Mr. Lecker was born and raised in Montreal. He enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II and served as ground maintenance crew in the Air Force. Mr. Lecker was present during D-Day invasion, June 06, 1944 and marched across Europe, specifically through France, Holland and Germany. During his time in Europe, Mr. Lecker collected and saved wartime propaganda and memorabilia. Upon discharge from the Forces Mr. Lecker returned to Montreal but travelled often across Canada as a travelling salesman. Mr. Lecker passed away in Montreal in December 2007.
Custodial History
Initial donation was made in 1978 by Mr. Lecker to Paul Trepman, then director of the JPL. In 2005, Mr. Lecker was reconnected to the Library and Archives and made two further donations in 2005 and 2006. The last donation of Mr. Lecker's service medals was made in 2008 after his death.
The fonds consists of two files. The first contains the minutes of the Galecian Ladies Aid Association from the 1940s to 1980s, in loose leaf and bound formats. The second file contains documents and photocopies of documents pertaining to Tema Lang, the longtime secretary and treasurer of the organ…
The fonds consists of two files. The first contains the minutes of the Galecian Ladies Aid Association from the 1940s to 1980s, in loose leaf and bound formats. The second file contains documents and photocopies of documents pertaining to Tema Lang, the longtime secretary and treasurer of the organization, and her husband Joseph Lang. The file contains the Polish passport of Tema Lang. Also included in the fonds is an audiocassette recording of the eulogy for Tema Lang.
Fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, speeches, articles and ephemera dealing with the Segals' professional and personal lives. Also contains numerous historical articles and speeches written and presented by Charles Segal. Numerous photographs illustrating this work also containe…
Fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, speeches, articles and ephemera dealing with the Segals' professional and personal lives. Also contains numerous historical articles and speeches written and presented by Charles Segal. Numerous photographs illustrating this work also contained within the fonds.
Charles Segal was born in Montreal on November 27, 1921 to Hyman Manuel Segal and Fanny (Moscovitch). Mr. Segal's fonds includes numerous details of his decades of work in the political world - from his days of journalism here in Canada and in the U.S., to his role in Histadrut, his meetings with President Truman and work with Oscar Ewing, his work with fair employment practices with the Construction Fund of the State University of New York and so on. Segal married his wife Ninel (Bercovitch) in 1979 and she also has been heavily involved in work in Congressman Mike McNulty. More details are available within the fonds.
Custodial History
Transferred directly from Charles Segal to the JPL-A starting in 2006. Further accurals expected.
Notes
Fonds also includes photographs, currently awaiting arrangement and description into the JPL Photograph Database.
Access Restriction
Restriction on File 006, manuscript of Mr. Segal's biography, marked as so on file.
This fonds consists of material deposited by FED CJA offices as well as collected by the JPL-A through the Jewish Canadiana collection. Currently, the fonds is divided into five series based on the present organization: Series I – Minute Books (Bound, Executive and Directors) and Annual Repo…
This fonds consists of material deposited by FED CJA offices as well as collected by the JPL-A through the Jewish Canadiana collection. Currently, the fonds is divided into five series based on the present organization: Series I – Minute Books (Bound, Executive and Directors) and Annual Reports, Series II – Executive Office, Series III - Campaign FED CJA, Series IV – Marketing and Communications Department, and Series V – Scrapbooks (1935-1967)
Date
1917-2010
Fonds No.
1001
Storage Location
JPL
History Biographical
FEDERATION CJA was founded in 1916 as the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, with the first campaign held in 1917. The Federation originally consisted of 12 Jewish agencies: the Baron de Hirsch Institute, Mount Sinai Sanatorium, Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, Herzl Dispensary and Hospital, the Montreal Hebrew Orphans’ Home, the Montreal Hebrew Sheltering Home, the Ladies Jewish Endeavour Sewing Society, the Young Women’s Hebrew Association, the Beth Israel Day Nursery and Infants’ Home, the Hebrew Ladies Aid Society and the Friendly League of Jewish Women.
