Jewish Canadian WWII military veterans and PTSD: Ellin speaks at the Survivor Series for the Military Family Resource Centre in Toronto

During Remembrance Month, much attention gets paid to the veterans of Canada’s military, and their service to the country. There are marches, wreath laying at cenotaphs, and solemn ceremonies, among other commemorative events. However, what often isn’t discussed is how the veterans spend the rest of the year out of the spotlight, dealing with the fallout from what they lived through while in uniform. Author and journalist Ellin Bessner has recently published a new book “Double Threat” looking at the experiences of the 17,000 Canadians of Jewish faith who served in WWII. They fought in all the major battles  —  from Hong Kong to D-Day and beyond — and also encountered the survivors of Hitler’s Final Solution. They faced a unique war: they were fighting as Jews in a global conflict where their own brethren were being exterminated across Europe, and at great personal risk should they be caught.  And there was widespread anti-Semitism at home, in the barracks, and on the battlefield.

With special guest Thomas Markowitz, son of Major Dr. Jacob Markowitz, MBE, a decorated Canadian WWII veteran. The Toronto physician survived three and a half years as a POW under the Japanese, and had to use jungle medicine techniques to care for the Allied prisoners and slaves who built the Thailand to Burma railroad. When he came back to Canada, after liberation, “Marko” was a changed man, and the PTSD he experienced impacted his family until the end of his days.