Level
Item
ID
Item 2936
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2936
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1943]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of David Gertler with his wife, who is holding a chicken. Gertler was the head of the "Special Department" in the Lodz Ghetto, made up of Jewish police who handled cases of theft and embezzlement.
Name Access
Gertler, David
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lódz
Jewish ghettos
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2938
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2938
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1945]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of senior members of the judenrat of the Lodz Ghetto. Bottom row (left to right): Mrs. Daum, Dora Fuks, Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, Leon Rosenblatt and Zwi Ben Baruch Litwin. Upper row: (left to right): Neftalin, H. Grawe, Aharon Jakubowicz, Baruch Praskier, probably Shmuel Rosenstain, Yaakov Warszawski, and probably Dr. Klementinogski Kranker.
Name Access
Daum, Mrs.
Fuks, Dora
Grawe, H.
Jakubowicz, Aharon
Kranker, Klementinogski
Litwin, Zwi Ben Baruch
Neftalin
Praskier, Baruch
Rosenblatt, Leon
Rosenstain, Shmuel
Rumkowski, Mordechai Chaim
Warszawski, Yaakov
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lódz
Jewish councils
Portraits, Group
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2939
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2939
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1945]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of a meeting of the judenrat of Lodz Ghetto. It is probably a meeting with a group of Czech Jews who were brought from Prague to the Lodz Ghetto in the late fall of 1941. Likely pictured in the photograph are: Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, Aron Jakubowicz, his wife Regina, Dora Fuks, Jozef Rumkowski, Dawid Warszawski, Baruch Praszker, and Max Szczesliwy. The photograph features a room full of men and women, all wearing a Magen David (Star of David) on their jackets. The photo was taken in a hall, which was formerly a theatre.
Name Access
Fuks, Dora
Jakubowicz, Aron
Jakubowicz, Regina
Prazker, Baruch
Rumkowski, Jozef
Rumkowski, Mordechai Chaim
Szczesliwy, Max
Warszawski, Dawid
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lódz
Jewish councils
Portraits, Group
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2942
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2942
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1944]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of Rumkowski standing on a podium in the yard of the firehall in Lodz Ghetto. The photo is said to be Rumkowski giving his speech asking mothers in the crowd to give up their children to the Germans.
Name Access
Rumkowski
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lódz
Jewish ghettos
Speeches, addresses, etc
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2940
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2940
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1944]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of a meeting of the judenrat of the Lodz Ghetto. The photograph features a room full of men and women, all wearing a Magen David (Star of David) on their jackets. The photo was taken in a hall, which was formerly a theatre. Pictured: Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski.
Name Access
Rumkowski, Mordechai Chaim
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lódz
Jewish councils
Portraits, Group
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2941
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2941
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1945]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of a general meeting of the Judenrat of Lodz Ghetto. The photograph features several men and women seated on the stage in a hall, which was formerly a theatre. Pictured: Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski.
Name Access
Rumkowski, Mordechai Chaim
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lódz
Jewish councils
Portraits, Group
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 2935
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
2935
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1940 and 1942]
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 7 cm
Scope and Content
This item is a photograph of Salomon Hercberg. He was the commissioner of the Lodz Ghetto Jewish Police and commandant of the ghetto central prison. He is pictured in his uniform and cap, wearing an armband with a Star of David on it.
Name Access
Hercberg, Salomon
Subjects
Jewish ghettos
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
Lódz (Poland)
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Level
Series
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Level
Series
Fonds
67
Series
28
Material Format
multiple media
Date
[197-]-[200-]
Physical Description
5.8 metres of textual records and other material
Admin History/Bio
The Toronto Holocaust Museum's mandate is to foster understanding and knowledge of the Holocaust and related human rights issues and promote dialogue about civil society. Its origins can be traced to the late 1940s, when the Federation of Polish Jews of Canada began organizing an annual event to commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (now often held in conjunction with Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day). In the 1950s, the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) took over this role and established the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Committee. By the early 1970s, the CJC had renamed this committee the Holocaust Remembrance Committee.
Throughout the 1970s, the scope of the committees work expanded to include liaison with school boards regarding Holocaust curriculum, outreach with Christian communities, school visits by survivor speakers, and the sponsorship of Holocaust-related events. In 1976, the committee became accountable to the newly formed Toronto Jewish Congress (TJC) but continued to report to the CJC Central Region.
By 1976, committee members were discussing the need for a Holocaust memorial in Toronto. Space for such a memorial became available when the Lipa Green building at 4600 Bathurst Street was being planned. A separate committee known as the Toronto Holocaust Memorial Committee formed around 1983 under the chairmanship of Gerda Frieberg to help plan and fundraise for the memorial. Funds were raised through parlour meetings in private homes, grants from the federal and provincial governments, and the sale of memorial tiles which were inscribed with the names of relatives who perished in the Holocaust. The Holocaust Education and Memorial Centre opened in September 1985. It consisted of a Hall of Memories, which housed the memorial tiles, and an audiovisual presentation and text panels on Jewish history and the Holocaust. Soon after the opening, the Toronto Holocaust Memorial Committee merged with the Holocaust Remembrance Committee.
During the early 1980s, while plans were still underway for the memorial centre, the Holocaust Remembrance Committee continued to expand its activities to include the development of annual workshops and symposiums for teachers and students, planning an annual Holocaust Education Week, initiating an oral history program to document the testimony of local survivors, and offering programs for children of survivors. After the Holocaust centre opened in 1985, it began running tours led by survivors for community and school groups in its new facility. The 1990s was marked by increased services and programs for survivors, outreach with younger generations, the establishment of an annual writing contest for high school students, and the establishment of a resource centre that came to be known as the Anita Ekstein Holocaust Resource Library. In 1992, the TJC and CJC transferred responsibility for the centre to the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation, and the centre remains part of that organization today.
Since 2000, the centre has continued to increase its programming. In 2003, it began presenting an annual program to commemorate Raoul Wallenberg Day. In 2007, the museum’s exhibition was fully re-designed and updated. Since its establishment, the centre has sponsored and hosted a variety of temporary Holocaust-related exhibitions and programs across the province and has partnered with other agencies to advocate for human rights, promote Holocaust education, and document survivor testimony. In 2009, the centre was renamed the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust and Education Centre. In 2023, the centre was renamed the Toronto Holocaust Museum to reflect its new state-of-theart museum located on UJA's Serhman Campus.