That first campaign raised $127,000 for support of agencies and community work. In 1951, the name was changed to Federation of Jewish Community Services and then again, in 1965, to Allied Jewish Community Services. The current incarnation of FEDERATION CJA occurred in 1992. Currently, FEDERATION CJA acts as the “central funding, planning, and coordinating body of services for the nearly 93,000 Jews in Montreal and is the one organization that speaks on behalf of the entire community.” Each year FEDERATION CJA raises funds for its various agencies, projects and the community through Combined Jewish Appeal.
Today FEDERATION CJA has twelve constituent agencies (Agence Ometz, Bronfman Jewish Education Centre, Bronfman Israel Experience Centre, Camp B'nai Brith, Communaute sepharade unifee du Quebec, Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, Hillel Montreal, JEM Workshop Inc., the Jewish Public Library, the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, and the YM-YWHA Montreal Jewish Community Centre), four funded associated communal organizations (Quebec Jewish Congress - A division of Canadian Jewish Congress, Project Genesis, Quebec-Israel Committee, and United Israel Appeal of Federations Canada, as well as non-funded associated ties with the Jewish Community Council of Montreal, the Synagogue Council of Greater Montreal, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal.
Language
English
French
Hebrew
Yiddish
Russian
Custodial History
The Jewish Public Library has been accepting and preserving material from Federation CJA and the organizations that preceded it since 1917.
Arrangement
This Collection is arranged under the current name of "Federation CJA" but includes material created under former organizational names: Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, Federation of Jewish Community Services and Allied Jewish Community Services. Series III, Campaign FED CJA, is an artificially created grouping, arranged by the JPL-A from material collected by the Library since 1917. New series have been added as other offices and departments of FEDERATION CJA deposit permanent archival material with the JPL-A. Individual agencies (e.g. Jewish Public Library) are not included as series within this Fonds. Instead, these agencies stand alone as individual fonds.
Access Restriction
Privacy restrictions may apply.
Finding Aid
A detailed finding aid for the Exectutive Office exists, created by the JPL-A in the early 1970's and updated in 2007 and 2013. An index for the subject files of the Marketing and Communications Department was created in 2007 and is available in the JPL-A.
3.3 m of textual records + 85 audio-cassettes + 5 magnetic audio reels
Date
1960-1995
Fonds No.
1004
Storage Location
JPL
History Biographical
David Jay Bercuson was born in Montreal on 31 August 1945, the son of Joseph Myer and Sylvia (Green) Bercuson. As a teenager he attended Monklands High School in Montreal. He attended Sir George Williams University, graduating in June 1966 with Honours in History and winning the Lieutenant-Governor's Silver Medal for the highest standing in history. After graduation he pursued graduate studies at the University of Toronto, earning an MA in history in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1971.
Dr. Bercuson has published in academic and popular publications on a wide range of topics specializing in modern Canadian politics, Canadian defence and foreign policy, and Canadian military history. Dr. Bercuson has written or co-authored more than thirty books and numerous journal articles on the subjects of Canadian Labour, political, diplomatic and military history; the Middle East; Canadian regionalism and constitutional crises; anti-semitism; and higher education in Canada. In 1983, he published The Secret Army, an account of the volunteers from abroad who joined the Israeli military effort during the War of Independence. In 1985, with co-author Douglas Wertheimer, he published A Trust Betrayed: The Keegstra Affair which documented the trial of James Keegstra, an Alberta teacher found guilty of promoting Holocaust denial and anti-semitic views to his students. He has also written for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Calgary Herald, the National Post and other newspapers.
In 1988, Bercuson was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and in May 1989, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at The University of Calgary. In 1997 he was appointed Special Advisor to the Minister of National Defence on the Future of the Canadian Forces. In 1998, Concordia University conferred on him the honourary degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. He was a member of the Minister of National Defence’s Monitoring Committee from 1997 to 2003. He served on the Advisory Council on National Security from 2005 to 2008. Since January 1997 he has been the Director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. Currently he is also the Director of Programs of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, which is based in Calgary.
