Research guide to Holocaust-related holdings at Library and Archives Canada
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Introduction
The Research Guide to Holocaust-related Holdings at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) provides an introduction to our holdings. In keeping with the example set by such institutions as the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, this guide includes holdings related to the Holocaust in its widest definition. It includes records related to a broad range of events and decisions before, during and after the Second World War. The records documented in this guide cover the pre-war refugee crisis; the internment of Jewish refugees in Canada; the immigration of displaced persons; the postwar prosecution of Nazi war criminals and the creative responses that the Holocaust engendered in artists, writers, filmmakers and others; among many other events.
This guide includes archival and published sources. It covers both official records that reflect responses to the Holocaust by the government of the day, as well as accounts of the Holocaust and the complex ways in which it affected society in the postwar decades.
Archival records, by nature, are described and arranged according to who created them, rather than by subject. Because of the amount of records preserved by archival institutions, archival records are also frequently described at a general level, rather than by individual item. For these reasons, research by subject is rarely comprehensive. Researchers should note that resources relevant to the Holocaust, but not mentioned in this guide, may therefore also be part of LAC's holdings. To conduct further research, please consult the LAC website.
Similarly, because of the vast number of publications in LAC's library holdings that pertain to the Holocaust and its global impact, the published references listed here are also only a sampling of relevant publications, intended to give the researcher an idea of the types of less commonly found publications available, or those with a Canadian angle such as memoirs of Canadian Holocaust survivors. The bibliography focuses on the documentary resources of the Jacob M. Lowy Collection, a renowned collection of Hebraica and Judaica comprising over 3,000 volumes from the 15th to the 20th century. Among the works cited in this guide are rare and special editions either published during the Second World War or in its immediate aftermath.
LAC's Mandate
As set out in the Library and Archives of Canada Act, LAC is mandated to facilitate access to Canada's documentary heritage, and to make that heritage known to Canadians and to anyone with an interest in Canada. LAC's Access Policy Framework (2011) aims to make all of the institution's documentary heritage holdings discoverable, available, and accessible to the greatest extent possible.
This research guide supports LAC's access objectives by providing an overview of documentary heritage holdings related to the Holocaust. As a Government of Canada institution however, LAC works within existing federal legislation, regulations, and policies (e.g. Library and Archives of Canada Act, Copyright Act, Access to Information Act, Privacy Act, etc.). For this reason, access to holdings in this guide may require special permissions or be subject to an access review under applicable legislation.
Conducting research at LAC
How to use this guide
This guide provides references to resources held at LAC. Most references are linked to LAC's catalogues, where further information about the resource will be found. In most cases, you will not be able to access the actual resource without requesting a copy or by visiting in person.
This guide should be considered as a starting point for research into Holocaust-related resources at LAC, and researchers should note that many more resources do exist in LAC's holdings. These can be consulted through an in-person visit or by hiring a freelance researcher to conduct research on your behalf.
How to use LAC's online search tools
Further resources may be identified by researchers through an extensive search using our online tools.
The principal database for searching for archival references is available at Collection Search.
The more precise a search is, the better the search results will be. For instance, if you are interested in the case of a Jewish refugee who was in an internment camp in Canada, you may not find his/her name in our search tools. However, if you know where and when he/she was interned (e.g. at Île-aux-Noix in 1940–1941), a search of the place name during that time may give you a starting point for locating relevant records.
Researchers should note that archival records are usually described in a hierarchical manner, beginning with general descriptions of large groups of records, such as fonds or collections. Fonds and collections are often divided into smaller groups of records, such as series, that provide additional contextual information. If lists of files or items (the lowest levels of description, also referred to as finding aids) exist in digital form, they will be linked to higher levels of description in LAC's database.
To search LAC's published collection, beyond the references listed in this guide, it would be best to use Aurora, Library and Archives Canada’s catalogue of books, periodicals, music, videos and other published materials.
To search Aurora for items related to the Holocaust, use the Advanced Search screen.
Change the first “Search Index” drop-down from “Keyword” to “Subject.” In the empty field beside it, enter your subject headings. Headings that could be useful:
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) Personal narratives
- Holocaust survivors
- Holocaust survivors Biography
You can also add geographic terms like a country, city, or region:
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) Personal narratives Hungary
- Holocaust survivors Biography Ontario
If you see an interesting item in the results list, you can click on the hyperlinked title for more information.
Details in the description, such as the author or complete list of subjects, can be helpful in expanding your search for other publications.
Language of material
Most of the archival resources mentioned in this guide are in English, although some files may contain documents in other languages. A few of the audiovisual resources are in French. The published references include many Yiddish and Hebrew sources, in addition to English and some French and Polish ones. For the citations of published references in Yiddish or Hebrew in this guide, as well as in the bibliographic records in Aurora, the LC-ALA Romanization [PDF 128 KB] table is used. For this guide, some of the diacritics have been omitted. Publications in English and French from the 1970s onward tend to be listed by author and title, whereas older books, especially those in Yiddish and Hebrew, tend to have more complete bibliographic citations. The imprint and publication date are of significance because a more complete reference will help the reader quickly identify the work. In all cases, a link to the relevant Aurora record is provided.
Access Conditions
Researchers should note that many archival resources are subject to some form of restriction on access and use. LAC works within federal legislation, regulations, and policies, including the Library and Archives of Canada Act, Copyright Act, Access to Information Act, and Privacy Act. Access to holdings in this guide may require special permissions or be subject to an access review under applicable legislation.
Government of Canada records
Access to all records created or maintained by the Government of Canada is governed by the specific regulations and exemptions found in the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. If a record is opened, it is marked code 90: Open in the online entries. If a record remains closed, it is marked code 32: Restricted by law. Records that have not previously been requested and therefore have not yet been reviewed remain closed and marked code 32. Those that are currently closed under the two Acts, with the marking code 32, can still be requested and reviewed for disclosure. For further information on reviewing closed records, please consult LAC's website.
Private records
Records donated by private individuals or organizations may also carry restrictions on access and use. Codes for private records include code 90: Open; code 18: Restricted by creator/donor; or code 10: Closed. A group of records may also be marked code 96: Restrictions vary, when a combination of the first three codes is applicable. When records are restricted or closed, there will be further details on the nature of the access conditions at the fonds- or collection-level description of the records. It may be possible to consult restricted records, either through signing a restricted access form or obtaining permission from the donors. For records that are closed, the fonds- or collection-level description will include information on when the records are expected to be open.
Nazi Persecution of the Jews Before the Second World War
Government and Prime Ministerial Records
Government files and records produced prior to the Second World War, reflect the experience of Jewish immigrants trying to enter Canada at the time. The government bodies referenced here include the Department of External Affairs (RG25), the Immigration Branch (RG76) and the Office of the Governor-General (RG7).
Table 1: List of Government Records
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Refugees from Austria and Germany United States Proposals – Conference, Evian, 1938. |
RG25, vol. 1870, file 1938-327, part 1;
RG25, vol. 1871, file 1938-327, part 2-6;
RG25, vol. 1872, file 1938-327A;
RG25, vol. 1872, file 1938-327, part 7
|
Open |
Jewish Colonization Association, Montreal, 1920-1951. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 82, file 8520, part 1, microfilm C-4749;
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 82, file 8520, part 2, microfilm C-4749;
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 83, file 8520, file part 3, microfilm C-4749
|
Open |
Immigration to Canada of Jews from Europe, 1926-1934. |
RG76-I-A1, vol. 391, file 541782, part 3, microfilm C-10284 |
Open |
Immigration to Canada of Jews from Europe (publications), 1934-1937. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 391, file 541782, part 4, microfilm C-10284 |
Open |
United States proposal regarding refugees from Germany and Austria (Report of Conference on Refugees) 1938. |
RG76 -I-A-1, vol. 432, file no. 644452, part 1-2, microfilm C-10312 |
Open |
United States proposal regarding refugees from Germany and Austria (Report of Conference on Refugees) 1938. |
RG76 -I-A-1, vol. 432, file no. 644452, part 3, microfilm C-10312; C-10313 |
Open |
Department of External Affairs - Confidential telegrams to Prime Minister at Washington, D.C., United States, on immigration matters (German Jews on SS ST. LOUIS), 1939, 1941, 1965. |
RG76 -I-A-1, vol. 440, file 670224, microfilm C-10318 |
Open |
National Committee on Refugees and Victims of Political Persecution (reports), 1938-1940. |
RG76 -I-A-1, vol. 438, file 661315, microfilm C-10316 |
Open |
Assistance to Refugees from Germany, 1938-1941. |
RG25-A-2, vol. 779, file 382, microfilm T-1794 |
Open |
Immigration - Deportation - Departure from Canada – Jewish Refugees and Others, 1936-1945. |
RG7-G-26, vol. 90, file 2085-A, part 1 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
William Lyon Mackenzie King Papers
- MG26–J1 Correspondence
Brief description: Several references to Jewish immigration before, during and after the war can be found in his correspondence.
- MG26-J13 Diary
Brief description: King also recorded his opinions and attitudes to events in his personal diary. Some examples are provided in the links below:
Private records
Within Canada, organizations such as the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada and the Canadian National Committee on Refugees made significant efforts to bring Jewish refugees into the country. Individuals who left Germany in the late 1930s and were ultimately successful in making Canada their home, such as Rabbis Emil L. Fackenheim and W. Gunther Plaut, contributed immensely to Canadian society in the second half of the 20th century.
Table 2: List of Private Records
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Jewish Labour Committee of Canada fonds. |
MG28-V75/R3286 |
Open |
Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada Collection: Records of the Jewish Immigration Aid Services - Western Division. |
MG28 V114/R4547, microfilms M-4581-4599 |
Open |
Alphabetical Files - Canadian National Committee on Refugees and Victims of Political Persecution - Pamphlets on refugees and address on Jewish refugees, 1938-1939. |
MG30-D115/R1887, vol. 17, file 8 |
Open |
W. Gunther Plaut fonds
Emigration from Germany and settlement in U.S.A.
|
MG31-F6/R5917, vols. 1-3, 410 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Emil L. Fackenheim fonds
Personal records and correspondence.
|
MG31-D74/R4535 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
-
Behmer, Markus, Shemuʼel Meʼir Yudovitsh, and Soncino-Gesellschaft der Freunde des Jüdischen Buches. 1933. Ḥamishah Ḥumshe Torah : Meduyaḳim ʻal Pi Ha-Masorah Ṿe-ʻal Pi Mahadurat Gintsberg. Berlin: Ḥevrat ʹSon
- Brief description: The Bible listed here was published during the first year of the Nazi Party's rule in Germany, and its celebrated publication that includes Deuteronomy 33:29 printed in red, "Your enemies shall dwindle away before you…," signifying an early perception of the threat posed to Jews by the Nazi rise to power. For further context, see the Library of Congress's virtual exhibit, Words like Sapphires: 100 years of Hebraica at the Library of Congress, 1912–2012
-
Khaim Margoles Davidzon, Samuel Reindorf, and Y. Zeldin. 1939. Bayṭshland: dertseylungen fun Idishn lebn in Natsi-land. Nyu Yorḳ: Aroysgegebn funem Daṿidzon bukh-ḳomiṭeṭ durkhn “Signal” bam “Proleṭpen”.
- Brief description: Stories of Jewish life in Nazi-Germany.
The Holocaust, 1939–1945
Jewish Refugees in Canadian Internment Camps
Some Austrian and German Jews successfully fled Nazi persecution to Britain. In 1940, the British government asked Canada to house these refugees. Because of their nationality, they were classed as "enemy aliens." The Jewish refugees were interned in Canada's enemy alien camps. Between 1940 and 1943, more than 2,000 Jewish refugees were interned in Canada. These camps, run by the Department of National Defence, included those at Fredericton, New Brunswick; Farnham, Quebec; Île-aux-Noix, Quebec; Sherbrooke, Quebec; Trois-Rivières, Quebec; Cove Fields, Quebec; St. Helen's Island, Quebec; and Red Rock, Ontario. The records of these camps are found in the Department of National Defence fonds (RG24).
Some references to these camps have been included below. For more extensive references on files related to these camps in LAC's holdings, researchers may wish to consult LAC's guide on Second World War internment [PDF 8.14 MB].
