stephen discusses how he came to work for Goodmans.

1:14:17 Stephen discusses the differences he has noticed between Canadians and South Africans. He feels that South Africans as a group tend to be more direct than Canadians. In his opinion, South Africans lie somewhere between Israelis and Canadians in terms of directness.

1:17:51 Stephen discusses his journey, coming from a secular Zionist background and starting a program of Jewish learning later in life.

1:20:40 Stephen discusses his own approach to keeping Jewish traditions and customs. He is observant, but not dogmatic.

1:26:11 Stephen discusses his two children. His son is a medical resident and his daughter is finishing up a law/business administration program.

1:27:09 Stephen discusses synagogues he is involved with.

1:29:10 Stephen discusses cultural differences he has experienced raising his children in Canada.

1:33:04 Stephen explains the decisions he and his wife made regarding their children's education.

1:35:15 Stephen describes his children's relationships with their grandparents.

1:37:31 Stephen answers the question, "Do you feel Canadian?"

1:41:55 Stephen discusses his involvement with the Canada-South Africa Chamber of Business.

1:42:42 Stephen discusses the differences in being involved with the ex-South African community more broadly and the ex-South African Jewish community.

1:44:58 Stephen discusses his children's connections to South Africa, which he says are quite limited.

1:46:37 Stephen shares food words and expressions that he shared with his children and which they now use.

1:47:55 Stephen offers a few final remarks about his decision to immigrate to Canada and the relationship between Canadian identity, Jewish/Israeli identity, and South African identity.

Source

Oral Histories

Israel, the Opportunity for New Beginnings

An Indoor Life

Name

Hilton and Shirley Silberg

Number

OH 419

Subject

Business

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Occupations

Interview Date

3 Sep. 2015

Interviewer

Naomi Raichyk

Total Running Time

1 hr. 34 min.

Biography

Hilton and Shirley were born in Durban, South Africa in 1951. Although both were involved in the Habonim youth movement, the two did not meet until their first year in pharmacy school. After getting married and serving a brief stint in the military, Hilton left with Shirley on a trip overseas that included Europe and the United Sates, but whose ultimate purpose was the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Upon arriving in Montreal, the couple decided Canada would be a good place to live. By that point, they had resolved that they did not want their children to internalize the racial norms of apartheid South Africa. Cementing their decision was the fact Shirley’s sister was accepted into Canada shortly after the two returned to South Africa.

Hilton and Shirley’s immigration to Canada was complicated by the fact they were regarded by the government as students, not full-fledged pharmacists. When they came to Canada in August 1977, they therefore had to qualify as pharmacists, which they did by attending university while holding down full-time jobs as pharmacy technicians. Once certified, they moved to Dundas, where they opened a series of pharmacies and raised their children.

In 2007, the couple sold their Day Night Pharmacy chain to Rexall Pharma Plus. In 2014 Hilton and Shirley relocated to Toronto and now spend their time between Toronto and Vancouver to be close to their children and grandchildren.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Silberg, Hilton, 1951-

Silberg, Shirley, 1951-

Geographic Access

Dundas (Ont.)

Durban (South Africa)

Johannesburg (South Africa)

Original Format

Digital file

Transcript

00:38 Shirley was born in Durban, South Africa in 1951.

00:44 Shirley discusses her family history. Her maternal grandparents came to Durban in early 1800s from England. They married in South Africa. Her paternal grandparents came to Durban from Lithuania in the late 1800s. They married in South Africa. Her father was a physician specializing in physical medicine; her mother worked as his secretary.

03:31 Shirley describes her privileged early home life.

04:26 Shirley attended Hebrew day school.

05:06 Shirley describes her education and involvement in sports.

07:28 Shirley attended the Habonim youth movement.

08:13 Shirley discusses her early memories of politics and apartheid.

09:57 Shirley describes the impact an overseas trip to Europe and Israel had on her.

12:34 Shirley explains that she and Hilton considered immigrating to Canada and Israel. Her sister had immigrated to Canada and her brother had immigrated to England.

13:31 Hilton and Shirley attended the pharmacy school in Durban.

14:48 Hilton and Shirley married and moved to Johannesburg. Hilton completed mandatory service in the army.

15:37 Hilton was born in Durban on 26 October 1951. He discusses his family history. His maternal grandparents came from Lithuania. His mother was born in South Africa. His father's family came from Lithuania. His father was born in Lithuania. Hilton shares a story about his paternal grandmother's voyage from Lithuania to Pretoria with five children. When his parents were married they moved to Durban in the mid-1950s.

17:46 Hilton discusses his parents. His mother was an occasional secretary. His father was initially a tool and diemaker. Later, he worked in business. Hilton notes that his father was a semi-professional football player.

20:30 Hilton explains that his mother had a strong Jewish identity, but was not religious.

21:06 Hilton discusses his education in public school and Hebrew school.

