John Walker was young when the war broke out. When he was eligible to enlist, he did so with the 7th Armoured Division, a.k.a. the Desert Rats, a renowned tank regiment of World War II. The War took him all over Europe, from Italy to Holland. By D-Day, he was a tank commander, arriving at […]
Archives: Oral History Project
Svirsky, Zin
Zin Svirsky is the grandfather of Crestwood student Jake Elin. Zin Svirsky lived in the Soviet Union for 40 years, from 1935 to 1975. Through events such as World War Two, the Cold War and Stalin’s reign, Zin went from growing up in a poor area of the Ukraine to getting an education and becoming […]
Sellen, Huguette
Huguette Sellen nee Musso grew up in the Lorraine region of France. When the war began, her father would not collaborate, and as a result she and her family were deported to Silesia and forced to work in German-run factories. They were kept in the camps under very difficult conditions, and they were on the […]
Sacilotto, Rino
Rino Sacilotto is Matt Crocker’s grandfather. He was born in small town in northeast Italy called Chions on October 6th, 1927. He was the youngest of six brothers and three sisters. His father, Atillio, was a farmer and the whole family worked on the farm. Rino lived in Chions until he was 24 years old, […]
Rosner, Paul
Paul Rosner was born into a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania in the interwar years. His family was leading a comfortable life, something that changed with the arrival of the Nazis and WW2. As the discrimination and violence escalated, Paul’s parents made the decision to leave Romania. Two efforts to go to France were unsuccessful, […]
Morello, Gerald
Gerald Morello was a man born to humble roots, in an Italian neighbourhood of Toronto. He did not enlist in the army during World War II, which gave him a unique perspective on the events happening in the Home Front, and the attitudes of the Canadian people during this time period. His parents were recent […]
Miller, Ruth
Ruth Miller is Daniel Troster’s grandmother. Her parents emigrated to Canada from Europe in the World War One period, and Ruth grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression in Montreal. Here she shares her memories of what Canada was like in the early 20th century. […]
Kravitz, Helene
Helene Kravitz is Crestwood student Sy Greenberg’s great-aunt. She was a hidden child in Belgium during the Second World War, along with her sister Rosa, whose story can also be found in this project. She was interviewed by Sy in the fall of 2009. […]
Kossman, Joyce
Joyce joined the Royal Canadian Air Force Woman’s Division. She requested to go to England because she had never traveled the world and this was an once in a lifetime opportunity. She was trained at Rockcliffe to become a stenographer in the Orderly Room. She went over to England on Aug. 14, 1942. Her air […]
Koshida, Sumiko
Sumiko Koshida is the grandmother of Crestwood student Justin Yeung. Sumiko grew up in Tashme, one of the WW2 relocation centres into which Japanese-Canadians were forced early in WW2. When the war concluded, she and her family were sent back to Japan. Here she shares her childhood memories of the family’s experiences. […]
Konarek, Joseph
Joseph Konarek escaped across the Iron Curtain into democratic Western Europe in order to come to Canada. His story is an interesting one, and is a vital part of the Konarek family history. The story of my his escape across the Iron Curtain demonstrates the risks people are willing to take to escape either physical […]
Karp, Adrian
Born in the 1920’s in the city of Sighet, Romania to a family of seven children, my grandmother, Adrian Karp was a member of a large, comfortable, religious home. In 1939 Romania was taken over by Hungarian forces. Soon normal life became impossible. Under the command of Germany, these forces began to treat their Jewish […]
Hertzman, Marvin
Marvin Hertzman was a child in wartime Toronto. In this interview, conducted by his grandson Russell Silver in early 2008, he shares his memories of the time, including the air raid wardens, the rationing, the entry of the U.S., and of the economic conditions Canadians confronted after the war. […]
Hamburger, Judith
Judith Hamburger was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia on January 12th1935. She was split from her mother around 1942 and spent her time in living with her grandparents, in ghettoescamps and in hiding until April 1st1945. In 1945 she was re-united with her mother, who was released from the worst of the Concentration Camps, Auschwitz. In […]
Gwartzman, Sorrell
Sorrell Gwartzman’s father Harold Rubin fought in the Canadian forces during WW2, and this interview is a record both of her experiences growing up in Canada during the war, and of his actions overseas. While her father enlisted and went on to be a member of the RCAF’s Precision Squad who was awarded the DFC, […]
Goldfarb, Abe
When World War Two began in 1939 Abe and his family went to Warsaw for just two weeks as Germans took it over and then to Bialystok. After Abe and family left Bialystok they went to Lida. From there Zaida and his family spent the rest of the war in Siberia, safe from the Nazis. […]
Elfassy, Moshe
Moshe Elfassy was born in Fez, Morocco on July 25th, 1938. He was born as the war was starting – and on its periphery – so he was much less impacted by the events that would follow. His large Jewish family was living in Fez, an area that did not come under direct Nazi control, […]
Cooper, Louis and Barbara
Barbara Cooper was born in 1930 and was nine years old when World War II began. Mrs. Cooper moved to Canada in 1954, after her marriage with Lou Cooper. Barbara lived in a town in England called Yorkshire and never experienced any difficult situations during the war. Lou Cooper was born in 1929 and was […]
Cohen-Rubin, Rosa
Rosa Cohen-Rubin is the grandmother of Crestwood student Sy Greenberg. She is a Holocaust survivor who was a hidden child during the war, along with her sister. Her parents Felix and Blima were able to save their daughters by leaving them in the care of a convent. Sy interviewed his grandmother about her experiences in […]
Campbell, David
David Campbell is Corey Campbell’s grandfather. He was interviewed for this project in early 2008. During the war David worked in the aircraft industry; as an essential employee he was therefore exempted from military service, though he did try to enlist on two occasions. On the second try he ended up being injured in training, […]
Brouse, Marion
Marion Brouse is Blair Stutz’s grandmother. Blair was in Mr. Masters’ History 10 class in 2008-9; Blair interviewed her grandmother about her experiences growing up in wartime England. […]
Final Baycrest Trip
Several Crestwood students were able to visit Baycrest for a final time this year. The students were able to interview people about their experiences, which will soon be made available on the Oral History webpage. After that the students volunteered at Cafe Europa, helping and serving the seniors in attendance. […]
Crestwood Preparatory College students present their Oral History Project at Nipissing University
Over the past 5 years, Crestwood Preparatory College students have interviewed Holocaust survivors and recorded their personal memories on video and included them in their Oral History Project. On Thursday, December 2nd, four students, Katherine Charness, Gabi Sandler, Savannah Yutman and Benji Baker, along with two Holocaust survivors, Arnold Friedman and Denise Hans, made a […]