Government and prime ministerial records
Table 3: List of government and prime ministerial records
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Treatment of civilian internees sent to Canada from U.K. on the S.S. "ETTRICK" in July 1940. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 2767, file 621-AU-40, part 1 |
Open |
Segregation of Jews and other refugees and German civilians loyal to their country in Canadian refugee camps - Inquiry re., 1942-1945. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 2768, file 621-BM-40, part 1 |
Open |
Directorate of Internment Operations, file relating to Camp N at Newington, Quebec. |
RG24-C-5, vol. 11253 |
Open |
No. 40 Internment Camp, Farnham, 1940-1942. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15397, file 2282 |
Open |
No. 40 Internment Camp, Farnham, 1942-1946. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15398, file 2282 |
Open |
No. 41 Internment Camp, Île-aux-Noix, 1940-1943. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15399, file 2283 |
Open |
No. 42 Internment Camp, Sherbrooke, 1940-1941. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15399, file 2284 |
Open |
No. 42 Internment Camp, Sherbrooke, 1941-1944. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15400, file 2284 |
Open |
No. 42 Internment Camp, Sherbrooke, 1944-1946. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15401, file 2284 |
Open |
No. 70 Internment Camp, Fredericton, 1940-1942. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15404, file 2287 |
Open |
No. 70 Internment Camp, Fredericton, 1942-1945. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15405, file 2287 |
Open |
Transfer of internees from United Kingdom to Canada - German prisoners of War in Canada, 1940-1942. |
RG25-A-2, vol. 824, file 713, microfilm T-2207 |
Open |
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees - Admission to Canada - General file, 1943-1945. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3195, file 5127-40C, part 1=1943/01/15-1944/01/29; 2=1944/02/14-1944/06/30; 3=1944/07/04-1945/04/10 |
Restricted by law |
William Lyon Mackenzie King fonds Correspondence with T.A. Crerar and N.A. Robertson regarding internees and refugees, including Arturo Vivante, May 1941. |
MG26 J1, vol. 303, pages 256355 to 256360, microfilm C-4861 |
Open |
Correspondence with Ruth Draper regarding the case of interned Italian immigrant Arturo Vivante, 1941. |
MG26 J1, vol. 303, pages 256870 to 256879, microfilm C-4862 |
Open |
World War II- Internees, 1940-1942. |
MG26 J4, vol. 359, page C248508, microfilm H-1535 |
Open |
Entry from William Lyon Mackenzie King's personal diary, November 7,1940. |
MG26-J13 |
Open |
Interned Civilian Refugees and Jewish Refugees (Nominal Roll from United Kingdom), 1942-1946. |
RG18-F-3, vol. 3566, file C11-19-4-1, supp. B |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
File number "7236" in the subject files sub-series of the Department of National Defence Headquarters Central Registry contains the files related to the treatment of enemy aliens.
The following is a sampling of those files as they relate to some of the camps holding Jewish refugees:
Table 4: Camps holding Jewish refugees
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns, Intelligence Officer 2 - Ile-aux-Noix, 1940. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-6-41, microfilm C-5369 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns, Intelligence Officer 3 - Returns of transfers - Sherbrooke, 1940-1946. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-7-42, microfilm C-5371 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns, Intelligence Officer 3 - Returns of transfers - Fredericton, 1940-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-7-70, microfilm C-5371 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns, Intelligence Officer 4 - Returns of admission and discharges - Outside hospitals - Ile-aux-Noix, 1940-1943. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-8-41, microfilm C-5371 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns, Intelligence Officer 4 - Returns of admissions and discharges - Outside hospitals - Sherbrooke, 1940-1946. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-8-42, microfilm C-5371 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns, Intelligence Officer 4 - Returns of admissions and discharges - Outside hospitals - Fredericton, 1940-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-8-70, microfilm C-5372 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Intelligence Officer 7 - Weekly reports of admissions and discharges, camp hospitals - Ile-aux-Noix, 1940-1943. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-9-41, microfilm C-5372 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Intelligence Officer 7 - Weekly reports of admissions and discharges, camp hospitals - Sherbrooke, 1940-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-9-42, microfilm C-5372 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Intelligence Officer 7 - Weekly reports of admissions and discharges, camp hospitals - Fredericton, 1940-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-9-70, microfilm C-5372 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Monthly report of employment of Prisoners of War for which they receive pay - Fredericton, 1940-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-34-1-70, microfilm C-5379 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Accommodation - Exhibition grounds, Three Rivers, 1940. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-8, microfilm C-5376 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Accommodation, Cove Fields, 1940-1942. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-9, microfilm C-5377 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Internment camp B, Little River Camp, Colters Siding and Camp 70, Fredericton, 1940-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-11, microfilm C-5377 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Red Rock internment camp, 1940-1943. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-12, microfilm C-5377 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Ile-aux-Noix, 1940-1944. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-18, microfilm C-5377 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Ile-aux-Noix, 1940-1944. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-18, microfilm C-5378 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Camp N, Newington, Quebec (Sherbrooke), 1940-1947. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-32, microfilm C-5379 |
Open |
Treatments of Enemy Aliens - Monthly reports of employments of Prisoners of War for which they receive pay - Ile-aux-Noix, 1940-1943. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-34-1-41, microfilm C-5379 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Returns to Britain and releases, 1940-1948. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-47, microfilm C-5392 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - International Officer 32 - Parcels and letters received in internment camps in Canada - Reports to External Affairs, International Red Cross and Swiss Consul - Fredericton, 1941-1945. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-11-70, microfilm C-5376 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Intelligence Officer 32 - Parcels and letters received in internment camps in Canada - Reports to External Affairs, International Red Cross and Swiss Consul - Sherbrooke, 1942-1946. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-1-11-42, microfilm C-5376 |
Open |
Treatments of Enemy Aliens - Monthly reports of employments of Prisoners of War for which they receive pay - Sherbrooke, 1941-1948. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-34-1-42, microfilm C-5379 |
Open |
Treatment of Enemy Aliens - Releases in Canada, 1943-1948. |
RG24-C-1, file 7236-47-3, microfilm C-5392 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Personal accounts of Jewish internees in Canada
Table 5: List of personal accounts of Jewish internees in Canada
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Eric Koch fonds. |
MG30-C192/R2408, vols. 1-4 |
Open |
Heinz Warschauer fonds. |
MG31-D129/R4561, vol. 1 |
Open |
Bernhard Pfundt fonds. |
MG31-H174/R12048, vol. 1 |
Open |
Gerald Frey fonds. |
MG30-C252/R10003, vol. 1 |
Open |
Erik Exton fonds. |
MG31 H116/R4250, vols. 1, 5 |
Open |
William Walsh fonds. |
MG31-B27/R4771 |
Restrictions vary |
Max Gamper collection
Internment Camp "B" Canada, Little River Camp, New Brunswick.
|
R14195, accession 1983-099, box A086-02, C-105622 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
Personal Experiences of the Holocaust
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
A Sampling of Published Personal Memoirs, Early Historical Accounts and Evidence, and Early Artistic Responses
-
Auerbach, Rachel, Centralna Żydowska Komisja Historyczna w Polsce, and Centralna Żydowska Komisja Historyczna w Polsce. 1947. Oyf Di Felder Fun Ṭreblinḳe: Reporṭazsh. Oysgabe Fun Der Tsenṭralér Yidisher Hisṭorisher Ḳomisye Baym Ts. Ḳ Fun Poylishe Yidn, Num. 33. Ṿarshe: Oysgabe fun der Tsenṭraler Yidisher hisṭorisher ḳomisye baym Ts. Ḳ. fun Poylishe Yidn.
- Brief description: Early report on Treblinka and the memoirs of a survivor of that camp.
-
Borwicz, Michał, Lejb Zylberberg, and Centralna Żydowska Komisja Historyczna w Polsce. 1947. א ייד פון קלעמענטאוו דערציילט. A Yid fun Klementov dertseylt. Oysgabes Fun Der Tsenṭraler Yidisher Hisṭorisher Ḳomisye, 36. Ṿarshe: Oysgabes fun der Tsenṭraler Yidisher Hisṭorisher Ḳomisye Baym Ts. Ḳ. Fun Poylishe
- Brief description: Personal narrative of a survivor from Klimontów, Poland.
-
Kuriski, Leyzer, and Leybl Ran. 1947. Bleter vegn Vilne: zamlbukh. Lodzsh: Farband fun Vilner Yidn in Poyln bay der Tsentraler Yidisher historisher komisie.
- Brief description: Documentation on Vilna ghetto containing texts, photographs, a fold-out map and model of the Vilna ghetto, and a list of survivors from Vilna living in Poland and elsewhere.
-
Dvorzetsky, Mark Meir. 1948. Yerusholayim De-Lita in Kamf Un Umkum. Paris: Aroysgegebn durkh Yidishn natsionaln arbeter farband in Amerike un Yidishn folksfarband in Frankraych.
- Brief description: A detailed early eye-witness account of the Vilna Ghetto.
-
Elberg, Simcha. 1946. Akeydes-Treblinke: gedanken un refleksn. Shanghai: [s.n.].
- Brief description: Essays by Rabbi Elberg lamenting the death of the six million Jews.
-
Fenigstein, H. 1948. Ṿarsheṿer Yid. Shpiṭal: Beṭn Natsi-Rezshim. Munich?: Aroysgegebn durkh Farlag "Ibergang" bay der Federatsie fun Poylishe Yidn in Dayṭshland, Ameriḳaner zone.
- Brief description: Report on health statistics of Jews in Warsaw from 1939–1943 by a Warsaw Ghetto hospital doctor, who later immigrated to Canada.
-
Fenster, Hersh. 1951. Undzere farpanyikte kinstler. Pariz: H. Fenster.
- Brief description: Commemoration and biography of Jewish artists from France who were killed during the Nazi regime.
-
Goldkorn, Dorka. 1948. Mayne zikhroyne funm oyfshtand in Varshever Geto. Lodzsh: Kooperativer arbeter-farlag "Prasa".
- Brief description: Memoir of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
-
Goldstein, Bernard. 1947. Finf yor in Varshever geto. New York: Farlag "Unzer Tsayt".
- Brief description: Memoir of the Warsaw Ghetto.
-
Graubard, Baruch, Y. D Sheynzon, and Joseph Gar. 1948. Hemshekh : Shrifṭn Far Liṭeraṭur, Ḳunsṭ, Ḳriṭiḳ Un Ḳulṭur-Gezelshafṭlekhe Frages. Minkhen: Direḳṭorium far dertsiung un ḳulṭur: Shrayber-farband fun der sheyres̀-ha-pleyṭeh.
- Brief description: Early artistic response.
-
Grossman, Vasilii. 1945. Treblinker genem. Moskve: Melukhe-Farlag "Der Emes".
- Brief description: Reportage about Treblinka, perhaps the earliest after liberation.
-
Hirschprung, Pinḥos. 1944. Fun Natsishen Yomerṭol: Zikhroynes̀ Fun a Poliṭ. Monṭreal: [s.n.].
- Brief description: Holocaust memoirs of late Chief Rabbi of Montreal.
-
Kaczerginski, Szmerke. 1947. Ḥurbn Vilne. Nyu Yorḳ: Farayniḳtn Ṿilner Hilfs-Ḳomiṭeṭ in Nyu Yorḳ durkh Tsiḳo Bikher-Farlag.
- Brief description: On the destruction of Jewish community of Vilna.
-
Kaczerginski, Szmerke. 1948. Partizaner Geyen. Bamberg: Unzer Weg.
- Brief description: On Jewish partisans.
-
Kahanovich, Moshe, and Labor Zionist Committee for Relief and Rehabilitation, Inc. 1948. Der Yidisher Onṭeyl in Der Parṭizaner-Baṿegung Fun Soṿeṭ-Rusland. Roym: Oysg. fun der Tsenṭraler hisṭorisher ḳomishe baym Partizaner farband P.H.H. in Iṭalye.
- Brief description: Jewish participation in partisan groups during the Second World War, with emphasis on the situation in the Soviet Union.
-
Kaplan, Yisrael. 1949. Dos folks-moyl in Natsi-klem: reydenishn in geto un katset. Minkhen: Aroysgegebn fun der Tsentraler historisher komisie baym Ts”k. fun di bafrayte Yidn in der Amerikaner zone in Daytshland.
- Brief description: On Yiddish terms and phrases from the Ghetto and the concentration camp.
-
Mark, Bernard. Der oyfshtand fun Varshever geto. Pariz: Aroysgegeben durkh der Organizatsie fun Poylishe Yidn bay dem Poylishn komitet fun natsyonaler bafrayung.
- Brief description: Early account of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
-
Mazor, Michel. 1955. La Cité Engloutie: (Souvenirs Du Ghetto De Varsovie). Centre De Documentation Juive Contemporain, 23. Paris: Éditions du Centre de documentation juive contemporaine.
- Brief description: Memoirs of a survivor describing the creation and organization of the Warsaw ghetto, and life and death in the ghetto up to the mass deportations of the Jews in 1942.
-
Noy, Melech. 1945. Di Ḳemfer Fun Ṿarsheṿer Geṭo Dertseyln. Tel-Aviv: Ṿelṭ-iḥed Poyle-tsiyen (Ts. S.)-His̀aḥdes̀.
