Remembering Pvt. Murray Bleeman of the Drildzer Society on the 80th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid

This summer, the world recently commemorated the 80th anniversary of the disastrous Second World War Allied raid on German-occupied Dieppe, France, on Aug. 19, 1942.

It was among the worst defeats in Canadian military history: thousands were taken prisoner, and hundreds were killed. One story that isn’t often known is the contribution of Canada’s Jewish troops to defeating Hitler.

Among the 17,000 Canadians of Jewish faith who served, was a Polish immigrant, Murray Bleeman; a member of the Toronto Drildzer community. His family originally came to Canada from that area of Poland, south of Warsaw. The society was based in their home at 112 Huron Street for years.

Canadian journalist and author Ellin Bessner’s book “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWll” visits the Drildzer Society in Toronto monthly meeting with an interactive presentation showing how Bleeman’s hatred of the Nazis saw him overcome widespread antisemitism in his adopted home of Canada, put on a Canadian army uniform, and go off to fight a doomed battle on a French beach half a world away.

Ellin speaks to the Sept. 18, 2022 Drildzer Association meeting about the hidden Jewish heroes who stopped Hitler and rescued the survivors of the Holocaust.

Books will be available for sale at the event. Please support your local authors.

Feel free to bring in your own artifacts or photos of your family members who served.