21:58 Hilton reminisces about his childhood.

23:25 Hilton discusses how he and his sister became competitive ballroom dancers.

25:50 Hilton discusses his bar mitzvah training.

27:02 Hilton was active in the Habonim youth movement.

27:31 Hilton shares his impressions growing up under apartheid. He discusses discrimination, restrictions, and censorship.

30:33 Hilton discusses his mandatory military service.

36:22 Hilton and Shirley discuss how they met and dated.

37:45 Hilton discusses some of the factors that triggered the couple's decision to leave South Africa.

43:07 Hilton and Shirley describe how they struggled to accumulate money before leaving South Africa.

44:12 Hilton describes the efforts made to secure work and a visa for entry into Canada.

48:31 Hilton and Shirley describe the sentiments that surrounded their departure from South Africa.

49:40 Hilton and Shirley arrived in Canada on 25 August 1977.

50:30 Shirley shares anecdotes about her first experiences with household chores.

54:20 Hilton and Shirley discuss their few acquaintances/contacts when they first arrived in Canada.

55:40 Hilton explains how his outlook has changed since he moved to Canada.

57:41 Shirley describes the challenges of juggling work and pharmacy classes at the University of Toronto. Hilton and Shirley share some examples of cultural differences between Canada and South Africa.

1:01:05 Hilton and Shirley worked as pharmaceutical technicians.

1:03:53 Hilton explains how they became partners in a pharmacy in Dundas, Ontario. Hilton and Shirley discuss how they settled in and were welcomed into the Jewish community.

1:10:05 Hilton and Shirley brought Hilton's two sisters, brother, parents, and Shirley's mother to Canada.

1:11:02 Hilton explains the circumstances that led to a split with his partners. He changed the name of the pharmacy from Amherst Pharmacy to Hilton Pharmacy. He describes the growth of the business.

1:18:00 Hilton describes the expansion and success of the business to five pharmacies.

1:20:12 Hilton discusses his involvement in the Jewish and secular communities in Dundas.

1:20:57 In 2007, the business was purchased by Rexall.

1:21:33 Shirley explains the circumstances that prompted their move to Toronto via Vancouver.

1:23:55 Shirley describes a return visit to South Africa with her two youngest children.

1:25:22 Hilton reminisces about a family trip to London and South Africa in 1980.

1:27:08 Hilton describes his discomfort during a visit to Durban, South Africa in 1986.

1:28:40 Shirley relates an anecdote that occurred during their family trip to South Africa.

1:30:46 Hilton reflects on how much he appreciates being in Canada.

1:32:50 Shirley identifies becoming Canadian citizens as a turning point in their new life in Canada.

Source

Oral Histories

https://vimeo.com/230208590

Immigration Tribulations

Who Has Left Over Matzah Balls?

The First Midnight Store

Name

Richard Stern

Number

OH 426

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Occupations

Interview Date

23 Feb. 2016

Interviewer

Lisa Newman

Total Running Time

OH 426 part 1: 22 min.

OH 426 part 2: 22 min.

OH 426 part 3: 21 min.

OH 426 part 4: 1 min.

OH 426 part 5: 4 min.

OH 426 part 6: 3 min.

OH 427 part 7: 10 min.

OH 428 part 8: 2 min.

Use Restrictions

Waiting for Richard to sign waiver.

Biography

The firstborn twin (he insists he and his brother are not competitive), Richard grew up in the small town of Muizenberg in an old house on the seafront with his parents and four siblings. Born in 1937, Richard’s childhood was untainted by apartheid, which came into effect eleven years later in 1948. As a child, he played with children of colour on his grandfather’s farm; by adolescence, those same childhood friends were obliged to call him "Boss" on account of his race.

After completing high school at Kingswood College, a Methodist boarding school five hundred miles from where he grew up, Richard returned to Muizenburg where he worked on a farm before going back to school to obtain a diploma in agriculture. Around this time, he had a small mishap working at a winery. He had been warned not to fall asleep while the grapes were fermenting; sure enough, he did just that and the next morning the winery found itself with ten thousand gallons of vinegar.

Richard gained more experience in different wineries after completing a tour of Europe with the National Union of South African Students. He stayed in England and worked at a winery located under the Tower of London and later at wine farms in Bordeaux and the Champagne region of France. While in Europe, his twin brother told him about agriculture in Israel, which prompted him to go there. It was in Israel that he met his first wife with whom he had three children.

Richard worked at several jobs in Israel and opened three of the first Supersol supermarkets there. He also served in the Israel Defense Forces. Eventually though, he decided to come to Canada, which he did with his family in 1963. In Ottawa, he operated a supermarket for a short time before going to work for the head office of Loeb. Through this position, he got to see a good deal of Canada and developed a sense of its geography and a feel for its people.