- Brief description: Personal narratives and reports of fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto.
-
Noy, Melech. 1948. Hurben un oyfshtand fun di Idn in Varshe: eydes-bleter un azkores. Tel Aviv: Ṿaʻadat ha-golah fun der Algemeyner Idisher arbeṭer-organizatsye (ha-Histadrut ha-kelalit) in Erets-Yiśroel un Idish-Natsyonaler arbeṭer-farband in Ameriḳe.
- Brief description: "Jews in Warsaw: a collection of reports and biographical sketches of the fallen" (t.p. verso).
-
Ringelblum, Emmanuel. 1952. Notitsn fun Varshever geto. Warszawa: Idisz Buch.
- Brief description: Publication of notes that had been recorded by Polish-Jewish historian during the Warsaw Ghetto.
-
Ryczywól, Ber. 1946. Ṿiazoy Ikh Hob Ibergelebṭ Di Dayṭshn. Oysgabes Fun Der Tsenṭraler Yidisher Hisṭorisher Ḳomisye Baym Ts. Ḳ. Fun Poylishe Yidn, Num. 30. Ṿarshe: Tsenṭraler Yidisher hisṭorisher ḳomisie.
- Brief description: Memoirs of a Polish Jew.
-
Sommer, Ernst. 1945. Der ofsh.tand fun di farur.teyl.te: dartseylung. Moskve: Melukhe Ferlag "Der Emes".
- Brief description: Yiddish translation of Revolte der Heilingen, written in 1943 by Czech Jew, possibly the earliest literary text to deal in detail with the Holocaust, in particular the topic of Jewish resistance.
-
Szajewicz, Simhah Bunam. 1946. Lekh-lekha. Lodzsh: Tsentraler Yidisher historisher komisie baym Tsentral-komitet fun Poylishe Yidn.
- Brief description: Letters and poetry from the Lodz Ghetto.
-
Theresienstadt currency. 1943. Theresienstadt: Theresienstadt Concentration Camp.
- Brief description: Artifact.
-
Tsenṭral ḳomiṭeṭ fun di bafrayṭe Yidn in der Ameriḳaner zone. 1946. Fun Letsṭn Ḥurbn. Minkhen: Tsenṭraler hisṭorishe ḳomisie baym Tsenṭral ḳomiṭeṭ fun di bafrayṭe Yidn in der Ameriḳaner zone.
- Brief description: Early historical and literary serial on the Holocaust.
-
Varshever geto oyfshtand: 19ter April 1943–19ter April 1947. 1947? Landsberg: Aroysgegebn fun Ts. .K. "Poaley-tsiyen" (Ts. S.) un merkaz "Dror" in Daytshland.
- Brief description: On the Warsaw Ghetto uprising by two of the Zionist youth groups who had fought in it.
-
Weissbrod, Abraham. 1948. Es shtarbt a shtetl: megiles Skalat. Minkhen: Aroysgegebn fun der Tsentraler historisher komisie baym Tsentral komitet fun di bafrayte Yidn in der Amerikaner Zone in Daytshland.
- Brief description: History and demise of the Ukrainian town, Skalat.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
European Jewish Publications during the Holocaust: Books from Romania and Hungary prior to the Nazi occupation
Books primarily on Jewish law, printed from 1939–1943, were among the last published before the destruction of the communities in these countries. Since Responsa and other works of Jewish law reflect current day concerns, they are potential sources for insight.
-
Alṭman, Yehudah, and Shimshon Alṭman. 1933. Sheʼelot U-Teshuvot Me Yehudah: ʻal Sh. ʻa. Balḳani: Nidpas bi-defus shel Yitsḥaḳ Aiziḳ Ḥayim.
- Brief description: Responsa literature.
-
Hoffmann, Mosheh Shimon Segal. 1942. Sefer Tiferet Mosheh: ... kolel 1. toldot R. T. ve-tahalukhotav ha-ruhaniyot be-safah berurah, 2. Berur ha-halakhot ha-shayakhot la-t de-R. T. Budapesht: nidpas be-Vet defus shel Meshulam (Zalman) Kats b. David Tsevi Katsburg.
- Brief description: Responsa literature.
-
Katzburg, David. 1940. Sefer Pirḥe Kehunah : Ḥidushim U-Filpulim ... ʼal ... Masekhet Pesaḥim Uve-Sofo Ḳuntres Keter Kehunah Sheʼelot U-Teshuvot La-Halakhah Be-ʻinyanim Ha-Nogʻim Li-Ḳedushat Kehunah. Budapesṭ: Meshulam (Zalman) Kats Ḳatsburg.
- Brief description: Commentary of the Talmudic tractate Pesa.him and discussion of laws pertaining to priests in Temple service.
-
Pinḥas, mi-Shusburg, Yoʼel Kats, and Meʼir Leb Hirsh. 1941. She’elot U-Teshuvot Maharaf Shusburg. Grossṿardain: Binyamin Zeʼev Rubinshṭain.
- Brief description: Responsa literature, including discussion of the Agunah.
-
Taitelboim, Hayim Tsevi. 1938. Sefer She'elot u-teshuvot Atse Hayim : al 4 helke Sh”a. Siget: Yaakov Grin.vald.
- Brief description: Responsa by Rabbi Taitelboim, head of the Rabbinical Court of Sighet, includes his work on the laws of mikvah.
Books from Shanghai, destination of refugees
Many German Jews fleeing Nazism in the 1930s found refuge in Shanghai, China, where there was an already existing Jewish community. During the Second World War, Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat in Kaunas, Lithuania, issued thousands of transit visas for Jews escaping Europe, including those of the Mir Yeshivah, many of whom also found a relatively safe haven in Shanghai. The refugees numbered around 20, 000 and had been interned by the Japanese in the Hongkew section of the city. Publication of Jewish books and serial publications in various languages continued nonetheless, and reflected the broad range of interests and ideology. With the exception of one published reference to a Shanghai imprint in the Liberation section of this guide and another in the Visual: early Holocaust photo documentation section, the scope of this list extends to postwar in order to keep the Shanghai section an integrated whole.
-
Baron, Leib. 1941. [Talmud Bavli: Im Perush Rashi, Tosafot ...]. Shanghai: Ṿaʻad ha-hadpasah "Torah-Or".
- Brief description: Lowy set: 22 tractactes in 10 v. Vol. 1, 4-10 signed by L. Barano.vits. Vol. 3. Stamp in Hebrew on title page: Otsar ha-sefarim "Ezrat Torah", de-Yeshivat Mir kha-et be-Shanghai. Signature of [Aryeh] L[eib] Baranovits, Mir Yeshiva student, on some volumes. Rabbi Baron, as he was known in Canada, was a prominent Rabbi and educator in Montreal for over half a century.
-
Danzig, Abraham ben Jehiel Michal. 1944. Sefer Ḥokhmat Adam ... Dine Shulkhan ʻarukh Yoreh Deʻah, Mi-Reshito Ṿe-ʻad Sofo. Shanghai: be-hotsaʼat Bet otsar ha-sefarim "Ezrat-Torah" she-ʻa.y. Yeshivat Mir ha-ḳ.
- Brief description: Commentary on a section from Shulkhan Arukh, major code of Jewish law.
-
Fishman, J. H. 1948. Farvoglte Yidn: dertseylungen. Shankhay: aroysgegeben fun a gezelshaftlekhn komitet.
- Brief description: Short stories reflecting the state of refugees and their search for a resting place.
-
Hertsman Elḥanan Yosef. 1945. Sefer Gadlut Ha-Adam: Yaḥil Maʼamar R. Yaʻaḳov ʻemden U-Veʼurim Be-ʻinyene Gadlut Ha-Adam ʻa. Pi. D. Ha-Musar. Mahad. 2 ed. Shanghai: Elḥanan Yosef ben Shemuʼel Hertsman.
- Brief description: On Jewish ethics and teachings of Rabbi Jacob Emden.
-
Levovitz, Yeruchom. 1946. Maʼamarim, Ḥoveret 9. Shanghai (Ḥinah): Maʼamarim.
- Brief description: Students of Rabbi Levovits, spiritual guide of the Mir Yeshiva in Europe, collected some of his teachings in this work.
-
Rapoport, O. 1941. Der Mehus̀ Fun Dikhṭung Un Ir Sotsiale Funḳtsie. Shankhai: [n.p.].
- Brief description: On the social value of poetry.
-
Unzer Ṿorṭ: Zamelhefṭ. 1946. Shankhay: n.p.
- Brief description: On the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, 1943.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published musical and theatrical responses
Continued Jewish immigration to Canada
During the War some Jews found refuge and escape from Nazi-occupied Europe. Although immigration to Canada was still limited, some Jewish refugees did gain entry.
Government and prime ministerial records
Table 7: List of government and prime ministerial records
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, 1943-1948. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 1;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 2;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 3;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 4;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 5;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 6;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 7;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 8;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, parts 9
|
Open |
Refugees – Admission to Canada of Jewish Children from France, 1942-1944. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2113, file AR 408/2 |
Open |
Department of Mines and Resources – Co-Operation of United Kingdom and Allies – Refugees and Evacuation of Children – Immigration, 1940-1945. |
RG2-B-2, vol. 46, file D-17-1 |
Open |
Entry into Canada of Jewish children from France, 1942-1943. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3107, file 4300-40C. |
Open |
Refugee immigration to Canada (I.R.O.)
(lists), 1940-1941.
|
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 441, file 673931, part 2, microfilm C-10319 |
Open |
Refugee immigration to Canada (I.R.O.), 1943. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 441, file 673931, part 4, microfilm C-10319 |
Open |
Refugee immigration to Canada (I.R.O.) (lists), 1943-1944. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 442, file 673931, parts 6-8, microfilm C-10319 |
Open |
Admission of Jewish children from unoccupied France, 1942-1948. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 477, file 739325, part 1, microfilm C-10412;
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 477, file 739325, part 1, microfilm C-10413;
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 477, file 739325, part 2, microfilm C-10413
|
Open |
Immigration - Deportation – Departure from Canada – Jewish Refugees and Others, 1947-1964. |
RG7-G-26, vol. 90, file 2085-A, parts 1-3 |
Open |
Resolutions and protests by various persons re: treatment of Jews by Germany - Resolution re: admission of refugees to Canada [pocket]. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3121, file 4626-40 |
Restricted by law |
Movement of Jewish refugees from Denmark to Sweden, 1943-1944. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3246, file 5879-40, part 1 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Entries from William Lyon Mackenzie King's personal diary, MG26-J13
Private records
Table 8: List of private records, notably from the Robert James Manion fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Immigration - Canadian National Committee on Refugees, 1938-1940. |
MG27 III B7/R4383, vol. 48, file 11 |
Open |
Refugees - Jewish, 1938-1939. |
MG27 III B7/R4383, vol. 67, file 1 |
Open |
Refugees - Jewish, 1939. |
MG27 III B7/R4383, vol. 67, file 2 |
Open |
Archie B. Bennett fonds. |
MG30-D223/R10023, vol. 1 |
Open |
Canadian National Committee on Refugees collection, 1934-1948. |
MG28 V43/R3386, vols. 1-9 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Canadian concerns about the treatment of Jews in occupied countries
Table 10: List of private records detailing Canadian concerns about the treatment of Jews in occupied countries
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
U.N. declaration re: treatment of Jews by Germany, 1942-1946. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol.3122, file 4637-40, part 1 |
Restricted by law |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
William Lyon Mackenzie King correspondence
Table 11: Documents concerning the Vichy government's deportation of Jews
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Correspondence with Etienne Mantoux, January 16, 1942 - September 14, 1942. |
MG26-J1, vol. 329, pages 280559 to 280563, microfilm C-6809 |
Open |
Correspondence with Clement Attlee, September 15, 1942. |
MG26-J1, vol. 334, page 286203, microfilm C-6813 |
Open |
Correspondence with Leighton McCarthy, September 28, 1942. |
MG26-J1, vol. 327, page 278882, microfilm C-6808 |
Open |
Correspondence with Peter Bercovitch, September 25, 1942 - October 06, 1942. |
MG26-J1, vol. 321, pages 272460 to 272464, microfilm C-6804 |
Open |
Correspondence with Clement Attlee, December 22, 1942. |
MG26-J1, vol. 334, pages 287064 to 287065, microfilm C-6813 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 12: Correspondence concerning government policies around Jewish immigration
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Correspondence on Jewish immigration, May 28-29, 1940. |
MG26-J1, vol. 283, pages 239627 to 239628, microfilm C-4566 |
Open |
Correspondence with F.C. Blair regarding refugee children, June 27, 1940. |
MG26-J1, vol. 283, page 239629, microfilm C-4566 |
Open |
Correspondence with Grote Stirling, N.A. Robertson, Dept. External Affairs, June 21-23, 1943. |
MG26-J1, vol. 352, pages 305891 to 305895, microfilm C-7046 |
Open |
On Jewish immigration, May 28-29, 1940. |
MG26-J1, vol. 283, pages 239627 to 239628, microfilm C-4566 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Postwar
Liberation
Canadian troops contributed to the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands, countries that did not contain concentration camps, but that did contain transit camps where Jews were held before being sent to death camps in the East. The Second Canadian Infantry Division liberated Westerbork, a transit camp in the northeast Netherlands, which was holding about 1,000 Jewish men and women.