Dr. Bercuson served as Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, a Land Force Reserve military engineer unit of the Canadian Forces until November 2010. He is a member of Board of Governors of the Royal Military College of Canada.
In 2002 Dr. Bercuson was awarded the J. B. Tyrrell Historical Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. In 2003, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Dr. Bercuson’s newest book The Fighting Canadians was published in 2008.
Language
English
Custodial History
Donated directly by Dr. Bercuson.
Arrangement
Arranged by series according to material in fonds.
Access Restriction
Access Restrictions May Apply On Certain Records. Contact the JPL Archives directly for more information.
Consists of mainly textual records of association activities such as membership lists, anniversary gatherings, etc. Includes correspondence and scrapbooks.
Consists of mainly textual records of association activities such as membership lists, anniversary gatherings, etc. Includes correspondence and scrapbooks.
Fonds No.
1006
Storage Location
1-2B
History Biographical
At the initiative of Joseph Rosensaft a meeting was held in New York in December 1961 of Bergen-Belsen survivors. It was decided at that time that a World Federation of Bergen-Belsen survivors would be formed with associations in all cities where there were numbers of survivors present. As a result in early 1962 an association was formed in Montreal with Paul Trepman as president.
The aims were the following:
A. Making sure that neither the world nor the Jews ever forgot the Holocaust;
B. Wage a continuous fight against Neo-Nazi groups and organizations;
C. Offer brotherly aid to former Bergen-Belsen inmates who are in need;
D. Keep alive the heroic and rich Bergen-Belsen tradition.
The association met a number of times a year, although the main focus was the Liberation Rally, which took place on or around April 15th, the date of the Bergen-Belsen camp was liberated by the armed forces.
Some of the other activities of the association were the erection of a monument in a local Jewish cemetery and a trip back to Belsen on the 25th anniversary of the liberation.
Language
English
Yiddish
French
Custodial History
Transferred by Paul Trepman, former director of the Jewish Public Library and a leader in the Bergen-Belsen Survivors Association.
Reproduction Restrictions
May contain materials restricted due to Copyright.
Fonds consists of biographical materials, mainly on Golda Cukier, as well post-war identification papers and documents related to the Cukiers and their eventual immigration. Also contains articles, bibliographies, and finding aids created by Cukier during her work at the Jewish Public Library.
Fonds consists of biographical materials, mainly on Golda Cukier, as well post-war identification papers and documents related to the Cukiers and their eventual immigration. Also contains articles, bibliographies, and finding aids created by Cukier during her work at the Jewish Public Library.
Date
1945-1989
Fonds No.
1013
Storage Location
1-3B
History Biographical
Golda (nee Szwarcenberg) Cukier was born in a small Polish town near Lublin. She attended the University of Lvov until the war interrupted her studies. When the Russian army was pushed eastward, Cukier left with them, moved first to Ukraine and then to a labour camp in northern Turkestan. She later worked on a state farm in southern Turkestan teaching at a Polish school. Mordecai (Martin) Cukier was born in 1907 and met Golda in 1945. A year after their marriage they were repatriated back to Poland and lived in Breslaw for several years. In 1949, the couple moved to Montreal where they had family. Mr. Cukier was active in Labour-Zionist organizations. Golda worked as a librarian at the Jewish Public Library for over 25 years and was largely responsible for the archival collections as well as the growth of the Jewish Canadiana ephemeral collection.
Fonds consists of recital programmes, correspondence, printing blocks and some photographs.
Date
1913-1975
Fonds No.
1017
Storage Location
4-5A
4-5B
History Biographical
Sarah Fischer was born in Paris, France, moved as a young girl to England, where she attended grade school. At the age of 13 she and her parents (1909) came to Canada and they settled in Montreal. In Montreal, Fischer was employed as a long distance operator during the day and at night took free singing lessons at the Monument Nationale. In 1917, Fischer won the Strathcona Award which enabled her to go to London, England on a three-year scholarship at the Royal College of Music. She left Montreal in 1919 and with a few interruptions spent the next 21 years of her life abroad.