In the early 1970s, Richard made a living as his own boss in a brokerage business before the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce recruited him to market Canadian grocery and alcohol products. It was while working for the department that he became a Canadian citizen.

Today, Richard is retired and married to Doris. They have four children and eight grandchildren. He considers himself a Canadian Jew, but retains a strong affection for South Africa and its natural beauty. Since leaving, he has been back to South Africa between twenty and thirty times with Doris.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Stern, Richard, 1937-

Geographic Access

Cape Town (South Africa)

England

France

Israel

Muizenberg (South Africa)

Ottawa (Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Transcript

0Part 1:

00:00 Richard was born in Muizenberg, South Africa on 5 January 1937. He was the first of a set of twins.

00:57 Richard discusses his grandfather's business in Cape Town.

01:38 Richard reminisces about his childhood in Muizenberg. He shares memories about school, after-school activities, and his school performance.

04:06 Richard discusses his siblings: Robert, Maxwell, Peter, and Jean.

06:11 Richard studied viticulture. He describes the challenges he faced realizing his dreams after leaving his country and support system.

08:37 Richard reminisces about growing up in Muizenberg.

09:30 Richard discusses Jewish life and education in Muizenberg.

10:23 Richard discusses his bar mitzvah.

11:11 Richard describes the history of his parents' home.

12:07 Richard recalls his family celebrating Jewish holidays.

12:42 Richard discusses his affiliation with the Second Muizenberg Jewish Boy Scout group and camp.

13:15 Richard notes that his father was a leader in the Habonim youth movement, but did not want his children to participate in Habonim.

14:18 Richard discusses his father's involvement with the scouting movement in Cape Town. His father was involved in Jewish communal affairs. He describes his father's involvement with an entertainment group.

15:59 Richard discusses the make-up of the Jewish community in Muizenberg.

16:30 Richard shares stories involving his personal relationships with Black or "coloured" Africans. He relates an incident that occurred during his first work experience.

19:40 Richard discusses the changes that arose with the introduction of apartheid in 1948. He refers to the risks associated with political involvement against the government.

22:09 Richard discusses Klingswood College, the boarding school he attended.

Part 2:

00:00 Richard continues to reminisce about attending boarding school. There were about twelve Jewish students.

03:42 Richard mentions the Sharpeville massacre.

04:12 Richard describes the student mix at Kingswood College. He describes exemptions made for Jewish students as well as mandatory church services.

06:33 Richard describes his pursuits after graduating from Kingswood College. He describes working on farms and vineyards. He earned a diploma in agricultural science from the College of Agriculture at the University of Stellenbosch. He relates stories from his college years.

11:44 Richard speaks of his travels and work experience in England, France, and Israel after graduating from college.

14:19 Richard speaks of his contact with Israel's first ambassador to Canada, Michael Comay, and his first marriage to Michael's daughter, Jill. They had two children.

15:49 Richard discusses his decision to remain in Israel and his early work experience in Israel.

17:22 Richard describes suffering from jaundice while completing his army training in Israel.

18:14 Richard was in Canada for six months and then returned to Israel.

18:18 Richard describes some of the challenges he encountered as manager of some of the newly-opened chain of Supersol supermarkets in Israel.

21:26 Richard discusses his decision to apply for immigration to Canada.

Part 3:

00:00 Richard discusses the breakup between the Bronfsmans and Bert Loeb.

00:58 Richard describes his ten years of work for Loeb's in Ottawa.

02:50 Richard opens up a brokerage business in 1971.

03:11 Richard describes how and why he was approached by the government of Canada to work in industry, trade, and commerce.

03:57 Richard explains how he became a Canadian citizen.

04:45 Richard describes his involvement in marketing alcoholic beverages and grocery products on behalf of the government of Canada.

06:01 Richard discusses his post chairing Canada-Israel agreements.

06:29 Richard describes the events that led to his wife and children returning to Israel in 1967. He notes the likelihood of his moving back to South Africa had his wife not decided to return to Canada.

07:06 Richard discusses his attachment to South Africa and offers his impressions of the country.

11:37 Richard praises the liberal political position taken by Jews in South Africa.

12:30 Richard discusses his ancestry. His paternal and maternal grandfathers came from Germany to South Africa. His paternal grandmother came from New York. He tells some stories about his grandparents.

14:42 Richard muses about his lack of awareness of different Jewish groups while growing up.

16:50 Richard discusses his identity as a Canadian Jew.

18:30 Richard discusses some of his philanthropic support.

19:55 Richard recalls memories about his grandparents.

Part 4:

00:00 Richard displays and describes two photographs of himself and his siblings.

Part 5:

00:00 Richard displays a photograph of the opening of the Voortrekker monument commemorating the Afrikaner scouting movement. Richard discusses his involvement with the movement and his attendance at the opening of the monument.

01:45 Richard displays and discusses a photograph of his school cadets band.

03:03 Richard displays and discusses a photograph of his rugby team.

