EDITORIAL COMMENT
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Fourth stanza of ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon (1869 – 1943)
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NOVEMBER 6, 2008 – November 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada and also in many other countries. The history of the Jews in the Canadian military and of their exploits and experiences dispels the myth that Jews have not contributed their share in the Canadian Armed Forces. This includes the Boer War (1899-1902), WWI (1914-1918), WWII (1939-1945), and the Korean War (1950-1953), as well as Canada’s ongoing peacekeeping activities throughout the world. We salute you all.
During World War I, 38% of all Jewish males 21 years and over in Canada served in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. 4.5% won decorations for bravery and distinguished military service, in comparison with 3.4% Canadian soldiers of all origins.
For Canada and Jewish Canadians, the Second World War was the Jewish community’s most sustained war effort ever. Out of a Canadian Jewish population of approximately 167,000 Jewish men, women and children, over 16,880 volunteered for active service in the army, air force, and navy. There were an additional 2,000 Jews who enlisted, but who did not declare their Jewish identity in order to avert danger if captured by the Nazi forces.
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Of the 16,880 who served, which constituted more than one-fifth of the entire Jewish male population in the country, 10,440 served in the army, 5,870 in the air force, and 570 in the navy. 1,971 Jewish soldiers received military awards. Over 420 were buried with the Star of David engraved on graves scattered in 125 cemeteries. Thousands returned home with serious physical and mental wounds.
Saskatchewan Jews were among the first to volunteer during both World War I and II, and many lost their lives in the European trenches. The province honoured those who sacrificed their lives, including a number of Jewish heroes, by naming several lakes and mountains of the vast northern region after them.
The web site below provides the date of death and place of burial of many of the Canadian Jewish servicemen who died serving in the Canadian Armed Forces in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The data was compiled by the Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee National Archives, Montreal.
http://www.cjccc.ca/archives/casualties.php
Above photo of H/Captain Samuel Cass, a rabbi, conducting the first worship service celebrated on German territory by Jewish personnel of the 1st Canadian Army near Cleve, Germany during WWII.
Content sources include: Jewish War Veterans of Canada (JWV); National Defence, Canada; Jewish Canadian Military Museum and the late Louis Rosenberg.
My aunt, Rose Jette Goodman was the first woman to die in active service in WWII – she was a section officer with the R.C.A.F. Please include her service and sacrifice in your archives. I have pictures and newspaper accounts.