Fort Lennox: The Accidental Immigrants

In 1930s Europe, thousands of Jewish men and teenagers escaped the Nazi regime as refugees, only to be labelled as “enemy aliens” and sent to internment camps across eastern Canada. One of those camps was at Fort Lennox, an old military stronghold on Quebec’s Ile aux Noix. We’ll hear from one internee, the late Rabbi Erwin Schild, whose story helps illustrate the experience of hundreds of German and Austrian Jews who were imprisoned at Fort Lennox National Historic Site.

Oral history recordings of Rabbi Erwin Schild used in this episode:

•  ©1996 USC Shoah Foundation 
•  ©1988 Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre

Learn more:

• Fort Lennox National Historic Site
• Plan Your Visit
• Google Arts and Culture Exhibition: Fort Lennox
• Heritage Designation: Fort Lennox National Historic Site designation
• Heritage value description of each Fort Lennox building
• USC Shoah Foundation
• Toronto Holocaust Museum
• Montreal Holocaust Museum

Other Media:

• Major conservation work at Fort Lennox National Historic Site (Parks Canada YouTube)
• None is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933-1948 by Irving Abella and Harold Troper

Special thanks to:

• Faye Blum of the Ontario Jewish Archives
• Teigan Goldsmith of the Ottawa Jewish Archives
• The Montreal Holocaust Museum
• The Toronto Holocaust Museum
• USC Shoah Foundation

Questions about the ReCollections podcast or any of the episodes? Please contact us at ⁠nouveauxmedias-newmedia@pc.gc.ca

Do you have a suggestion for a new National Historic Person, Site or Event? We’d love to hear it!

Visit https://parks.canada.ca/commemorate for details on how to submit a nomination.