03:49 Richard displays a photograph of himself and his brother-in-law, Yochanan, while serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Richard discusses how Yochanan was killed in the Golan Heights in 1967.

Part 6:

00:00 Richard displays and discusses a plaque that was present to his grandfather, Max Sonnenberg, for his service in parliament for twenty years.

01:38 Richard displays and discusses a book that was written by his grandfather.

Part 7:

00:00 Richard discusses his work with Agriculture Canada as director of processed food and later director of international marketing. He took early retirement in 1990.

01:23 Richard displays and discusses a photograph from the International Dairy Congress in 1994. He shares a story about Stephen Lewis, who was a guest speaker.

03:14 Richard displays and discusses a photograph of Richard presenting a cheque to the deputy minister of agriculture repaying the grant for the Dairy Congress.

04:12 Richard displays and discusses a photograph that related to his work with the sheep council in 1997.

05:44 Richard displays and discusses a photograph that related to his work with the cervidae industry.

06:50 Richard displays and discusses a trophy honouring his father for his contributions to the Community Chest Carnival. Richard shares some stories related to the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg that was started by his father.

09:56 Richard displays and discusses a program relating to the re-opening of the Masque Theatre in 1999.

Part 8:

00:00 Richard displays and discusses a photograph from his parents' wedding.

Source

Oral Histories

Scouting

Racism?

Name

Karrie Weinstock

Number

OH 435

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

11 Jul. 2016

Interviewer

Lisa Newman

Total Running Time

OH 435 part 1: 22 min.

OH 435 part 2: 11 min.

OH 435 part 3: 22 min.

OH 435 part 4: 5 min.

Biography

Karrie’s life has long been characterized by both privilege and an acute sensitivity to the challenges facing those less fortunate than herself. Although she grew up in a happy professional family, her childhood was marked by uncertainty. Her father, Jack Unterhalter, was a civil-rights lawyer in the apartheid era, active in left-wing politics, and Karrie recalls him keeping a packed briefcase by the door during the state of emergency in case the authorities should come for him.

As a young woman, Karrie studied to be an English teacher at Homerton College, Cambridge. She then returned to South Africa, where she taught for two years, before moving to Boston to pursue a master’s degree in educational administration, planning, and social policy at Harvard. Upon graduating, she took a position at Milton Academy, an independent school in Boston. She enjoyed her time there but chose to relocate to Toronto, where she had an aunt. For over three decades, she has worked at Branksome Hall, first as an English teacher, then as an administrator, and now in her current role as deputy principal.

In 1985, Karrie married Michael Weinstock, a native Torontonian, whose family embraced her as one of their own. Both Karrie and Michael had been married previously, and, through her marriage to Michael, she inherited three beautiful stepdaughters. Karrie and Michael had a child of their own, a son who shares his mother’s love of South Africa, visiting the country each year.

Recognizing her great fortune in life, Karrie gives back through her volunteer work with the Stephen Leacock Foundation, which, among other initiatives, supports low-fee independent schools in South Africa that are connected to independent and public schools in Canada so as to form a unique triangle of hope.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Weinstock, Karen

Geographic Access

Boston (Mass.)

Cambridge (England)

Jamestown (South Africa)

Johannesburg (South Africa)

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Transcript

Part 1:

00:00 Karrie outlines her immediate family. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.

01:28 Karrie discusses her family history. Her maternal grandfather was born in 1891 in Lithuania. He came to South Africa in 1914 to escape the military. Her maternal grandmother was born in 1903 in Lithuaniaf. Her paternal grandfather was born in 1888 in Poland. Her paternal grandmother, whose parents came from Lithuania, was born in London in 1893.

03:54 Karrie discusses her father's career as a civil rights lawyer. She discusses her father's role as a founding member of the Liberal Party in South Africa.

06:35 Karrie discusses the impact her father's political activism had on her family. She offers examples to illustrate the unique situation in her home while growing up (e.g. political meetings, fear of her father's imminent arrest, visits from political prisoners).

08:26 Karrie offers her impressions of the position taken by the greater Jewish community in South Africa.

09:27 Karrie explains why she and her siblings attended independent schools.

11:00 Karrie discusses her family's involvement in the Jewish community and Jewish practice.

13:15 Karrie discusses how her parents stressed the importance of education and viewed education as a means of leaving South Africa. She discusses the education paths of her siblings as well as her own. Karrie received her teaching qualifications at Cambridge and earned a master's degree in administration planning and social policy at Harvard.

15:34 Karrie lives in Canada. Her sister lives in London. Her brother opted to return to South Africa.

16:38 Karrie relates an anecdote that compares her current situation of seeing her mother once a year with Black workers in South Africa who saw their children once a year.

17:48 Karrie explains that both her sister and brother were unable to return to South Africa for a period of time. In her sister's case it was due to her political activity; in her brother's case, it was due to his refusal to serve in the military.

