When the Canadian flag from the Juno Beach Centre arrived at Alex Polowin’s Ottawa condominium in late April, the Second World War veteran wasn’t sure how he was going to display it to anyone.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Polowin, 97, has been careful to follow the government rules against socializing during the recent lockdowns in Ontario.
Now the flag is on public display all week in the lobby of his building as part of a special exhibit to mark the 77th anniversary of D-Day.
Ellin Bessner, the author of “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII” will be a guest speaker at the…
Following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, not many people know about the historic Canadian anti-semitism against the Jewish community of Quebec City, but it is in my book “Double Threat” about the experiences of Canada’s Jewish community before and during WWII. It is a story my own family knows well.
A moving van was blocking the narrow, cobblestone lane outside our hotel in the quaint town of Bacharach, Germany, on the banks of the Rhine River. A white-haired truck driver saw that I was struggling to squeeze between his parked truck and the walls of the building, trying to heave my suitcase over its giant wheels, in order to reach my car. He stopped what he was doing, smiled and helped me lift my bag. After stowing the luggage in the trunk, I headed back to the hotel to settle the bill. That’s when I noticed two brass plaques embedded in the street in front of the truck.
I got goosebumps.
