Accession Number

2017-9-3

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1944

Scope and Content

Accession consists of wartime correspondence between Yolanda Garvin (née Goldberger) and her sisters Maria Zilahy and Etel. In 1944, Yolanda was living in Romania, Maria and her husband Steven Zilahy were living in Hungary, and Etel and her husband were living in Yugoslavia. Yolanda's postcard addressed to Maria and Steven Zilahy was written in German and returned in June/July of 1944 with a note that the recipients had moved to Jewish Camp RTS. Etel's postcard to Yolanda is written in Hungarian. Etel's postcard is revealing of the sadness and anxiety experienced while awaiting one's fate as others were being taken away.

Custodial History

The postcards were originally created and owned by the donor's mother and aunt. Lea kept the letters after her mom passed away.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Language Note: German and Hungarian

Subjects

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Postcards

Sisters

Places

Hungary

Romania

Yugoslavia

Source

Archival Accessions

• 
• 
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Accession Number

2022-8-7

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

30 cm of textual records and graphic material

Date

[1923]-2021

Scope and Content

Accession consists of photo albums: two family albums, one album titled "Auschwitz: Back to life", one album titled "Journey to Warsaw" in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and one album titled "Poland" documenting Nate's trip to Poland with his son Cary in 1990. The trip was an invitation to the Second Conference of the International Advisory Committee on the Future of Auschwitz. Nate attended as one of 28 representatives from around the world as a delegate of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Also included are textual records that document Nate Leipciger's family and life in displaced persons camps and immigration to Canada and life in Canada post-Holocaust. Also included are records related to Nate's involvement with the March of the Living and the Holocaust Centre in Toronto, as well as clippings, correspondence, speeches and writings, etc.

Administrative History

Nate Leipciger was born in Chorzów, Poland, in 1928. He survived the Sosnowiec Ghetto and the camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Funfteichen, GrossRosen, Flossenberg, Leonberg, and Dachau. Nate and his father were liberated in May 1945, and immigrated to Canada in 1948. In Toronto Nate attended Harbord Collegiate and eventually obtained a university degree in engineering. He later established an engineering firm with several partners. In 1982, Nate chaired the Toronto Holocaust Remembrance Committee, later becoming an executive member of the Canadian Jewish Congress National Holocaust Remembrance Committee. Nate was a member of the International Council to the Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau for fifteen years and has been an educator on March of the Living trips to Poland and Israel for fifteen years. In 2015, The Azrieli Foundation published Nate's 280-page memoir "The Weight of Freedom" as part of their series of Holocaust memoirs by survivors in Canada. In 2016, Mr. Leipciger guided Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Descriptive Notes

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: Album of Nate's trip to Poland is in digital format only. The original album was returned to the donor at his request.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Name Access

Leipciger, Nate, 1928-

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2023-2-4

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1948-1952

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the immigration of Yakob and Szoszana Lipszyc. Included is a certificate issued by The Jewish Agency for Palestine on 20 April 1948 for Shoshana Handelmann's (aka Rose Lipszyc's) entry into Tel Aviv. Also included are: two immigrant identification cards issued by Immigration Canada on 8 Dec. 1952; a letter from the Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration dated 4 Nov. 1951, approving admission for Yakob and Szoszana Lipszyc into Canada; a letter from the Canadian Embassy in Rome on 22 July 1952, regarding a visa and entry into Rome; a document titled Italian Line regarding passage through Rome; a ticket booklet from Haifa issuing passage aboard the vessel Arisa from Haifa to Napoli on 8 Oct. 1952; and a passage ticket for a voyage from Napoli to Halifax on 28 Nov. 1952 on the vessel Saturnia.

Administrative History

Rose Lipszyc was born on 27 May 1929 in Lublin, Poland. In 1940, the Germans forced Rose and her family out of their home, so they temporarily lived near Osmolice in a small shack in the polish countryside, where they survived by working in the fields. On 14 Oct. 1942, the Nazis rounded up Rose and her family and brought them to the town square in Belzyce for deportation. Rose's father was taken to Madjanek. Sensing that they were being sent to their deaths, Rose’s mother pushed her out of the line; her mother and two brothers were then deported to concentration camps and murdered. A friend of the family, Mr. Yabloinska, a Polish farmer, provided Rose with his daughters’ identities. Rose and her 21-year-old aunt used these identities to escape to Germany posing as sisters to find work. Under the identity Helena Yabloinska, at the age of 13, Rose lived out the rest of the war hiding in plain sight, working as a Polish labourer in a German factory making ropes for ships. Rose lost approximately fifty members of her family during the Holocaust and only four survived, among them Rose and her aunt. Rose was liberated in the spring of 1945 and went to Zeilsheim (near Frankfurt) to a displaced persons camp, where she remained until the end of 1946, when she joined the Aliyah Bet Zionist movement and attempted to illegally enter British Mandate Palestine, however, the British intercepted her boat and interned her in Cyprus. In 1948, the British finally granted her entry into Israel. Along the way, she met Jack Lipszyc, another Holocaust survivor. Rose and Jack married in 1949 in Jaffa, Israel where they lived until December 1952, when they immigrated to Toronto. Rose worked at the McGregor Sock Factory. In 2021, Rose received the Order of Canada for her dedication to Holocaust education. She has three children, five granddaughters and one great-granddaughter.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2023-3-12

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

10 Oct. 1946-12 Nov. 1947

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the post-war identification of Miriam Friedman. Included is a United Nations DP Identification Card assigned to Mirjam Frydman on October 10, 1946 in Linz, Austria and a Certificate of Identity issued in Zalzburg on November 12, 1947. The certificate documents her immigration to Canada from a children's home in Strobl, Austria with transit through Germany.

Administrative History

Miriam Ziegler (née Friedman) was born in Radom, Poland, in 1935. In 1939, Miriam and her mother Rose travelled to Ostrowiec. Miriam survived in temporary hiding spots until it became too dangerous, and she joined her parents in the Ostrowiec labour camp. In August 1944, authorities deported the family to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration and Death Camp, where they were separated. The Soviet Army liberated Miriam in January 1945. After the war, Miriam learned that her father was killed during a death march. Miriam spent time in a sanatorium and multiple children's homes and eventually reunited with her mother and aunt. In 1946, the family went to Bindermichl Displaced Persons Camp in Austria. Rose, unable to look after Miriam, sent her to the Strobl Children’s Home and in February 1948, Miriam arrived in Canada as a war orphan, settling in Toronto. In April 1958, Miriam married Holocaust survivor Roman Ziegler and had three children.

Descriptive Notes

Availability of other formats: Digitized material.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18

File

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1982-1983

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of flyers, correspondence, and press releases for the American Holocaust Survivor Gathering in Washington, DC.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Places

Washington (D.C.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2019-6-2

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 19 x 24 cm on mat 29 x 35 cm

Date

1952

Scope and Content

Item consists of one photograph of a Passover seder held at the Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium, hosted for Jewish inmates by members of the Hamilton Jewish community. Seated beginning fifth from left are: Ralph Milrod, Sylvia Milrod, Howard Chandler, and Elsa Chandler.

Administrative History

Howard and Elsa Chandler, both Holocaust survivors, immigrated to Toronto through England and Sweden in 1947 and 1948 respectively. They met and married in Toronto. Elsa was recuperating from tuberculosis in Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium when this photograph was taken, shortly after the couple were married.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Name Access

Chandler, Howard, 1928-

Chandler, Elsa, 1932-

Places

Hamilton (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2019-11-7

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

73 cm of textual records and other material

Date

1963–2018

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting Nate Leipciger. Included are records documenting Nate's involvement with the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Holoaust Remembrance Committee, and the March of the Living, as well as thank you letters from students whom Nate addressed.