18:55 Karrie discusses her "charmed" life growing up.

20:54 Karrie discusses her teaching qualifications and first teaching position at an independent school for mixed-race students.

Part 2:

00:56 Karrie discusses her experience at Harvard. Specifically, she mentions a friendship.

06:09 Karrie explains why her parents preferred that she not return to South Africa.

07:09 Karrie relates the story of finding a job at Milton Academy in Boston following graduation.

Part 3:

00:00 Karrie explains how she decided to move to Toronto.

03:45 Karrie explains how she became engaged and married to Clive Lovett in 1979. She explains the factors that contributed to the end of their four-year marriage.

05:16 Karrie discusses her teaching and administrative responsibilities at Branksome Hall.

12:59 Karrie describes meeting and marrying Michael Weinstock. Michael has three children from a previous marriage. Karrie and Michael have one son together.

15:20 Karrie explains how Peter Oliver, a prominent South African-born Toronto philanthropist and businessman, arranged to fund and build an independent school, the Get-Ahead Project School in rural South Africa. She explains her involvement with the project and the connection with Branksome Hall, Rose Avenue Public School, a high-needs school in Toronto, and the Get-Ahead Project School in South Africa.

Part 4:

00:00 Karrie continues to describe the inter-school program that has been set up for students at Branksome Hall, a school in Jamestown; Toronto, and the Get-Ahead school.

02:26 Karrie discusses her role on the board of the Leacock Foundation and her opportunity to further the inter-school program. She cites an example of how they contributed to the Get-Ahead school.

04:17 Karrie reminisces about times when she felt Canadian.

Source

Oral Histories

A Triangle of Hope

A Packed Suitcase by the Door

A Charmed Existence

Name

Anthony Melman, 1947-

Number

OH 447

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Businessmen

Capitalists and financiers

South Africa--Emigration and immigration

Interview Date

27 Sept. 2017

Interviewer

Lisa Newman

Total Running Time

1 hr., 19 min.

Biography

Anthony “Tony” Melman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on 1 June 1947 to Frances and Jack Melman. He was Frances and Jack’s second child, their first being Tony’s older sister, Lillian. Both of Tony’s parents were second-generation South Africans, his father’s family originating from Lithuania and his mother’s from Poland.

Tony describes himself as having been “quite naughty” as a child, which, among other things, resulted in him being sent to a Methodist boarding school. The experience was not entirely negative as Tony forged close friendships with other Jewish boys at the school. Prefiguring his lifelong passion for music, he even formed a rock ‘n’ roll band while he was there.

After high school, Tony enrolled in the army, eventually becoming a major. His rebellious streak alive and well, he would sometimes go AWOL in order to play music at different nightclubs around town.

Tony’s postsecondary education spanned several institutions: He holds a bachelor of science degree from Wits University, a master of business administration degree (gold medalist) from the University of Cape Town, and a doctor of philosophy degree (also from Wits). At the time, Tony thought of his PhD as a kind of “ticket” for leaving South Africa.

Tony and his wife came to Toronto in February 1977 and fell in love with the city. In July, Tony took up a position at CIBC, where he rose to the position of senior vice president. In 1984, he left CIBC to co-found Onex Corporation, where he stayed until 2006. Upon leaving Onex, he enjoyed a brief retirement before returning to the world of finance, co-founding Acasta Capital in 2012 and Acasta Enterprises in 2015.

In addition to music, Tony is passionate about health and fitness. He and his wife Valerie have three children.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Melman, Anthony

Geographic Access

Cape Town (South Africa)

Johannesburg (South Africa)

Toronto (Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Transcript

00:15 Anthony introduces himself. He states his date and place of birth and describes his immediate family. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on 1 June 1947. Growing up, he had an older sister, Lillian. His parents were Frances and Jack Melman.

00:50 Anthony discusses his family history. His parents were born in South Africa and were second-generation South Africans. His father's family was from Lithuania originally while his mother's family was from Poland.

01:15 Anthony talks about his sister. He relates a story about her marking up his face when they were little. They weren't close. Today, she lives in Los Angeles with her family.

02:40 Anthony talks about himself as a child. He describes himself as "quite naughty." His naughty behaviour led his father to send him to boarding school.

03:55 Anthony discusses Jewish observance at home. They were Orthodox but did not run an Orthodox home. He shares memories of synagogue attendance.

05:13 Anthony discusses his father's relationship to Judaism. He describes his father as "a proud Jew." He was not, however, an especially religious man.

06:05 Anthony discusses his father's profession. Jack Melman was a lawyer who ran a family practice. He did not encourage Anthony to follow in his footsteps, professionally-speaking.

07:47 Anthony explains his decision-making process around leaving South Africa. He then talks about his family's reaction when he informed them of his decision. They were supportive.