Scope and Content
Series consists of records documenting the history, governance, operation, programs, and activities of the Toronto Holocaust Museum. Included are meeting minutes, reports, publications, correspondence, photographs, invitations, statistics, financial records, sound recordings, promotional material, forms, studies, ...
Series is arranged into 21 sub-series: 1. Holocaust Education Committee; 2. Executive Committee; 3. Administration; 4. General correspondence; 5. Committees and meetings; 6. Studies and surveys; 7. Youth for Youth subcommittee; 8. Special Services Committee; 9. Christian Jewish Dialogue; 10. Generation to Generation subcommittee; 11. Hidden Children/Child Survivors; 12. Education; 13. Museum; 14. Yom Hashoah; 15. Holocaust Education Week; 16. Raoul Wallenberg Day; 17. Documentation; 18. Projects and events; 19. Survivor speakers, docents and volunteers; 20. Membership; 21. Marketing and publicity; and 22. Subject files.
Notes
Physical description note: Includes ca. 2000 photographs, 5 buttons, 11 audio recordings, 3 DVDs, 3 video cassettes and 2 posters.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Access Restriction
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
Accession Number
2002-10-30
2002-10-67
2004-6-10
2005-2-3
2005-3-1
2006-8-15
2007-8-7
2010-6-2
2011-12-2
2012-3-8
2012-3-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2011-3-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-3-1
Material Format
graphic material
Physical Description
7 photographs : b&w ; 8 x 8 cm and 7 x 9 cm
Date
1945
Scope and Content
Accession consists of seven photographs taken by Alfred Longmore at Bergen-Belsen Concentration camp in 1945. The images are extremely graphic and document desecrated bodies, several mass graves and German soldiers loading corpses onto a truck.
Custodial History
The photographs were in the possession of Larry Longmore, the son of Alfred Talbot Longmore. They came to the archives via John Komlos, a docent at the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre.
Administrative History
Alfred Talbot Longmore was born May 1923. From 1943 to 1945 he was a Corporal in the Royal Canadian Air Force, stationed in England and assigned to a British unit. He was trained to rewire incoming planes after action at the front. Longmore was an amateur photographer and film developer and acquired film equipment during the war through the sale of contraband cigarettes. At the end of the war he volunteered for clean up and burial detail at Bergen-Belsen Concentration camp. Volunteers from all three branches of the armed forces were selected for this task. As part of the process, German SS guards were forced to participate in order to remove any deniability on their part of the atrocities committed.
Longmore was not Jewish. He died in February 2007 and is survived by his wife Aileen Mary and their four children, Robert, Susan, Larry and Judy.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2012-3-8
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2012-3-8
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
58 photographs (tif) and other material
Date
1945, 1965-2003
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the establishment and activities of Toronto's Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre as well as the personal life and professional activities of Gerda Frieberg. Holocaust Education Centre records include audiovisual material, sound recordings, meeting minutes, financial records, booklets and brochures, photographs, and flyers. Of note is a video of the opening and dedication of the Holocaust Museum in 1985 and the sheet music and sound recordings of the musical score Gerda commissioned for the centre by Srul Glick.
Records in the Gerda Frieberg fonds document her involvement with the Holocaust Education Centre, the Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Canada, B'nai Brith Women, the Federation of Jewish Women's organizations, and her other activities. Included are photographs, newspaper clippings, meeting minutes, and correspondence. Also included is a sound recording from a Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations event and a DVD copy of the film "Mend the World," a CBC documentary that features Gerda and other Toronto Holocaust survivors. The electronic images were scanned from Gerda's personal scrapbooks.
Custodial History
Records were in the possession of Gerda Frieberg until she donated them to the OJA in 2012.
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
Includes 4 audio cassette tapes, 4 VHS tapes, 3 DVDs, 3 cm of textual records, and 8 photographs.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Frieberg, Gerda
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-2-13
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-2-13
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
2016
Scope and Content
Accession consists of a typed account of Lou Hoffer's experience as a Holocaust survivor in Transnistria. The account was written on the occassion of the establishment by Lou and Magda Hoffer of the Transnistria Forest Grove in Jerusalem through the Jewish National Fund (JNF). Also included is a printout of a photo of Lou and Magda alongside a brief description of the JNF gift and the original certificate presented to the Hoffers from JNF.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Hoffer, Lou
Hoffer, Magda
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-16
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-16
Material Format
moving images
Physical Description
3 DVDs
Date
2006-2007
Scope and Content
Video recordings of Transnistria Survivors' Association's annual commemomoration ceremonies (Haskara) that took place at Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto in 2006 and 2007.