Administrative History

Nate Leipciger was born in Chorzów, Poland, in 1928. He survived the Sosnowiec Ghetto and the camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Funfteichen, GrossRosen, Flossenberg, Leonberg, and Dachau. Nate and his father were liberated in May 1945, and immigrated to Canada in 1948. In Toronto Nate attended high school and eventually obtained a university degree in engineering. He later established an engineering firm with several partners. In 1982, Nate chaired the Toronto Holocaust Remembrance Committee, later becoming an executive member of the Canadian Jewish Congress National Holocaust Remembrance Committee. Nate was a member of the International Council to the Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau for fifteen years and has been an educator on March of the Living trips to Poland and Israel for fifteen years. In 2015, The Azrieli Foundation published Nate's 280-page memoir "The Weight of Freedom" as part of their series of Holocaust memoirs by survivors in Canada. In 2016, Mr. Leipciger guided Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Name Access

Leipciger, Nate, 1928-

Places

Canada

Israel

Poland

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Henry Rosenbaum fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

121

Material Format

graphic material

graphic material (electronic)

textual record

Date

1928-2015

Physical Description

247 photographs : b&w and col. (1 negative); 20 x 25 or smaller

13 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Henry "Hanoch" Rosenbaum (1925-2015) was born in Radom, Poland. He was the second youngest of eight children born to Rachel Rosenbaum (née Katz) and Moshe Rosenbaum.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Herny learned the fate of Radom's Jewish civilian population. Two thirds of Radom's Jewish population were victims of mass murder and perished in the extermination camp Treblinka, immediately following the first liquidation of Radom's large ghetto in August 1942. Henry's parents, two siblings, and their families were among the innocent victims murdered during the Holocaust.

Henry Rosenbaum met his wife Bella Rotbard (1925–2012) while living in an Italian DP camp after the war. Although Bella was also from Radom, she did not know the Rosenbaum family. Bella's parents, her sixteen-year-old sister, and four-year-old brother, as well as most of her parents' extended families, were also victims of the Holocaust.

While in Italy, the Joint Distribution Committee funded "mock kibbutzim," preparing Holocaust survivors for immigration to Palestine and kibbutz life. Bella, a one-time member of the secular Jewish youth movement Hashomer Hatzair, believed that she was destined to be a "kibbutznik," a member of a kibbutz.

In 1946, Bella and Henry immigrated to Palestine as part of the Bricha. The Bricha supported the illegal immigration of Holocaust survivor refugees to Palestine. They spent their first few days in Atlit, a British Mandate detainee camp and soon settled on kibbutz. Bella married Henry in 1946 and moved to an apartment in Ramat Gan. During this time Henry served in the IDF’s motor pool.

Henry, Bella, and their young daughter Brenda (b. 1949) immigrated to Toronto in 1952. With the assistance of a relative, Henry gained employment in a print shop sweeping floors. Henry soon advanced to machine operator and in 1961 opened his own print shop, Trio Press Limited.

Bella worked in the garment industry, sewing collars onto shirts and earned her wages through piece work. She continued working in manufacturing up until the birth of her second child Murray (b. 1961).

Henry Rosenbaum was an active life-long member of the Radom Society and served as editor for their quarterly Yiddish and English journal the Voice of Radom.

Custodial History

Material was in possession of Henry Rosenbaum's daughter Brenda Bornstein.

Scope and Content

Fonds illustrates the family history of Henry Rosenbaum and the life he and his wife Bella Rosenbaum rebuilt in Canada. Photographs document: early life in Poland, displaced persons camp in Italy, immigration to Palestine, military service in the Israel Defense Forces, family life in Israel, immigration and settlement in Canada and many milestone events and celebrations in Toronto, Ontario. Additional photographs of the Radom Society in Toronto. The majority of the photographs were assembled in a scrapbook created by their daughter Brenda Bornstein in celebration of her parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary (1976). In addition, there is a more comprehensive biography written by Henry and Bella's son-in-law Eric Bornstein.

Fonds consists of records relating to Henry Rosenbaum and his affiliation with B’nai Radom. Included are programs and souvenir booklets from the 1962 unveiling of a monument in memory of the Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of Radom and Vicinity (Poland), annual Holocaust remembrance (Yizkor) events published in 1987 and 2010; and a 50th Anniversary of Liberation publication. Books include a Yiddish language bound copy of the Voice of Radom from 1963-1965, an English language bound copy of the Voice of Radom 1983–1989 and Henry Rosenbaum’s personal memoir published in 1995. In addition, there are eight photographs of Henry's great-grandchildren, and a photo of Henry with his daughter Brenda.In addition there is a collection of speeches written by Henry Rosenbaum primarily for family milestone events such as weddings, birthdays, bar mtizvahs, and bat mitzvahs. In addition there is a copy of a presentation made to the Radom Congregation on the occasion of Israel's twenty-fifth year of independence, a Hebrew-language letter of congratulations, and several personal letters written by Murray Rosenbaum (the latter are addressed to his parents while travelling to Israel and Europe). The personal speeches written and delivered by Henry were in honour of the following relatives: Rivi Anklewicz, Marshall Lofchick, Murray Rosenbaum, Elana Aizic, Regina Goldstein, Brenda Rosenbaum, Eric "Ricky" Bornstein, Murray Severin, Robin Severin-Weingort, Rachel Bornstein, Susan Szainwald, Daniel Bornstein, Sholom Rosenbaum, Bella Rosenbaum, Linda Goldstein, and Leon Aizic.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Creator

Rosenbaum, Henry, 1925-2015

Places

Poland

Italy

Palestine

Israel

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

2015-10-5

2017-2-13

2019-7-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Henry Weingluck fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

44

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1939]-1985

Physical Description

60 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Henry Weingluck (1902-1987) was an artist and Toronto art gallery owner, who immigrated to Canada in 1948 after being imprisoned in concentration camps in France during the Second World War. Weingluck was born in Zawiercie, Poland on May 7th, 1902, to an Orthodox Jewish family. He was the son of Alter Weingluck, a footwear designer. He studied at art academies in Crakow, Copenhagen, and Berlin and was a pupil of Professor Max Lieberman, president of Berlin's Academy of Arts prior to the Nazi takeover of Germany. Weingluck often depicted Jewish themes in his paintings, in a style he called "academic impressionism." He exhibited in Paris with Kandinsky and Chagall, as well as at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Jewish Museum, Berlin. He painted portraits of such prominent figures as Albert Einstein, Max Schmelin, Yehudi Menuhin, and Chaim Weizmann.

From 1933 to 1942, Weingluck lived in France and, during the Nazi occupation of France, was imprisoned in eight concentration camps from 1942 to 1945. The Nazis made use of his artistic talent as a barracks designer and portraitist. During this time, the Germans confiscated 375 of his paintings. After the war, Weingluck moved to Tangiers, Morocco, and then emigrated to Canada to join his brother in Toronto. Henry opened H. W. Art Gallery, at 665 College Street, around 1948, and then Weingluck's Art Gallery and Gift Shoppe at 623 College Street, in the 1950s. In 1950, he married his wife Rae (née Simon) Weingluck (1904-1987), whom he met in Canada. Henry died in Toronto in 1987.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of material related to the personal life and artistic career of Henry Weingluck. The records pertain to the following: his experiences during the war and in the work camp at Beaulieu, France; his emigration to Canada; his restitution claims for artworks confiscated by the Nazis; his exhibitions; and his art gallery on College Street in Toronto. These records include personal and professional correspondence, certificates, photographs, newspaper clippings, personal writings, publications, programmes, exhibition catalogues, designs and sketches, and artifacts.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 30 photographs, 1 audio cassette, 22 designs and sketches, and 16 objects.

Associated material note: the Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives (Montreal) has a collection of paintings and other records of Henry Weingluck.

Name Access

Weingluck, Henry, 1902-1987

Subjects

Artists

Physical Condition

Some of the records are in fragile condition.