09:25 Anthony talks about his schooling. He attended a Methodist boarding school, where he formed a rock 'n' roll band. The Jewish boys at the school bonded over their outsider status. His education was in English, although he did learn Afrikaans.

13:05 Anthony remembers his bar mitzvah. It was a fun event.

14:25 Anthony talks about his time in the army. Conscription was not mandatory at the time. His father felt it was important for Anthony to serve his country. Anthony became a major in the army. He also relates stories of going AWOL to play music at different nightclubs.

20:05 Anthony talks about his mother, who was very musical. Neither Anthony's father nor his sister were musical. Anthony concludes his love of music comes from his mother. On the whole, Anthony's family was indifferent to his musical interests. His mother-in-law appreciated his music.

23:18 Anthony elaborates upon the continuing importance of music in his life. He wrote music for each of his daughter's weddings as well as for his son's bar mitzvah. He considers his music spiritual as well as philosophical.

25:44 Anthony discusses his postsecondary education at the University of Witswatersrand, where he studied chemical engineering. He did not want to become a chemical engineer, so he went to Cape Town to attend business school. Following that, he went into the workforce only to decide to do a PhD. He saw the PhD as a "ticket" to exit South Africa.

28:57 Anthony explains how he came to North America upon completing his PhD in December 1976.

30:10 Anthony describes falling in love with Toronto. He and his wife came in February 1977. They had never experienced snow before. He began working at CIBC in July 1977.

32:20 Anthony talks about friends in Toronto who helped him and his wife get set-up.

34:45 Anthony discusses how he came to co-found Onex. It became a launching pad for his "evolution" in finance.

43:30 Anthony talks about what he means by "evolution." He talks about his early forays into business (such as selling his mother's sandwiches at school) and his later entrepreneurial endeavours. He believes it is necessary to be both tough and fair in business.

46:00 Anthony discusses a Financial Post article that profiled him. He considers himself to have been instrumental in Onex's success. He cites Celestica as an example. He speaks at length about the Labatt takeover.

50:45 Anthony returns to the theme of evolution. He considers himself to have been at grade one when he came to Canada. Now he is "as far as . . . most people can go."

52:20 Anthony talks about his decision to leave Onex after twenty-one years. He felt that the culture changed. It was not a culture that he felt comfortable with.

52:55 Anthony talks about his short-lived retirement, during which time he was the chair of Baycrest. He also devoted himself to his hobbies, including guitar and photography.

54:50 Anthony recalls his experience being approached by Belinda Stronach regarding a business opportunity. Together, they started Acasta Capital.

57:30 Anthony talks about his passion for and commitment to fitness.

1:02:05 Anthony discusses fainting in a Four Seasons hotel in New York and hitting his head on the way down. At the time, he attributed it to low blood sugar. Anthony goes on to relate his prior and subsequent health history.

1:11:00 Anthony talks about his life today, including his health, the significance of the number eleven for him, his family, and Acasta Capital/Acasta Enterprises. Anthony closes on the theme of people and the importance of people to business.

Source

Oral Histories

Methodist Boarding School

Family Reactions

Getting Started

Dealmaker of the Year

Name

Charna Galper

Number

OH 448

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Synagogues

Camps

Musicians

Yiddish language

Yiddish literature

Interview Date

15 Aug. 2018

Quantity

1 MP4 file

Interviewer

Naomi Raichyk

Total Running Time

1:42 minutes

Biography

Charna Galper was born in 1921 in Bershet, Ukraine and immigrated with her family to Toronto in 1923. Charna grew up and lived in the Kensington Market area until 1955, when she moved north of the downtown core. Charna attended Landsdowne Public School and Harbord Collegiate, where she graduated as a legal secretary. She was a member of Hashomer Haztair and attended its summer camp at the Stroud, Ontario location. Charna married Abe Galper in 1947. Abe's career as a musician allowed them to travel to New York, Israel, and China. Charna has volunteered for Circle of Care and today spends her time pursuing her interest in Yiddish and attending programs at the Baycrest Centre.

Material Format

moving images

Geographic Access

Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)

