Ellin brings the story of Canada’s fighting WWII Jewish soldiers to Sarnia on Tuesday March 31, 2020

When the Canadian troops began cleaning out the remnants of Nazi Germany’s occupation forces across Holland in the spring and summer of 1945, they were met with joyous welcomes by the Dutch people who had endured starvation and brutality under Hitler’s forces. But the Canadians also came face to face with the truth about the fate of Europe’s Jewish community, as they liberated concentration camps and Nazi death camps from the defeated German guards. As the world prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, journalist and author Ellin Bessner will introduce you to some of the Canadians of Jewish faith who were among the liberators. Bessner’s book “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII”, published by the University of Toronto Press, tells the story of the 17,000 Canadians of Jewish faith who served in WWII, helped defeat Hitler, and rescued the survivors of the Holocaust.  Local soldier Max Berger of Sarnia was also one of the volunteers, but he lost his life on the other side of the world. as a casualty when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong, where Berger has been sent as part of the British Garrison, in 1941. Books will be available for sale and signing.