Actions and Responses
This image shows the front page of the Telegram on the evening of August 1, 1933. Earilier that day, about 150 members of the Toronto Swastika Club marched along the boardwalk from the Balmy Beach Club to Woodbine Ave. while posting swatikas on buildings, singing anti-semitic songs and threatening anyone who opposed them. Around that time, Adolf Hitler had just taken power in Germany, and it was also the start of the Great Depression, thus the citizens of Toronto had extremely negative opinions of the Jewish immigrants in their neighbourhoods. Newspapers such as the Telegram and Toronto Star often reported on the violent acts against Jews occuring in Germany , which would cause symbols such as swatstikas to be looked down upon becuase of their association war. However, the Jewish community in Toronto was still the subject of discrimination, and since they did not have access to most resorts or clubs, during the summer they chose to spend their time at the predominently Anglo-Saxan beaches. In response, local residents complained, and created the "Swastika Clubs", which displayed the Nazi symbol as a way to express their disapproval of the situation and make Jews feel unwanted. Two weeks after the incident, members of the club would initiate the Chrisite Pits Riot when they held up a Nazi Flag, which would lead to the display of swatstika's being banned in Toronto.
After the tradegy of the St. Louis, many people realized how badly Canada was treating Jewish refugee ships. This cartoon was published on April 30, 1939 in Hebrew, and the text shows a passenger on one ship asking, “Where are you coming from, and where are you going?” The second man replies, “From the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and back.”
This shows the attitude many Jewish refugee's had towards Canada. After voyages like the St. Louis most potential immigrants started to lose hope, and various comics and articles were written to depict this. However, opinions and reactions like the one portrayed in the comic are understandable, as the immigration rates in Canada did not improve throughout the war.
This shows the attitude many Jewish refugee's had towards Canada. After voyages like the St. Louis most potential immigrants started to lose hope, and various comics and articles were written to depict this. However, opinions and reactions like the one portrayed in the comic are understandable, as the immigration rates in Canada did not improve throughout the war.
This letter depicts the strict immigration policies in Canada during WWll. It is a response from Frederick Charles Blair to Oskar Morawetz, a young Jewish man who spent several years trying to escape from Europe and the invading Nazi soldiers. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Morawetz travelled to Vienna, France, Italy and Santo Domingo before he decided he could survive was to come to Canada. Unfortunetly, his choice greatly angered the Director of Canadian Immigration, Charles Blair, who had restricted Jewish immigration at the time to no more than 5000. Morowetz sent several inquiries to Blair, and recieved many furious responses as a result. Although Morowetz tried to follow the instructions from the letters (such as "I would suggest that in future you do your business with this office instead of annoying our London office with cables which they are not in a position to act upon") he was still unsucsessful with pleasing Blair. In the end, Morowetz was lucky and gained entry into Canada on June 17, 1940. However, this was an exceptional case, as most Jewish famillies during WWll were unable to find refuge in Canada, and would've faced severe consequences as a result. Overall, this letter portrays the extent to which people would've gone to enter Canda in the 1930's, and the consequent attitude of the government.