31 The Meeting of Two Worlds - Canadian History
31 Issue 359, Thursday, 14 Sivan, 5771 • 06.16.2011 www.shalomtoronto.ca Nathan Fox It isn't often that there is a meeting of two worlds. A bridge between history and the future, a bond shared between people with an over 75 year age gap. How could such a unique meeting take place? To tell this story we have to go back in history. We need to travel back to the year 1921. On March 9th 1921 Leonard Levy (Hebrew name Arieh ben Mordechai) was born in Toronto. He is a proud 4th generation Canadian with an interesting lineage. His father's ancestors were Mar- ranos (secret Jews from Spain who were forced to convert to Christianity or flee the country) who fled to Portugal, then to Poland and finally landed in America-- of all places, Nashville, Tennessee. His mother's ancestors were German Jews who immigrated to Hamilton Ontario. Leonard has spoken at over 600 schools and to over 4000 students. He spoke to the school where I teach His- tory, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute. Leonard spoke to a class of grade 10 History students who are between 15-18 years old and who are newly arrived in Canada. The students stem mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan with some coming from India and China. For ev- eryone in the class, this was their first time meeting a living WWII Veteran. Leonard began his talk asking the question,"Why tell stories"? He then held up a copy of the front page of a 1939 news- paper that read:"Canada Declares War". He then picked up a 1945 newspaper heading that read:"Germany Surrenders". The question was posed,"What occurred between these two newspaper headings? Why and how could this happen?" With the students hanging on every word, Leonard explained. "Mankind is good, but mankind also created war, and nothing is good in war". "You are the future" Leonard said, and repeated this maxim many times during his presentation. Leonard admitted that his generation didn't do so well because a devastating war occurred during their watch. "Hundreds of thousands of young people were lost in the war, and they were your age today, 16-18 years old". "Don't make the same mis- takes" he advised them. Leonard joined the RCAF (Royal Cana- dian Air Force) as a young man because he always wanted to fly. In 1934 he took his first flight in an airplane in Toronto when he was 14 years old. "Flying a plane is the most dif- ficult thing in the world" he said. People came all over the world to train in Canada. Canada played a crucial role in the war effort, provided bases for the British Com- monwealth Air Training Plan. There were people who came from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Norway and Free France. Canada was an ideal place to train in because of its large fuel supplies, its large land size and vast areas to fly over. With 231 training sites across Canada, Leonard was part of an effort that was helping to turn the tide in Europe. In 1939 Leonard joined the Air Force and in 1942 was sent overseas to Eng- land. "Everyone always asks me, why did you join the Air Force at 18 years old"? The answer was simple,"because there was a madman in Europe who was at- tempting to take over the world". "He was try- ing to kill all the Jews". With this knowledge, Leonard was left with little choice other than to join the Air Force to fight against this evil. He flew a Lancaster bomber—out of 7000 built, only 2 still exist, one of which flew over the recent royal wedding. Leonard and his team only flew at night and were known as the 'warriors of the night' because flying during the day incurred too many risks. In all, Leonard served in 32 bombing missions and was honoured with six awards which he proudly displays on his uniform which he wore during his talk. "55,000 young people flew and 16,000 – one third of them – never returned home." Leonard shared that not only did he lose great friends in the war, but also three family members as well, one of which occurred during the attack on Pearl Harbour. The Jewish prayer book specifically issued for the soldiers was shown, in which it was written on the cover"For Jewish Members of His Majesties Forces". The prayer on the front page reads"May the Lord guard thy going and thy coming in, from this time and for ever- more." No one needed this prayer more than Leonard because he was in such a high risk situation. He was a target as a member of the Allies, and if his mission failed he could have been captured and become a prisoner of war, but as a Jew, being caught by the Nazis was a sure death sentence. For this reason Leon- ard wore dog-tags that had the initials"O.D." which means 'other denomination'. Leonard explained that"if the tags had a J for Jew or an H for Hebrew, the Nazis would realize my religion and I would be a prime target for no other reason than I am Jewish". While wrapping up, the students had some interesting questions such as, 'what impact did WWII have on the world', or 'do you still have nightmares from the war'? For a class that has watched vid- eos, read the textbook, and looked at pictures from the war, nothing compared to meeting a person who lived through it and could share first hand expe- riences. Leonard was happy to sign some autographs at the end of his talk and pose for a photo. For some of the students who are coming from war torn Afghanistan perhaps they have a deeper sense of what the talk really meant and why it is truly up to them to write the next chap- ters of the story in His- tory. Leonard left the class with something to consider,"History is not made, it is earned". Leonard lamented that there are still wars hap- pening today all around the world, despite both the first and second world wars that were thought to be the 'wars to end all wars'. These students now have a lot to think about, and an even greater challenge ahead - to heed the words of someone who fought in order for them to be where they are today, in a free and democratic country safe from the troubles of the past and to be able to truly carve out a better world for themselves and their future generations. Today, at 90 years old and the happy great grandfather to 14 great grandchildren, Leon- ard is full of vitality. On the drive home from the school Leonard drove his car as if he was still flying his plane with his lightning fast reactions and stealthy maneuvers. For just a moment I felt as if I was in the cockpit of his Lancaster Bomber. --------------------------------------------------- Nathan Fox is a History High School Teacher at Marc Garneau C.I. in Toronto. The Meeting of Two Worlds World War II Veteran connects with Toronto High School Youth Leonard Levy THE BEST AGENCY FOR CUSTOMIZED TOURS 1027 Yonge St. Toronto,Ont M4W 2K9 Israel Weekly tours Guaranteed departure www.goisraeltravel.com 1640415 Ontario limited • Tico # 500134491 • GST/HST 860839570 For information call Michelle: 416-922-0116 x 1 [email protected] Special deals to the Caribbean... Book your vacation and save... $559 +tax Special Deals For Sep Toronto-Tel Aviv Need a car? Hotels?.. call to get the best rates and promotions WOMEN ONLY TOUR to ISRAEL Led by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein Nov 13-22, 2011 INFORMATION NIGHT: June 22 , at Payless travel office RSVP: Michelle at 416-922-0116 xtn: 1 Almost sold out
Transcript of 31 The Meeting of Two Worlds - Canadian History
31 Issue 359, Thursday, 14 Sivan, 5771 • 06.16.2011
www.shalomtoronto.ca
Nathan FoxIt isn't often that there is a meeting of
two worlds. A bridge between history and the future, a bond shared between people with an over 75 year age gap. How could such a unique meeting take place? To tell this story we have to go back in history. We need to travel back to the year 1921.
On March 9th 1921 Leonard Levy (Hebrew name Arieh ben Mordechai) was born in Toronto. He is a proud 4th generation Canadian with an interesting lineage. His father's ancestors were Mar-ranos (secret Jews from Spain who were forced to convert to Christianity or flee the country) who fled to Portugal, then to Poland and finally landed in America-- of all places, Nashville, Tennessee. His mother's ancestors were German Jews who immigrated to Hamilton Ontario.
Leonard has spoken at over 600 schools and to over 4000 students. He spoke to the school where I teach His-tory, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute. Leonard spoke to a class of grade 10 History students who are between 15-18 years old and who are newly arrived in Canada. The students stem mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan with some coming from India and China. For ev-eryone in the class, this was their first time meeting a living WWII Veteran.
Leonard began his talk asking the question,"Why tell stories"? He then held up a copy of the front page of a 1939 news-paper that read:"Canada Declares War". He then picked up a 1945 newspaper heading that read:"Germany Surrenders". The question was posed,"What occurred between these two newspaper headings? Why and how could this happen?"
With the students hanging on every word, Leonard explained. "Mankind is good, but mankind also created war, and nothing is
good in war". "You are the future" Leonard said, and repeated this maxim many times during his presentation. Leonard admitted that his generation didn't do so well because a devastating war occurred during their watch. "Hundreds of thousands of young people were lost in the war, and they were your age today, 16-18 years old". "Don't make the same mis-takes" he advised them.
Leonard joined the RCAF (Royal Cana-dian Air Force) as a young man because he always wanted to fly. In 1934 he took his first flight in an airplane in Toronto when he was 14 years old. "Flying a plane is the most dif-
ficult thing in the world" he said. People came all over the world to train in Canada. Canada played a crucial role in the war effort, provided bases for the British Com-monwealth Air Training Plan. There were people who came from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Norway and Free France. Canada was an ideal place to train in because of its large fuel supplies, its large land size and vast areas to fly over.
With 231 training sites across Canada, Leonard was part of an effort that was helping to turn the tide in Europe.
In 1939 Leonard joined the Air Force and in 1942 was sent overseas to Eng-land. "Everyone always asks me, why did you join the Air Force at 18 years old"? The answer was simple,"because
there was a madman in Europe who was at-tempting to take over the world". "He was try-ing to kill all the Jews". With this knowledge, Leonard was left with little choice other than to join the Air Force to fight against this evil.
He flew a Lancaster bomber—out of 7000 built, only 2 still exist, one of which flew over the recent royal wedding. Leonard and his team only flew at night and were known as the 'warriors of the night' because flying during the day incurred too many risks. In all, Leonard served in 32 bombing missions and was honoured with six awards which he proudly displays on his uniform which he wore during his talk. "55,000 young people flew and 16,000 – one third of them – never returned home." Leonard shared that not only did he lose great friends in the war, but also three family members as well, one of which occurred during the attack on Pearl Harbour.
The Jewish prayer book specifically issued for the soldiers was shown, in which it was written on the cover"For Jewish Members of His Majesties Forces". The prayer on the front page reads"May the Lord guard thy going and thy coming in, from this time and for ever-more." No one needed this prayer more than Leonard because he was in such a high risk situation. He was a target as a member of the Allies, and if his mission failed he could have been captured and become a prisoner of war, but as a Jew, being caught by the Nazis was a sure death sentence. For this reason Leon-ard wore dog-tags that had the initials"O.D." which means 'other denomination'. Leonard explained that"if the tags had a J for Jew or an H for Hebrew, the Nazis would realize my religion and I would be a prime target for no other reason than I am Jewish".
While wrapping up, the students had some interesting questions such as, 'what impact did WWII have on the world', or 'do you still
have nightmares from the war'? For a class that has watched vid-eos, read the textbook, and looked at pictures from the war, nothing compared to meeting a person who lived through it and could share first hand expe-riences. Leonard was happy to sign some autographs at the end of his talk and pose for a photo. For some of the students who are coming from war torn Afghanistan perhaps they have a deeper sense of what the talk really meant and why it is truly up to them to write the next chap-ters of the story in His-tory. Leonard left the class with something to consider,"History is not made, it is earned". Leonard lamented that there are still wars hap-
pening today all around the world, despite both the
first and second world wars that were thought to be the 'wars to end all wars'.
These students now have a lot to think about, and an even greater challenge ahead - to heed the words of someone who fought in order for them to be where they are today, in a free and democratic country safe from the troubles of the past and to be able to truly carve out a better world for themselves and
their future generations.Today, at 90 years old and the happy great
grandfather to 14 great grandchildren, Leon-ard is full of vitality. On the drive home from the school Leonard drove his car as if he was still flying his plane with his lightning fast reactions and stealthy maneuvers. For just a moment I felt as if I was in the cockpit of his Lancaster Bomber.
---------------------------------------------------Nathan Fox is a History High School
Teacher at Marc Garneau C.I. in Toronto.
The Meeting of Two WorldsWorld War II Veteran connects with Toronto High School Youth
Leonard Levy
THE BEST AGENCY FOR CUSTOMIZED TOURS1 0 2 7 Y o n g e S t . T o r o n t o , O n t M 4 W 2 K 9
Israel Weekly toursGuaranteed departure
www.goisraeltravel.com
1640415 Ontario limited • Tico # 500134491 • GST/HST 860839570
For information call Michelle: 416-922-0116 x [email protected]
Special deals to the Caribbean... Book your vacation and save...
$559+tax
Special Deals For Sep
Toronto-Tel Aviv Need a car? Hotels?.. call to get the best
rates and promotions
WOMEN ONLY TOUR to ISRAEL Led by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein
Nov 13-22, 2011INFORMATION NIGHT: June 22 , at Payless travel office
RSVP: Michelle at 416-922-0116 xtn: 1
Almost
sold out