Transcript

0:40: Charna born in 1921 in Bershet, Urkaine, tells the story of how she her parents and siblings fled Ukraine for Canada. Sponsored by Joe and Philip Finkler her mother’s brothers, the family arrived in Toronto in 1923. 3:24: Charna describes the living conditions of the family’s first home at 237 Beverley St., Fitzroy Terrace in the Kensington area and Grange Ave. 4:55: Charna talks about her elder sister’s contracting diphtheria and the resulting quarantine her family had to endure 5:2: Charna talks her parents first home at 210 Robert St. and the family’s move to Albany Ave. 6:15: Charna describes in detail the family’s living conditions prior to their move to 210 Robert St. 7:15: Charna talks about some of the challenges her parents faced when they first came to Toronto. She describes the hardships her father endured working as a carpenter during the depression 9:40: Charna talks about Joe and Philip Finkler as instrumental in helping her parents buy the house on Robert St. in 1926, the year her brother Shloime was born 10:00: Charna recalls some memories of the Robert St neighborhood, a closely knit Jewish immigrant community with Yiddish spoken as the primary language and her experiences at the Landsdowne Public school 11:40: Charna recalls her grandmother as being a wonderful davener 13:00: Charna talks about the details of the Robert St. house mortgage 14:1: Charna talks about her first job working for Harry Grainer as a legal secretary and later with Lou Rasminsky, the first Jewish governor of the Bank of Canada. 15:33: Charna recalls the area around Rasminsky’s storefront at 418 Spadina Ave. Spadina was filled with many businesses, egg stores, Hyman’s bookstore and Goodmans on the corner of Oxford, “we all knew each other, it was a leibedik velt. 16:00: Charna talks in more detail about her job as a legal secretary for Lou Rasminsky 18.45: Charna describes her daily walk to Harbord Collegiate 19:30: Charna talks about not having enough money for carfare and riding the bus for free 20:33: Charna talks about her best friend Rose Ruskin 21:35: Charna talks about how as a child she was spoiled by her older sisters Nechama and Ethel 22:04: Charna talks about helping with the household chores 22:15: Charna describes family laundry day on Sunday. We had laundry tubs in the backyard, my sisters and I had scrubbing boards and my mother was good at wringing, it was a team effort 22:46: Charna talks about the Kosoys who owned a home laundry at Borden and Harbord St. They had what was called wet wash, they would bring the clean laundry back to us wet and we would hang it to dry. 23:27: Charna talks about getting their first refrigerator 23:41: Charna describes their first refrigerator 24:01: Charna describes their icebox and Katz the iceman who came once a week to deliver ice 24:44: Charna talks about buying groceries on credit 25:37: Charna talks about why her parents wanted her to go to school rather than working in a factory 25:50: Charna talks about helping with the shopping in Kensington market 26:05: Charna talks about going to Kensington market on Thursday morning to buy a big carp, bring it home, put it in the tub until Friday morning when her grandmother would kill it and turn it into gefilte fish 27:33: Charna describes her own gefilte fish recipe 28:35: Charna recalls going to the market on Friday to buy a live chicken for Shabbat and taking it to the Schoichet on Major St. to be killed and plucked 29:03: Charna describes how to hold a live chicken 29:23: Charna describes bargaining for goods in the market 30:41: Charna recalls the pickled crabapple treats from a delicatessen located at Dundas in Kensington Market 32:04: Charna recalls Tryman’s family run grocery store on Baldwin St., Little Eaton’s on Kensington that sold Eaton’s castoffs, Hyman’s bookstore on Spadina Ave that sold office supplies, religious books and had a registry for bar-mitzvahs and weddings. 34:45: Charna describes her brother Shloime’s bar-mitzvah held at their Robert St. home and catered by her grandmother 35:42: Charna recalls about the days when her grandmother was a caterer in Russia and also in Toronto 37:12: Charna describes her grandmother’s cooking 37:49: Charna talks about her grandmother as a very orthodox woman who wore both a sheitel and kerchief 38.22: Charna talks about the family’s traditional observance of Shabbos and Jewish holidays, the Russian Shul on Centre St, and her grandmother’s cooking for Rosh Hashanah 40:36: Charna talks about the Russian Shul’s move to Markham St. and describes its interior 42:39: Charna talks about Joe and Philip Finkler’s connection with the Kiever Shul 43:42: Charna talks about her grandmother’s passing in 1939 44:04: Charna talks about her sisters Elsie and Nechama 45:35: Charna talks about her surprise birthday party in celebration of her 95th year 46:08: Charna talks about her sister Nechama’s move to Palestine 46:34: Charna talks about her father in-law’s move to Palestine in 1930 47:30: Charna talks about her involvement with Hashomer Hatzair 49:24: Charna talks about Hashomer Hatzair’s summer camp locations in Keswick, Stroud, Parry Sound, and Lake Ooty in Perth, Ontario 50:25: Charna describes her camp experience at the Stroud location 52:05: Charna talks about accompanying her husband Abe, a clarinet teacher to camp Hashomer Hatzair in Perth, Ontario 52:59: Charna talks about her past and present affiliation with schlichim coming to Toronto 53:45: Charna talks about her affiliation with Pioneer Women, now known as Na’amat 54:32: Charna tells the story of how she met her husband Abe in 1947 57:18: Charna describes her first date with Abe 57:43: Charna talks about walking with Abe to the Tivoli theatre at Victoria and Shuter. “Who used cars, who used streetcars, we walked. On the way back I got the most terrible blisters, I was with new shoes, with high heels.” 58:26: Charna continues to describe her first date with Abe 59:01: Charna describes the inside of the Tivoli theatre 59:49: Charna talks about City Dairy where she and Abe went for ice cream on their first date. City Dairy was located at Spadina Crescent near College St. 1:00:36: Charna explains why she and Abe decided to get their marriage license in May 1948 1:02:08: Charna talks about the attraction she and Abe had for one another 1:02:42: Charna talks about her wedding held in the family’s backyard at Albany Ave. in August of 1948 1:04:47: Charna describes her wedding cake and how she preserved it in a tin box until her 25th wedding anniversary 1:06:04 Charna talks about her first apartment with Abe at College and Crawford 1:06:52: Charna talks the period following her marriage and her mother’s stroke 1:07:45: Charrna talks about her first pregnancy and birth of Batsheva in November 1949 1:07:54: Charna talks about moving into her parent’s home on Albany St. 1:09:25: Charna talks about thinking of buying their own home 1:10:16 Charna talks about why they waited a year before moving into their own home. She explains everything she needed was close by the house on Albany, including Starkman’s and Honest Ed’s. 1:11:28: Charna describes their first house as it looked when they moved in 1955 1:12:14: Charna talks about the shifting demographics of the neighborhood from primarily Gentile to Jewish 1:12:40: Charna talks about the neighborhood Daysbury public school her children attended 1:12:55: Charna talks about how life became easier for them when Abe’s work with the symphony increased from 26 weeks to 42 weeks a season 1:13:34: Charna talks about the death of her mother before the move to their own home and her father who moved in with them 1:13:50: Charna talks about Abe’s music students and his work with the Conservatory 1:14:26: Charna talks about her 2 youngest children attending the Bialik School 1:14:59: Charna gives the ages of her 5 children, Batsheva 69 years old, Chaya 68 years old, Devora 64 years old, Penina 56 years old, and Yanke 55 years old1:16:03 1:14:60: Break in interview as Charna speaks with her daughter Devora 1:17:40: Charna talks about Abe’s relationship with her parents 1:18:07: Charna talks about Abe’s career as a musician 1:19:02: Charna talks about Abe playing for the Israel Philharmonic in 1962 and their thoughts about making Aliyah 1:19:39: Charna talks about their return from Israel to Toronto, his work with the conservatory and some of his music students 1:20:36: Charna talks about Abe’s medical condition 1:20:51: Charna talks about how she and Abe worked as a team 1:21:11: Charna talks about accompanying Abe to New York when he played with the New York Philharmonic 1:22:08: Charna talks about Abe’s work following his heart attack 1:22:22: Charna talks about Abe giving a master class in Israel for Israeli clarinetists 1:24:00: Charna talks about Abe’s experience playing with the Palestine Symphony 1:26:25: Charna talks about how she came to know famous people such as Frank Shuster, John (Louie) Wayne, Sylvia and Ben Lennick, and pianist Leo Barkin 1:29:14: Charna talks about musicians from Israel who moved to Toronto 1:31:08: Break in conversation as Charna gets up from her chair 1:31:57: Charna talks about her children being what is most important to her 1:32:41: Charna talks about her son Jacob’s 25th wedding anniversary 1:33:15: Charna talks about her current interest in Yiddish, going to the Baycrest program and meeting interesting people 1:36:13: Charna talks accompanying Abe to China during a 3 week master class program 1:40:17: Charna talks about the evening’s upcoming anniversary party and invited guests 1:42:00: Charna talks about her service volunteering for Circle of Care and the Jewish elderly 1:42:33: Charna talks about learning to drive her first car, a blue and white chevy with wings

