2018_2019 ANNUAL REPORT JEWISH HERITAGE CENTRE OF WESTERN CANADA

ANNUAL REPORT
2018-2019
Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada
eJewis
jewishheritage@jhcwc.org
www.jhcwc.org
(204) 477-7460‬
C-140 123 Doncaster Street

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THE JEWISH HERITAGE CENTRE
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
MISSION
VISION
MANDATE
THE JHC
COLLECTION
To develop, interpret and disseminate information on the history and
culture of western Canadian Jewry and to develop awareness of the
history, moral and ethical implications of the Holocaust and other human
rights violations.
To document, preserve and share information on the culture and historical
formation of Jewish communities in Western Canada. The Centre also
serves as an advocate for anti-racism and education on the Holocaust and
antisemitism.
To forge a pathway for the future by preserving and sharing compelling
stories and educating the present and future generations.
To collect and preserve the records, artefacts and traditions of our
community.
To present programs and exhibits about the history, experiences,
achievements and culture of the Jewish community;
To maintain and expand a searchable and detailed database of Jewish
gravestones in Manitoba and further afield;
To promote the awareness and understanding of the history of the
Holocaust through education—reaching thousands of students and
educators each year. We address the fact that society continues to witness
genocide due to continuing racism and hatred and that we must all be
vigilant in opposing racism, antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.
Our treasured archive brings our community’s history to life through our
collection of images, artefacts, documents and multimedia, including:
• More than 70,000 photographs
• More than 200 bound volumes of newspapers –1914 to the
present
• Oral histories—audio, video, and text
• More than 1300 sound and moving image recordings
• More than 1000 boxes of textual records, maps, architectural
drawings, electronic files, etc. - from 1870s to today
• More than 4000 artefacts including religious paraphernalia,
medical and pharmaceutical items, military jackets, pins and awards,
clothing; dolls, trophies, sports memorabilia
• Original documents and artefacts from the Holocaust era
WHO WE ARE
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada (JHC) brings together the
Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada, the Marion & Ed Vickar
Jewish Museum of Western Canada, the Genealogical Institute, the Jewish
Historical Society Archives, and the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust
Education Centre.

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Message from our President
& Executive Director
The Jewish Heritage Centre’s 2018-2019 fiscal year has been filled
with notable accomplishments and new initiatives. Our
programming lineup featured no fewer than sixteen exciting events
on a wide variety of intriguing subjects. Collaboration with other
institutions was a key feature of the JHC’s successful outreach.
2019 saw us embarking on a major new campaign to support and
preserve our ever-growing archival collection. We are pleased to
partner on this important initiative with the Jewish Foundation of
Manitoba to create a new endowment fund specifically
Mark Kantor
President
designated to the archives, the focal point of our community’s
historical record.
After the tremendous success of our extensive Synagogues exhibit,
research began on a major new exhibit focusing on the 100 years
of the YMHA, launched in late 2019. We were thrilled to receive
exciting new artefacts and delve into the many treasures in our
collection in order to design the new exhibition.
We continue to digitize our collection and are grateful to the Jewish
Foundation of Manitoba which has approved a grant for a new
and comprehensive website, allowing greater access to our
collection for both researchers and members of the public.
We have witnessed the Jewish Heritage Centre emerge as the
Belle Jarniewski
Executive Director
principal purveyor of education on the Holocaust and antisemitism.
We reach thousands of students each year from across the
province as well as providing professional development for
educators featuring internationally recognized experts in the field.
We are grateful to our local survivors who graciously tell their stories

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to students in grades six to university. With a frightening resurgence of antisemitism, Holocaust
distortion and denial, our role is increasingly essential. Certainly, the JHC has become the goto
contact for print, radio, and television media and we participated in many interviews
throughout the year on the subjects of antisemitism, Holocaust education, as well as the
importance of the preservation of our community’s history through our archival collection.
The Jewish Heritage Centre is thankful for our talented and dedicated staff and volunteers
who interface with members of the public and researchers from all over the world who are
seeking information. We continue to count on the interest and generosity of the community
so that future generations may also learn from their past.
St. John’s Ravenscourt School students mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 450
SJR students attended presentations on January 27 and 29 with Holocaust survivors Edith
Kimelman and Regine Frankel.

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Education & Commemoration
The JHC is recognized as the principal purveyor of education on the Holocaust and on
antisemitism. Each year, we provide programming, education, and professional
development opportunities to thousands of Manitobans. The JHC collaborated with the
Montreal Holocaust Museum on a pan-Canadian project funded by Heritage Canada to
adapt pedagogical tools to the Manitoba curriculum. The Jewish Heritage Centre launched
the made-for-Manitoba tool focusing on the use of survivor memoirs to two large gatherings
of educators in both official languages. We also presented a day-long PD with Stephanie
McMahon Kaye, of Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, which provided
teachers with wonderful new resources.
Our annual Holocaust and Human Rights Symposium drew well over a thousand students to
the University of Winnipeg to hear well-known Holocaust survivor Max Eisen, whose book, By
Chance Alone, won CBC’s Canada Reads competition for 2019. The general public
attended a moving lecture by Eisen in the Berney Theatre. Large numbers of students from
grades 6-12 visited the Holocaust Education Centre, for presentations on the Holocaust and
antisemitism and benefited from the participation of local Holocaust survivors. These
presentations were given in both English and French. Our audiences for both educational
programs and professional development are increasingly diverse and often spend several
hours on the road in order to join us from their home locations.
The JHC also partnered with a number of Jewish organizations on commemorative events: In
November, we partnered with Jewish Federation and the Canadian Museum for Human
Rights (CMHR) on the 2019 Kristallnacht event to present the story of Jose Arturo Castellanos
to a packed audience at the CMHR. In January, we partnered with the CMHR, and the
University of Winnipeg to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a two part
event focusing on the music of the Holocaust, entitled “The Music of Remembrance.” The
JHC participated in Yom Hashoah at the Legislature and also partnered with Congregation
Shaarey Zedek for our annual Megillat Hashoah interfaith service. Readers from many
different faiths participated, led by Thomas Schultze, Consul General of Germany.
Two other Holocaust-related events included a JHC curated exhibit for the March of the
Living and a program on the themes of fascism and Nazism in Manitoba during the 1930s
and contemporary antisemitism. The program featured film maker Andrew Wall along with a
screening of his film Paper Nazis and our executive director and Chair of the Holocaust
Education committee, Belle Jarniewski.

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Events and Programs
In 2018-2019, the Jewish Heritage produced a rich variety of programs which attracted a
diverse audience and highlighted the fascinating history of our Jewish community. These
activities were possible thanks to the skill and devotion of Stanislao Carbone, Director of
Programs and Exhibits, ably supported by the rest of the staff, and the guidance of members
of the Programs and Exhibits Committee.
In November 2018, Susan Turner and Sharon Allentuck presented a discussion on food in the
Jewish community, featuring panelists Yossi Benarroch, Valerie Burachyncky, Maxine Shuster,
and Barbara Reiss. In addition to looking at history and culture, an important discussion took
place around the impact of the cost of kosher food on the diets of low-income families and
especially seniors living at the Simkin Centre.
In February, local author Allan Levine launched his book, Seeking the Fabled City: Jews in
Canada.
In March film-maker Andrew Wall screened his documentary on antisemitism in Manitoba,
“Paper Nazis.” Belle Jarniewski presented on contemporary antisemitism.
April saw the launch of Arthur Ross’ important book, Communal Solidarity: Immigration,
Settlement, and Social Welfare in Winnipeg's Jewish Community, 1882-1930. Ross noted the
essential role that our JHC archives in his research.
The annual Gray Academy Student Art Exhibit took place in May. The annual project sees
Gray Academy students utilize our archival collection for inspiration with their drawings. Last
year, the subject was local synagogues.
Our summer student, Sydney Newman accessioned and catalogued a large number of
artefacts and curated an exhibit based on several items which were of particular interest to
her.
New York Times journalist Bret Stephens was our 14 th annual Sol and Florence Kanee
Distinguished Lecturer. The mid-May event drew a crowd of more than 500 to hear Stephens’
talk on the subject of “Nationalism, Populism and Hate.”
The Jewish Heritage Centre marked the 100 th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike with
an exhibit on Jewish Radicalism in the early 20 th century and a presentation on Jews and the
Winnipeg General Strike featuring historian Roz Usiskin and Harriet Zaidman, author of City on
Strike, a newly released novel for young people.