Government records
Table 13: List of government records about the liberation
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
War Diary entry, 8th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment, 14th Hussars, the Netherlands, April 12, 1945. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 14226, file 581, microfilm T-12689 - T-12690 |
Open |
War diary entry, South Saskatchewan Regiment, the Netherlands, April 12, 1945. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15264, file 191 |
Open |
War Diary entry, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, the Netherlands, April 12, 1945. |
RG24-C-3, vol. 15217, file 182 |
Open |
Reports re: Bucherwald [Buchenwald], Cewiecim [Oswiecim], Bergen-Belsen concentration camps in Germany. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 4171, file 1426-P-40, part 1 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Private records
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 15: List of private records about the liberation, notably from the Aba Bayefsky fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Transcripts of the C.M. Donald interviews with Aba Bayefsky in 1995-1996, including mention of his experience in the displaced persons camps. |
R3940, vol. 20, files 30-32 |
Open |
Clippings from Jewish Life and Canadian Jewish Weekly where Bayefsky describes his experience in Bergen-Belsen. |
R3940, vol. 21, file 7. |
Open |
Alex Colville fonds. |
MG30-D292/R2111, vol. 1; 1984-014 BK-023 |
Open |
Belsen Concentration Camp
Tobie Steinhouse fonds, Personal material and memorabilia series.
|
R11208, vol. 1, file 7 |
Open |
Diary of Ethel Ostry. |
MG30-C184/R1756, vol. 1 |
Open |
Herbert Steinhouse fonds. |
R8082, vols. 1-19 [PDF 63.73 KB] |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 16: List of private records about the liberation from the Mary Agnes Craig McGeachy and Erwin Schuller fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration series, 1943-1946. |
R9369, vols. 2-3 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Audiovisual accounts
Table 17: List of audiovisual accounts about the liberation
Description |
File Number |
Status |
Calder, Al – Interview, 1986-09-23. |
Acc. 1988-0514, ISN 110638
Consultation copy: A1 9909-0027
|
Open |
[Guernesey, camp de concentration], 1945-05-30. |
Acc. 1968-0033, ISN 155495.
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
[Concentration Camp Near Zutphen Captured by a Canadian Regiment], 1945-04-07. |
Acc. 1989-0453, ISN 140272;
Acc. 1967-0032, ISN 143441
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
[German Concentration Camps], 1944-09-30. |
Acc. 1967-0032, ISN 142942
Consultation copy: A1 2023-09-0002
|
Open |
[German Concentration Camps], 1944-09-30. |
Acc. 1989-0453, ISN 139938.
Consultation copy: A1 2003-11-0059
|
Open |
Halton, Matthew –Report, 1945-04-08. |
Acc. 1978-0014, ISN 251803
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Halton, Matthew – Report. [World War II, Germany, and German responsibility for Dachau], 1945-05-04 . |
Acc. 1978-0014, ISN 250233
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Herbert, Bill – Report. [Story of the Royal Canadian Air Force Officer Boss Walter, who helped a mother and her son to meet again in a concentration camp], 1945-06-06. |
Acc. 1978-0014, ISN 250347
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Lafleur, Benoit – Reportage. [La défaite de l'Allemagne et des impresssions sur les horreurs de Buchewald, Dachau et les camps de concentration], 1945-05-01. |
Acc. 1978-0014, ISN 250213.
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Lafleur, Benoit – Reportage.
[Camp de concentration d'Alderney], 1945-05-30.
|
Acc.1978-0014, ISN 250321
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Ouimet, Marcel – Reportage.
[L'Allemagne et d'un camp de concentration, près de Deventer et Oske], 1945-04-08.
|
Acc. 1978-0014, ISN 250087
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
[Georges-P. Vanier à Buchenwald].
Déclaration du major-général Georges-P. Vanier, ambassadeur du Canada en France, sur sa visite au camp de concentration de Buchenwald: son témoignage des atrocités, 1945-04-30.
|
Acc. 1968-0033, ISN 155480.
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Vanier, Georges P. – Talk. 1945.
Talk by Major-General Georges P. Vanier, Canadian ambassador in France, about World War II and German prison camps at Buchenwald.
|
Acc. 1971-0033, ISN 136210
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Vanier, Georges P. – Talk. 1945.
Talk by Major-General Georges P. Vanier, Canadian ambassador in France, about World War II and German prison camps at Buchenwald. Part 2.
|
Acc. 1972-0002, ISN 136492
Consultation copy: A1 9809-0020
|
Open |
[World War II Report and Comment].
Report by Bill Herbert followed by comments by General Georges P. Vanier. 1945-05-01.
|
Acc. 1978-0014, ISN 250217
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Victory 1945. Paperny Films, 2004. |
OCLC Number/Unique Identifier: 85217624 |
Available |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
This section contains works that reflect the continuity of Jewish life following liberation, in addition to other aspects of liberation listed above.
-
ben Jacob Moses, Jacob. 1948. Hagadah Le-Fesaḥ: ʻim Perush Derekh Ḥayim. Minkhn: Nidpas ʻa. y. ha-Ṿaʻad le-hotsaʼot sefarim etsel Ṿaʻ̣ad ha-hatsalah.
- Brief description: On the fly leaf, there is a printed dedication to Mr. Isaac Shalom, one of the leaders of the Vaad Hatzala, the Rescue Committee of European Jewry, which was an umbrella organization based in New York. It was established in November 1939 by the Executive Committee of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis in the United States and Canada.
-
Blumenfeld, Israel. 1946. Pessach-Buch, 5706-1946: Zum Ersten Befreiungs- Und Frühlingsfest Der Überreste Israels in Europa. Marburg: "Judische Rundschau".
- Brief description: Another early hagadah published for survivors in Germany.
-
Elberg, Yehude, and Rachel H. Korn. 1946. Yidishe shriftn: literarish zamlbukh. Lodzsh: Farayn fun Yid literatn un zshurnalistn in Poyln.
- Brief description: First Yiddish literary miscellany post Second World War, with contributions by Canadian writers and Holocaust survivors Rachel Häring Korn and Yehude Elberg. The latter wrote an article on the Warsaw Ghetto.
-
Grinṿald Mosheh ben Amram. 1948. Ḳunṭres Hakhanah De-Rabah: Ṿe-Hu Sefer Ha-Tsaṿaʼah. Nidpas paʻam 5. ʻa. y. nekhed ha-meḥaber ʻAmram Tsevi Grinṿald ben Yeḳutiʼel Yehuda, ben ha-meḥaber ed. Fernwald, Germany: ʻAmram Tsevi Grinṿald.
- Brief description: Jewish ethics.
-
Haganah. 1947. Parshes "Ekzodus - 1947". [s.n.]: Aroysgegebn durkh der "Haganah" in goles Eyropa.
- Brief description: After the Second World War, illegal immigration to Palestine increased and the British authorities decided to stop it by sending the ships back to the ports of embarkation in Europe, of which Exodus was the first.
-
ha-Ḥaluts ha-eḥad. 1949. He-Ḥaluts Ba-"beriḥah" Uva-Haʻpalah : Peʻulot Ṿe-Heʹsegim, Ḥoveret Sikum Le-Histadrut "He-Ḥaluts Ha-Eḥad" Ben Tsibur Ha-Peliṭim Be-Iṭalyah. Roma: be-hotsaʼat Mercaz "he-Ḥaluts ha-eḥad" be-Roma.
- Brief description: A collection of reports from Zionist groups in Italy, and their efforts to organize aliya (immigration to Palestine) from Europe.
-
Heilprin, Jehiel ben Solomon, and Maskil le-Etan Naftali ben Avraham. 1945. Sefer Seder Ha-Dorot: Ḳore Ha-Dorot Mi-Rosh Yemot ʻolam. Bergn Belzn: nidpas ʻa.y. ha-avrekh Nisan Lezer mi-Brigel.
- Brief description: Published in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp, after 1945.
-
Klausner, Abraham J, Y. D Sheynzon, and Adler Miklós. 1946. Passover Seder Service: Deutsches Theatre Restaurant; Munich, Germany, April 15-16, 1946. Minkhen: Histadrut tsiyonit aḥidah ṿe-Noḥam be-Germanyah.
- Brief description: This hagadah, described as a supplement (musaf) to the traditional text, was written by Y. D. Sheynzon, who later became a Jewish educator in Montreal. He also illustrated the vignettes and borders.
-
Lewin, Ossi. 1946. Almanac-Shanghai, 1946-1947. Shanghai: Shanghai Echo.
- Brief description: Includes topics such as UNRRA in China, repatriation of emigrants, as well as a directory of Jews in Shanghai that also lists city of origin as a way to help survivors to locate friends and family.
-
Maimonides, Moses. 1947. Mishneh Torah Hu Ha-Yad Ha-Ḥazaḳah. Minkhn: Sinai shel ha-aḥim Langer.
- Brief description: Reprint of a miniature edition of Maimonides's classic on Jewish law for the layman. Printing authorized by Headquarters, European Command Civil Affairs Division, the United States Command in Europe, "EUCOM" [15 March 1947–1 August 1952].
-
Masekhet Nedarim Min Talmud Bavli: ʻim Kol Ha-Mefarshim Kaʼasher Nidpas Mi-Ḳedem Ṿe-ʻim Hosafot Ḥadashot Ke-Movoʼar Be-Shaʻar Ha-Sheni. 1946. Minkhen-Sṭ. Oṭilien: Ṿaʻad agudat ha-rabanim be-ezor ha-Ameriḳai be-Ashkenaz be-siyuʻa Ṿaʻad ha-hatsalah ʻa.y. Agu. ha-r. de-Ar.ha-B. ṿe-Ḳanadah.
- Brief description: This edition appears to be the trial edition for the complete set, printed two years later and listed above. It has a similarly illustrated title page. The introduction describes the longing of survivors for the Jewish books and the location of this tractate, upon which this photo-offset edition was based.
-
Moschkovitsch, Hermann. 1946. Sefer Otiyot De-Rabi ʼaḳiva ...: Meḥabroha-Hu Rabi ʻaḳiva, Ha-Doresh ... Kitre Otiyot Sheba-Torah. Marghiṭa: Tsevi Moʹsḳoṿiṭs.
- Brief description: Book on mysticism and religious aspects of the Hebrew alphabet.
-
Oyf Der Fray. 1946. Shṭuṭgarṭ: Aroysgegebn in Tsenṭer fun di Bafrayṭe Yidn in Shṭutgarṭ.
- Brief description: Holocaust survivors in Germany and their rebuilding of all aspects of community life, published in Displaced Persons Centre Stuttgart.
-
Panner, Itzhak, and Eliezer Frenkel. 1945. Antologhie Fin Der Naier Idişer Dihtung. Ias: Farlag Idişer Kultur Kraiz "I. L. Peretz".
- Brief description: A collection of Yiddish poetry world-wide, including the work of Canadian writer and Holocaust survivor Rachel H. Korn.
-
Radomsk, Solomon ha-Kohen Rabinowich of. 1946. Sefer Tifʼeret Shelomoh ʻal Ha-Zemanim U-Moʻadim. Fernṿald: Shaʼul Huṭṭerer.
- Brief description: Jews who found themselves in the Displaced Persons Camp for Jews in Fernwald began printing Hebrew books. This printer dedicated the book in memory of his parents and others who perished in the Holocaust.
- Seder Tefilah Ṿe-Taḥanunim Be-Maʼamar Ha-Melekh Yar. H. Li-Teshuʻat Tsivaʼotenu U-Tsevaʼot Anshe Britenu, Yom 1. Ki Tavo, Hu Ḥamesh Shanim Me-ʻet Partsah Ha-Milḥamah: Order of Service for the National Day of Prayer and Dedication on the Fifth Anniversary of the Outbreak of Hostilities, Sunday, September 3, 1944-5704. 1940. London: Office of the Chief Rabbi.