Related Material

See also the Ontario Jewish Archives' news clippings file under "Weingluck, Henry"

Creator

Weingluck, Henry, 1902-1987

Accession Number

1988-2-11

Source

Archival Descriptions

Passenger Names

Osman, Raymond

Page Number

358

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Passenger Names

Raymond, Dominico

Page Number

230

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Accession Number

2021-10-10

Material Format

moving images (electronic)

textual record (electronic)

graphic material (electronic)

Physical Description

22 videos : mp4 ; 1113 GB

Textual records (electronic) ; ca. 4.3 MB

ca. 670 photographs and pdfs (electronic)

Date

2017-2020

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records created during the production of Ron Chapman's film, Shelter. Included are video interviews and written transcripts, and family photographs and documents collected and copied from the interviewees. Signed release forms accompany the interviews. Also included is the finished film and trailer as mp4 files.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Buildings

Holocaust survivors

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2022-7-10

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

object

Physical Description

ca. 9 cm of textual records

186 photographs : b&w and col. ; 22 x 28 cm or smaller

1 album (197 photographs) ; 34 x 25 cm

1 audio cassette : 1/8 in.

1 identification tag : metal ; 5 x 5 cm

Date

1920-2013

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the Forberg and Michaels (Michalowitz) families. They include family histories, Holocaust documentation, and records pertaining to Bathurst Manor. Accession also includes 186 photographs documenting ancestors, family life, and family celebrations from the early 20th century to the early 2000s, including life in the DP camps and Bathurst Manor, and an album containing 197 photographs documenting Honey and Esther Forberg's 1967 trip to Israel. Additional records include Syma Forberg's metal Jewish identification tag, tributes to the Forberg family, Esther Forberg's school history project, Henry and Pola Michaels' funeral records, among others.

Custodial History

Records were donated by Esther Michaels, David and Syma's daughter, Harry and Pola's daughter-in-law.

Administrative History

David Berel Forberg was born in Czestochowa, Poland, on 1 February 1922. From 1939 to 1942, he lived in the Czestochowa Ghetto, where he worked as a manual labourer and painter. Syma Jurkowska was born in Opatow, Poland, on 5 August 1924. From 1939 to 1942, she lived in the Opatow Ghetto, where she made brushes in a factory and cleaned Gestapo homes and the post office. David and Syma met at the Polish labour camp Hasag-Palcery, where they worked at an ammunitions factory. After the war, they were placed in a DP camp in Lampertheim, Germany, where they got married on 11 September 1947. In July 1948, they left the German DP camp after three years and immigrated to Canada, via Quebec. They had two children, Joseph (born 19 June 1946 in Mannheim, Germany) and Honey Sarah (born 16 January 1948 in Lampertheim, Germany). They had been sponsored by Syma's uncle Cheil Slavny, who lived in Toronto. David and Syma rented rooms in their home, while David worked as an upholsterer and Syma babysat. In the early 1950s, they started making chairs and tables, which they delivered on the streetcar. David and Syma's younger children, Esther and Billy Avraham, were born in Toronto on 23 May 1949 and 26 Sep. 1952, respectively. David died on 9 October 2011. Syma died on 9 April 2021.

Harry Michaels (Hersz Michalowicz) was born in Kalisz, Poland, on 26 May 1918. Pola Lewkowicz was born in Zagorow, Poland, on 28 August 1916. By the end of the Second World War, they were living in the Soviet Union, where their first son, Julius (Jozef) was born, in the city of Gelendzhik, on 8 May 1945. After the war, they lived in Jawor, Poland, before resettling at the Steyr DP camp, in Austria, where their second son, Albert (Abram) was born, on 22 April 1947. In 1948, the family immigrated to Canada, arriving via Halifax on 1 October of that year. In Toronto, Harry worked as a furniture merchant. He died on 27 Sep. 1997. Pola died on 23 Apr. 2003.

David and Syma's daughter Esther married Harry and Pola's son Albert.

Use Conditions

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Families

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2023-2-8

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

ca. 18 cm of textual records

207 photographs : b&w and col. ; 28 x 32 cm or semaller

Date

[ca. 1890]-2016

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records related to Clara and Sándor Rosenbaum, and their extended families. Included are documents and photographs documenting their lives in Hungary prior to the Holocaust, as well as their lives after immigrating to Tangier and, subsequently, Canada. Also includes Holocaust accounts and restitution papers, immigration documents, vital documents, correspondence, paper money, a late 19th- or early 20th-century prayer book, and a book of Shabbat songs.

Administrative History

Clara (Klára) Szabó was born in Bölcske on 28 Nov. 1920, the daughter of local lawyer Imre Szabó (born on 2 Jun. 1893 in Bölcske) and Vilma Szabó (née Stern, born in Bölcske in 1892). She had three siblings: Elizabeth (Erzsébet), born on 30 Dec. 1913; Anna, born on 10 Jan. 1915; and András, born on 5 Dec. 1916. The family lived in Paks, where she spent most of her youth. She went to elementary school in Paks, but moved to Budapest in 1935 to attend boarding school, returning to Paks in 1939. Her father committed suicide on 3 Mar. 1940. She married Sándor Rosenbaum in Paks on 14 Jan. 1941. While visiting her sister in Békéscsaba, the whole family were deported to Auschwitz: Clara, her mother, her brother, her two sisters, and her two-year-old niece. From Auschwitz, Clara and her sister Elizabeth were sent to Ravensbrück, and from there to Neustadt bei Coburg, where they worked as forced labourers at a Siemens factory. The rest of her family were killed in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. On 15 Apr. 1945, Clara and Elizabeth escaped from a forced march and headed towards the American advance. After the war, Clara and her husband reunited, and in 1946 relocated to Tangier, where Sándor's brother, Nikolas, had been living since 1940. There, they had two children: André (born on 27 Aug. 1949) and Anique (born on 1 Oct. 1950). They lived there until 1956, when the family relocated to Montreal. There, she was the president of the Dayan Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO from 1980 to 1982. She moved to Toronto in 1997 to be closer to her children. Clara died on 6 Feb. 2016 in Toronto.

Sándor (Alexander) Rosenbaum was born in Paks on 28 Jul. 1906, the son of Mihály (Michael) Rosenbaum (merchant, born on 1875 or 1876) and Regina Freund (1882-1932). He had three siblings: Hedvig (married to Oskar Barotti), Sari (married to Zoltan Barotti), and Nikolas. During the war, from May 1943 to Sep. 1943, he served at the Jewish labour service squadron No. 104/3, in Budapest, at the post office No. 70 labour service. The squadron was then moved to the Carpathians, and Sándor worked as a farm labourer in the region. He served as a yellow armband labour serviceman in the Carpathians until the end of Oct. 1944. He escaped from the labour camp with a friend, hiding in the Carpathian forests for a few weeks. After the war, Sándor changed his last name to Rostás to sound more Hungarian, later changing it back to Rosenbaum. He immigrated with his wife Clara to Tangier, and later to Montreal with their two kids, having worked most of his life as a businessman. He died in Montreal on 6 Jul. 1987 and was buried at Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery in Outremont.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Families

Name Access

Rosenbaum, Clara (Klára), 1920-2016

Rosenbaum, Alexander (Sándor), 1906-1987

Places

Hungary

Tangier (Morocco)

Montréal (Québec)

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Pamphlets series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

51

File

97

Material Format

textual record

Date

[1945?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a fundraising pamphlet that shares the story of Paul Hodess. Born in Lodz, Poland, Paul, now aged fifteen, is an orphan and survivor of Nazi concentration camps. His autobiography is included alongside a solicitation to support United Jewish Relief Agencies (UJRA) with their relief and rehabilitation services.

