i In the Company of Gentiles: Exploring the History of Integrated Jews in British Columbia, 1858-1971 Lillooet Nordlinger McDonnell Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the PhD degree in History Department of History Faculty of Graduate and Post-Graduate Studies University of Ottawa © Lillooet Nordlinger McDonnell, Ottawa, Canada, 2011 ii Abstract In the Company of Gentiles: Exploring the History of Integrated Jews in British Columbia, 1858-1971 Lillooet Nordlinger McDonnell Professor Pierre Anctil 2011 From 1858 until 1971 society in British Columbia (BC) offered Jews a context of coexistence, characterized by periods of harmony and contention. By way of five microhistories focusing on the lives of Cecelia Davies Sylvester, Hannah Director, Leon Koerner, Harry Adaskin, and Nathan Nemetz, this study examines various modes of integration for Jews within particular periods of BC history. Each microhistory explores the boundaries that were crossed and fostered by Jews whose careers and social contributions led them outside the confines of the established Jewish community. These Jews represent the vanguard of Jewish integration for each era to which they contributed. Due to the fact that British Columbia‘s Jewish population has historically been relatively small, the experience of integration, as expressed by individual British Columbian Jews, is significant. This study assumes that individuals are expressions of society; that social shifts are reflected in and affected by individual action; and that, in history, there exists a dialectical relationship between society and individuals. The theoretical framework of this thesis comprises approaches adapted from social history and sociology. This study asks: What allowed for Jewish integration to take place in British Columbian society? What was it about the Jewishness of each individual that allowed for his or her integration? And finally, what can be stated about the overall nature of Jewish integration in British Columbia during this 113 year period? iii This study contributes to Canadian Jewish history by demonstrating how Jewish individuals who contributed to the betterment of society facilitated Jewish integration in British Columbia. This dissertation argues that Jewish integration in BC is the result of a dialectical relationship between overarching social structures and social values and individual action. And it exposes how the nature of integration varies among individuals and over time. Until recently, Canadian Jewish history has focused mainly on Jewish history as it has evolved within secular or religious communal Jewish institutions. This study does not revisit the institutional history of BC Jewry nor does it offer a history of BC‘s organized Jewish community. Rather this study attempts to broaden modern Canadian Jewish historiography by examining the lives of relatively unknown Jews whose social contributions illuminate the historical paths to integration in BC. By focusing on the historical nature of Jewish integration in British Columbia, this study demonstrates that a part of the distinctiveness of Canadian Jewish history lies within its intricacies. iv They came from all over To our beautiful B.C. shore First with the gold rush And from Europe And after the Second World War Holocaust survivors came Men, women, children Veteran Jews from the prairies And from oppression in Hungary And the former Soviet Union From Shanghai, Chile In the Middle East, North and South Africa And Eastern Canada, From all over the world To live in peace, From all walks of life Some from trouble and strife, They came and established Themselves and contributed, Organizing, leading, educating, Caring and performing mitzvahs Leading and lending their talents, Building a strong community And leaving a legacy For generations to come.1 1 Miriam Joy Bromberg. Creating Community Images of Vancouver's Jewish History:25th Anniversary of the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia. (Vancouver, BC: Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia 1997). v Acknowledgements I would like to extend my respect and appreciation to my thesis supervisor, Pierre Anctil, for his support and guidance, and to the Department of History, University of Ottawa, for the opportunity to pursue this degree. I would also like to acknowledge the MASA Scholarship Foundation, the Zelikovitz and Victor Scholarship Fund, and the University of Ottawa for financing part of my studies. Special thanks goes to James P. Alsina of Rochester, NY, Alan L. Director of Metairie, LA, Erin Hyman of San Fransisco, CA , Wendy De Marsh and Zanda Golbeck of Prince George, BC, Shirley Barnett, Justice Michael Goldie, Cyril Leonoff, Peter Nemetz, Joe and Rosalie Segal, Sally Tobe, and Jennifer Yuhasz of Vancouver, British Columbia, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia, the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, the University of British Columbia Special Collections and Archives, the University of Victoria Library and Archives, and the Vancouver Public Library for providing information and research materials. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and my brother, as well all those along the way, who encouraged me throughout this journey. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V TABLE OF CONTENTS VI LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES VIII CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 THESIS AND OBJECTIVES 1 JEWS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 5 BRITISH COLUMBIA: THE COLONIAL FRONTIER 9 HISTORIOGRAPHY 11 SOURCES, METHODOLOGY, AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 17 KEY CONCEPTS 30 CHAPTER 2 CECELIA DAVIES SYLVESTER: A VOLUNTEER 47 INTRODUCTION 47 EARLY FAMILY LIFE 50 JEWS IN EARLY VICTORIA 56 JEWS IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, LATE-18TH TO EARLY-19TH CENTURIES 60 THE AMERICAN TRADITION: MINHAG AMERICAN 62 JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES: 1820-1880 64 COMMUNAL DEVELOPMENT AMONG VICTORIA‘S JEWS 72 PROSPERITY, LIBERALISM, AND LAW 81 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 86 DAVIES SYLVESTER‘S IDENTITY 94 CONCLUDING REMARKS 105 CHAPTER 3 HANNAH DIRECTOR: PIONEERING JEWESS OF PRINCE GEORGE, CHAIRMAN OF THE SCHOOL BOARD 107 INTRODUCTION 107 EARLY FAMILY LIFE IN MONTRÉAL, SAULT STE. M., OMAHA, AND WINNIPEG 108 THE DIRECTORS IN NORTHERN BC 112 RURAL JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN THE WEST 114 JEWS IN NORTHERN BC 119 THE MOVE FROM PRINCE RUPERT TO PRINCE GEORGE 125 THE DIFFICULTIES OF BEING GERMAN DURING THE GREAT WAR 125 HOMESTEADING AND LIFE IN PRINCE GEORGE 128 PRINCE GEORGE SOCIETY 132 THE PRINCE GEORGE SCHOOL BOARD 133 HOW BC‘S SOCIAL CLIMATE FACILITATED HANNAH DIRECTOR‘S INTEGRATION 135 ―HANNAH DIRECTOR‘S ALBUM OF MEMORIES‖ 143 vii DIRECTOR‘S IDENTITY 145 LEAVING THE NORTH: LIFE IN VANCOUVER 147 CONCLUDING REMARKS 152 CHAPTER 4 LEON KOERNER: TRANSFORMING LUMBER INTO LEGACY 156 INTRODUCTION 156 FAMILY ROOTS 161 FAMILY LIFE IN MORAVIA 166 FLEEING CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND STOPOVER IN BRITAIN 174 CANADIAN IMMIGRATION LAWS 178 ANTISEMITISM IN CANADA 181 THE KOERNERS IN VANCOUVER 191 VANCOUVER‘S JEWISH COMMUNITY 195 KOERNER‘S IDENTITY 199 THE JEWISHNESS OF KOERNER‘S SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS 206 CONCLUDING REMARKS 220 CHAPTER 5 HARRY ADASKIN: THE MAKING OF A MUSICIAN 224 INTRODUCTION 224 FAMILY ROOTS AND LIFE IN EASTERN EUROPE 226 ARRIVING IN CANADA 229 IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION 236 ADASKIN‘S MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS 242 ADASKIN‘S IDENTITY 256 CONCLUDING REMARKS 270 CHAPTER 6 NATHAN NEMETZ: HIS JUSTICE 274 INTRODUCTION 274 FAMILY ROOTS AND EARLY LIFE 278 VANCOUVER'S JEWISH COMMUNITY 282 FAMILY LIFE IN VANCOUVER 285 EDUCATION 286 MARRIAGE 289 RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND THE INFLUENCE OF JEWISH VALUES IN THE HOME 291 THE INFLUENCE OF JEWISH VALUES ON NEMETZ‘S HUMANITARIAN CAUSES 293 ENTERING THE LAW PROFESSION 297 LEGAL DECISIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 307 MULTICULTURALISM AND JEWISH INTEGRATION 316 NEMETZ‘S IDENTITY 318 CONCLUDING REMARKS 328 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION 331 ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION 331 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH 333 BC‘S HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 334 viii SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 335 THE NATURE OF JEWISH INTEGRATION IN BC 345 AREAS OF DIFFICULTY 348 AREAS OF FURTHER SCHOLARSHIP 351 CONCLUDING REMARKS 353 APPENDICES 355 APPENDIX A FRANK SYLVESTER 355 APPENDIX B DAVIES SYLVESTER‘S PHOTO ALBUM 359 APPENDIX C DAVIES SYLVESTER FAMILY TREE 364 APPENDIX D MASONS 365 APPENDIX E GERMAN JEWS 366 APPENDIX F SELECTIONS FROM HANNAH DIRECTOR‘S PHOTO ALBUM 368 APPENDIX G KOERNER LETTERS 376 APPENDIX H CHINESE AND JAPANESE HISTORY IN BC 379 APPENDIX I TABLE 4 EARLY JEWISH RESIDENTS OF VICTORIA, 1858-1873 381 APPENDIX J BC‘S JEWISH POPULATION IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY 385 APPENDIX K ADASKIN ANCESTRY 388 APPENDIX L NEMETZ CASE DETAILS 389 APPENDIX M VANCOUVER'S SYNAGOGUES 394 BIBLIOGRAPHY 397 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure I Map of the Province of British Columbia ix Table 1 Total Jewish population in BC, 1858-1871. 58 Table 2 Toronto‘s Jewish Population, 1891-1931. 230 Table 3 Jewish Population of BC, 1871-1931. 284 Table 4 Early Jewish Residents of Victoria, 1858-1873. 381 Table 5 Jewish population according to religion in Canada, 1871-1941. 386 Table 6 Jewish populations by religion in BC and Canada, 1901-1921. 386 Table 7 Number and proportion of Jews in BC cities, 1901-1921. 388 ix Figure I Map of the Province of British Columbia 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The gold rush era beginning in 1858 was decisive in shaping British Columbia‘s history; not so much for the discovery of gold, but rather because the era initiated a mass immigration of Canadians, Americans, Europeans and Asians to the region. All in search of wealth and opportunity, these peoples would lay the social foundations of the future province of British Columbia (BC). The social interactions and conflicts that occurred between indigenous peoples and settlers, and between various settler groups, have been widely studied. However, one particular group of settlers involved throughout British Columbia‘s history is commonly overlooked: British Columbia‘s Jews. Thesis and objectives By way of five microhistories, focusing on the lives of Cecelia Davies Sylvester, Hannah Director, Leon Koerner, Harry Adaskin, and Nathan Nemetz, this study examines various modes of integration for Jews within particular periods of BC history between 1858 and 1971.