-
Seder Tefilah Tiḳṿat Yiʹsraʼel: Kolel Tefilot Le-Khol Yemot Ha-Shanah Ṿe-Tefilot Ke-Sidran Le-Shabat Yoṭ. Ṿe-Yamim Noraʼim, Ha-Kol Be-Otiyot Gedolot. 1946. Cleveland: hotsaʼah meyuḥedet me-et Mosad Ḳeren Shapira.
- Brief description: Printed dedication in Hebrew stating that this prayer book is a present of American Jewry to Holocaust survivors through the agency of the Joint Distribution Committee.
-
Sheynzon, Yosef Dov. 2000. A Survivors' Haggadah. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
- Brief description: An annotated edition of the above hagadah (Sefer Tefilah) that also has an English translation. The woodcuts depict conditions in labour camps during the Holocaust.
-
Smart, Tom. 2003. Alex Colville: Return. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
- Brief description: Curator and author, Smart, argues that Colville's experiences as a war painter, admitted to Bergen-Belsen as it was being liberated, had an everlasting impact on his life and art.
-
Tsenṭral ḳomiṭeṭ fun di bafrayṭe Yidn in der Ameriḳaner zone. 1947. Undzer Ṿeg: Our Way: Algemeyne-Yidishe Tsayṭung in Goleʹs Dayṭshland. Munich: Ts. ḳ. fun di bafrayṭ Yidn in der Ameriḳaner zone.
- Brief description: Holocaust survivors.
-
Ṿaʻ ad agudat ha-Rabanim be-ezor ha-Ameriḳaʼi be-Ashkenaz. 1948. Talmud Bavli: ʻim Kol Ha-Mefarshim Ke-Asher Nidpas Mi-Ḳedem Ṿe-ʻim Hosafot Ḥadashot Ke-Mevoʼar Ba-Shaʻar Ha-Sheni. Minkhen-Haidelberg: Ṿaʻ ad Agudat ha-Rabanim be-ezor ha-Ameriḳaʼi be- Ashkenaz, be-siyuʻa shilṭon ha-tsava de-Artsot ha-Berit ṿeha-Dzoynṭ be-Germanya.
- Brief description: First complete Talmud printed in postwar Europe. Special edition published in the American zone in Germany for the benefit of Jews in displaced persons camps. The illustrated title page depicts the Holocaust and slavery of Israelites in Egypt to the Redemption of the Jewish people and the Return to the Land of Israel. There is also a printed dedication in English to the U.S. Army thanking them for their role in the rescue of the Jewish people.
-
Vaad Hatzala (New York, N.Y.), and Yeshivat Meʼor ha-golah in Roym. 1946. Di Yudishe Froy: Broshur Geṿidmeṭ Der Heyliḳayṭ Fun Yudishen Familien Leben (ṭahares̀ Ha-Mishpokheh). Roym: Tsuzamengeshṭelṭ un redagirṭ durkh hanhalat Yeshivat Meʼor ha-golah in Roym bay der finansieler miṭhilf fun Ṿaad hatsoleh.
- Brief description: This brochure, produced by the re-established Yeshivat Meor ha-golah in Rome, 1946, aimed to re-establish traditional Jewish life by discussing the holiness of family life and the laws pertaining to the ritual immersion of women in the mikveh.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Arrival in Canada
Working with the International Refugee Organization, Canada accepted large numbers of survivors, whose integration made significant contributions to postwar Canadian society.
Government records
Table 18: List of government records pertaining to the arrival in Canada
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, 1943-1948. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 1;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 2;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 3;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 4;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 5;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 6;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 7;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 8;
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2112, file AR 408/1, part 9
|
Open |
Admission to Canada of certain classes of Emigrants from Western Europe – Intergovernmental, 1946-1951. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2113, file AR 408/4, part 1-4 |
Open |
Refugees – General, 1946-1948. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2113, file 408/5 |
Open |
Revised regulations governing Canadian Immigration Policy, 1947. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2119, file AR 444/1 |
Open |
UN organizations - Committee on Refugees and Displaced Persons established by Economic and Social Council. File block 5475-T-40. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3687, file 5475-T-40;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3687, file 5475-T-40, part 1, 1-FP, 2, 3;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3688, file 5475-T-40, parts 4-9;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 6280, file 5475-T-40, parts 10.1 and 10.2;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 6281, file 5475-T-40, parts 11.1 and 11.2;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 8118, file 5475-T-40, part FP;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 8118, file 5475-T-40, parts 18.1 and 18.2;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 6923, file 5475-T-40, part 19
|
Restrictions vary |
Department of External Affairs, files on refugees and displaced persons. |
RG25, vol. 5103, file: 5127-40
|
Restricted by law |
International Organization for placement of war orphans – Plans re., 1945-1956. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3805, file 8373-40, part 1 |
Restricted by law |
Liaison Division, Department of National War Services, 1941-1961. |
RG26-B-1, vols. 10-12 |
Open |
Committee records, Department of Citizenship and Immigration, 1947-1958. |
RG26-A-2-c, vols. 72-73 |
Open |
United Nations General File [Press releases from United Nations Press Division, United Nations General Assembly releases re: immigration of displaced persons and refugees… related material], 1947-1957. |
RG26-A-1-a, vol. 81, file 1-24-13, file part 1 |
Open |
Reception and Care of Canadian Deportees from the United States and from Other Countries, 1948-1957. |
RG26-A-1-c, vol. 121, file 3-29-3 |
Open |
Jewish Immigration [with pamphlet by the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society], 1947-1957. |
RG26-A-1-c, vol. 123, file 3-32-14 |
Open |
Admission to Canada from Poland [with some lists of Polish immigrants], 1946-1957. |
RG26-A-1-c, vol. 129, file 3-33-26 |
Open |
Immigration from Austria, 1958-1968. |
RG26-A-1-c, vol. 124, file 3-33-4, part 2 |
Open |
Displaced Persons - Skilled craftsmen for the Clothing Industry, 1946-1948. |
RG27-Q-1, vol. 278, file 1-26-5 |
Restricted by law |
Displaced Persons - Skilled craftsmen for the Clothing Industry, 1948-1953. |
RG27-Q-1, vol. 279, file 1-26-5-1 |
Restricted by law |
Skilled Craftsmen for the Clothing Industry - Fur Workers, 1947-1953. |
RG27-Q-1, vol. 279, file 1-26-5-2 |
Restricted by law |
Immigration to Canada of Jews from Europe, 1937-1940. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 391, file 541782, part 5, microfilm C-10285 |
Open |
Immigration to Canada of Jews from Europe (Pamphlets), 1940-1949. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 391, file 541782, part 6, microfilm C-10285 |
Open |
Canadian Jewish Congress, 1947-1953. |
RG76-I-A-1, vol. 660, file B65714, microfilm C-10595 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Private records
Table 19: List of private records pertaining to the arrival in Canada
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Jewish Immigrant Aid Services fonds. |
MG28-V38/R3533 |
Restrictions vary |
Canadian Council of Churches – Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Canada, 1954-1966. |
MG28-I10, vol. 186, file 17 |
Open |
Jewish Family Services of the Baron de Hirsch Institute fonds. |
MG28-V86/R3288 |
Restrictions vary |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
Audiovisual Accounts of Holocaust Survivors
Table 20: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Canadian Jewish Congress fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Voices of Survival. 1988 |
Acc. 1998-0102, ISN 282522 No consultation copy |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 21: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Emil L. Fackenheim fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Don Harron's Morningside.
Interviews with Emil Fackenheim, Regina Eisenstein, Paul Trepman, 1978.
|
Acc. 1978-0188, ISN 435881
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Interview of Emil Fackenheim by Eric Koch, 1978. |
Acc. 1979-0057, ISN 435453
Consultation copy number: A1 2020-02-0007
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 22: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the CBC
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Return to Buchach. [Documentary about Mina Fosner] |
Acc. 1992-0197, ISN 200461
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
The Fifth Estate. [Includes interview with Henry Morgentaler] 1977. |
Acc. 1985-0397, ISN 6450
Consultation copies: V1 8510-0029; V1 9309-0042
|
Open |
Take 30. [Interview with Henry Morgantaler] 1974. |
Acc. 1978-0316, ISN 171823
Consultation copy: V1 7905-0021
|
Open |
Man Alive. [Includes interview of Jack Kuper] 1967. |
Acc. 1986-0810, ISN 79732
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 23: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Tom Fulton fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Sunday Edition : On the Arts. [Interview with Jack Kuper] 1989. |
Acc. 2000-0038, ISN 315743
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 24: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Colin Strayer fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Iskowitz. [Documentary about Gershon Iskowitz] 1982/1987. |
Acc. 1992-0097, ISN 194563
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 25: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Anna Heilman fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Heilman, Anna – Interview (Unlikely Heroes: [excerpt]), 2002. |
Acc. 2006-0013, ISN 370725
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Heilman, Anna – Interview. 1994. |
Acc. 2006-0013, ISN 370729
Consultation copies: V1 2008-10-0025 V1 2008-10-0051
|
Open |
Heilman, Anna - Interview Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. 1996. |
Acc. 2006-0013, ISN 370726
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Heilman, Anna – Reminiscence. 1997. |
Acc. 2006-0013, ISN 370727
Consultation copy: V1 2008-10-0023
|
Open |
Heilman, Anna – Interview. 1997. |
Acc. 2006-0013, ISN 370728
Consultation copy: V1 2008-10-0023
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 26: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Henry Morgentaler fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Morgentaler, Henry – Entrevue. 1995. |
Acc. 2001-0019, ISN 324943
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 27: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Kati Vita fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Morgentaler, Henry – Interview. 1966. |
Acc. 2002-0094, ISN 337227
Consultation copy: A1 2005-06-0068
|
Open |
Rosenfarb, Chava – Interview. 1968. |
Acc. 2002-0094, ISN 337274
Consultation copy: A1 2005-07-0024
|
Open |
Treblinka Feature. 1965. |
Acc. 2002-0094, ISN 337343
Consultation copy: A1 2005-09-0016
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 28: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Charles G. Roland fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Pernal, Eugenia – Interview. 1987. |
Acc. 1989-0379, ISN 136059
No consultation copy
|
Restricted by creator/donor |
Wygodzka, B.J. – Interview. 1988. |
Acc. 1990-0135, ISN 154781
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 29: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the Sol Littman fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Rauchwerger Abraham – Reminiscence. 1987. |
Acc. 2006-0008, ISN 370609
No consultation copy
|
Restricted by creator/donor |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 30: List of audiovisual accounts of Holocaust survivors from the A.M. Klein fonds
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Martyrs and Heroes. [Speech by A.M. Klein] |
Acc. 1973-0081, ISN 228615
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Ethnicity and Sculpture. [Featuring sculptors Gina Tannenbaum and Misha Frid.] 1986. |
Acc. 1993-0300, ISN 218497
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Voice of the Pioneer. Mandelkern, Ben – Interview. 1988. |
Acc. 1989-0460, ISN 142813
Consultation copy: A1 9812-0018
|
Open |
Jaworski, Tadeusz – Reminiscence. 1985. |
Acc. 2006-0008, ISN 370607
No consultation copy
|
Restricted by donor |
Life and Times: Encounters with Moses. [Documentary on Moses Znaimer] 2006. |
Acc. 2008-0044, ISN 427342
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
This section contains publications by or about individuals listed in the above section on audiovisual archival material as they pertain to the Holocaust. Where applicable, some published references are listed elsewhere – (e.g. Fackenheim's works are in the Holocaust studies and Jewish response section). A search under the name in Aurora will yield the complete works by the author in LAC's holdings.
- Kuper, Jack. 2006. Child of the Holocaust. Toronto: Key Porter Books.
- Mandelkern, Benjamin and Mark Czarnecki. 1988. Escape from the Nazis. Toronto: J. Lorimer.
- Martz, Fraidie and Andrew Wilson. 2011. A Fiery Soul: The Life and Theatrical Times of John Hirsch. Montréal: Véhicule Press.
- Rackover, Suzanne Beth. 2003. “The Holocaust Art of Gershon Iskowitz, Isaac Applebaum and Yehouda Chaki: A Critical Approach in Relation to the Philosophical Writings of Emmanuel Levinas, Hannah Arendt and Julia Kristeva.” Dissertation, Concordia University.
- Rosenfarb, Chava. 2013. Exile at Last: Selected Poems. Edited by Michael Mirolla and Goldie Morgentaler. First ed. Essential Poets Series, 198. Toronto: Guernica.
- Rosenfarb, Chava. 2004. Survivors: Seven Short Stories. Translated by Goldie Morgentaler. Toronto, ON: Cormorant Books.
