Abortion

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31371
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1 file of textual records
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00009
Date
1987-1993
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1 file of textual records
Date
1987-1993
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00009
Storage Location
2-3F
Container 1
Language
English
French
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Abortion
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail

Correspondence

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31487
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
Series
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1.0m of textual records
Fonds No.
1243; 3
Date
1901-1996
Scope and Content
This series contains both incoming and outgoing correspondence between Léa Roback and various individuals including family, work colleagues and fellow activists. Included are letters to and from individuals such as Madeleine Parent and Fred Rose.
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
Series
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1.0m of textual records
Scope and Content
This series contains both incoming and outgoing correspondence between Léa Roback and various individuals including family, work colleagues and fellow activists. Included are letters to and from individuals such as Madeleine Parent and Fred Rose.
Date
1901-1996
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
3
Storage Location
Bay 2
Container 3
Container 4
Container 5
Container 6
Container 7
Container 8
Container 9
Language
English
French
Yiddish
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Notes
Title based on contents of the series.
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Parent, Madeleine
Rose, Fred
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail

Entretiens

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31709
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1 book
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00266
Date
1988
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1 book
Responsibility
Roback, Lea
Date
1988
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00266
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Creator
Parent, Madeleine
Language
French
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Name Access
Parent, Madeleine
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Parent, Madeleine
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail

Entretiens

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31710
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1 book
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00267
Date
1988
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1 book
Responsibility
Roback, Lea
Date
1988
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00267
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Creator
Parent, Madeleine
Language
French
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Name Access
Parent, Madeleine
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Parent, Madeleine
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail

Family Gathering to Commemorate the Passing of Leo Roback

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31759
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Fonds No.
1243; 2; 00314
Date
1985
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Date
1985
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
2
File No.
00314
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Language
English
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Audio content summary available
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Roback, Leo
Roback, David
Labour movement
Labour unions
Social justice
World War, 1939-1945 - Personal narratives
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Documents
YouTube

Family Gathering to Commemorate the Passing of Leo Roback

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nsQkNxe8IlY
Less detail

Interviews with Lea Roback

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31752
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00307
Date
1982
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Date
1982
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00307
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Creator
Radio-Canada
Language
English
French
Acquisition Source
Les Roback
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Audio content summary available
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Communism
Montreal (Quebec) -- Jews
Antisemitism
Nazi Germany
Places
Montreal (Quebec)
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Documents
YouTube

Interviews with Lea Roback

https://www.youtube.com/embed/geoc2xAPs5Q
Less detail

Interview with Lea Roback

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31751
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00306
Date
1996
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Date
1996
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00306
Storage Location
2-3B
Container 12
Creator
Harris, E.
Language
English
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Audio content summary available
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Harris, Eiran
Parent, Madeleine
Bronfman, Saidye
Subjects
Antisemitism
Emigration and immigration.
Nazi Germany
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Communist Party of Canada
Communism
Textile industry -- Canada.
Labour unions
Young Men's-Young Women's Hebrew Association
Pesotta, Rose
Shane, Bernard
Rose, Fred
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Documents
YouTube

Interview with Lea Roback

https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMWRppX703Y
Less detail

Interview with Sophie Bissonnette

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31754
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00309
Date
1991
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Date
1991
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00309
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Creator
Radio Centreville
Language
French
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Notes
About film "Des lumieres dans la Grande Noirceur"
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Audio content summary available
Name Access
Radio Centreville
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Montreal (Quebec) -- Jews
Women
Women's Studies
Antisemitism
Folk music
Music.
Communism
Quebec (Province)
Places
Montreal (Quebec)
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Documents
YouTube

Interview with Sophie Bissonnette

https://www.youtube.com/embed/lpwDIXwp70I
Less detail

"L'Art d'Aujourd'hui"

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31756
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Fonds No.
1243; 2; 00311
Date
1978
Scope and Content
Interview with author Michael Dufresne, host Gilles Aineaux (?), art critic.
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Scope and Content
Interview with author Michael Dufresne, host Gilles Aineaux (?), art critic.
Date
1978
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
2
File No.
00311
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Creator
Radio-Canada
Language
French
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Audio content summary available
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Art
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Documents
YouTube
Less detail