Subjects

Orphans

Holocaust survivors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Pamphlets series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

51

File

100

Material Format

textual record

Date

1950

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a booklet written by Rabbi Abraham L. Feinberg of Holy Blossom Temple, published by Canadian Welfare. Rabbi Feinberg summarizes the activities of Canadian Jewish Congress and the various projects it initiated to support Jewish-European orphan immigration to Canada before, during, and after the Second World War. Feinberg goes on to describe the continued support from organizations such as the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS) and the YMHA to aid in the continued rehabilitation of these orphans through programs including night school, work projects, and activities.

Name Access

Canadian Jewish Congress

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto (creator)

Subjects

Orphans

Holocaust survivors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Bliss family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

8

Item

3

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[193-?]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 10 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond in London, England.

Notes

Mounted in card frame

Photographer: Mayfair Portraits

Name Access

Raymond family

Subjects

Married people

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Places

England

Source

Archival Descriptions

Passenger Names

Hunt, Mrs. & Raymond

Page Number

470

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Accession Number

2023-3-10

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1967-1978

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a pilot's log book belonging to Gerda Frieberg, documenting flights taken between 1967 and 1978. Also included is an accompanying form from the Department of Transport regarding the issuance of Gerda's licence and log book. On the inside cover, there is a newsclipping of a poem entitled High Flight taped to the inside front cover of the book. Notations made by Gerda include: her first solo flight on 24 Oct. 1967; completion of her government approved course in flying following her flight test on 15 Feb. 1968; and her last flight on 25 April 1978, logging a grand total of 978 hours and 45 minutes in the air.

Entries include dates, aircraft type and registration, names of first pilots and second pilots or passengers, routes flown and instrument notations. Airtime totals are tallied at the bottom of each page. Of note are flights taken as part of derbies as well as flights in Israel in 1973. Aircraft included both Cherokee and Cessna single-engine aircraft.

Administrative History

Gerda Frieberg (1925-2023) was a Holocaust survivor and educator born in 1925 in Bielschowitz, Poland to the sole Jewish family in the largely German speaking village. Her father was taken in October 1939. In 1940, Gerda, her mother Elfrieda and sister Hana were deported to the Jaworzno Ghetto. In 1942, Gerda was sent to the Oberaltstadt concentration camp where her sister was already interned. Their mother joined them in 1943. Gerda worked in the machine shop of a spinning mill until she was liberated on May 9, 1945. For four years after liberation Frieberg, her sister and mother were in displaced persons camps in Landserg, near Munich. There, she became a proficient seamstress and met her husband, Louis Frieberg. After moving to Canada in 1953, Gerda devoted herself to Holocaust education and various human rights causes. She began speaking of the Holocaust in 1962, first in local schools, then across Canada. Frieberg served as chair of the Ontario region of the Canadian Jewish Congress in the early 1990s and led fundraising efforts for the Toronto Holocaust Centre. Gerda Frieberg had three children, Josey, Jack, and Sandra, eleven grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Gerda passed away on January 3rd, 2023, at the age of 97 in her home in Toronto.

Use Conditions

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

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Air pilots

Name Access

Frieberg, Gerda, 1925-2023

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

• 

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Subject files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-22

File

11

Material Format

textual record

Date

1956-1988

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence, clippings, and programs related to the performances of folk singer and Holocaust survivor Jenny Eisenstein.

Name Access

Eisenstein, Jenny

Subjects

Folk singers

Holocaust survivors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Bella Diamant fonds

Level

Item

Fonds

117

Item

13

Material Format

textual record

Date

3 Aug. 1945

Physical Description

1 letter

Scope and Content

Item is a letter written in Polish, sent to Bella Hershenhorn from her sister Esther, who is living in a DP camp in Bergen. Included is a hand-written and typed translation.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Refugee camps

Source

Archival Descriptions

• 
• 

Accession Number

2022-5-20

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1943-1945

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a birth certificate issued in November 1943 under the name of Roman-Jan Domanski, which was used by Marian Domanski to survive the Holocaust. Accession also includes an identity card with Marian's photograph and the same falsified name, issued in Radzyn on 25 Jan. 1944 (the notes section of the identity card is separated, with an illegible Polish stamp on the back, dated 23 Nov. 1945).

Custodial History

Records were donated by Marian Domanski's daughter Beata Domanska.

Administrative History

Marian Domanski (1928-2012) was born Moshe Finkielman on 20 June 1928 in Otwock, Poland, south of Warsaw. His father, Abraham Finkielman, died in 1939 as a soldier in the Polish army, and his mother, Brucha Rotenberg Finkielman, passed away in late 1941 from typhus in the Otwock Ghetto. In 1941, Marian began to regularly sneak out of the ghetto to search for food until his mother's death. In April 1942, he escaped the ghetto and posed as a Polish Catholic youth. He worked as a farm labourer in Eastern Poland for some time, until he was told that in order to get a permanent position he would have to register, which would require his birth certificate. In October 1942, in the town of Komarowka, he was caught and deported to the Treblinka extermination camp. He managed to jump off the transport, run away, and hide, eventually finding work as a farm labourer once again. In 1943, he managed to obtain a falsified birth certificate using information about a fellow herdsman, Roman-Jan Domanski, without his knowledge. He was also able to obtain identity papers, working at farms as a Polish Catholic boy until the end of the war. After the war, he traveled to the recovered territories in Western Poland, where he found work and resumed his education by attending evening school and specializing in aerial photography. He opened his own photography business in Wroclaw and was awarded the degree of Master Photographer in 1963, the same year he married his wife, Cesia. In 1968, Marian and his wife and daughter Beata left Poland for Denmark to escape the anti-Jewish campaign that was underway by the government, and in 1970, they emigrated to Canada. He attended a program in Graphic Arts at George Brown College and, after graduating, worked in several printing establishments for many years until retirement. He kept the name Marian Domanski for the remainder of his life. Marian Domanski passed away in 2012.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Refugees

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Name Access

Domanski, Marian, 1928-2012

Places

Poland

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2022-6-3

Material Format

object

Physical Description

1 knapsack : canvas, leather and metal ; 48 x 48 x 5 cm

Date

1944

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a knapsack worn by Ibolya (Ibi) Grossman when she, her mother, and her son, Andy Reti, were deported to the Budapest ghetto. Ibi used the knapsack to carry some food and provisions for her baby son. Andy Reti later used it in 1956 and for camping trips in Canada - all special journeys for him.

Custodial History

Object was donated by Andy Reti, Ibi's son.

Administrative History

Ibolya (Ibi) Grossman was born on 11 December 1916 in Pécs, Hungary, to Ignacz Szalai and Laura Fisher. Around 1931, she joined the Zionist movement in Hungary; there, she met Zoltan (Zolti) Rechnitzer, who she would later marry. In 1933, she moved to Budapest, where her older sister lived; for several months, she worked at a thread factory. The Rechnitzer family moved to Budapest in 1936, and she married Zolti in September 1939. She became pregnant in 1941, and a son Andras (Andy) was born in July 1942. In November 1942, Zolti reported for duty as a labourer in the Hungarian army, as was required for all Jewish males between the ages of 18 and 50. In May 1944, Zolti was taken to a labour camp; Ibi never saw him again. In the meantime, she was confined to a Jewish ghetto in Budapest. In July 1944, her parents and two half-sisters were taken to Auschwitz. In 1945, Grossman was liberated from the ghetto by the invading Russian army. In 1949, she attempted to escape from Hungary. She was betrayed, arrested and jailed. Her second attempt succeeded, and she came to Canada with her son in 1956, first to Winnipeg, and then to Toronto. In 1958, she married Emil Grossman. She passed away on 11 March 2005 in Toronto.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Jewish ghettos

Refugees

Name Access

Grossman, Ibolya (Ibi), 1916-2005

Reti, Andy, 1942-

Places

Budapest (Hungary)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2023-2-7

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

7 cm of textual records

Date

1933-1982

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material, mostly correspondence, documenting Willi Holtz. Included are: a letter to Willi from the German Metal Worker's Union (20 November 1933); Willi's German Reich passport (1936); a postcard from Palestine (1938); a confirmation regarding application for certificate of entry into Palestine (2 January 1938); a letter to the Reich Interior Ministry from Willi (15 April 1939); a certification of good character for Willi (6 June 1939); a letter to the American consul in Canada from Leon L. Berkowitz regarding Willi Holz's internment in Camp "N" (17 February 1941); and a letter to F. C. Blair, director of the Immigration Branch of the Department of Mines and Resources, from Willi (8 January 1943).