Administrative History
Founded in 1994, the Transnistria Survivors’ Association works to provide a voice for and raise awareness of a lesser known group of Holocaust survivors. Transnistria was the Romanian authorities’ name for the former Ukrainian region located between the Rivers Dniester and Bug. It was placed under Romanian administration following the German and Romanian conquest of Ukraine in the summer of 1941. Prior to the Second World War, Romania was home to the third largest Jewish population in Europe; but beginning with the Citizenship Revision Laws of 1938, the Jews of Romania were deprived their citizenship rights and became the targets of repressive antisemitic policies and laws. Neighbours turned on neighbours. Thousands of Jews were murdered in pogroms, either by Romanian or German troops, Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or the local population. In 1941, the Jews who remained alive in the Provinces of Bucovina and Bessarabia were deported to camps and ghettos in Transnistria. Thousands were jammed into freight trains while others were marched by foot. Many died along the way. Between 1941 and 1944, it is estimated that German and Romanian authorities, along with Ukrainian collaborators, murdered or caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Ukrainian Jews in Transnistria. Some of those who survived these tragic circumstances, especially from Bucovina and Bessarabia, and made a new home in Toronto gathered together to lend each other support and to tell their largely unknown story of oppression and survival. The Transnistria Survivor’s Association organized yearly Hazkarah (memorial) services and its dedicated members continue to share their extraordinary stories of survival through speaking engagements at schools, colleges and synagogues. Past presidents include:
1. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly
2.Osias Nadel
3.Etti Ziegler
4.Lou (Leizer) Hoffer
As of 2017, the current President is Joe Leinburd.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Transnistria Survivors Association
Hoffer, Lou
Places
Transnistria (Ukraine : Territory under German and Romanian occupation, 1941-1944)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-6-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-6-1
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
95 cm of textual records
42 photographs : b&w and col. ; 9 x 13 cm and 10 x 15 cm
5 audiocassettes
Date
1974-2016
Scope and Content
Accession consists of the records documenting Nathan Leipciger's role as the Chairman of the Holocaust Remembrace Committee, as well as his affiliation with other Holocaust commemoration organizations in Poland and Toronto. Organizations documented in this collection include: the Canadian Jewish Congress Holocaust Remembrance Committee and its Education Sub-Committee, the March of the Living, Yad Vashem, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the International Council to the Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto, the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, the Board of Education of North York, and the Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre (now Neuberger). Events documented include Yom HaShoah programs, the Canadian Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and Their Children, and Holocaust Education Week. Records include Holocaust Remembrance Committee meeting minutes, correspondence (including correspondence between Mr. Leipciger and the director of the museum at Auschwitz), programming material, curriculum development material, event flyers, newsclippings, synagogue newsletters featuring published memoirs by Mr. Leipciger. Also included are architectural drawings of the Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre (now Neuberger), one copy of a small book entitled, "60 Days for 6 Million," published by Tribe UK, and five audiocasettes of recordings from the 22nd International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies conference on the topic of the shared history of Poles and Jews (August 2002, Toronto, Ont.).
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.
Descriptive Notes
General: Contains photographs of the Holocaust, some of which may be disturbing.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Leipciger, Nate, 1928-
Places
Poland
Toronto, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-3-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-3-6
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
87 photographs : col. ; 15 x 10 cm
1 folder of textual records
Date
2010-2018
Scope and Content
Accession consists of various photos and commemorative books documenting the Tommorow Campaign's L'Chaim celebrations, Holocaust Education Week (2011), the openining of the Joseph & Wolf JCC (2012) and the memorial service program and condolence book created for Barry and Honey Sherman. Included are two photo albums of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto's Tommorow Campaign L'Chaim celebrations honouring Sarah and Chaim Neuberger in 2010 and the Gottdenker Family in 2011. Also included are photos of the 31st Annual Holocaust Education Week on Accountability: 50 years since the Eichmann Trial including the opening night program held on 1 Nov. 2011 at Holy Blossom Temple with historian Deborah E. Lipstadt; a panel discussion on the behavior of German business leaders with Professors Peter Francis Hayes, Doris Bergen and Michael R. Marrus held at the University of Toronto's Munk School for Global Affairs on 3 Nov. 2011; and the closing program and Kristallnacht commemoration with Tami Raveh Hausner, at Beth Tzedec Synagogue, 9 Nov. 2011.
Also included is a commemorative program book in celebration of the grand opening of the Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus Phase II on October 14, 2012 and a program from the memorial service for Barry and Honey Sherman (12 Dec. 2017) along with a book of condolences and photos in loving memory of Honey and Barry Sherman.
Custodial History
Photo albums and grand opening commemorative program book were donated by Dara Solomon, Executive Director of the Holocaust Centre and the Ontario Jewish Archives.
Condolence book in memory of Honey and Barry Sherman was donated by Natalie Walden.
Memorial service program transferred by Dara Solomon, Executive Director, Ontario Jewish Archives
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Sokolsky, Ted
Wolfe, Elizabeth
Sherman, Barry
Sherman, Honey
Goldfarb, Mira
Hayes, Peter F. (Peter Francis), 1947-
Bergen, Doris L.
Marrus, Michael R., 1941-
Lipstadt, Deborah E.
Hausner, Tami Raveh
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1995-1-3
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1995-1-3
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
1 album
16 posters
Date
1945-1946
Scope and Content
Accession includes a scrapbook entitled "Polish Jews in the time of the German occupation, 1939-1945", presented to Sam Lipshitz and H.M. Caiserman by the Central Committee of Polish Jews during their tour of Poland in 1946 as delegates for the Canadian Jewish Congress and United Radomer Relief.
The accession also includes 16 posters created for an exhibition to document their trip and the Holocaust in Poland.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2003-8-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2003-8-1
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
6.6 m of textual records and graphic materials
Date
[198-]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records relating to Markson's design work for the Holocaust Centre, for Jewish Family & Child Services, and for the film, Growing up in America. These records include textual records, slides, negatives, photographs, films, and sound recordings in various formats.
Use Conditions
Donor retains copyright. Material can be made available for viewing and reference at the OJA. Researchers who require copies for personal use or publication must obtain permission from donor first.
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Markson, Morley
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1978-7-6
Material Format
object
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 document
2 artifacts
8 photographs : b&w ; 9 x 14 cm and 9 x 7 cm
Date
[between 1939 and 1944]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of photographs taken in the Lodz Ghetto during the Second World War, including images of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, chairman, and other members of the Judenrat (Jewish Council). Also included is an invitation to Rumkowski's wedding to Regina Wajnberger (Weinberger) from 27 Dec. 1941 and two Lodz Ghetto coins from 1943.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Fogel, Morris
Places
Lodz, Poland
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
General office subject and correspondence files series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 2; File 1283
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
Source
Archival Accessions
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
Part Of
Bella Diamant fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 117
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Bella Diamant fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
117
Material Format
textual record
graphic material (electronic)
Date
1926-1947
Physical Description
3 cm of textual records
11 photographs : b&w and sepia (tiff)
Admin History/Bio
Bella Diamant (m. Hershenhorn) was the daughter of Moishe and Sarah Diamant. She was born in Ostrowiec (Ostrovietz), Poland and had five siblings: Esther, Chaim Myer, David, Baruch, and Ruth. Bella met her future husband, Samuel Hershenhorn, in Poland. He was the son of Mendel and Miriam Hershenhorn from Drildz. The family arrived in Toronto sometime during the early 1920s; Mendel arriving first followed by Miriam and Samuel. The marriage between Bella and Samuel was arranged by their families and so Bella was sent to Toronto to be with him in 1927. They married on 13 Nov. 1927. Together they had three children: Ruth (Rishie), Esti and Lee. Samuel worked for a slipper and spat manufacturer and then started his own company: The Canadian Spat and Slipper Company. He was a member of the Drildzer Sick Benefit Society. Bella was a housewife. Many of Bella's relatives perished during the Holocaust, including both her parents, her brother David who died with his wife and daughter on a forced march, and her sister Ruth who was murdered by the Nazis alongside her young daughter. Chaim Myer was sent to live with Bella and Samuel in Toronto prior to the onset of the war and therefore survived. Baruch and Esther both survived the Holocaust and eventually moved to New York City.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of letters written to Bella Diamant Hershenhorn from relatives in Poland and Frankfurt. The pre-war letters are from Bella's father Moishe in Poland as well as Bella's siblings and cousins, usually added as additional notes and postscripts onto Moishe's letters. The post-war letters are from Bella's sister Esther and brother Baruch in Frankfurt, who both survived the Holocaust. The letters are written in Yiddish and Polish and have accompanying English translations. Also included are several scanned copies of photographs depicting Bella on the SS Estonia, en route to Canada (ca. 1927), and with various relatives in Poland prior to immigration.
Notes
REPRODUCTION RESTRICTION NOTE: Donor must be notified prior to publication of letters.
Name Access
Hershenhorn, Bella, ca. 1906-1999
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Letters
Arrangement
The letters have been arranged chronologically.
Places
Ostrowiec (Sokolów Podlaski, Poland)
Toronto (Ont.)
Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
Accession Number
2016-12-44
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-18; File 30
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Special events and projects sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-18
File
30
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1990
Physical Description
1 folder textual records
5 photographs: col. ; 15 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
File consists of invitations, correspondence, photographs, press releases, and programs from the reception hosted by the Holocaust Centre in honour of the publication of the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Encyclopedias
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Public relations sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-21; File 7
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Public relations sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-21
File
7
Material Format
textual record
Date
1977-1980
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of several editions of annotated bibliographies on the Holocaust.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Bibliography
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2013-9-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2013-9-1
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
textual record
Physical Description
3 photographs (tiffs) : col.
1 folder of textual records
Date
2005-2012
Scope and Content
Accession consists of graphic material and a textual record documenting the Transnistria Survivor Association. Included are three photos: 1) Member Arnold Buxbaum standing in front of Memorial for Transnistria at Earl Bales Park; 2) Arnold Buxbaum and Joe Leinburd at UJA Foundation Event, 2011-12; 3) Hazkarah, 2005 at Sharei Shomayim Synagogue. There is also a speech by Arnold Buxbaum presented in 2011 at Sharei Shomayim Synagogue.
Custodial History
Originals were loaned for reproducing.
Administrative History
Founded in 1994, the Transnistria Survivors’ Association works to provide a voice for and raise awareness of a lesser known group of Holocaust survivors. Transnistria was the Romanian authorities’ name for the former Ukrainian region located between the Rivers Dniester and Bug. It was placed under Romanian administration following the German and Romanian conquest of Ukraine in the summer of 1941. Prior to the Second World War, Romania was home to the third largest Jewish population in Europe; but beginning with the Citizenship Revision Laws of 1938, the Jews of Romania were deprived their citizenship rights and became the targets of repressive antisemitic policies and laws. Neighbours turned on neighbours. Thousands of Jews were murdered in pogroms, either by Romanian or German troops, Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or the local population. In 1941, the Jews who remained alive in the Provinces of Bucovina and Bessarabia were deported to camps and ghettos in Transnistria. Thousands were jammed into freight trains while others were marched by foot. Many died along the way. Between 1941 and 1944, it is estimated that German and Romanian authorities, along with Ukrainian collaborators, murdered or caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Ukrainian Jews in Transnistria. Some of those who survived these tragic circumstances, especially from Bucovina and Bessarabia, and made a new home in Toronto gathered together to lend each other support and to tell their largely unknown story of oppression and survival. The Transnistria Survivor’s Association organized yearly Hazkarah (memorial) services and its dedicated members continue to share their extraordinary stories of survival through speaking engagements at schools, colleges and synagogues. Past presidents include:
1. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly
2.Osias Nadel
3.Etti Ziegler
4.Lou (Leizer) Hoffer
As of 2017, the current President is Joe Leinburd.
Subjects
Societies
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Transnistria Survivors Association
Buxbaum, Arnold
Leinburd, Joe
Hoffer, Lou
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-8-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-8-6
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
1994-1998
Scope and Content
Accession consists of a book of documents related to the Transnistria Surivors' Association, including correspondence, memos, contracts, financial statements and meeting minutes.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Societies
Name Access
Transnistria Survivors' Association (Toronto, Ont.)
Hoffer, Lou
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-2-23
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-2-23
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
5 photographs
Date
[ca. 2000]-2016
Scope and Content
Accession consists of textual and graphic material documenting Lou Hoffer's involvement with the Transnistria Survivors' Association and the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre. Included are photographs of Lou with student groups at OISE and Havergal college, an image of Lou lighting a candle with a bar mitzvah student as part of the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre's Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project of Remembrance. Accession also includes a flyer, newspaperclippings and thank you cards.
Administrative History
Lou (Leizer) Hoffer is a Holocaust survivor who is a past president of the Transnistria Holocaust Survivors' Association and was a speaker with the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre in Toronto.
Lou was born in 1927 in Vijnitz, Northern Bucovina, Romania to David and Chaya Sure Drassinover Hoffer. During the Second World War, Lou and his family was deported (along with all the Jewish people in his town) to the death camps of Transnistria (a territory in Ukraine). He was liberated in 1944.
After the war, Lou, his parents and his younger brother, Joe, wandered through various displaced persons camps in Europe. They eventually immigrated to Canada in March 1948 on the ship Nea Helas. He married Madga (nee Pressburger) in 1959. Together they had three sons and one daughter.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Societies
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Hoffer, Lou
Transnistria Survivors' Association (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-11-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-11-4
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of textual records
Date
1963-1980
Scope and Content
Accession consists of two items pertaining to the history of the Jewish community of Radom Poland including a book entitled The Book of Radom: The Story of a Jewish Community in Poland Destroyed by the Nazis, edited and complied by Alfred Lipson and published in 1963 by the United Radomer Relief of the United States and Canada Inc. In addition, there is a fifty-fifth anniversary booklet published in celebration of the establishment of the Radomer Mutual Benefit Society of Toronto.
Administrative History
Abraham Najahaus (1910-2007) was born in Radom Poland on 14 July 1910. He emigrated to Toronto in 1948 with his wife Genya Najahaus (née Goldstein, 1910-1987) and infant daughter Helen Najahaus. Genya Goldstein was born on 14 December 1916 in Otwok, Poland. She met and married Abraham in Russia during the Second World War and had their first child Helen in 1947 while living in a DP camp in Stuttgart, Germany. After emigrating to Toronto in 1948, they had a second child Morrey Najahaus. Abraham worked as a tailor and was employed by Wilson Garments at 119 Spadina Avenue.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Societies
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-8-15
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-8-15
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
27 photographs : b&w and col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller
1 folder of textual records
Date
[192-?]-[2003?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting William Ladner's family in Europe and his immigration to Canada. Included are photographs of his family, his immigration identification card, certificate of Canadian citizenship, and a fax from he received from his paternal uncle in the United States.
Administrative History
William Ladner is a Holocaust survivor, born en route from Austria to Antwerp, Belgium in 1940. As a child, William Ladner and his mother fled to Belgium from their home in Austria following the arrest of his father by the Nazis. Will's parents had attempted to immigrate to Switzerland but were turned away. Both of Will's parents perished during the Holocaust. William's father was an [electrician] and his mother a nurse. At the time of their immigration, Belgium was occupied by Germany having capitulated on the terms of unconditional surrender on May 28, 1940. Germany invaded Belgium and Holland on May 10, 1940 (Plan Yellow). Desperate for work, Mrs. Ladner reported to an employment office but was quickly discovered to be Jewish and deported to Malines. Deportation trains from Malines to Auschwitz began on August 4, 1942. Will has records documenting the movement of his parents during the war up until their deaths. Will's mother arranged for his safekeeping during the war by placing him in an orphanage operated by a Catholic Convent before she was deported to Auschwitz where she was murdered. After the war, arrangements were made by a cousin [Schindler] who worked for the British Intelligence in Birmingham, as well as William's mother's sister, who resided in Birmingham, England. Will Ladner immigrated to England in January 1946 to join his aunt. He then moved to Canada.
Photo captions
001: Kurt Ladner and Willie Ladner reunite, (Dedham, Massachusetts), ca. 2003
002: Willie Ladner (back) reunites with his paternal uncle Kurt Ladner, and Kurt’s wife Elizabeth Newman, (Dedham, Massachusetts), ca. 2003
003: Passport photo of Willie Ladner, (Willowdale, ON) 25 Apr. 1997
004:J Portrait of Berta Berger, (Vienna, Austria), ca. 1938. Written on reverse “Bertha Berger married Ladner, born 30. May 1919 in Vienna Austria.”
005: Willie Ladner in orphanage attire, (Antwerp, Belgium), ca. 1945. Written in German on the reverse: “Meinem Liebsten Groszmutterchen, Millionen Kusse, Harry William Ladner.”
006: Willie Ladner (right) holding hands with another child at the orphanage, (Antwerp, Belgium), ca. 1945
007: Portrait of Berta Ladner with her infant son Willie Ladner, (Antwerp, Belgium), 1940.
008: Portrait of Berta Ladner, (Vienna, Austria), [1935?].
Descriptive Notes
Related groups of records external to the unit being described: Other records relating to William Ladner and his family can be found in Accession 2018-8-5.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Orphans
Places
Belgium
Austria
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-11
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-11-11
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
2 scrapbooks
Date
2003-2005
Scope and Content
Accession consists of two scrapbooks documenting Carson Phillips' work in the field of Holocaust education. The scrapbooks contain newspaper articles; promotional postcards; Yom HaShoah remembrance cards; newsletters; and correspondence, much of it related to an exhibition titled Janusz Korczak and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto. The latter was presented by the Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario, a partnership between UJA Federations Canada and Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Holocaust survivor Max Eisen features prominently in many of the articles.
Administrative History
Carson Phillips earned his doctor of philosophy degree from York University. Since 2008, he has served as managing director of the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre. He is the recipient of several awards including the 2013 BMW Canada Award from the Canadian Centre for German and European Studies at York University. He also serves on the editorial board of Prism: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators.
Subjects
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Eisen, Max
Phillips, Carson
Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario
Places
Ontario
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2007-11-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2007-11-7
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
3 cm of textual records
Date
1995
Scope and Content
Accession consists of one dinner invitation and journal entitled "From Tears to Triumph" presented by the Yeshiva Yesodei Hatorah at a testimonial dinner marking fifty years since the end of the Second World War. The dinner was in honour of the survivors of the Holocaust and their impact on religious life in Toronto. It was held at the Regal Constellation Hotel in Toronto on Sunday, April 2, 1995 and featured Rabbi Ezriel Tauber as guest speaker. The journal features stories of survivors and photographs depicting Jewish religious life in Europe during and after the Second World War.
Administrative History
Yeshiva Yesodei Hatorah was founded in 1945 as Shlomei Emunei Yisroel. It was founded as a school for boys by survivors of the Holocaust who immigrated to Canada with their children.
Descriptive Notes
Shlomei Emunei Yisroel
Subjects
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Yeshiva Yesodei Hatorah (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1984-5-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
1984-5-7
Material Format
object
graphic material
Physical Description
1 coin
16 photographs : b&w ; 7 x 10 cm
Date
1939-1945
Scope and Content
This accession consists of one Mount Sinai Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 522 G.R.C. 25th anniversary coin. The coin has the lodge's coat of arms on the recto and a set of tablets with the words "keep these and good fortune will be yours" on the verso.
Also included are 16 photographs of the Allied Forces (including the Canadian Army) at Bergen-Belsen in April 1945 following the liberation of the camp. Pictured are the general grounds, mass graves with sign markers, a group of (local German?) women crowded around the back of an army truck, army personnel observing and taking photographs of a deceased victim, a crematoria, and Sam Pizel (standing right) and other servicemen with a box of human ashes.