- Heilman, Anna. 2001. Never Far Away: The Auschwitz Chronicles of Anna Heilman. Edited by Sheldon Schwartz. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published reminiscences of Holocaust survivors
This section contains some published reminiscences of Holocaust survivors in Canada not mentioned elsewhere in this guide. In the case of a series or a publisher specializing in Holocaust memoirs, a search in Aurora under the series title or name of publisher would yield the complete holdings, whereas only one or two citations from each group are listed below.
-
Azrieli series of Holocaust survivor memoirs. Toronto: Azrieli Foundation
- The majority of the Azrieli titles are available in English and in French.
- Dick, Tommy. 2007. Getting Out Alive: A Memoir. Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs. Series I. Toronto: Azrieli Foundation.
- Dick, Tommy. Objectif: Survivre. Traduit par Aurélien Bonin. La Collection Azrieli des Mémoires de Survivants de L'Holocauste. Deuxième Série. Toronto: Fondation Azrieli.
- Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies, and Concordia University Chair in Canadian Jewish Studies. 1999. Memoirs of Holocaust Survivors in Canada. Montreal: A publication of the Concordia University Chair in Canadian Jewish Studies and the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies.
-
Polish-Jewish Heritage Foundation of Canada in Montreal.
-
Montreal publisher of memoirs published in English, French or Polish. An example of one its publications:
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Holocaust Assets and Restitution
Government records
At the end of the War, by international agreement, assets belonging to individuals persecuted by the Nazis were to be returned to their rightful owners or heirs. It is well documented that the enormity of the Holocaust, followed by the subsequent nationalization of property in Eastern Europe, presented serious obstacles to the fulfillment of this agreement. Nevertheless, many files within the Records of the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, now preserved by LAC, document the theft of property by Axis powers and the efforts by owners and heirs to seek compensation.
The challenge for the researcher is that the organization of these files by the Custodian does not differentiate between Canadians and foreign nationals, or those holding Canadian property and those holding property in enemy territories. The claims of many Jewish families are documented in these files, including the Ephrussis, the Rothschilds, and the Bloch-Bauers. Therefore, the researcher needs to identify the name of the property holder and search this fond by that name.
Table 31: List of government records about Holocaust assets and restitution
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Claims files, War Claims Branch, 1933-1977. |
RG117-D-2, vols. 285-615 |
Open |
Case files, Headquarters, 1939-1976. |
RG117-A-3, vols. 616-2830 |
Restrictions vary |
International Claims series relating to the War Claims Commission, the Foreign Claims Commission and the Custodian of Foreign Property, 1916-2001, predominant 1942-1988. |
R200, vols. 7048-7117 |
Restrictions vary |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Private records
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Looted and heirless books
The Nazi's seizure of Jewish books and religious articles began in the late 1930s in Germany and was extended to the occupied territories. In 1940, Alfred Rosenberg was appointed by Hitler to develop a library to collect "enemy" materials for the planned educational and research institute of the Party, Hohe Schule, to be located in Chiemsee in Bavaria. Seized books designated for collection were often kept in storage in Germany such as at the Archival Depot in Offenbach.
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the Offenbach Archival Depot was a central collecting and distributing point of books and other cultural materials in the American Zone of Germany. Jewish Cultural Reconstruction, an umbrella organization that included leading Jewish Studies scholars, identified collections and, where possible, returned them to institutions that continued to exist such as the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana in Amsterdam. The heirless cultural materials, many of which had belonged to individuals, were distributed to institutions and Jewish communities worldwide, including to the Canadian Jewish Congress. The Canadian Jewish Congress, in turn, distributed materials within Canada, such as the Winnipeg Jewish Public Library, and which were later donated to the Lowy Collection.
-
Stamp of Bibliothek Reichsinstitute für Geschichte des neuen Deutschlands, with Reichsadler and Swastika
-
Stamp of Offenbach Archival Depot
- Hannover, Nathan Nata, Jacob Shatzky, Jacob Zeʼev Wolf Latzki-Bertholdi, and Y. Izraelson. 1938. Gezeres̀ Taḥ. Ṿilne: Biblioṭeḳ fun Yiṿo.
- Menahem Nahum, Simhah Zimel bar, and Menahem Mannes Romm. 1844. Ḳinot Le-Tishʻah Be-Av Ke-Minhag Polin ʻim Ṭayṭsh Ketav ʻivri Ṿe-Neḳudot. Ṿilna: bi-defus Menaḥem Man b.R. Barukh ṿe-ʹSimḥah Ziml b.R. Menaḥem Naḥum.
-
Stamp of Offenbach Archival Depot and Canadian Jewish Congress Plate
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Canadian Jewish Congress Plates
- Mendelssohn, Moses, Moses Israel Landau, and Abraham Benisch. 1832. Sifre Ḳodesh ʻim Targumim Uve-ʼurim Mi-Meḥabrim Shonim. Prag: Druck und Verlag des M.J. Landau.
- Crescas, Ḥasdai, Hayim Yirmeyahu ben Avraham Flensberg, and Sheraga Faiṿl Garber. 1904. Sefer or H. Ṿilna: bi-defus Sheraga Faiṿl Garber.
- Harkavy, Elhanan. 1903. Sefer Dor Yesharim: Kolel Seder Ha-Yaḥaʹs Le-Mishpaḥat Harḳaṿi (Harkavi): Ḳorot Yeme Ha-Anashim Ha-Metsuyanim Be-Doroteha Ha-Rishonim, Ṿe-Toldot Ḥakhameha ... Ha-Baʼim Aḥarehem, Peʻulotehem ʻal ʹsede Ha-Sifrut. Nuyorḳ: Elḥanan Harḳaṿy.
- Alfasi, Isaac ben Jacob. n.d. Hilkhot Rav Alfas: Hen Hineh Halakhot Pesuḳot Ha-Nikhlalot Ba-Talmud Bavli Ha-Gadol Asher Asfan ... Ṿe-Ḥibran Le-Talmud Ḳaṭan. nidpas be- Amʹsterdam: s.n.
- Ibn-Zahav, Ari. 1928. Yeme Daṿid: Roman Histori, Sefer 3. Shemesh ʻad Mevoʼo. Yerushalayim: Mitspeh Yerushalayim.
- Hirsch, Samson Raphael, and Mosheh Zalman ben Shemu'el Hilel Ahrenzohn. 1892. Sefer horev: Yekhalkel koshet ve-Dat U-Metav Higayon Be-hovot Ha-Yisre'eli Ha-Bilti Telu'im Be-Erets Yerushato, La-aSot Et Kol Divre Ha-Torah veha-Mitsvah : Maarkhot Ha-Mishpatim, Ha-hukim, Ha-Mitsvot, veha-avodah. Vilna: Bi-defus ha-almanah veha-ahim Rom.
- Meyouhas, Joseph. 1927. Yalde ʻarav: [Sefer Ha-Agadot]. Tel-Aviv: Devir.
- Rossi, Azariah ben Moses dei, Isaac Benjacob, et Leopold Zunz. 1863. Sefer Meor enayim. Kiryat Sefer Le-hokhmat Yisrael. Vilna: Yatsa la-or a. y. Yitshak Aizik Ben Yaakov veha-nilvim alav Vilna.
- Rubinshtain, Shmuel Mosheh ben Yitshak. 1932. Sefer Torat Ha-Ḳabalah Kolel Yesode Torah Shebe-ʻal Peh ...ʻim Mavo Ha-Talmud Ṿeha-Sefer Be-Shem Ha-Midrash, Ḥeleḳ 1. Ṿarsha: bi-defus ha-ḥashmali ʻa.y. Ari. Yehudah Leb Lifshits.
- Smolenskin, Perez. 1905. Ha-Toʻeh Be-Darkhe Ha-Ḥayim, O, Toldot Yosef Ha-Yatom Me-ʻir Madmenah: Sipur Be-Arabaʻah Ḥalaḳim, Ḥeleḳ 3. Kol Sifre Perets Ben Mosheh Smolensḳi. Ṿilna: be-hotsaʼat Bet misḥar ha-sefarim Mordekhai Ḳatsenelenbogen.
- Tsifroni, Avraham. 1932. Leshonenu: Rivʻon Le-ʻinyne Ha-Lashon Ha-ʻivrit. Tel Aviv: Ṿaʻad ha-lashon ha-ʻIvrit be-Erets Yiʹsraʼel.
- Wohlgemuth, Juda Ari. 1937. Yesodot Ḥinukh Ha-Dat Le-Dor: Sefer Shimushi Meyusad ʻal ʻiyun Ba-Torah U-Meḥḳar Be-Madʻa Le-Morim, Le-Madrikhe-Noʻar Ule-Horim Meʻunyanim. Rigah: Juda Ari Wohlgemuth.
- Young, William Henry. 1921. Der kleyner geometer: ershter kurs fun geometrie. Drezden: Vostok.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Nazi War Criminals in Canada and Abroad
Government and prime ministerial records
Table 33: List of government records about Nazi war criminals in Canada and abroad
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
War Criminals, 1942-1945. |
RG2-B-2, vol. 12, file W-41 |
Open |
War Criminals, 1942-1948. |
RG2-B-2, vol. 120, file W-41 |
Open |
Bulgarian and German atrocities in Yugoslav, 1942-1948. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3034, file 4079-40 |
Open |
German atrocities in Czechoslovakia, 1943-1960. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3034, file 4079-B-40 |
Open |
German atrocities in Poland, 1942-1948. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3034, file 4079-E-40 |
Open |
German atrocities in Lithuania, 1944. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3034, file 4079-G-40 |
Open |
War criminal trials – reaction from the public, 1946. |
RG24 -C-1-a, vol. 2053, file HQS-54-27-1-93 |
Open |
No.1 War Crimes Investigation Unit, 1945-1946. |
RG24-C-26, vols. 5300-5301 |
Open |
Privileged Documents [… affidavit of W.E. Harris in case of Jacques Duge de Bernonville v. J.M. Langlois; -… other materials], 1942-1951. |
RG26-A-2-a, vol. 70, file 37 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 34: List of Prosecution, Conference and Regulation Case Files of the Department of Justice
Description |
File Number |
Status |
Jacques Dugé de Bernonville – Board of Inquiry Under Immigration Act. Proposed deportation to France for alleged collaboration with the Germans during World War II – Conviction in France of treason par contumace. Statutes: Immigration Act RSC 1927, C93, S3(d)&(r); Quebec Habeas Corpus Act RSQ 1941, C340, S3, S4, S6. 1948-1953. |
RG13, BAN 2000-01038-5, box 20, file HQCRI-1-154708, part 1;
RG13, BAN 2000-01038-5, box 20, file HQCRI-1-154708, part 2;
RG13, BAN 2000-01038-5, box 21, file HQCRI-1-154708, part POC 1
|
Restricted by law |
Jacques Dugé de Bernonville – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to contest the validity of the Department of Immigration order for his deportation to France. Previous sentence in France for collaboration with the Nazis - War Criminal. 1951-1952. |
RG13, BAN 2000-01038-5, box 22, file HQCRI-1-160576, part 1 |
Restricted by law |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 36: Relevant Louis St. Laurent correspondence
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Louis St. Laurent correspondence: Immigration – cases, 1947. |
MG26-L/R11214, vol. 13, file 70-E |
Open |
Louis St. Laurent correspondence: Department of External Affairs -
General - Mr. St-Laurent's signature - Count Jacques De Bernonville, 1948-1949.
|
MG26-L/R11214, vol. 43, file D-12-D |
Open |
Louis St. Laurent correspondence: Department of External Affairs -
Secret - Count Jacques de Bernonville, 1948-1949.
|
MG26-L/R11214, vol. 43, file D-12-D |
Open |
Louis St. Laurent correspondence: Nominal: Bernonville, Jacques, 1951 . |
MG26-L/R11214, vol. 237 |
Open |
Louis St. Laurent correspondence: Immigration – Mr. St-Laurent's signature – French Collaborators, 1949-1951. |
MG26-L/R11214, vol. 115, file I-20-F |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Table 37: Other relevant government documents
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
United Nations War Crimes Commission, 1944-1947. |
RG25-E-2-a, vols. 952-954 |
Open |
War Crimes documents, 1945-1946. |
RG25-E-2-b, vols. 1001, 2607-2709 |
Open |
General intelligence records, 1936-1945. |
RG25, Acc. 1977-78/087, vols. 1-14 |
Restrictions vary |
United Nations – War Crimes Commission (UNWCC), 1942-1949. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2108, file AR 405/4, part 1 |
Open |
United Nations War Crimes Commission – National Offices Conference, 1945. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2109, file AR 405/4/6 |
Open |
Status of Jacques de Bernonville, 1948-1950. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2122, file AR 1179/1 |
Restricted by law |
Dr. Ferdinand Durcansky - ex-Vice-Chairman of the Slovak-German Society, 1950-1951. |
RG25-B-1-k, vol. 2123, file AR 1231/1 |
Restricted by law |
War Crimes and Criminals – General, 1946-1950. |
RG25-B-2, vol. 2143, file 852 Part 1 |
Open |
United Nations - International Court of Justice, 1948. |
RG25-B-2, vol. 2155, file part 1 |
Open |
War Crimes - Secret Files, 1944. |
RG25-B-2, vol. 2459, file W60 |
Open |
Establishment of International Court for the trial of war criminals and International Military Tribunal for trial of major war criminals - Proposals, 1946-1952. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 6200, file 4896-40, part 2 |
Open |
War - Proposals for Atrocities Commission, 1941-1945. |
RG25-A-2, vol. 821, file 696, microfilm T-2204 |
Open |
Suspected war criminals – General, 1962-1963. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 2487, file 102-DLP-40 |
Restricted by law |
Intelligence Investigations – Suspected Collaborators, 1945. |
RG24-C, vol. 2269, file HQS-11-2, part 1 |
Restricted by law |
Trials of collaborationists in France - Reports re., 1945-1950. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3751, file 7233-40, part 1 |
Open |
Trials in Belgium of collaborators with enemy forces -
Information provided by Canadians for use in trials, 1945-1948.
