Ellin speaks to the United Jewish Peoples’ Order about the soldiers from Canada’s Jewish Left who fought against Hitler in WWII

The Jewish Left in Canada and WWll: From Outlaws Behind Bars to the Front Lines.
While Canada’s 17,000 Jewish fighters who served in the Second World War faced great personal risk should they be captured by the Nazis and identified as Jewish, a small group from Canada’s labour movement and the Left first had to fight the Canadian government. After the outbreak of the war in 1939, Canada outlawed Communist newspapers and jailed many of those affiliated with the movement, including anti-Fascists like Dick Steele and Bill Walsh, the Binders, Muni Erlich, and more. It took years until the government relented and freed these detainees, allowed them to enlist and head overseas to help the Canadian war effort. Yet even there, they were still suspected of disloyalty. It is a fascinating story that has never been told so comprehensively before. Journalist Ellin Bessner, the author of “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military, and WWII” visits the Winchevsky Centre on Friday Nov. 8, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss how dozens of outlawed Jewish union leaders, Communists and the Jewish Left fought for Canada to help defeat Hitler in WWII, and rescue the survivors of the Holocaust. Books will be available for sale and signing at the event.