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Genealogy Institute
Submitted by Chair, Lynn Roseman
This year’s efforts were mainly spent uploading the remaining photographs to our website.
We are thrilled to announce that in July this was accomplished. In addition, graves at
Hebrew Sick, Rosh Pina, B’Nay Abraham, Shaarey Zedek, Morden and Chapel Lawn
previously without photos were revisited. Photos were taken where possible, and those
photos are also uploaded.
In May of this year we visited Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks. We have completely
photographed this cemetery and graphed it out. In addition, we have visited Brookside
Cemetery and Transcona Cemetery and photographed the Jewish burials we found. Those
photos are now included on our website.
The database is now updated to February 29, 2020. This is the first time since this project
began in 1996 that our database is current.
We are working with Web Wizards to ensure our files are searchable and that we can
organize them according to our needs. This will allow us to continue to take photographs in
an organized manner.
The JHC wishes to remind you all that we invite your input. If you are stumped while
researching your family tree, please contact us. If you know of someone who you feel
belongs in our database, and isn’t listed, please let us know. And, if you find errors in our
data entry or a picture that is uploaded sideways, please let us know.
As far as research goes, once our photos were uploaded and our archives became
searchable online, the requests for research have diminished. We did however receive one
very interesting request that sent both Andrew and Lynn on a wild goose chase. A request
from an individual in Toronto came in looking for paternal Jewish Penners in Manitoba. While
Norman and Roland Penner immediately come to mind, the individual in question was in fact
Mennonite, rather than Jewish. It turns out pretty well every “Penne”r in our database was
originally a “PANAR(sky).”

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Archives
Submitted by Archives Committee Chair, Annalee Greenberg
In 2019, the Archives Committee continued various initiatives outlined in its Modernization
Program of 2016. With funding from private donors, Jewish Foundation, and government
granting bodies, we were able to make progress on the following initiatives:
Recordings in our oral history collection were digitized and put online and can now be
accessed through the media portal.
A portion of our photo collection (3000 images) was digitized and put online.
Digitization and uploading of newspapers (those not available through Jewish Post)
was completed and can now be accessed through a portal on the website.
Modification of the upstairs office, separating storage areas from office space
(required for accreditation through the Association of Manitoba Archives) was
completed.
Other initiatives are underway:
We obtained a lease with the Asper JCC for ten years, which is a prerequisite for
obtaining funding from the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund.
We have begun the application for accreditation, which will open up more funding
possibilities.
We are requested a quotation for basement shelving that meets archival standards
for which we will be seeking funds.
Our facilities were inspected and evaluated by a representative of the Manitoba
Museums Association. We will be seeking funds to carry out recommendations
identified there, including climate control measures.
Archivist Andrew Morrison and committee member Sharon Graham are developing a
course on personal archiving, entitled “Saving Family Treasures” to be presented on
campus, date TBA.
A permanent website exhibit on the Jewish community of Dauphin, funded by the
Frances Bay bequest, is being created.
We have received notice that an important collection, the United Jewish People's
Order (UJPO) archives, Winnipeg chapter, will be donated to the JHC. Andrew will be
evaluating the documents and arranging the transfer.

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The day-to-day operations of the Archives include research requests from far afield,
processing collections, and ongoing preservation and cataloguing duties. We were able to
add another half day to the archivist position, to a total of three days. Expansion of the
archivist position to full time remains a key goal of the committee, requiring further
development of our endowment fund.
Donations and Tribute Cards
We gratefully welcome direct donations to help support the work of the Jewish Heritage
Centre. There are a number of ways in which to donate in order to help us:
Tribute Cards are an excellent way to honour or memorialize a friend or relative, to
commemorate a special occasion, or to acknowledge a life-cycle event. All donations are
tax receipted.
Jewish Heritage Centre Tribute Cards:
To send a Jewish Heritage Centre card, please call 204-478-8590 or write to
jewishheritage@jhcwc.org. We offer same-day service.
Jewish Foundation of Manitoba Tribute Cards:
By sending a tribute card or donation to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, you can
designate your donation to our three major funds: The Holocaust Education Centre
Endowment Fund, the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada Endowment Fund, or the
Jewish Heritage Centre Archival Endowment Fund. Please contact the Jewish Foundation of
Manitoba at 204.477.7525 or order your card online.