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Anne Stein

Number

OH 450

Subject

Arab-Israeli conflict

Beauty operators

Canadian newspapers

Immigrants--Canada

Jewish neighborhoods

Refugees

Revisionist Zionism

United States--Politics and government

Interview Date

10 Dec. 2018

Interviewer

Naomi Raichyk

Total Running Time

1 hr. 25 min.

Biography

Anne Stein was born in Ostrowitz, Poland in 1919. She immigrated to Canada in 1936 and worked as a hairdresser in Toronto's Kensington Market. She married her husband in 1941. After the war, she had two children, the first born in 1945 and the second in 1950. It was in the 1950s that Anne moved to the Cedarvale area of Toronto. Anne continued to be involved in the Jewish community after the move.

Material Format

moving images

Language

English

Name Access

Abella, Irving, 1940-2022

Betar

Beth Sholom Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Clinton, Hillary Rodham

Hebrew Men of England Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Jabotinsky, Vladimir, 1880-1940

King, William Lyon Mackenzie, 1874-1950

Klein, Naomi, 1970-

Obama, Barack

Shaarei Tefillah (Toronto, Ont.)

Stein, Anne, 1919-

Trump, Donald, 1946-

Geographic Access

Augusta Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Chicago (Ill.)

Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.)

Israel

Poland

Spadina Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Original Format

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories