- Ottawa Jewish Archives
- Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds
- Interview with Arnold Greenberg
Interview with Arnold Greenberg
Description only — contact the archive8
- Held by
- Ottawa Jewish Archives via Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (incl. Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives)
- Dates
- March 13, 2008 (indexed as 2008)
- Level
- item
- Scope & content
- Date; March 13, 2008 Duration: 1:04:11 Tape is being recorded by the OJHS for the archives Arnold was born in Ottawa and has lived here all his life. He served in the RCAF during the Second World War, returning to Canada in January 1945. Arnold recalls being transported by train from Halifax, and some of his family met him in Montreal, before continuing the journey to Ottawa the next day He crossed the ocean on a gun ship, with about 2000 other men. It was the first big drop of men to return to Canada. Arnold recalls there were no big celebrations for the returning men. But he was excited to see his family Arnold discusses the changes he saw in Ottawa upon his return, including the increase in the Jewish population in the city Arnold went back to school, and got married. The government gave allowances to veterans to continue education, which Arnold decided to do. He went to Toronto University for 6 months before returning back to Ottawa to a job in an accountants office. Arnold and his wife had met before the war, and had been friends since they were 12 years old. He was 22 when he left for the war, and they got married upon his return in 1946. Arnold worked at the accounting firm for a few years, before he went to S&S [?], to work for Sal Saslove. Arnold worked there for 25 years. Arnold also worked with Izzy Landau [?] as a charter accountant, before retiring. Arnold discusses the difficulty of finding somewhere to live in Ottawa upon his return from the war, and he and his wife ended up living in Britannia for the summer before they left for Toronto for his schooling. Once they got back to Ottawa, they were able to get an apartment off Somerset in Sandy Hill. Arnold was a founding member of the Jewish War Veterans of Ottawa. A lot of the members were from Agudath Israel. They also used to be in charge of the ceremonies on the closest Saturday to Remembrance Day each year. Arnold expresses frustration about the lack of recognition for the Veterans. The Jewish War Veterans of Ottawa group was formed in 1985. Arnold was very involved with Agudath Israel later in life. He was president, he served on the board, and was treasurer when the new Shul was built. Arnold recalls that the synagogue and the community was very active, but not so much now. Arnold recalls significant leaders in the Jewish Community including the Loeb family, the Shankmans, *audio skips* and Hy Hochberg *audio skips* Bertha Greenberg, the wife of Arnold, is introduced. Bertha was involved with Haddasah in the late 1940s. Haddasah played a big role in the community. There were quite a few chapters. Bertha didn’t stay long because she and Arnold started having children. Haddasah did a lot of fundraising work through various events. Bertha was also a girl guide leader, and she started the library at Agudath Israel, and continued working as the librarian. Arnold recalls certain antisemitic events Arnold was one of the first members of the Rideau Golf and Country club, which stated because other golf clubs wouldn’t let Jewish people in, except the Gatineau Golf and Country Club owned by Joe Sacks. Arnold discusses how the club was created, and the costs involved Audio ends 1:04:11
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- Genre / form
- sound recording
- Format
- Audio
- Language
- English
- Harvested
- 2026-10-17T20:12:50Z · source datestamp n/a · cjhn