Name

Fanny Gertzbein

Number

OH 33

Subject

Charities

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

2 Oct. 1984

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Morris Silbert

Total Running Time

OH 033: 27:34 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003.

Notes

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

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

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

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

Material Format

sound recording

Language

Yiddish

English

Name Access

Goldhar, Myer

Goldhar, Tzeryl

Goldhar, Barney

Gurtzbein, Fanny

Geographic Access

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

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

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

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Ben Kayfetz

Number

OH 210

Subject

Antisemitism

Human rights

Law

Nonprofit organizations

Interview Date

4 Mar. 1984

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

46 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Notes

Christie Pits riot at approximately minute 16:00

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Benjamin "Ben" Gershon Kayfetz was born on 24 December 1916 in Toronto. He married Eva Silver and had two children. Ben graduated from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a bachelor of arts in modern languages. He worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville, Ontario and Niagara Falls, Ontario between 1941 and 1943. In 1943, he joined the war effort, working for the Department of National Defense in postal censorship and was responsible for reviewing prisoner of war mail. After the war, Kayfetz traveled to British-occupied Germany, where he worked as a censor of telecommunications with the Control Commission until 1947. Upon returning to Toronto, he was hired as the national director of community relations by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and as the executive (national) director of the Joint Community Relations Committee (JCRC), a CJC-B'nai B'rith cooperative organization. He also served as the central region executive director of the CJC between 1973 and 1978. He worked to develop anti-discrimination laws and for the protection of minority and religious rights. Kayfetz was also actively involved in promoting the welfare of Jewish communities worldwide. He was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1985 and the Order of Canada in 1986. In addition to his professional activities, Kayfetz wrote articles for various Jewish publications under both his own name and the pseudonym Gershon B. Newman. He also gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues and was actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), the Canadian Jewish Historical Society, and the Yiddish Luncheon Circle. He died in 2002.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Balmy Beach Swastika Club

Canadian Jewish Congress

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

Geographic Access

Toronto

Kew Beach

Christie Pits

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\AC 210, Ben Kayfetz\AC 210 notes.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Ben Kayfetz describes the skirmish between antisemitic and Jewish youths at Kew Beach in July 1933.

In this clip, Ben Kayfetz discusses the laws that restricted “Jews or other objectionable races” from purchasing, owning, or renting properties in Toronto and summer resort areas. He describes the steps taken to change the law.

Address

295 Spadina Avenue

Time Period

1921-1983

Scope Note

Harry and Jennie Shopsowitz started Shopsy's Delicatessen, a family business in 1921. Harry died in October 1945 and the business was passed along to his sons, Sam Shopsowitz and Izzy Shopsowitz. The business grew and became known as Shopsy’s. Eventually, Sam opened a meat processing plant, in addition to the restaurants, and by 1947, he became known as the "the corned beef king" in advertisements. Shopsy's corned beef and hotdogs were sold in grocery stores.

History

Shopsy's became an institution in the city where the likes of Bob Hope, Al Waxman, Dennis Hull, and Scott Bowman were regular customers. Sam suffered a stroke in 1982 and died in September 1984 at age 63. After 62 years on Spadina, the restaurant moved to Yonge Street at Front Street in March 1983.

Category

Food-related business

Source

Landmarks

Name

Joe and Minna Loewith

Number

OH 37

OH 38

Subject

Agriculture

Immigrants--Canada

Interview Date

3 Jun. 1984

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Morris Silbert

Total Running Time

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

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

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

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Loewith, Joe

Loewith, Mina

Silbert, Morris

Geographic Access

Hamilton (Ont.)

Sudetenland (Czech Republic)

Burlington (Ont.)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

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

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

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

Source

Oral Histories

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

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

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

Name

Ben Himel

Number

OH 135

Subject

Communism

Education

Fraternal organizations

Labor unions

Zionism

Interview Date

24 Jan. 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

OH135_001: 26.40 minutes OH135_002: 29.20 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Ben Himel was vice president and founder of the Borochov School and Kindergarten. Himel was affliated with the Poale Zion Jewish National Workers Alliance (Farband), the Independent Workers Circle, and the Board of Jewish Education.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Himel, Ben

Speisman, Stephen

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 135 - Himel\OH135_001_Log.pdf

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 135 - Himel\OH135_002_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Benjamin Himel discusses the ideologies of Canada's labour Movements during the 1930s and 1940s.

In this clip, Benjamin Himel discusses the Zionist movement within the Toronto Jewish community during the 1930s and 1940s.

Name

Tobie Taback

Number

OH 136

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

Interview Date

23 Feb. 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Jack Lipinsky

Total Running Time

34 minutes 58 secons

Conservation

Copied November 2006

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

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

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (Toronto, Ont.)

Taback, Tobie

Lipinsky, Jack

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Source

Oral Histories

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

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

Name

Dora Till

Number

OH 151

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Families

Labor

Labor unions

Women

Occupations

Interview Date

4 May 1983

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Stephen Speisman

Total Running Time

46 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

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

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Herzl Girls Boot and Shoe Society, 1920

Mothers and Babes Summer Rest Home

Baycrest Hospital

United Jewish Welfare Fund

Beth Tzedec Synagogue

Timothy Eaton Company

Till, Dora

Geographic Access

Toronto

Bronte

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Source

Oral Histories

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

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

Name

John Beattie

Number

OH 253

Interview Date

7 Jul. 1983

Quantity

1

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Notes

Antisemitic telephone message featuring the voice of John Beattie, coordinator of the British People's League, a white nationalist organization based in Minden, Ontario.

Biography

William John Beattie (known as John Beattie) was the founder and former leader of the Canadian Nazi Party. The establishment of the Canadian Nazi Party, re-named the National Socialist Party in 1967, marked a re-emergence of organized neo-Nazi activity in Canada.

Beattie organized a number of rallies in Toronto in the mid-1960s and used the Allan Gardens in Toronto to spread hate propaganda. One of these rallies on 30 May 1965 resulted in a violent encounter with Jewish activists who disrupted Beattie’s rally at Allan Gardens. A legal case was made against Beattie for antisemitic and racist comments, and an expose article was written in Canadian newsmagazine Maclean's by private investigator John Garrity, who had been hired by the Canadian Jewish Congress to infiltrate Beattie's movement. As a result of a daubing swastikas on the gateposts of prominent Jewish leaders in Toronto, Beattie was sent to prison for six months, having been convicted of public mischief.

After changing the group’s name to the National Socialist Party, Beattie created a recorded telephone message line. Among the messages recorded was one that claimed that "Blacks were being manipulated by Jew-communists." Beattie disbanded the National Socialist Party in 1978. Soon after, he and John Ross Taylor co-founded the short-lived British People's League, a white nationalist orgnization based in Minden, Ontario. In 1988 and 1989, Beattie organized "Aryan Fest" parties on his property in Minden, Ontario.

Material Format

sound recording

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Source

Oral Histories

Address

150 Beverley Street

Time Period

1948-1983

Scope Note

The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto was made a charitable organization under the laws of Ontario in March, 1917. Its central goal was to end the frequent, uncontrolled, and competitive fund soliciting by a wide range of individual Toronto Jewish philanthropic and social service institutions and instead substitute a single coordinated city-wide community fundraising effort. This would ensure adequate and accountable funding for all its affiliated organizations and agencies in Toronto. The first office of the FJPT was at 206 Beverley St., but by 1924 it was headquartered at 218 Simcoe St. and by 1928 it had moved to 179 Beverley St., which was renamed "Scheuer House" after the FJPT's first president, Edmund Scheuer.

History

They moved to Dundas Square in the late 1940s and then occupied a number of different buildings until they moved into their long term home at 150-152 Beverley Street in 1948 where they remained until July 1983. This building was called the J. Irving Olebaum. As the community moved north, the the J. Irving Oelbaum Centre building was eventually sold in 1983 and the United Jewish Welfare Fund moved to the Lipa Green building at Bathurst and Sheppard. The building on Beverley Street was mysteriously burned down.

Category

Social Service

Organization

Source

Landmarks