Administrative History
Sam Pizel (?-29 Sept. 2004) was married to Lily and was the brother of Irving Pizel.
Use Conditions
Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digitized material.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Pizel, Sam
Bergen-Belsen
Places
Germany
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2022-5-20
Source
Archival Accessions
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
2011-11-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2011-11-6
Material Format
graphic material (electronic)
Physical Description
4 photographs : b&w (jpg) ; 15 MB
Date
1940-1945
Scope and Content
Accession consists of four electronic copies of original photographs documenting David Smith during the Second World War.
Custodial History
The photographs were loaned to the Archives to be copied and returned. They were returned by courier on 21 November 2011.
Administrative History
Max and Rose Smith opened a resort for Jewish singles in Port Carling, Muskoka in 1938. The resort was kosher and offered Jewish content to visitors. Boys and girls bunked seperately.
Suzanne Smith (née Beskin) and David Samuel Smith met at Cornell University in the spring of 1946, after David returned from service in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Suzanne was living in the United States and attending Columbia University. She worked as a libraian at Cornell. David studied hotel administration. They married in 1947 and moved back to Toronto in 1948.
Descriptive Notes
Availability of other formats: Digitized material.
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Samuel Posluns fonds
Level
File
ID
Fonds 70; File 5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Samuel Posluns fonds
Level
File
Fonds
70
File
5
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1947
Physical Description
51 photographs : b&w ; 17 x 12 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
File consists of black-and-white photographs related to the Tailor Project, including photos taken at Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp showing the Tailor Project team testing candidates. Other photos include scenes of devastation in Hanover, documentation of concentration camps at Belsen and Dachau, and two photos of Posluns with unidentified individuals taken at the Munich Military Post Officers Club. Other identified individuals include Max Enkin and Samuel Herbst.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Refugee camps
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
Germany
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2015-1-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-1-6
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
11 m of textual records
Date
[195-]-2012
Scope and Content
Accession consists of United Restitution Organization (URO), Toronto Office case files for the following funds: Hardship Fund; Hardship Fund, Pre-1965 Austrian; German Social Security (EB); German Social Security (DE); Article 2 Fund; Ghetto Lodz; and the immidiate post-Second World War Wiedergutmachung reparations. There is also a small amount of general operational files.
Custodial History
These records were left in the URO office following the departure of the URO staff person. They were boxed and moved by archives staff.
Administrative History
In Canada, the United Restitution Organization (URO) was founded in 1953 under the aegis of the Canadian Jewish Congress. The funds advanced by the Claims Conference were administered by the CJC which also gave support by providing the URO with office space and clerical staff. Offices were set up in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The Winnipeg and Vancouver offices closed in the 1970s and the Montreal office remained open until 2002, after which time the active cases were sent to the Toronto office. The Toronto office officially closed on April 1, 2007. There was one case worker, however, who contintued to tend to any active claims that were left. Her position was transfered to Jewish Family and Child in 2013. The URO dealt with a variety of different types of claims. The first and largest were the BEG cases (Bundesentschaedigungsgesetz), which translates as Federal Indemnification Law for the Compensation of Victims of National Socialist Persecution. This program provided compensation for individuals persecuted for political, racial, religious, or ideological reasons who suffered long-term damage to their health, imprisonment, death of family members, loss of property, reduced income, or reduced professional advancement. The other two major programs or cases covered by the URO were the Hardship Fund and Article 2. The Hardship Fund was established during the 1960s and was open to Jews who emigrated from the former Soviet Union who were not eligible for compensation under the BEG program. The Article 2 program, in turn, arose during the 1990s, after the unification of the German government. It is still operating today and is open to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution who met a certain critiera, and those who are eligible, are provided with a pension paid out in installments every three months each year.
Use Conditions
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Nonprofit organizations
Name Access
United Restitution Organization (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-4-12
Material Format
moving images
Physical Description
1 DVD (55 min.)
Date
2013
Scope and Content
Accession consists of one DVD copy of a film David Nimmo created regarding the life and art of his late wife, Lea Vogel-Nimmo.
Administrative History
Lea Vogel-Nimmo was born in Rozniatov, Poland in 1937. She was saved from the Holocaust as one of the "Children of Tehran" and grew up in Israel. She became an artist and travelled to various countries to study and practice art, including, Florence, Amsterdam, Jamaica and the United States. She married Dr. David Nimmo in 1974 and later moved to Toronto, Canada. She passed away in March 2012 after living with cancer for 21 years.
Use Conditions
Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Arts
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Women
Name Access
Vogel-Nimmo, Lea, 1937-2012
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-11-13
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-11-13
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
7 photographs : col. ; 10 x 15 cm
1 folder of textual records
Date
2006
Scope and Content
Accession consists of 7 colour photographs of Eisen speaking to students, a thank you card signed by the students and student art work in response to the Holocaust.
Administrative History
Alexander Eisen was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1929. After the Anschluss in 1938, the Eisen family fled to Hungary. In 1939, Alex’s father was arrested and fled to Palestine, leaving his wife alone with their three children. Alex and the rest of the family endured the hardships of the Budapest Ghetto, but later managed to escape and live in hiding until being liberated by the Soviet Army in 1945. He immigrated with his wife Renate to Canada in 1952. Eisen is a Neuberger Holocaust Survivor Speaker and author of A Time of Fear (2010).
Subjects
Children
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Name Access
Eisen, Alexander
Places
Toronto
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-8-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2016-8-10
Material Format
sound recording
Physical Description
177 audio cassettes
Date
1973-2001
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting the diverse interests of Paul Brown. Included are: 177 audio recordings of various talks and events, most of which pertain to Judaism, the Holocaust, and Middle East politics and were held in Toronto. Speakers include Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel; New York Times best-selling author Rabbi Joseph Telushkin; former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yisrael Meir Lau; and conservative talk show host Dennis Prager as well many other rabbis and prominent Jewish figures.