|
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3809, file 8384-40, part 1 |
Open |
Service in enemy forces-status, assistance immigration of persons who have been in services of enemy govts - Policy & regulations, 1947-1951. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3556, file 939-C-40, part 1 |
Restricted by law |
Service in enemy forces - Status, assistance, immigration, etc., of persons who have been in the services of enemy governments - Policy and regulations file, 1952- |
RG25, vol. 6341, file 939-C-40, part 2 |
Restricted by law |
U.N. War Crimes Commission – Establishment and activities, 1942-1959. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3032, file 4060-40, part 1;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3033, file 4060-40, parts 2-4;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3640, file 4060-40, parts 5-9;
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3641, file 4060-40, part 10;
RG25-A-3-b, vol 6196, file 4060-40, part 11
|
Open |
Establishment of international court for the trial of war criminals and international military tribunal for trial of major war criminals - Proposals, 1943-1946. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3182, file 4896-40, part 1 |
Open |
Establishment of international court for the trial of war criminals and international military tribunal for trial of major war criminals – Proposals [pocket], 1943-1946. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3183, file 4896-40 |
Restricted by law |
Investigation of I.G. Farben, 1945-1962. |
RG25-A-3-b, vol. 3793, file 8216-40, part 1 |
Open |
Deputy Minister's registry files: immigration (block 3). |
RG26-A-1-c |
Restrictions vary |
Example of file in Deputy Minister's registry files: immigration (block 3) series:
Enemy Aliens - Admission to Canada of, 1940-1951.
|
RG26-A-1-d, vol. 151, file 3-32-11 |
Open |
Censorship rpts - 21 A Gp 16 Apr/31 Jul 45 (3 vols.) 153/Censor Reports/1/3) 1945. |
RG24-G-3-1-a, vol. 10548, file 215A21.023 (D2) |
Open |
ATROCITIES & WAR CRIMES, Enemy (Nov 45) - Misc infm re: including, Instrs for Firing Squads; Reports of atrocities - "Wanted" persons, etc.; Alleged murder of Brit Paratroops on "D" Day at Herouvillette, Calvados, France, etc. (104/SECURITY/1-2) 1945. |
RG24-G-3-1-a, vol. 10566, file 215C1. (D13) |
Open |
ENEMY NATIONALISTS (Oct/Nov 45) - Infm re War Crimes, "Wanted" Persons Lists. (104/SECURITY/1-4) 1945. |
RG24-G-3-1-a, vol. 10566, file 215C1. (D15) |
Open |
PW CAMPS - Lists of Forced Labor, PW and Internment Camps in Germany, Austria & Poland, also Camp strengths and Locations, 1944-45 (59-17-1/Int), 1944-1945. |
RG24-G-3-1-a, vol. 10717, file 215C1.98 (D408) |
Open |
WAR CRIMINALS - Corresp, msgs, instrs, lists of wanted persons, policy etc war criminals - May/Nov 45 various sources. - (145/War Criminals/1) 1945. |
RG24-G-3-1-a, vol. 10738, file 219C1.009 (D217) |
Open |
Report of Special Investigations [Reports on investigations into travel bureau and agents dealing with immigration and persons assisting with immigrationl transcripts of interrogations of persons involved in immigration irregularities], 1953-1955. |
RG26-A-1-a, vol. 85, file 1-37-8, part 1 |
Open |
RCMP Surveillance Intelligence, War Criminal Gestapo, 1974-1979. |
RG73-A/R1184, vol. 903, file 11-97, part 1 |
Restricted by law |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Private records
Table 38: List of private records about Nazi war criminals in Canada and abroad
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Marie-Claire Daveluy fonds
"Rumilly, Robert." 1935-1952 Correspondance related to Jacques de Bernonville.
|
R11856/LMS-0009, vol. 6 file 39 |
Open |
Race relations and subject files, 1957-1985. Herbert S. Levy fonds. |
MG31-H156 /R4193, vols. 6-8 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Sol Littman fonds
Consult the finding aid for more detailed references.
|
R2958 |
Restrictions vary |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals
The Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals, also known as the Deschênes Commission, was an independent commission of inquiry established in 1985 to investigate the charge that a considerable number of Nazi war criminals had gained admittance to Canada through a variety of illegal or fraudulent means. The Commission was headed by Mr. Jules Deschênes, a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Quebec, and it was given wide powers to conduct its investigation, including the power to travel outside Canada. It was responsible for investigating if war criminals were present in Canada and, if so, the means by which they were able to enter.
In September 1986, the Historian of the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals, Alti Rodal, submitted her report titled Nazi War Criminals in Canada: The Historical and Policy Setting from the 1940s to the Present. The report, using archival material, presented the context and evolution of government policies related to immigration, refugees and war criminals from the Second World War to the 1980s. In exploring the presence of war criminals in Canada, Ms. Rodal brought to light the conditions and circumstances that surrounded their arrival in the country and examined the cases of several individuals and groups of individuals who were granted entry.
The report Nazi War Criminals in Canada: The Historical and Policy Setting from the 1940s to the Present, also known as the “Rodal Report,” is available for consultation as part of the Department of Justice fonds (R188, vol. 4196). Please note that the report currently available is a severed version. For reasons of privacy, as well as confidentiality and security, the personal information of individuals who are not linked to war crimes, information subject to professional secrecy and information related to the management of classified material from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have been redacted.
The report of the Commission was submitted to the government at the end of 1986, and the government tabled the public portion of the report [Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals, Part 1: Public] on March 12, 1987, together with its response to the recommendations.
The report recommended amendments to the Criminal Code to make prosecution possible in Canada, amendments to the Extradition Act and treaties of extradition to facilitate removal of individuals sought by foreign countries for war crimes, and amendments to laws and procedures governing denaturalization (removal of citizenship) and deportation.
Government records
Table 39: List of government records about the Commission of Inquiry
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
War Crimes Section, Department of Justice fonds, 1939-2010. |
RG13/R188-119-6-E |
Restricted by law |
War Crimes and Special Investigations Unit, 1985-1995. |
RG18/ R196-192-9-E |
Restricted by law |
Block 21 – Military Actions, 1963-1994.
For “Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals”, consult file block 21-10.
|
RG25-A-3-c/R219-168-7-E |
Restrictions vary |
Nazi War Criminals in Canada: The Historical and Policy Setting from the 1940s to the Present, by Alti Rodal |
R188, vol 4196 |
Open [Most recently revised copy. Severed.] |
NAZI War criminals in Canada: The historical and policy setting from the 1940s to the present- prepared for the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals by Alti Rodal: September 1986 – Rodal, A. |
RG25-A-4, vol. 21930, file 21-10-1 |
Open [Severed copy.] |
Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals fonds, 1985-1986. |
RG33-144/R1079 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Private records
Table 40: List of private records about the Commission of Inquiry
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
John Turner fonds
"Deschenes Commission".
|
MG26-Q7-2/R1288, vol. 4, file 8 |
Closed by creator/donor Restricted by creator/donor |
General and miscellaneous, 1955-1996
(Deschenes Commission, 1985-1986)
Ukrainian Canadian Student Union fonds.
|
MG28 V103/R9107, vol. 52, files 11-12 |
90: Open |
B'nai Brith Canada fonds
"League Studies" on the Deschenes Commission and War Criminals, 1981-1987.
|
MG28 V133/R6348, vols. 107-108 |
Open |
German Canadian Congress fonds
Deschenes Commission and Criminal Code Amendments - correspondence, 1985-1991.
|
MG28-V160/R4459, vol. 39, file 21 |
Open |
David Matas fonds
War crimes series, 1946-1991.
|
MG31 E109/ R5043, vol. 54-60 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
John Sopinka fonds
[86-20-B] Deschênes Inquiry - "Deschênes Commission" Address – Ukranian [sic] Professional & Busines [sic] Club - L'Hôtel - 24 January 1986 - 6:30pm.
|
MG31-E120/R1312, vol. 23, file 2 |
Open |
W. Gunther Plaut fonds
CJC - Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals - Correspondence – Reports, 1985-1986.
|
MG31-F6/R5917, vol. 219, file 18 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
File Deschênes Commission - Correspondence – Information, 1986-1987. |
MG31-F6/R5917, vol. 224, file 7 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Deschênes Commission Report, 1987. |
MG31-F6/R5917, vol. 224, file 8 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Donald Mazankowski fonds
"Priorities and Planning Committee and Planning Sub-Committee," 1987-1988.
|
MG32-B57, vol. 268, file 3;
MG32-B57, vol. 268, file 4;
MG32-B47, vol. 268, file 5;
MG32-B57, vol. 268, file 6;
MG32-B57, vol. 268, file 7
|
Closed by creator/donor |
Michael Wilson fonds
Deschenes Commission, 1985-1987.
|
R1360, vol. 159, file 9 |
Open |
Canadian Civil Liberties Association fonds, Criminal Law – General – Deschenes Commission re War Criminals. |
R9833, vol. 63 file 4 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Paul Yuzyk fonds, Files received in 1986 from Senate. |
MG32-C67/R6782, vols. 63-68 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Holocaust Denial
Government records
Table 41: List of government records about Holocaust denial: Supreme Court of Canada
Description |
File Number |
Status |
Ernst Zundel v. Her Majesty the Queen |
RG125/R927, vol. 7755, file 31775 |
Closed |
Ernst Zundel v. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al. |
RG125/R927, vol. 7268, file 30720 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Her Majesty the Queen |
RG125/R927, vol. 7131, file 30427 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al. |
RG125/R927, vol. 7092, file 30360 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Sabina Citron, et al. |
RG125/R927, vols. 6150-6151, file 28009 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Sabina Citron, et al. |
RG125/R927, vol. 6150, file 28008 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al. |
RG125/R927, vol. 6141, file 27977 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Don Boudria, et al. |
RG125/R927, vol. 6041, file 27655 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration |
RG125/R927, vol. 5661, file 26417 |
Open |
Ernst Zundel v. Her Majesty the Queen |
RG125, vol. 3998, file 21811A;
RG125, vol. 3999, file 21811B;
RG125, vol. 4000, file 21811C
|
Open |
Her Majesty the Queen v. Ernst Zundel |
RG125, vol. 3635, file 20310 |
Open |
Her Majesty the Queen, et al. v. James Keegstra, et al. |
RG125, vol. 4975, file 24296 |
Open |
James Keegstra v. Her Majesty the Queen |
RG125, vol. 4417, file 22455 |
Open |
Her Majesty the Queen v. James Keegstra |
RG125, vol. 3822, file 21118A;
RG125, vol. 3823, file 21118B
|
Open |
Ross v. New Brunswick School District No. 15 (aka Attis v. Human Rights Commission of New Brunswick, et al.) |
RG125, vol. 4873, file 24002 |
Open |
Malcolm Ross v. Minister of Labour, et al. |
RG125, vol. 3951, file 21638 |
Open |
Citron and Toronto Mayor’s Committee on Community and Race Relations v. Ernst Zundel |
RG148, R1226, 2017-00382-4, Box 21 and 22, file T460/1596 |
Restricted by law |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Private records
Table 42: List of private records about Holocaust denial
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Ernst Zundel v. Her Majesty the Queen, et al. (Crim.) (Ont.) (21811) August 27, 1992 [pt 1]. John Sopinka fonds. |
R1312, vol. 12, file 21 |
Closed by creator/donor |
Ernst Zundel v. Her Majesty the Queen, et al. (Crim.) (Ont.) (21811) August 27, 1992 [pt 2]. John Sopinka fonds. |
R1312, vol. 12, file 22 |
Closed by creator/donor |
Holocaust Denial and Historical Revisionism series.