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Camille Norton, Willi Holz's stepdaughter, prior to Camile donating them to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Administrative History

Willi Israel Holz was born on 6 April 1912 in Breslau, Germany (today Wroclaw, Poland). From 1919–27, he attended elementary school in the same city. Starting in 1927, he attended technical high school. In 1929, he joined the Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands (Young Communist League of Germany). In 1931, he received his electrician's license. Apart from a period of unemployment in 1932, he worked from 1931–38 with several firms, acquiring experience in electrical installations. In 1933, he lost his membership in the German Metal Workers' Union (Deutscher Metallarbeiter-Verband) on racial grounds.

In 1938, Willi was put in a Nazi concentration camp. In January 1939, he was released from the concentration camp. He nevertheless had to report to the Gestapo headquarters on a monthly basis until he was able to leave Germany. This proved difficult, as Willi tried and failed to immigrate to a number of countries, including Palestine, Bolivia, and China. (In the latter case, the Republic of China granted Willi and his mother visas, but there were no ship tickets available.) In February, Willi applied to be accepted for a transit camp for Jewish emigrants that was located in Richborough, England; in July, he was accepted. He arrived in Richborough on 8 August 1939. Willi's mother was unable to come with him.

From Richborough, Willi was moved between several locations before departing from Liverpool, England, on the SS Ettrick. He arrived in Quebec, Canada, on 13 July 1940 at Internment Camp "L." From there, he was transferred to Internment Camp "N" in Sherbrook. In January 1941, he was provided with an affidavit for immigration to the United States, but he was unable to enter owing to an unspecified condition. In 1942, Willi's mother was deported to eastern Europe (she died in Auschwitz). In November of that same year, Willi was transferred to yet another camp.

In February 1943, Willi was released from internment for work at Stark Electrical Instrument Co. in Toronto, Ontario. In 1944, Willi started working as foreman of the machine shop for the same company. In 1946, the plant at which Willi was working ended up moving to a different location, and Willi started work on the production line. That same year, Willi appeared before a county court judge to take the oath of allegiance. He became a Canadian citizen on 4 May 1946.

Willi died on 10 October 1979. His funeral took place at Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Language: A significant portion of the material is in German.

Subjects

Electricians

Holocaust survivors

Immigrants--Canada

Name Access

Holz, Willi, 1912-1979

Places

Breslau (Germany)

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2023-6-3

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

4 photo albums

Date

1928-1943

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting Willi Holz. Included are four photo albums that belonged to the same. The first three albums consist of photographs taken in Germany between the years 1928 and 1936. The fourth album consists of photographs taken in Germany between the years 1936 and 1939 and Canada circa 1943. The photographs primarily depict individuals (family members, friends), but street scenes, airplanes, and landscapes are also depicted.

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Camille Norton, Willi Holz's stepdaughter, prior to Camile donating them to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Administrative History

Willi Israel Holz was born on 6 April 1912 in Breslau, Germany (today Wroclaw, Poland). From 1919–27, he attended elementary school in the same city. Starting in 1927, he attended technical high school. In 1929, he joined the Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands (Young Communist League of Germany). In 1931, he received his electrician's license. Apart from a period of unemployment in 1932, he worked from 1931–38 with several firms, acquiring experience in electrical installations. In 1933, he lost his membership in the German Metal Workers' Union (Deutscher Metallarbeiter-Verband) on racial grounds.

In 1938, Willi was put in a Nazi concentration camp. In January 1939, he was released from the concentration camp. He nevertheless had to report to the Gestapo headquarters on a monthly basis until he was able to leave Germany. This proved difficult, as Willi tried and failed to immigrate to a number of countries, including Palestine, Bolivia, and China. (In the latter case, the Republic of China granted Willi and his mother visas, but there were no ship tickets available.) In February, Willi applied to be accepted for a transit camp for Jewish emigrants that was located in Richborough, England; in July, he was accepted. He arrived in Richborough on 8 August 1939. Willi's mother was unable to come with him.

From Richborough, Willi was moved between several locations before departing from Liverpool, England, on the SS Ettrick. He arrived in Quebec, Canada, on 13 July 1940 at Internment Camp "L." (He was interned as an enemy alien.) From there, he was transferred to Internment Camp "N" in Sherbrook. In January 1941, he was provided with an affidavit for immigration to the United States, but he was unable to enter owing to an unspecified condition. In 1942, Willi's mother was deported to eastern Europe (she died in Auschwitz). In November of that same year, Willi was transferred to yet another camp.

In February 1943, Willi was released from internment for work at Stark Electrical Instrument Co. in Toronto, Ontario. In 1944, Willi started working as foreman of the machine shop for the same company. In 1946, the plant at which Willi was working ended up moving to a different location, and Willi started work on the production line. That same year, Willi appeared before a county court judge to take the oath of allegiance. He became a Canadian citizen on 4 May 1946.

Willi died on 10 October 1979. His funeral took place at Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel.

Use Conditions

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Descriptive Notes

Language: Captions are in German.

Availability of other formats: Digitized material.

Subjects

Electricians

Holocaust survivors

Immigrants--Canada

Name Access

Holz, Willi, 1912-1979

Places

Canada

Germany

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Research Records sub-series

War Crimes and Criminals sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-4-7

File

32

Material Format

textual record

Date

1971

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consist of documents related to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Also included is correspondence related to threats against an Auschwitz survivor in Toronto.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Subjects

Anniversaries

Concentration camps

Holocaust survivors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Education sub-series

Students sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-12-1

File

28

Material Format

graphic material

Date

ca.1998

Physical Description

3 photographs : col. ; 10 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs from a survivor visit to a local Jewish school. Those identified in the photographs are: Elly Gotz, Robby Engel, Anita Ekstein, and Max Eisen.

Name Access

Eisen, Max

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Jewish day schools

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2018-7-6

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

62 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller

4 cm of textual records

Date

1920-2018

Scope and Content

Accession contains material documenting Gabriella Szanto and her family. Included are family photographs, vital records, correspondence, and a 2018 Baycrest calendar that features a portrait and short biography of Gabriella.

Custodial History

Shirley Worth served as the executor of Gabriella Szanto's estate. Following Gabriella's death, Shirley donated the records that make up the accession to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Administrative History

Gabriella "Gabi" Szanto (née Lazlo) was born in Budapest, Hungary on 26 January 1916. Gabriella's parents, Arnold and Ilonka Lazlo (née Diamenstein), were women's clothing manufacturers who employed twenty-five people. Their skills complemented each other: Arnold had studied design in Berlin for two years while Ilonka was a dressmaker. On 18 May 1919, Arnold and Ilonka had their second child, George.

During the Second World War, Gabi and her mother moved to the outskirts of Budapest where they passed as Catholics, rarely leaving their house. Miklos Szanto—the man Gabriella married after the war—was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp. Gabriella's brother, George, was sent to a camp in Siberia and did not survive. It is not known where or how Gabriella's father survived the war.

After the war, Gabriella, her mother and father, and her husband Miklos reunited in Budapest. The four lived in the family apartment near the city opera house.

During the period of Communist rule, Gabriella and Miklos bribed their way out of Hungary and travelled to Vienna. From Vienna, they travelled to Australia, where they lived for five or six years, working as a short order cook and a seamstress respectively.

At some point, Gabriella and Miklos made the decision to immigrate to Canada. Their first stop—most likely in the 1950s—was Montreal. There, Gabriella worked for a high-end retailer before moving with her husband to Toronto one year later. In Toronto, Miklos worked again as a short order cook at the Noshery Restaurant on Eglinton, holding this job until he retried. Gabriella, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress until she was in her mid-80s.

In their retirement, Gabriella and Miklos spent two months each winter in Florida. Gabriella died in 2018.

Use Conditions

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.

Descriptive Notes

LANGUAGE NOTE: English, Hungarian, German.

Subjects

Families

Holocaust survivors

Immigrants--Canada

Name Access

Szanto, Gabriella, 1916-2018

Places

Australia

Austria

Canada

Hungary

Source

Archival Accessions

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Accession Number

2020-10-4

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

4 cm of textual records

Date

1955-2004

Scope and Content

Accession consists of speeches and other textual records primarily written by Gangolf Herman in his role as president of Congregation Habonim Toronto. Included are mostly speeches, addresses, and sermons (1955-2001) that Gangolf wrote for Friday night services; tribute dinners; memorial services; the congregation’s anniversaries; and Jewish festivals such as Yom Kippur, Shavuot, Passover, and Hanukkah. Also included are correspondence (1974, 1992, 2003), one copy of Mrs. Hildegard Herman’s address to the Sisterhood of Congregation Habonim in 1955, one poem, one play script, president messages that Gangolf wrote for Congregation Habonim’s bulletins (1958-1996), and the Congregation’s bulletin for June 2004.

Administrative History

Gangolf Herman (1921-2004) was one of the founding members of Congregation Habonim of Toronto—a liberal reform synagogue founded in 1954 and also one of the first Holocaust refugee/survivor congregations to develop in Canada. Gangolf served as secretary, treasurer, board member, and president of the Congregation and was one of the Congregation’s most active members for more than half a century. Gangolf was born in 1921 in Berlin, Germany, to Georg and Rosa (née Wolff) Herman and was a Holocaust survivor. He had a younger sister, Ruth, who did not survive the Holocaust. Georg owned a boiler-making factory in Niederschönhausen and was trying to sell his business before leaving Berlin; however, he was taken from home with his wife Rosa, mother-in-law Therese, and daughter Ruth in 1942 to Riga. Georg died in Treblinka extermination camp [or in Kaiserwald concentration camp near the Riga suburb]. Gangolf left Germany in 1937 and went to school in Holland. Around 1939 and 1940, he left school and went to England where his family had friends. While in England, he was classified as an “enemy alien” and got shipped on HMT Dunera to Australia where he interned for three years. Gangolf had been writing letters to his family until 1942 when they were taken to Riga. Around 1944, Gangolf was brought back to London, England. Afterwards, he moved back in with friends and joined the Montefiore Circle, where he met his wife, Hildegard (Hilde) Stern. Gangolf and Hilde got married in 1946 and had two children born in London—Gavin (born in 1948) and Ruth (born in 1951). Hilde Stern (1920-1990) was born to Martin and Flora Stern in Frankfurt, Germany. Martin survived the Holocaust and escaped to London during 1937 and 1938. Martin gave up his shoemaking factory and received restitution afterwards. In 1951, Gangolf and his family bounded a ship from Southampton, England, to Halifax, Canada. After moving to Canada, Gangolf worked as a mechanical engineer, while Hilde was a homemaker. Hilde set up a nursery school inside Downsview United Church and worked at Holy Blossom Junior School. She was also active in the Sisterhood of Congregation Habonim. After the war, Gangolf received restitution from the West German government for properties owned in Berlin.

Descriptive Notes

Pages of Testimony (issued by Yad Vashem) that filled out by Gangolf Herman containing information about his family members as victims of the Holocaust were discovered on MyHeritage’s website and are available at S:\Collections\2020-10-4_Herman

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Speeches, addresses, etc

Name Access

Congregation Habonim of Toronto

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Level

Item

Item

6040

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[195-]

Physical Description

1 photograph

Scope and Content

Probably on Victoria Park Ave.

Notes

See letter in accession record.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Refuse collectors

Trucks

Places

Victoria Park Avenue (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

1992-2-7

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Patricia Joy Alpert fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

77

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

Date

[ca. 1907]-2001, predominant 1990-2001

Physical Description

1.2 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Patricia Joy Alpert (1931-2001) was an internationally-acclaimed artist, teacher, and dynamic community leader, most notably serving as national president of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO from 1996 to 1999. Pat was born in Toronto in 1931 to parents Oscar and Gertrude Pattenick. Oscar Pattenick, the son of Benjamin Pattenick and Pauline Goldenberg, was born in 1892 in Galicia and immigrated to Canada with his brother as a young man. The brothers ran a retail clothing business that expanded to several locations around Ontario, including Toronto and Bowmanville. Oscar married Gertrude Breslin (1896-1988) in 1917. She was one of fourteen children of Hyman Breslin and Sarah Pearl Papernick and had been raised in Toronto. Together the couple raised three children: Bernard (Boon), and twin girls Patricia and Pearl.

Pat and her sister showed artistic talent from an early age. After graduating from Oakwood Collegiate Institute, Pat enrolled at the University of Miami and graduated with a BA in art history in 1956. She started her career as a designer and display artist at the Simpson department store, doing freelance artwork and volunteering at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Pat married Herbert S. Alpert in 1958 and they had two daughters, Lisa and Nancy. Pat went back to school at Toronto Teacher's College and then taught kindergarten for eleven years for the North York Board of Education. She also earned a supervisor's art certificate and taught art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, North York Public Library, and Associated Hebrew Schools. Her artistic career took off in the 1970s, when her drawings were exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around North America. She typically drew human figures using ink.

Pat Alpert’s volunteer work began soon after her marriage, when she joined Toronto's Carmel chapter of Hadassah as a way to make new friends. In 1983, she became president of Toronto Hadassah-WIZO, serving until 1985. She continued with Toronto Hadassah as vice-president and corresponding secretary. Pat was deeply committed to Jewish life and to the State of Israel. Choosing Hadassah as the focus of her passion, she left her professional career in the 1990s to become a full-time volunteer. She served as chair of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Foundation, vice-president of National Hadassah, national president from 1996 to 1999 and president of Toronto Jewish National Fund from 1992 to 1994. Pat also held positions for Israel Bonds, Jewish Women’s Federation, B’nai Brith League for Human Rights, the Holocaust Centre of Toronto, Baycrest Women’s Auxiliary and board of governors, and Reena Foundation. Pat Alpert died on October 4, 2001, at the age of seventy.

Custodial History

Donated by Herbert Alpert in late 2001 or early 2002. No documentation for this donation could be found when it was assigned an accession number in October 2002 during an inventory of the vault. Pat Alpert's daughter Nancy Spring was contacted in 2009 to sign a deed of gift.

Scope and Content

Fonds contains records documenting Patricia Joy Alpert's personal, professional and volunteer-related activities. The records include textual material, photographs, and a sound recording of a radio show announcing an exhibit of Alpert's work. The records of Alpert's professional career as an artist and a teacher are comprised of curriculum vitae and brief biographies, exhibit records and correspondence. Samples of Alpert's drawings are included, dating from the 1940s to the 1970s. The records relating to Alpert's community leadership include a large number of speeches, clippings, articles, correspondence, cards and letters, meeting minutes, and unique diary entries meticulously detailing Hadassah business, conversations and controversies. There are minutes from the following entities: Hadassah National Officers, Hadassah National Executive Board, World WIZO Executive and Canadian Hadassah Foundation. Other organizations represented in the records include the Jewish National Fund, Baycrest Women’s Auxiliary, Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation, and State of Israel Bonds.

The personal records in the fonds include letters written by Pat to Herbert when he was working in England during parts of 1968-1970, letters exchanged between Pat and her daughters when the girls were at camp in 1971 and 1973, and a collection of clippings spanning twenty years in which Alpert appears. As well, there is a notebook of Pat's Torah observations, thoughts and quotations. The personal series also contains records of Gertrude Pattenick's: a handwritten homemaker's guide and recipe book, ca. 1907, and several letters exchanged between Gertrude and Oscar before and during their marriage. One file contains the obituary of Gertrude and the condolences received by Pat.

There are approximately 3175 photographs (218 negs and 45 slides) in the fonds. These are of Hadassah conferences and annual conventions, meetings, social events, Hadassah projects in Israel (contact sheets) and images of Alpert's drawings. Many of the photographs were originally in four scrapbooks Alpert created: three to highlight the events of her Hadassah presidency and one she titled "Important Moments" that spans the 1980s and 1990s. The scrapbook files (in box 3) contain photographs, clippings and a number of event programs. The photographs include images of Alpert at special events and conventions, as a speaker, meeting people, socializing and travelling in Israel and to international Hadassah events around the world.

The poster in the fonds is for an event organized by the Women's Auxiliary of Baycrest Centre in 1981, the second annual Camerata concert and gala reception.

The fonds is arranged in 6 series: 1. Personal; 2. Professional; 3. Toronto Hadassah; 4. Hadassah-WIZO Canada; 5. Jewish National Fund; 5. Hadassah-WIZO of Canada Foundation; Other organizations.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes ca. 3175 photographs (218 negatives and 45 slides), 1 cassette tape and 1 poster.

Name Access

Alpert, Patricia Joy, 1931-2001

Hadassah-WIZO Organization of Canada (Subject)

Subjects

Artists

Teachers

Volunteers

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Arrangement

The arrangement of the fonds was constructed by the archivist. The scrapbooks were taken apart and the captions for each event provided the titles for the files.

Creator

Alpert, Patricia Joy, 1931-2001

Accession Number

2002-10-65

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2022-5-15

Material Format

textual record

object

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 armband : white fabric ; 18 x 5 cm

Date

1947-1948

Scope and Content

Accession consists of Leslie Mezei's certificate of identity in lieu of passport, issued on 2 Dec. 1947 by the Office of the Military Governor, US Zone of Germany. It contains Leslie's picture and signature, as well as the 13 Jan. 1948 Canadian stamp of arrival in Halifax. Also included is the armband worn by Leslie on his way to Canada, which says, "Sponsored by the Canadian Jewish Congress. Chief Welfare Officer Ethel Ostry-Genkind."

Custodial History

Records were donated by Leslie Mezei himself.

Administrative History

Leslie (Laszlo) Mezei was born in Budapest, Hungary, on 9 July 1931. After the war, he and his siblings stayed at the Leipheim DP camp, in Germany, and at a children's camp in Prien am Chiemsee, in Southern Germany. After going on the Exodus 1947 illegal immigration to then Mandatory Palestine, they were sent back to Prien, where a Canadian social worker signed them up for immigration. They arrived in January 1948 on board the USS General SD Sturgis, an American troop carrier that had been used for carrying refugees. They landed at Pier 21, in Halifax. Then, they took a train to Montreal, and, after spending some time at the YMHA, Leslie was taken in by the Winkler family, with whom he stayed with for five years. After completing his basic education, he enrolled at McGill University for a BSc in mathematic and physics followed by an MA in meteorology in Toronto, where he got married in August 1953 to his fiancée, Annie Wasserman, a Holocaust survivor from Poland. Leslie became a computer programmer in 1954 and a systems analyst in 1958. His wife, Annie, with whom he had two children, Frances and Michael, developed a brain tumor and died in January 1977. After Annie's death, Leslie started to work with the interfaith movement. He later married Kathy, a seventh-generation Canadian of English, Irish, and Scottish background. Between them, they have five children, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. In 2021, Leslie was awarded a certificate of recognition signed by the mayor of Toronto, the president of the Interfaith Council, and the head of the Toronto Sufi Order International. In 2019, the Azrieli Foundation published the Holocaust story of his family in a book titled "A Tapestry of Survival."

Descriptive Notes

Physical Description note: Armband has been measured in flattened position.

Subjects

Holocaust survivors

Refugee children

Immigrants--Canada

Name Access

Mezei, Leslie (Laszlo), 1931-

Places

Germany

Halifax (N.S.)

Montréal (Québec)

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

148

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

[1940?]-1952, predominant 1946-1947

Physical Description

56 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Founded in 1924, the Ostrowtzer Hilfs Farein was a landsmanshaft society named after the town of Ostrowiec in Poland. Initially a function of the Ostrovtzer Shul, the society’s mission was to provide support to Ostrovtzers who had immigrated to Toronto, offering small loans and medical assistance and fostering a sense of community. The society began with thirty-eight members, offering assistance to Ostrovtzers arriving in Toronto. Over a decade, membership grew to one hundred, enabling the society to hire a doctor for medical services.

While immigration policies and the outbreak of war slowed membership growth, it surged again with the arrival of Holocaust survivors. Postwar, the Ostrowtzer Society extended relief and aid to refugees in displacement camps, Europe, and Israel. Around this time, it became known as the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee.

In 1946, the society organized a landmark conference in Toronto, leading to the formation of the Central Committee of Ostrowtzer Hilfs Fareinen in North and South America. Max Hartstone served as the committee's executive secretary.

The society expanded its reach, creating a young men's branch and evolving into the Ostrovtzer Independent Mutual Benefit Society. In recent years, it has provided support for Israel, the Baycrest Foundation, UJA Federation, and more. It also owns cemetery land, ensuring that each of its members receives a proper Jewish burial. The society also established an endowment fund through the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto.

Custodial History

The records were donated by Nancy Freeman, Max Hartstone’s daughter, on 17 October 2017. A subsequent donation was made on 19 April 2022. Nancy recalls that the letters, received by her father Max Hartstone in his capacity as secretary of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee, were stored in large bakery boxes in their garage.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the activities of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee. The fonds primarily contains correspondence from other Ostrovtzer societies and Holocaust survivors from Ostrowiec, Poland, located throughout North and South America, Europe, and Palestine. Photographs are included with some of the correspondence. Other materials include minutes, notices of meetings, financial records, invitations, events memorabilia, speeches, and newspaper clippings. The materials document the efforts of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee, in collaboration with Ostrovtzer societies worldwide, to provide assistance and support to Holocaust survivors from Ostrowiec. These records also offer insight into the immediate, postwar experiences of Holocaust survivors

The fonds is arranged into five series. The series are: 1. Letters from individuals; 2. Letters from organizations; 3. Administrative; 4. Events; and 5. Newspaper clippings.

Name Access

Hartstone, Max, 1907-1982

Subjects

Fraternal organizations

Holocaust survivors

Jews--Poland

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Repro Restriction

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

Physical Condition

Some of the textual records are fragile and are enclosed in plastic.

Arrangement

Nancy Freeman had bundled the correspondence upon donation; however, given that there did not appear to be a specific order to the bundles, the archivist rearranged the materials to improve accessibility.

Creator

United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee

Places

Ostrowiec (Sokolów Podlaski, Poland)

Accession Number

2017-10-5

2022-4-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5090

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 photograph ; col. ; 10 x 15 cm

Custodial History

Born in Vienna in 1934, Eveline fled Austria with her family in December 1938, surviving the war by hiding in Holland. Goodman-Thau has held academic posts in Europe, Israel, and the United States, and in 1999 served as a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School. Ordained a rabbi in October 2000, she became Austria's first female rabbi in 2001.

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Eveline Goodman standing with an unidentified man. Goodman's photograph was kept by the Beth Sholom Synagogue's adult education department. It is unclear whether or not Goodman was invited to speak in Toronto.

Name Access

Goodman-Thau, Eveline

Subjects

College teachers

Holocaust survivors

Women rabbis

Repro Restriction

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

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2018-7-22

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

47 photographs : b&w and col. ; 19 x 14 cm or smaller

Date

1949-2007

Scope and Content

Accession consists of forty-seven photographs documenting Lilian Rosenthal's family.

Identified in the photographs are: Emy Berman (née Rosenthal), Ella Fleischmann (née Schwarcz), Esther Fleischmann, Jack Fleischmann, Ivan Fleischmann, Joanne Howe (née Fleischmann), Livia Bitton Jackson, Leah Kedar, Allan Leibler, Mary Leibler (née Schwarcz) Bram Morrison, Ruth Raphael, Amir Rosenthal, Annette Rosenthal, Arthur Rosenthal, Eddie Rosenthal, Herschel Rosenthal, Jack Rosenthal, Keren Rosenthal, Leslie Rosenthal, Lilian Rosenthal, Miriam Rosenthal (née Schwarcz), Murray Rosenthal, Nili Rosenthal, Ron Rosenthal, Shira Rosenthal, Valerie Rosenthal, William Rosenthal, Carmelle Rutman, Serena Rutman, Tami Rutman (née Rosenthal), Yasmin Rutman, Alexander Schwarcz, Manci Schwarcz, Susan Schwarcz, Miriam Sharon (née Stern), Mr. Shoychet, Mrs. Shoychet, Rochelle Treister (née Fleischmann), and Ugo Vero.

Administrative History

Lilian Rosenthal is the daughter of Holocaust survivors Miriam Rosenthal (née Schwarcz) and Rabbi William Rosenthal. She grew up in Sudbury, Ontario with her siblings, Leslie and Murray.

Lilian's parents were born in eastern Europe and came to Canada in 1947. They lived in Timmins for a year before moving to Sudbury, where William ("Bela") served as a rabbi, cantor, and teacher for sixteen years.

In 1965, the family moved to Toronto and Miriam and William opened a Judaica store at the corner Bathurst Street and Caribou Road. Together, Lilian's parents ran the store for more than forty years until retiring in 2007. William died on 11 April 2008; Miriam died on 10 February 2018.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Availabilityusc of other formats: Digital access copies (jpg) have been created.

Finding aids: A short description including dates and identification is available for each photograph.

Associated material: The USC Shoah Foundation produced an oral history with Miriam Rosenthal, which has been digitized.

Subjects

Families

Family-owned business enterprises

Holocaust survivors

Name Access

Rosenthal (family)

Rosenthal, Lilian

Rosenthal, Miriam, 1922-2018

Rosenthal, William, 1911-2008

Places

Bathurst Street (Toronto, Ont.)

Caribou Road (Toronto, Ont.)

Sudbury (Ont.)

Timmins (Ont.)

Toronto Islands (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

277

Material Format

textual record

Date

1991

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of records documenting the activities of Ernst Zundel, a Holocaust denier. Included is correspondence, copies of the appellant's factum in Zundel's appeal trial to the Supreme Court of Canada, and newspaper clippings.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Name Access

Zundel, Ernst, 1939-

Subjects

Holocaust deniers

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

278

Material Format

textual record

Date

1991

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of newspaper clippings documenting the activities of Ernst Zundel, a Holocaust denier.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Name Access

Zundel, Ernst, 1939-

Subjects

Holocaust deniers

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

279

Material Format

textual record

Date

1991-1993

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence and press releases documenting the activities of Ernst Zundel, a Holocaust denier.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Name Access

Zundel, Ernst, 1939-

Subjects

Holocaust deniers

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Research Records sub-series

War Crimes and Criminals sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-4-7

File

27

Material Format

textual record

Date

1968

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consist of a brochure for the unveiling of memorial at Mount Sinai Cemetery to victims of the Holocaust.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Subjects

Holocaust victims

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Research Records sub-series

War Crimes and Criminals sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-4-7

File

36

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consist of a notice of a memorial meeting for Holocaust victims.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Subjects

Holocaust victims

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

2

File

1109

Material Format

textual record

Date

1996

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Subjects

Holocaust denial

Access Restriction

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Accession Number

2005-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Subject files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-22

File

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1983-1989

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of clippings and correspondence related to Holocaust denial in Canada.

Subjects

Holocaust denial

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto fonds

Photographs series

Level

File

Fonds

9

Series

12

File

40

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1972

Physical Description

4 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of four photographs taken at the annual general meeting. Included are images of speakers at the podium and a candle-lighting in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. Identified individuals include: Charlie Kent, Wolfe Goodman, Carolyn Adams, Morris Adams, Tobie Taback, John A. Geller, and Dr. Henry Fenigstein.

Name Access

Fenigstein, Henry, 1913-1993

Subjects

Holocaust victims

Repro Restriction

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

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Bella Diamant fonds

Level

Item

Fonds

117

Item

27

Material Format

graphic material (electronic)

Date

[1940?]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (tiff) ; 228 MB

Scope and Content

This item is a scanned photograph of Yeheskel Borenstein son of Ovadya and Ruth Borenstein. Included is a scan of the recto and verso of the photograph. Written on the back in Polish are the dates (19 March 1938 and 11 October 1942) with the name Yeheskel Borenstein son of Ovadya and Ruth.

Notes

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE: Digitization of the original photograph was done by the OJA Archivist. A master tiff file and a jpg access copy were made.

Subjects

Holocaust victims

Source

Archival Descriptions

• 

Part Of

Henry Rosenbaum fonds

Photograph series

Level

Item

Fonds

121

Series

1

Item

12

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 196-]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b & w ; 25 cm x 20 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a black and white photograph of individuals attending a Yizkor service under the auspices of the Radomer Mutual Benefit Society for those murdered in the Holocaust. Seated left to right, Henry Rosenbaum, [unknown], [unknown]. Standing [unknown] (Toronto, ON), ca.1960.

Subjects

Holocaust memorials

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

2

File

1283

Material Format

textual record

Date

1995

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Subjects

Holocaust denial

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Access Restriction

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Accession Number

2005-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2010-1-5

Material Format

moving images

Physical Description

1 DVD ( ca. 96 min.)

Date

2006

Scope and Content

Accession consists of one DVD recording of the Rally for Truth, Light and Freedom. The DVD covers the entire presentation, including speakers Linda Frum Sokolowski, Father Raymond De Souza, Peter Van Loan, Michael Bryant, Martin Maxwell, Max Eisen, and William McBurney; keynote speaker Professer Alan Dershowitz; and archival footage of a concentration camp liberation that was screened at the rally.

Administrative History

The Rally for Truth, Light and Freedom: Iran Exposed was held at Beth Tzedec Congregation on Thursday December 21, 2006 to express opposition to Iran's Holocaust denial conference. It was sponsored by a coalition of more than 120 Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, including the Archdiocese of Toronto's Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, the National Congress of Italian-Canadians, the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, and the Hindu Conference of Canada. Organizational support was provided by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto; Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region; and the Holocaust Centre of Toronto. Mark Anshan of UJA coordinated the event.

Subjects

Holocaust denial

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1992-7-2

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

4 photographs : col. (slides) ; 35 mm

Date

[ca. 1965]

Scope and Content

This accession consists of 4 colour slides of the dedication of a Holocaust monument in Litvische-Latvische section of Bathurst Lawn Cemetery, Toronto, with Cantor N. Stolnitz.

Subjects

Holocaust memorials

Cemeteries

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18

File

29

Material Format

textual record

sound recording

Date

1990

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

1 audio cassette

Scope and Content

File consists of speech notes, correspondence, invitations, greetings, and an audio recording from the unveiling and dedication of the "Righteous Among the Nations" panels at the Holocaust Centre.

Subjects

Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust

Source

Archival Descriptions