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Ellin speaks at the Beach Hebrew Institute in Toronto Sunday Nov. 8, 2020 on the eve of Remembrance Day
November 8, 2020 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm EST
As the world commemorates Remembrance Day under COVID-19, Toronto author and journalist Ellin Bessner speaks at the Beaches Hebrew Institute about how Canada’s Jewish community contributed to winning WWII.
Bessner’s book “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII” tells the little known story of the 17,000 Canadians of Jewish faith who put on a uniform, defeated Hitler and rescued the survivors of the Holocaust.
Her research uncovered many important stories about the Fascist supporters in the Beaches area of Toronto at the time, including from the various beach clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as interviews with young Jewish men from the neighbourhood who would go on to enlist.
You will learn more about Lt.-Col. Norman Cohen, who died just a few weeks ago: the former Beaches resident joined the RCAF and flew bombing runs over Germany before being posted to a transport squadron in the jungles of Burma.
Registration is required for the event: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkdu-rrDgsGNEA3GOmeqHluwYcl4-spo3v
Books are available for purchase through all the major bookstores. Click here for a list, including ebooks and paperback.
Participants who have veterans in their families, or are veterans, are encouraged to share their own stories during the Question and Answer period.