Lea Roback Fonds

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31359
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Material Type
multiple media
Physical Description
4.8m of textual records. -- 1013 photographs.
Fonds No.
1243
Date
1901-1998 ; predominant 1930-1998
Scope and Content
The Fonds contains material reflecting Lea Roback's activity in politics, union organization and activism in addition to personal records that document her relationship with family. Records from her political and activist work include radio addresses, correspondence, fliers, reports, and periodical…
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Material Type
multiple media
Physical Description
4.8m of textual records. -- 1013 photographs.
Scope and Content
The Fonds contains material reflecting Lea Roback's activity in politics, union organization and activism in addition to personal records that document her relationship with family. Records from her political and activist work include radio addresses, correspondence, fliers, reports, and periodicals. Personal records include correspondence wit her family members, the narrative of the Roback family written in prose, and various pieces of memorabilia belonging to Roback. The majority of the photographs in the collection are of Lea and her family from their time in Montreal, Beauport (QC) as well as Lea's travels in Europe. The series included within the Lea Roback Fonds are the following:
Series 1 -- Professional activity
Series 2 -- Biographical and personal material
Series 3 -- Correspondence
Series 4 -- Bibliographic reference publications
Series 5 -- Videos
Series 6 -- Photographs
Series 7 -- Graphic material
Date
1901-1998 ; predominant 1930-1998
Fonds No.
1243
Storage Location
JPL
History / Biographical
Activist and organizer, Lea Roback was born on November 3rd, 1903 in Montreal. She was the second of nine children of Fanny (1885-1973) and Moses (1870-1935) Roback, both of whom immigrated from Poland. She spent her childhood in Beauport, Quebec where her parents ran a general store. The Robacks spoke Yiddish at home; outside it was French or English. Léa was able to switch freely between languages, a skill that became useful in work with labour organizations. When Léa was fourteen the family returned to Montreal where, two years later, she began working in the city's factories. It was at this point that she became accutely aware of the inequality between Montreal's affluent English-speaking families and the mostly French and Jewish working class. In the mid-1920s, Léa spent a two years at the University of Grenoble in France, supporting herself by privately teaching English to students. In 1928, Léa joined her older brother Harry in Berlin where he was studying medicine. She enrolled at the University of Berlin studying Sociology and German. Léa became involved with leftwing student groups and eventually joined the Communist Party. In 1932 Lea returned to Montreal, finding work as a youth group director at the Young Women’s Hebrew Association, where her mentor was Saidye Bronfman, wife of Sam Bronfman. In 1935 she managed the Modern Bookshop on Bleury Street, the first Marxist bookstore in Quebec, which became a gathering place for local radicals. That same year Lea coordinated Fred Rose's bid for election. Eight years following this campaign, Rose became the first communist elected to the House of Commons. In 1936 she was recruited by Thérèse Casgrain, legendary women’s suffrage leader, to assist in her work to obtain the vote for women in Quebec. Léa also became involved with the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) during their attempts to improve conditions in the garment industry. In 1937, Léa was a leader – along with organizers such as Rose Pesotta and Bernard Shane – in organizing over 5,000 women who walked off the job from the garment industry factories of Montreal. During the war years, Lea began working for the Radio Corporation of America (R.C.A.) and became an organizer for the United Electrical Workers, where she was a business agent for the 3,000 R.C.A. workers in Montreal. Lea was an active advocate for social justice and human rights for the majority of her life. She was affliated with numerous organizations in Montreal including the Québec Aid to the Partially Sighted, the Voice of Women, as well as anti-nuclear and anti-war groups. Lea was a continual presence within the ranks passing out leaflets, demonstrationing, providing support and lending her respected voice to so many causes.
Language
English
French
Yiddish
Spanish
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Custodial History
This material was donated to the Jewish Public Library Archives by Lea Roback in 1998. The material of the Fonds was in the possession of Ms. Roback until the date of the transfer.
Arrangement
The arrangement of the Lea Roback fonds maintained the order in which it was donated to the archives with the exception of Series 3. In the correspondence series, letters were grouped by sender and when without date or an identifiable author, were grouped together. In 2015, as a result of entering unprocessed material into the database, the intellectual arrangement of this fonds was also updated. To consult the original finding aid please contact the JPL-A directly.
Notes
In addition to textual and photographic material, the Lea Roback Fonds contains sound recordings (10 audio cassettes) and graphic material (2 prints, 7 posters)
Access Restrictions
Some privacy restrictions apply to material within the Léa Roback Fonds. Please contact the JPL-A directly for further information.
Reproduction Restrictions
Some Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Detailed finding aid available; file level control.
Accession No.
09-002
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Labour movement
Labour unions
Women Workers
Women in the labour movement - Canada
Working Class
Feminism
Social justice
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Images
Less detail

