Double Threat: Canadian Jews, The Military, and World War ll is the untold story of why so many Jewish Canadians served, what life was like for them as Jews in uniform, and how they confronted antisemitism both at home and abroad while fighting to win the war and liberate their brethren from the horrors of Nazi work camps and death camps.
“He died so Jewry should suffer no more.”
These words on a Canadian Jewish soldier’s tombstone in Normandy inspired the author to explore the role of Canadian Jews in the war effort. As PM Mackenzie King wrote in 1947, Jewish servicemen faced a “double threat” — they were not only fighting against Fascism but for Jewish survival. At the same time, they encountered widespread antisemitism and the danger of being identified as Jews if captured. Bessner conducted hundreds of interviews and extensive archival research to paint a complex picture of the 17,000 Canadian Jews — about 10 per cent of the Jewish population in wartime Canada — who chose to enlist, including future Cabinet minister Barney Danson, future game-show host Monty Hall, and comedians Wayne and Shuster. Added to this fascinating account are Jews who were among the so-called “Zombies” — Canadians who were drafted, but chose to serve at home — the various perspectives of the Jewish community, and the participation of Canadian Jewish women.
The cover was adapted from a 1943 propaganda poster issued by the Canadian Wartime Information board.
Double Threat is due out November 11, 2017.
For booksellers/retailers/librarians who want to order copies, the purchasing information is below.
Ellin Bessner is a journalist and a professor of journalism at Centennial College in Toronto.
320 pages • 6 X 9 with photographs |
Paper • $26 | 9781988326047 |
epub • $10 | 9781988326054 |
HISTORY/ Jewish / Canada / Military |
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