She sang in major opera houses in Europe, gave numerous radio recitals and concerts and achieved good reviews. She was considered a most lyrical soprano with a beautiful appearance and good acting ability.
In 1940 she returned to Montreal. For the next 35 years, until she died on May 3, 1975, Fischer spent most of her time orgnanizing the Sarah Fischer Concerts where young musicians got a chance to appear in public and show their talent. Many prominent Canadian musicians got their start with these concerts.
Language
English
Related Material
Related photographs in the JPL Photograph Collection. Larger collection of Sarah Fischer housed at the Library and Archives of Canada.
This collection consists of office records pertaining to Jewish Junior Welfare League activities, correspondence and material related to these activities, material published or collected by the JJWL, certificates and awards they have received and multiple media material.
This collection consists of office records pertaining to Jewish Junior Welfare League activities, correspondence and material related to these activities, material published or collected by the JJWL, certificates and awards they have received and multiple media material.
The Jewish Junior Welfare League was founded in 1926 by 26 young ladies who were dedicated to the ideal of community service. The league's objective from the start were:
A. To train and educate its members as able volunteers.
B. To sustain by means of volunteer service and financial assistance a number of worthy projects eeded by the community.
C. To keep members enlightened on all issues within the scope of the social, economic and cultural welfare of the community.
Projects over the years included volunteering in hospitals, schools & developing recreational programs for young and old, healthy and sick.
The league reached its zenith in the 1960s with a membership of 300. By the mid 1970s problems began to beset them, however. Their ranks became depleted as more and more women chose to go to work, and many of the needs they were filling were taken over by government agencies.
June 19, 1984 at the annual meeting the decision to disband was taken.
Language
English
Custodial History
Transferred from the Jewish Junior Welfare League.
Notes
The fonds also includes objects.
Title based on the content of the collection.
This fond consists mainly of working documents such as correspondence and financial papers, predominantly from the late 1940s to the 1970s. The documents deals with the advocacy activities of the JLC such as bringing refugees over to Montreal and later raising money to aid Pakistani refugees. Hig…
This fond consists mainly of working documents such as correspondence and financial papers, predominantly from the late 1940s to the 1970s. The documents deals with the advocacy activities of the JLC such as bringing refugees over to Montreal and later raising money to aid Pakistani refugees. Highlights of the fonds include correspondence between David Lewis, then secretary of the CCF, his father Moishe Lewis, and Kalman Kaplansky, both labour leaders in Montreal’s Workmen’s Circle and JLC.
Fonds No.
1023
Storage Location
JPL
History Biographical
In 1934, leaders in the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the Workmen’s Circle, the Jewish Daily Forward Association, the Jewish Socialist Verband and others gathered in New York’s lower east side to form the Jewish Labor Committee. The formation of the JLC was in response to the ever-growing threat of fascism in Europe. The group publicly campaigned to raise awareness of the plight of European Jewry, raised funds for partisan fighters, brought over thousands of political and cultural leaders – both Jews and non-Jews, and immediately after the war assisted in relief efforts and provided support in bringing over refugees. Jewish Labour Committees both in the United States and Canada extended their wartime work in the 1950s by campaigning against discrimination among workers as well as human rights activism on a global scale. In Montreal, the Jewish Labour Committee actively participated in pressuring the government to adopt human rights legislation at the provincial level.
In 1947, the Canadian government selected two members of the JLC, Bernard Shane and Maurice Silcoff, to travel to Europe to select skilled immigrants as refugees. Both men were temporarily named colonels of the Canadian army so that they could travel more easily across war ravaged Europe. The task of bringing over skilled garment workers to Canada was no mean feat but the efforts had far reaching implications since workers were then able to bring over family members. The Jewish Labor Committee of Canada Bulletin for 1975, on reporting the death of Bernard Shane, placed the number of families brought to Canada through the work of the JLC at over 2,000.