- Bernie M. Farber: Joe Levitt — Soldier, hero, historian
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Joseph Levitt, a Montrealer by birth, was a product of both Montreal’s famous Baron Byng High school, where many Quebec Jews (including Mordecai Richler) cut their teeth, and Harbord Collegiate in Toronto, where his family moved in the mid-1930s. He was a bright, intuitive young man who was offered a scholarship by the University of Toronto when he enrolled in its social science program.
But when war broke out while he was a student, Joe, an avowed communist, decided his education would have to wait. Despite strong opposition to all war, he and many of his Jewish friends felt it was their duty to sign up for active service to oppose fascism and the horrors of Nazism. In 1941, Joe Levitt became one of almost 17,000 Jews enlisted in the Canadian armed forces, which constituted more than one-fifth of the entire Jewish male population in the country. He enlisted in the Governor-General’s Foot Guards and served overseas for several years.
An Internet Fisherman who uses barbless hooks and this one dimensional world as a way of releasing the frustrations of daily life. This is my pond. You are welcome only if you are civil and contribute something to the ambiance. I reserve the right to ignore/publish/reject anon comments.
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