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Ellin speaks about ‘Jewish women in the Canadian military in WWII’ to the P.A.L. Group in Toronto
October 7, 2019 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm EDT
Esther Thorley (nee Bubis) of Toronto enlisted in the Canadian Army in the Second World War after her brother Meyer was killed at Dieppe. Rose Goodman of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia enlisted in the fall of 1941, as soon as Canada allowed women to put on a uniform and serve their country in the RCAF Women’s Division. In all, some 270 Canadian Jewish women served during WWII, and although they earned less than the men, had to wear skirts, no nail polish, and observe strict curfews, and couldn’t carry a gun, they were no less brave and courageous than their fathers, brothers and cousins who joined up to stop Hitler, and rescue the survivors of the Holocaust.
Author and journalist Ellin Bessner delves into the stories of the Canadian Jewish women who bucked their traditional upbringing, disregarded their family and community’s disapproval, and did their part for King and Country.
Wartime photo of Sue (Jacobs) Ransohoff (nee Westheimer), in uniform, in Newfoundland. (Courtesy Sue Ransohoff)