Administrative History
Paul Brown (1942-) was born 30 January 1942 in Toronto. As a young student, he attended Hebrew day school on Brunswick Avenue followed by North Toronto College Institute. Later, Brown majored in Psychology at the University of Toronto. After completing his undergradudate studies, he enrolled in a Master of Education program in Guidance and Counselling offered by the Ontario Institute for Sutdies in Education (OISE). Brown taught for 30 years under the North York Board of Education (NYBE) and subsequently the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). He completed his formal teaching career with eight years at Bnei Akiva Schools. Brown is a member of Shaarei Shomayim and Beth Lida Forest Hill Synagogue.
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
Mr. Brown assigned numbers to some of the cassettes.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Israel
Religion
Name Access
Brown, Paul
Places
Toronto, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-9-3
Source
Archival Accessions
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
Accession Number
2019-10-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-10-2
Material Format
textual record
textual record (electronic)
Physical Description
10 cm of textual records
1 photograph (tiff) : b&w
Date
[194-] - 2019
Scope and Content
Accession consists of handwritten Yiddish poetry by Benzion Micfliker. Benzion (Ben) began writing poetry at the age of sixty-five after the death of his second wife Esther Micfliker (née Blutschitz). The poems, discovered by Benzion's daughter Rita, deal with personal themes of love and loss, reflections on Nazi imprisonment, liberation, relocations, Theodor Herzl, Canada, astronauts, Jewish holidays including Passover, Hanukkah, Purim, summer, nature and more. Seventeen of the Yiddish language poems have been translated into English. In addition, there is a photograph of Benzion and Esther (1940s), a detailed biography of Benzion Mickflker written by his daughter Rita, and newspaper clippings of Benzion's published poetry.
Administrative History
Benzion Micfliker (1910-1989) was born on 29 May 1910 in Chelm, Poland. He immigrated to Canada with his wife Esther and daughter Rita in 1951. Both Benzion and his wife had endured and survived the horrors of the Holocaust. They met after the war and lived in Barletta Italy in a displaced persons (DP) camp, where Rita was born. They settled in Israel for a short time and soon reunited with Benzion's sister Ita and her husband Mendel Silverman in Montreal, where Ben worked as a tailor and foreman and Esther as a seamstress. Benzion passed away at the age of 79 on 16 Jul. 1989.
Use Conditions
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Descriptive Notes
Language: Yiddish
Related material: 2019-10-8; 2019-12-2
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Refugee camps
Places
Montréal (Québec)
Poland
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2007-3-5
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2007-3-5
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
12.5 m of textual material and 6 boxes of index cards
Date
[195-?]-[198-]
Scope and Content
This accession consists of 43 cubic foot boxes of closed case files as well as six boxes of index cards created by the United Restitution Organization, Toronto Office. The case files document the Article 2 (boxes 1 - 11) and Hardship (boxes 12 - 43) programs. Most of the documentation within the case files are in German.
The index cards document the BEG and Russlandfaille programs and correspond to records that were transferred to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. The files were created during the early years of the URO that were donated by URO to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. in October, 1990. That institution has approximately 100 boxes of closed case files from the Toronto Office. The index cards DO NOT correspond to any case files that we have as part of our holdings.
Custodial History
After the Toronto URO office closed, the one case worker left moved from the second floor of the Lipa Green Building to the same floor as the OJA the end of March, 2007. Before the move, the OJA was asked to take all of the historical files that were there in boxes, listed them and transferred them to the UJA Warehouse. The index cards are in the OJA vault.
Administrative History
In Canada, the United Restitution Organization (URO) was founded in 1953 under the aegis of the Canadian Jewish Congress. The funds advanced by the Claims Conference were administered by the CJC which also gave support by providing the URO with office space and clerical staff. Offices were set up in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The Winnipeg and Vancouver offices closed in the 1970s and the Montreal office remained open until 2002, after which time the active cases were sent to the Toronto office. The Toronto office officially closed on April 1, 2007. There was one case worker, however, who contintued to tend to any active claims that were left. Her position was transfered to Jewish Family and Child in 2013. The URO dealt with a variety of different types of claims. The first and largest were the BEG cases (Bundesentschaedigungsgesetz), which translates as Federal Indemnification Law for the Compensation of Victims of National Socialist Persecution. This program provided compensation for individuals persecuted for political, racial, religious, or ideological reasons who suffered long-term damage to their health, imprisonment, death of family members, loss of property, reduced income, or reduced professional advancement. The other two major programs or cases covered by the URO were the Hardship Fund and Article 2. The Hardship Fund was established during the 1960s and was open to Jews who emigrated from the former Soviet Union who were not eligible for compensation under the BEG program. The Article 2 program, in turn, arose during the 1990s, after the unification of the German government. It is still operating today and is open to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution who met a certain critiera, and those who are eligible, are provided with a pension paid out in installments every three months each year.
Use Conditions
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
Subjects
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Nonprofit organizations
Name Access
United Restitution Organization (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-8-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-8-10
Material Format
textual record
graphic material (electronic)
moving images (electronic)
Physical Description
10 cm of textual records
2240 photographs (jpg and gif)
8 moving images
Date
1944-2015 (predominent 2008-2015)
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to the activities of Alex Levin, a Jewish war veteran and Holocaust survivor. Records include letters written to Levin from school children following various speaking engagements; interviews with Crestwood School, CHAT, and Netivot Hatorah; a recording of the Saluting Our Italian Heroes commemorative event; recordings of Remembrance Day ceremonies hosted by the Canadian Jewish War Veterans (Toronto Post); and photographs documenting events attended by Levin including Holocaust remembrance events, Yom Hashoah, Remembrance Day ceremonies, March of the Living, Miracle Dinners and Proms, Azrieli Foundation events including the launch of Levin's book "Under the Yellow and Red Stars", school visits, JWV programs with Sunnybrook veterans, portraits of Levin through the years and various scanned images of Levin's family.
Administrative History
Alex Levin (1932-2016) was born in 1932 in Rokitno, Poland. In 1941, the Germans invaded Rokitno and established a ghetto and formed a Judenrat to carry out their orders. In 1942, the Ghetto was evacuated and the Jews were brought to the town's marketplace to be transported by train to be killed. Levin was ten years old when he escaped into the nearby forest with his brother Samuel where he lived for 18 months in a hole in the ground. He was twelve when he emerged from hiding to find that his parents and youngest brother Moishe had been murdered. In 1944, he joined the Soviet forces as a messenger boy. After the war, he was sent to the USSR and enrolled in cadet school, remaining in the Soviet army until forced out for being Jewish in the 1970s. An engineer by training, Alex came to Canada in 1975 via Austria and Italy, and now lives in Toronto where he regularly speaks about his experiences in the Holocaust.
