In early 1948, over a dozen young Holocaust survivors came to live with adoptive Jewish parents in Calgary. These teens and young adults, who faced challenges that we can scarcely imagine, came to Canada through the War Orphans Project, a refugee resettlement scheme sponsored by the Canadian Jewish Congress, and supported by Jewish communities and social service agencies nationwide. This movement, which brought a total of 1,123 Jewish orphans to Canada between 1947 and 1952, signified Canada’s first major finite initiative to help relieve the postwar European Jewish refugee crisis.
In honour of the 75th anniversary of the young survivors’ arrival in Calgary, our AGM program will feature a presentation by guest speaker Adara Goldberg, Director of the Holocaust Resource Center at Kean University, and author of Holocaust Survivors in Canada: Exclusion, Inclusion, Transformation, 1947—1955. Adara will offer a historical overview of the War Orphans Project, and highlight stories of some of the young Holocaust survivors who became part of our southern Alberta community.
The evening will also include a business meeting, consisting of our financial report, board elections, and the presentation of certificates in recognition of those in our community who have celebrated their 80th birthday in the past year. As always, please contact our office if you know of someone who has become an octogenarian since our last AGM.
Please contact us by October 20, 2023 to receive a link for the Zoom meeting.