Ellin speaks at the Lodzer Congregation + the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research Toronto branch March 4, 2020

When a young Canadian airman entered the freshly liberated Nazi death camp Bergen Belsen in 1945, he came face to face with the truth about fate of Europe’s Jews under Hitler’s Final Solution. Bernard Delson’s stunning wartime photographs there, and his encounters with the Holocaust survivors, marked him for the rest of his life. Delson was one of the 17,000 Canadian Jewish soldiers who served in WWII and helped defeat Hitler.  As the world prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, author and journalist Ellin Bessner will share Delson’s story, and other stories of how Canada’s fighting Jews acted with great compassion to help the survivors, and rescue the remnants of the Jewish people. Bessner’s book “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military, and WWII” will be available for sale and signing at the event. With special guest Bob Delson.