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2019 Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture Series
with Bret Stephens
By Bernie Bellan
Pulitzer prize-winning NY Times columnist Bret Stephens was the 14th speaker in
what has become an annual tradition in Winnipeg: the 14th Sol and Florence
Kanee Distinguished Lecture Series, held once again at the Shaarey Zedek
Synagogue –this year on Monday, May 13.
Over 650 people were in attendance to hear Stephens, who is also a former
editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. For anyone who had attended last year’s Kanee
lecture, at which noted historian Margaret MacMillan was the guest speaker, Stephens’
subject matter would have sounded quite familiar. Both MacMillan and Stephens focused on
the turbulent period following the end of World War I and the dramatic changes to the
established world order that ensued as a result.
Whereas MacMillan largely confined herself to assessing the immediate results of the
upheaval that engulfed so much of the world in the post-war period, Stephens’ talk took on
a longer-range perspective as he attempted to analyze the parallels between what was
happening in the world following World War I and what has been happening more recently.
In doing so, Stephens warned the audience that the talk he was about to give was going to
be “heavy” and that he wasn’t going to attempt to inject much in the way of humour into it
– given the seriousness of his subject matter.
What Stephens did do is present a coherent analysis of the present-day world situation – with
one very surprising observation about what, he argued, is the most important date in recent
world history. To continue reading.

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Artefacts: Recent Donations
Clockwise from left: Holocaust era
music score (donated by Stefan
Carter); pre-war Polish passport,
photos of Yona and Rebecca
Majer and certification from Rabbi
Meyer Schwartzman, ( donated by
Chana Thau); Ketubah (donated
by Pat Cohen.

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Board of Directors 2018-2019
Executive Board Members
President: Mark Kantor
Immediate Past President: Daniel Stone
Treasurer: Maurice Steele
Chair – Programs & Exhibits Committee: Daniel Stone
Chair – Archives & Acquisitions Committee: Annalee Greenberg
Chair – Holocaust Education Committee: Belle Jarniewski
Members At Large
Benjamin Baader, Maury Donen, Sharon Goszer-Tritt, Shelley Chochinov, Ahava
Halpern, Edward Lyons, Mel Myers, Anita Neville, Lynn Roseman, Marvin Samphir, Sarah
Secter.
Abe Anhang (Honorary President)
Neil Duboff (Honorary Counsel)
Staff
Executive Director
Belle Jarniewski BEd CTrad MA
Director of Programs and Exhibits
Stan Carbone BA (Hons) MA
Archivist
Andrew Morrison BA MISt

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Committees
Archives and Acquisitions
Holocaust Education
Annalee Greenberg Belle Jarniewski Rose Aziman
Ben Baader Bella Ben-Ari Shelley Chochinov
Sharon Graham Reva Craven Rietta Floom
Amy Karlinsky David Gisser Morris Henoch
Andrew Morrison Kelly Hieberg Phyllis Laveman
Joel Novek Debbie Lipkin Roberta Malam
Eran Plotnik
Mimi Singer
Karlee Sapoznik-Evans
Sharon Goszer Tritt
Bella Weinberg
Programs and Exhibits
Genealogy
Daniel Stone
Stan Carbone
Susan Turner
Myron Turner
Sid Robinovitch
Chana Thau
Michael Eskin
Steven Hyman
Sarah Secter
Lionel Steiman
Shirley Brown
Bruce Sarbit
Lynn Roseman
Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture
Mark Kantor
Maury Donen
Anita Neville
Mel Myers
Belle Jarniewski
Neil Margolis
Marvin Samphir
Sharon Segal
Maurice Steele
Daniel Stone

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THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS AND PARTNERS
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