Sol Littman fonds.
|
R2958, vols. 45-50 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Jewish Civil Rights Educational Foundation series.
Bert Raphael fonds.
|
MG31-H189/R4877, vols. 3-5 |
Open |
Race relations and subject files, 1957-1985.
Herbert S. Levy fonds.
|
MG31-H156/R4193, vols. 6-8 |
Restricted by creator/donor |
Cas particuliers - Institute for Historical Review, 1983-1984.
André Ouellet fonds.
|
R11940-4246-3-F, vol. 312, file 10 |
Open |
Cas particuliers - Samisdat Publishers [Ernest Zundel], 1980-1984.
André Ouellet fonds.
|
R11940-4258-X-F, vol. 312, dossiers 22 et 23 |
Open |
Adrien Arcand fonds. |
MG30-D91/R10911-0-9-E |
Restrictions vary |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Audiovisual sources
Table 43: List of audiovisual sources about Holocaust denial
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Charles McLean Show. David Irving and Bernie Farber, 1990. |
Acc. 2006-0008, ISN 370604
No consultation copy
|
Restricted by donor |
W5 – Case of Malcolm Ross, 1988. |
Acc. 1998-0214, ISN 87359
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Forgetting the Holocaust. Canadian Association of Broadcasters, 1994. |
Acc. 1996-0463, ISN 265594.
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Zündel, Ernst - Press Conference, 1998. |
Acc. 2000-0010, ISN 331575
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
Holocaust Studies and Jewish Response
Private records
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published references
Search Aurora under Emil Fackenheim for complete listings:
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Responses in Art, Literature, and Music
Performance
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Audiovisual Sources
Plays, television dramatizations and feature films about the Holocaust
Table 46: List of plays, television dramatizations, and feature films about the Holocaust
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
The Paranormals. Part 2, The Throw of the Dice. CBC Playhouse, 1978. |
Acc. 1980-0106, ISN 256297
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
A Moment in the Light, Midweek Theatre, 1965. |
Acc. 1985-0268, ISN 2150
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Emotional Arithmetic, 2007. |
Acc. 2007-0113, ISN 382552
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Fugitive Pieces, 2007. |
Acc. 2008-0017, ISN 388331
No existing consultation copy
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Documentaries about the Holocaust
Table 47: List of documentaries about the Holocaust
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Raoul Wallenberg Buried Alive, 1984. |
Acc. 1989-0438, ISN 138611
Consultation copy: V1 9801-0003
|
Open |
To Mend the World. Rasky's Gallery: Poets, Painters, Singers and Saints, 1988. |
Acc. 1988-0372, ISN 101778
No consultation copy
|
Open |
A Day in the Warsaw Ghetto - A Birthday Trip in Hell, 1991. |
Acc. 1992-0197, ISN 200462
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Hate and Heroism: The Holocaust 50 Years Later, 1994. |
Acc. 1996-0463, ISN 265593
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Zyklon Portrait, 1999. |
Acc. 2001-0184, ISN 329906
Consultation copy: V1 2002-01-0019
|
Open |
The Boys of Buchenwald: From Darkness into Light, 2001. |
Acc. 2004-0022, ISN 350655
Consultation copy: V1 2004-07-0024
|
Open |
Le Coeur d'Auschwitz, 2008/2010. |
Acc. 2011-0020, ISN 431588
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Choice: The Henry Morgentaler Story. Part 1 of 2, 2003. |
Acc. 2005-0253, ISN 367224
Consultation copy: V1 2005-11-0003
|
Open |
Choice: The Henry Morgentaler Story. Part 2 of 2, 2003. |
Acc. 2005-0253, ISN 367226
No consultation copy
|
Open |
Silent Song, 2001. |
Acc. 2003-0015, ISN 340664
No consultation copy
|
Open |
The Walnut Tree, 2000. |
Acc. 2001-0184, ISN 329907
Consultation copy: V1 2002-01-0019
|
Open |
Inside Hana's Suitcase, 2007. |
Acc. 2009-0072, ISN 419977
Consultation copy: V1 2009-09-0117
|
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Musical Responses to the Holocaust
Classical music
Table 48: List of classical music responses to the Holocaust
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Shekhinah.
Manuscript, musical score for solo viola.
Brian Cherney fonds.
|
R12812, vol. 41, file 6 |
Open |
From the Diary of Anne Frank for voice (soprano or mezzo) and orchestra.
Published annotated musical score for voice and orchestra, see PDF file, nos 262 and 263.
Oskar Morawetz fonds.
|
R4538, MUS 76, vol 12, file 3 |
Open |
From the diary of Anne Frank, Toronto: CBC Records, 2000. |
Sound recording: "From the diary of Anne Frank" OCLC Number/Unique Identifier: 978183517 |
Available |
Glick, Srul Irving. 1998. I never saw another butterfly : a cycle of songs to children's poems (1942-1944) from the concentration camp at Terezin. 2nd ed. Calgary: Alberta Keys Music Pub. |
OCLC Number/Unique Identifier: 70693425 |
Available |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Popular music
Table 49: List of popular music responses to the Holocaust
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. 1984. Grace under pressure. New York: Mercury.
Red Sector A, a song written and performed by the Canadian rock band Rush. The Holocaust song was written after hearing the story of the liberation of lead-singer Geddy Lee’s mother, Manya Rubenstein, from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
|
OCLC Number/Unique Identifier: 1006321690 |
Available |
Tom Cochrane. 1992. Washed Away; Lunatic Fringe: Live. Hollywood, Calif.: Capitol Records.
A song written and performed by the Canadian band Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, it was inspired by the Holocaust and was included on the band’S 1981 album release As Far As Siam.
|
OCLC Number/Unique Identifier: 79865298 |
Available |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Artistic Responses
Table 50: Artistic Responses to the Holocaust
Description |
File Number and Link |
Status |
Sketchbook
William Kurelek fonds
|
MG31-D231/R4640, vol. 16, items 28.1-28.9 |
Open |
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Published References: Literary, Artistic, and Educational Responses to the Holocaust
Literary
- Berlinski, S. 1947. A dor fun Bereshis. Minkhen: [s.n.].
- Brief description: Early fiction about the Holocaust in Yiddish.
- Bialer, Leib. 1949. Oysgetrifte likht: a matseyveh. [Paris]: Aroysgegebn durkh a grupe fraynt.
- Brief description: Poems mourning the losses inflicted upon survivors because of the Holocaust.
- Blumental, Nachman. 1966. Shmuesn vegn der Yidisher literatur unter der Daytsher okupatsye. Buenos-Ayres: Tsentral-farband fun Poylishe Yidn in Argentine.
- Brief description: On Yiddish literature written under Nazi occupation.
- Charney, Daniel. 1950.Lider. Pariz: Farlag fun A. B. Tserata.
- Brief description: Limited edition of plated drawings by Bencjon Benn, a Holocaust survivor.
- Elberg, Yehude, Melech Ravitch, Abraham Aaron Roback, Rachel H. Korn, and I. Efroykin. 1948. Ḳiyem: Ḥoydesh Zshurnal Far Liṭeraṭur, Ḳulṭur Un Gezelshafṭlekhe Problemen. Pariz: Aroysgegebn durkh Ḳulṭurtsenṭer bay der Federatsye fun Yidish gezelshafṭn in Franḳraykh.
- Brief description: Includes works by Yehude Elberg, Rachel H. Korn.
- Knapheys, M. 1948. Megiles Yid: lider, baladn, poemen. Varshe: Farlag "Dos Naye Lebn," .
- Brief description: Poetry and personal narrative of a survivor.
- Rosenfarb, Chava. 1948. Geto un andere lider: oykh fragmentn fun a tog bukh. Montreal: H. Hershman.
- Brief description: Poetry and fragments of a diary.
- Zak, Avraham. 1947. Mit ash oyfn kop. Lodzsh: Farlag "Dos Naye Leben,".
- Brief description : Holocaust poetry.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Visual: early Holocaust photo documentation
- Trepman, Paul, Rafael Olevski, Dawid Rosental, and Central Committee of the Liberated Jews in the British Zone. 1946. Undzer Ḥurbn in Bild. Bergn-Belzn: Aroysgeber Tsenṭal ḳomiṭeṭ fun di bafrayṭe Yidn in der Britisher zone.
- Brief description: Early photo documentation of the Holocaust. Text in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and German.
- Centralna Żydowska Komisja Historyczna w Polsce. 1945. Zagłada Żydostwa Polskiego: Album Zdje̜ć = Extermination of Polish Jews: Album of Pictures. Wydawnictwa Centralnej Żydowskiej Komisji Historycznej Przy C.k. Żydów Polskich, Album 1. Łódż: Centralna Żydowska Komisja Historyczna w Polsce.
- Brief description: Early photo documentation of the Holocaust.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Visual: artistes' books, secondary sources on Holocaust art, etc.
- Novitch, Miriam, Allied Jewish Community Services (Montréal, Quebec), and Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre. 1980. Résistance spirituelle, 1940-1945 : L'art dans les camps de concentration et les ghettos = Spiritual Resistance : Art from Concentration Camps and Ghettos. Montréal: Centre commémoratif de l'Holocauste à Montréal.
- Fournier, Jacques, and Edward Hillel. 1999. Le 6 avril 1944. Montréal: Éditions Roselin.
- ARCHIVÉE - Jacques Fournier et les Éditions Roselin - Galerie des artistes - Livres d'artistes : Une lecture réinventée - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (image on archived LAC website).
- Kashetsky, Herzl, and Tom Smart. 1997. A Prayer for the Dead : The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 16 March - 11 May 1997 : The New Brunswick Museum, 17 May - 4 August 1997. Saint John N.B.: H. Kashetsky.
- Lerner, Loren R. 2002. Afterimage: Evocations of the Holocaust in Contemporary Canadian Arts and Literature. Montréal: Institut des études juives canadiennes de l'Université Concordia.
- Lewis, Stephen. 1984. Art Out of Agony: The Holocaust Theme in Literature, Sculpture and Film. Montréal: CBC Enterprises/les Enterprises Radio-Canada.
- Mendzshitski, Moris. 1950. Dem ondenk fun di martirer un kemfer fun Varshever geto: eyn-un draysik tseykhenungen. Pariz: Oyfsnay.
- Musiol, Marie-Jeanne. 1998. In the Shadow of the Forest: (Auschwitz-Birkenau). Hull, Québec: Marie-Jeanne Musiol.
Please note: The resources listed are intended to be a sampling, not an exhaustive list. Further research may be required.
Educational
- Peli, Moshe. 1963. Gibore ha-geto: pirke kriah le-kitolt ha-nemukhot. New York: Histadruth Ivrith of America; Montreal: Canadian Association for Hebrew Education and Culture.
- Brief description: School book on the Warsaw Ghetto intended for elementary school children learning Hebrew.
General Tools and Sources for Information on the Holocaust
- Skolnik, Fred, and Michael Berenbaum. 2007. Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2nd ed. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale.
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Canadian theses = Thèses canadiennes. Canadian universities voluntarily submit approved theses and dissertations to Theses Canada. The theses are in microform or digital formats. Please consult the Theses Portal.
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You can follow our online instructions to search for theses, adding keywords like “Holocaust” to the instructions to narrow your results to theses like this:
- Edelheit, Abraham J, and Hershel Edelheit. 1986. Bibliography on Holocaust Literature. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
- Gilbert, Martin. 1993. Atlas of the Holocaust. 1st Canadian Ed. Toronto: Lester Publishing.
- Hilberg, Raul. 1961. The Destruction of the European Jews. Chicago: Quadrangle Books.
- Hundert, Gershon David, et Yivo Institute for Jewish Research. 2008. The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Klein, Ruth. 2012. Nazi Germany, Canadian Responses: Confronting Antisemitism in the Shadow of War. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
- Kremer, S. Lillian. 2003. Holocaust Literature: An Encyclopedia of Writers and Their Work. New York: Routledge.
- Marrus, Michael R. 2000. The Holocaust in History. Toronto: Key Porter Books.
- Menkis, Richard, Frieda Miller, and Ronnie Tessler. 2005. Canada Responds to the Holocaust 1944 to 1945. Vancouver, B.C.: Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.
- Rudin, Claire. 1998. Children's Books About the Holocaust: A Selective Annotated Bibliography. Bayside, N.Y.: Holocaust Resource Center & Archives, Queensborough Community College.
- Tyrnauer, Gabrielle. 1989. Gypsies and the Holocaust: A Bibliography and Introductory Essay. Montréal: Interuniversity Centre for European Studies & Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies = Centre interuniversitaire d'études européennes & Institut montréalais des études sur le génocide.