Subjects
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Levin, Alex, 1932-2016
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2023-12-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2023-12-1
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
2 letters
Date
May 1945
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Shelly Grimson. Included are two Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) letters written by Shelly's uncle Harry Fistell to Shelly's grandmother/Harry's mother. The first letter, written May 1945, describes Harry's impressions after visiting the recently liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The second letter, also written May 1945, describes Harry's feelings upon the Second World War ending and recounts trips to Holland, Antwerp, and Hamburg.
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
Concentration camps
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945
Name Access
Grimson (family)
Grimson, Shelly
Places
Germany
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-7-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-7-6
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Date
[2010?]-[2015?]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of thank you cards from schools where Alex was a speaker, sharing his story of Holocaust survival.
Administrative History
Alex Levin (1932-2016) was born Joshua Levin in 1932 in Rokitno, Poland. (He was also known as Yehoshua and Shike.) Rokitno was occupied in 1941 by Nazi Germany and Alex escaped the Rokitno ghetto with his brother in 1942, hiding in the woods for eighteen months. Soviet troops found him in January of 1944 and invited him to join the 13th Army as a field hospital unit helper. Because his Yiddish nickname was unfamiliar (Shike, from his Hebrew name, Yehoshua), they called him Shura or Shurik, diminutive forms of Alexander, which became his formal name. He became an officer in the USSR and an engineer. He immigrated to Canada in 1975 and brought his family to join him in 1980.
Subjects
Education
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945
Antisemitism
Name Access
Levin, Alex, 1932-
Source
Archival Accessions
Passenger Names
Gertler, Hershl
Date Range
June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915
Source
Rotenberg Ledger
Passenger Names
Gertler, Hershl
Page Number
416
Date Range
June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915
Photographer
Harvey and Adena Glasner
Source
Rotenberg Ledger
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Christian Jewish Dialogue sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 28-11; File 22
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Toronto Holocaust Museum series
Christian Jewish Dialogue sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
28-11
File
22
Material Format
textual record
Date
1986
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of clippings and evaluations related to the colloquium, "Examining the New Testament after the Holocaust."
Subjects
Bible. New Testament
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2015-5-1
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2015-5-1
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Physical Description
6 cm of textual records
1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 9 cm
Date
1947-1991
Scope and Content
Accession primarily consists of records related to the immigration of Victor and Bayla Lejzerson from a DP camp in US-controlled West Germany. This includes a large block of correspondence between Victor and his cousins in Toronto, Deborah (Lejzersohn) and David Breslove who helped facilitate their immigration and work placement on a farm in Stouffville and in the garment trade. Also included are materials related to Max and Ethel Siegerman's community involvement including a Toronto Joint Board Cloakmakers Union Golden Jubilee book (1961), a Shaarei Shomayim graduation program (1958), two Adath Sholom Synagogue anniversary books (1986, 1991) and a photograph of Norman and Hinda (Richards) Tobias.
Administrative History
Celia Denov is the dauther of Max (1898-1995) and Ethel (Breslove) Siegerman (1891-1966). Max was a union leader and one of the founders of the Minsker Farband. The Minsker Farband was originally located on Cecil Street until it became the Adath Sholom Synagogue and moved north to Sheppard Ave, eventually merging with Beth Tikvah. Ethel's brother was David Breslove, a teacher, author and founder of the Toronto Jewish Historical Society. He was married to Deborah Lejzersohn and had one son. Hinda Richards was a member of the Breslove family and married her music teacher, Norman Tobias. Both were killed in a car accident in 1973. Victor and Bayla Lejerson were married in the DP camp. Both were successful in immigrating to Canada with the help of David and Deborah Breslove.
Subjects
Immigrants--Canada
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Refugees
Name Access
Breslove, David
Breslove, Deborah
Siegerman, Max, 1898-1995
Siegerman, Ethel, 1891-1966
Lejerson, Victor
Lejerson, Bayla
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds
Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 103; Series 1; File 136
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds
Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel series
Level
File
Fonds
103
Series
1
File
136
Material Format
textual record
Date
1950-1959
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of flyers, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, a meeting agenda, notes, and correspondence on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising memorials.
Subjects
Warsaw (Poland)--History--Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds
Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 103; Series 1; File 137
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds
Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel series
Level
File
Fonds
103
Series
1
File
137
Material Format
textual record
Date
1960-1965
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of pamphlets, notes, meeting minutes, and correspondence on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising memorials.
Subjects
Warsaw (Poland)--History--Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 1943
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission series
Official engagements sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 51; Series 5-3; File 14
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission series
Official engagements sub-series
Level
File
Fonds
51
Series
5-3
File
14
Material Format
graphic material
Date
May 1984
Physical Description
1 photograph : col. ; 13 x 10 cm
Admin History/Bio
The Primrose Club was founded in Toronto in 1907 as the Cosmopolitan Club, an elite Jewish men's social club. In 1959, the club's building at 41 Willcocks Street was expropriated by the University of Toronto (and currently houses the university's Faculty Club), and the club subsequently moved to a new building at Russell Road & St. Clair, designed by Kaplan & Sprachman. It has since been demolished and a condominium has been put up in its place by Ken Rotenberg, a Toronto developer.
Scope and Content
File consists of one photograph of Phil Givens meeting with a group of Police Chiefs. Identified in the photograph are (left to right): James Mackie, Harold Adamson, Jack Ackroyd, Jack Marks, Phil Givens.
Name Access
Primrose Club (Toronto, Ont.)
Subjects
Police
Places
Russell Hill Road (Toronto, Ont.)
Saint Clair Avenue West (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Community Relations Committee series
Anti-Semitism cases sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 5-3; File 215
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
215
Material Format
textual record
Date
1976
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
Scope and Content
File consists of correspondence regarding an incident between Mrs. Rosenblatt and Officer Smith, during which Officer Smith uttered antisemitic remarks.
Notes
Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.
Subjects
Police
Source
Archival Descriptions