Lea Roback Interview

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn75020
Collection
Jewish Public Library Oral History Collection
Description Level
Item
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 electronic record : digital ; 468 MB + transcription
Fonds No.
1287; OH_00004
Date
August/04/1996
Scope and Content
Recording is of an interview with feminist and retired militant syndicalist Lea Roback by Archivist Emeritus Eiran Harris, August 4, 1996. This interview was made as part of the Jewish Public Library Archives commitment to documenting the history of Jewish Montreal. Major themes discussed are: he…
Collection
Jewish Public Library Oral History Collection
Description Level
Item
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 electronic record : digital ; 468 MB + transcription
Scope and Content
Recording is of an interview with feminist and retired militant syndicalist Lea Roback by Archivist Emeritus Eiran Harris, August 4, 1996. This interview was made as part of the Jewish Public Library Archives commitment to documenting the history of Jewish Montreal. Major themes discussed are: her student years at the university in Berlin, Germany in the 1930s. Her militantism and involvement at the start of the syndicalist movement in Montreal. She collaborated with Dr Bethune. Saidye Bronfman contibution in the community.
Responsibility
Eiran Harris
Date
August/04/1996
Fonds No.
1287
Item No.
OH_00004
Storage Location
JPL-A
Creator
Jewish Public Library Archives
History / Biographical
See transcription
Language
English
Notes
Two approx., 5 min. video extracts of the interview is available on You Tube.
Recording is available in .wav format.
Interview participants: Shannon Hodge, Chantal Côté and Esther Edouard.
Transcription by Sonia Boulanger and Chantal Côté.
Transcription of the interview is available in English.
Length of the interview: 60 minutes
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright may apply
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Labour movement
Labour unions
Women employees
Women in the labour movement - Canada
Germany -- Jews.
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail

Lea Roback Recollections

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31753
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Fonds No.
1243; 1; 00308
Date
1982
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
File
Material Type
sound recording
Physical Description
1 audiocassette
Date
1982
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
File No.
00308
Storage Location
2-4F
Container 12
Language
English
French
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Finding Aid
Audio content summary available
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Antisemitism
Nazi
Nazi Germany
Places
Poland
Beauport (Quebec)
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Documents
YouTube
Less detail

Professional activity

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn31360
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
Series
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1.0m of textual records
Fonds No.
1243; 1
Date
1925-1996
Scope and Content
This series includes working documents and material produced through and used for Lea Roback's professional activities. It includes records on various social justice causes, such of reproductive rights and labour activism, awards and certificates, as well as interviews with Lea Roback and her writi…
Collection
Lea Roback Fonds
Description Level
Series
Material Type
textual record
Physical Description
1.0m of textual records
Scope and Content
This series includes working documents and material produced through and used for Lea Roback's professional activities. It includes records on various social justice causes, such of reproductive rights and labour activism, awards and certificates, as well as interviews with Lea Roback and her writing.
Date
1925-1996
Fonds No.
1243
Series No.
1
Storage Location
JPL
Language
English
French
Acquisition Source
Lea Roback
Notes
TItle supplied from series content.
Access Restrictions
Privacy restrictions may apply
Reproduction Restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply
Name Access
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Subjects
Roback, Lea, 1903-2000
Feminism
Feminist Movement
Labour movement
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail