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The RCAF’s secret weapon in WWII: 6,000 Jewish personnel. Ellin @ the Air Crew Association July 18, 2020

Via Zoom contact Ellin for the link Toronto, Ont., Canada

As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in WWII, author and journalist Ellin Bessner visits the Air Crew Association of Ontario meeting in Toronto, via ZOOM, to share a little known story about how the Allies won the air war.Among the Canadians who volunteered, were 6,000 Jewish personnel who served in the RCAF and RAF. They served at great personal risk, should they be captured, and their faith be discovered by the Nazis. Yet they volunteered, for King and Country, and to save their own people from Hitler's Final Solution. They served despite facing widespread antisemitism at home, from the government of Mackenzie King, and in the very military they signed up to serve.

How Canada’s Jewish women helped win the Second World War, at home and at the front

Virtual JCC

Journalist Ellin Bessner and Women Studies scholar Jennifer Shaw will discuss the significant roles Jewish women played in the Second World War. This neglected history illuminates not only the status of women in Canada but also the challenges Jews faced during this time and how Canadian Jewish identity was shaped by this war-time experience. While Bessner will focus on Jewish women who served in the military, Shaw Lander will explore the stories of women who developed ground-breaking programs at home to support the troops and their families. Both scholars did extensive research at the Ontario Jewish Archives and will highlight these records in their talk. The conversation will be moderated by Caryn Lieberman, Senior Broadcast Journalist with Global News.

Co-presented by the Ontario Jewish Archives, the Virtual J, and the National Council of Jewish Women, Toronto.

Free

Hidden Heroes: Canadian Jewish airmen who saved England in the Battle of Britain. August 14 lecture

Royal Air Force Museum, London

Hidden Heroes: Canadian Jewish Airmen in the Battle of Britain.

For the 80th anniversary of the August 1940 Luftwaffe attacks on Adler Day (Eagle Day), join journalist Ellin Bessner via ZOOM on Friday August 14, 2020. Bessner speaks to the Royal Air Force Museum and RAF Association. She brings you the untold­­ story of the Jewish Canadians who were among “The Few”: the brave RAF pilots who fended off those deadly bombing raids during the Battle of Britain.

Bessner is the author of “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII”, published by the University of Toronto Press.

Her lively presentation will highlight these Jewish volunteers in the RAF (and also the RCAF) who served at great personal risk, should they be captured and their faith be discovered by the Nazis. They came to England for King and Country, and also to save their own people from Hitler’s Final Solution.

You will learn about Canada’s top Spitfire Ace, F/L William Henry Nelson, DFC. Ellin will show you why his name is on both the Battle of Britain Memorial in London, and at Capel-le-Ferne. Stay tuned for a surprise special guest.

Free

Hidden Heroines: How Canada’s Jewish Women Helped Win WWII

Dorshei Emet Synagogue 18 Cleve Road, Hampstead, Quebec, Canada

Join author and journalist Ellin Bessner for a talk on The Untold Story of Jewish Women in the Second World War. She will take a fascinating look at the Jewish heroines, at home and at the front, who helped Canada win WWII, and whose contributions to history have never been recognized. Meet Cpl. Daisy Lazare, Sgt. Miriam Freedman, S/O Rose Goodman and Pvt. Esther (Bubis) Thorley, as well as the legions of Jewish women volunteers who raised funds, packed boxes, made sandwiches and even built the bombs.

Ellin speaks about the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII at ‘Spotlight on Speakers’ Series Oct. 20 in Toronto

Governor's Hill Condos 3600-3800 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

As the world prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, Toronto author and journalist Ellin Bessner takes us back in time to the days when Canadian troops began cleaning out the remnants of Nazi Germany’s occupation forces across Europe. During the spring of 1945, the troops were met with a joyous welcome by the Dutch people, who had endured starvation and brutality under Hitler’s forces. But the Canadians also came face to face with the truth about the fate of Europe’s Jewish community, as they liberated Nazi concentration camps like Vught and Westerbork, and also, the notorious Bergen-Belsen.

Copyright © Ellin Bessner