Ontario

by

Lotta Hitschmanova and the Middle East: a Voice from the Past cries out for Peace

From the 1940s to the 1970s, Lotta Hitschmanova was perhaps the most famous Canadian woman. And yet, few today are aware of her personal story — that she was a Jewish refugee to Canada who in turn spent decades helping Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.

Lotta and the Middle East, gift of layette to Palestinian refugee

Lotta and the Middle East, gift of Canadian layette to Palestinian refugee, 1970

[NB: the Middle East photos in this article were all taken by Lotta’s photographer friend, John Buss, and were published in 1970 in “The USC Story: A Quarter Century of Loving Service by the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, 1945-1970.”]

Amidst the horrors of the unimaginable death and destruction in Israel and Palestine, and the grieving and the fear, and the anger and the hatred, I find myself reaching out for the spirit of one of Canada’s most beloved humanitarians, Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990).

Why turn to Lotta, you say? She’s been dead for three decades. What could she possibly offer us today in these troubled times?

The answer lies in her own personal history, which was filled with heart-wrenching tragedy, despair and hopelessness. And we have to ask: how did Lotta manage to overcome her own feelings of grief, fear and anger? And how could she manage to channel these very same emotions, away from hatred, and towards compassion, kindness and love for all peoples around the world, and especially the Middle East? Continue reading →

by

May the spirit of “56 Sparks Street” guide us to a better place!

“And if they didn’t leave, would it be out of the question to imagine Lotta fearlessly starting her own private protest, right there in the middle of all those big rigs and burly protesters?”

Yesterday, after a massive 3-week protest and occupation in downtown Ottawa, an equally massive police operation cleared Wellington Street of protesters and vehicles.

In addition, protesters were moved out of the Sparks Street pedestrian mall. Yes, that same pedestrian mall housing perhaps Canada’s most famous address: 56 Sparks Street. Made famous by Canadian humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova.

Lotta was a WWII refugee to Canada who literally changed the social landscape of her adopted homeland. Continue reading →

by

Clyde Sanger’s 1969 profile of Lotta Hitschmanova

I have just come across a 1969 book that Clyde Sanger wrote two decades before his biography of Lotta Hitschmanova: “Half a Loaf: Canada’s Semi-Role Among Developing Countries” (The Ryerson Press).

One chapter highlights USC Canada’s work in Korea, in which Clyde provides an insightful profile of Dr. Lotta, excerpted below.

And as you can see, Lotta bucked the trend of other agencies sending Canadian “experts” overseas; it was a source of pride for her that all of USC’s programs were run by locally-engaged staff in partner countries. Continue reading →

by

Remembering Clyde Sanger (1928-2022), Lotta’s Biographer

Fans of humanitarian Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova will be saddened to learn that her biographer, Clyde Sanger, passed away in Ottawa on January 20, in his 94th year.

Sincere condolences to Clyde’s family and many friends and colleagues around the world.

In their lengthy tribute to Clyde, Carleton University notes that “The world has lost a great writer, professor of journalism and champion for Africa and the global South.”

I share this deep sense of loss, but also celebrate Clyde as a mentor and friend, spanning more than four decades. Continue reading →

by

Lotta and the Unitarian Connection – Part II

Each November 28, thousands of Canadians celebrate the birthday of beloved humanitarian, Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990). This year, there is a second celebration, as the Canadian Unitarian Council celebrates its own 60th anniversary this week. The two celebrations have much in common.

In Part I of the “Lotta Unitarian” story, I asked the question how a World War II refugee, born into a Jewish family in Prague, Czechoslovakia, could became such a revered figure (a “saint”) for Unitarians in Canada?

Here’s a recap of the “Lotta Unitarian story,” as sketched in by Lotta’s biographer, Clyde Sanger: Continue reading →

by

“My Dad was Dr. Lotta’s Physician”

Today we welcome guest blogger Calla Fireman, who shares her story (originally published in the Ottawa Citizen) about her family connection with celebrated humanitarian, Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990).

The story concerns her father, Dr. Harold H. Fireman (1919-2020).

Dr. Fireman was born and raised in Toronto, graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1942, spent over 4 years with the Canadian Air Force as a medical advisor mostly in Newfoundland, before returning to a long and successful career in Internal Medicine in Ottawa.

“I’ve enjoyed reading about Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova as I have a family connection to her. My father, Dr. Harold H. Fireman, was Lotta’s physician in Ottawa for many years. Continue reading →

by

“My Mom was Dr. Lotta’s Caregiver”

Today we welcome guest blogger, Sharon Wells, who shares her touching memories of the time when her mom was Lotta Hitschmanova’s caregiver during the years (1983-1990) she was tragically afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease.

Continue reading →

by

Remembering Lotta on International Women’s Day

Hear Lotta’s voice again: “Development often starts with a woman. Support leadership programs for women through the USC, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa.”

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a time here in Canada to celebrate the achievements and lasting legacy of remarkable women like Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990), currently one of the eight nominees to appear on the new Canadian $5 bill.

Lotta’s story is heart-wrenching: Born in 1909, she grew up in a Jewish family in Prague. A journalist by profession, and an outspoken critic of the Nazis she had to flee her Czech homeland in 1938. For four years she was forced to wander about Europe, eventually finding her way to Marseilles, where she worked with refugee support groups.

She lost both parents in the Holocaust, and in 1942, after a 46-day voyage on a converted banana boat, she arrived penniless in Montreal – “with an unpronounceable name, [feeling] completely lost.”

In the depths of her personal tragedy, she could have given up. Instead, just three years later, in 1945, she founded the organization to whose humanitarian mission she would dedicate the rest of her life: the Unitarian Service Committee (USC Canada, now called SeedChange).

Something sparked her, deep inside. She was driven by an indefatigable energy to make the world a better place, and inspired thousands of Canadian supporters to join her in this crusade.

Half the year she was travelling. She personally visited all the USC programs overseas: first in post WWII Europe, then the middle East, Asia and in the 60s and 70s, newly-independent countries of Africa. And she made a gruelling, annual tour across Canada, to share stories with volunteers and donors on how the money was being spent overseas.

She had many nicknames, including the Soldier of Peace, for she always wore a distinctive army nurse’s style uniform wherever she went.

She was sometimes called the Atomic Mosquito. She never took “no” for an answer, and by her sincerity and the force of her personality, she was able to gain the support of people from all walks of life: homemakers, farmers, civil servants, newspaper publishers and even prime ministers.

Quite remarkably, as a refugee to Canada, Lotta became the most prominent woman of her generation! Her TV and radio PSAs in the 60s and 70s were legendary and made USC’s Ottawa office at 56 Sparks Street the best known address in the country.

But more than that, she pushed hard for women’s development around the world, decades before this became a common approach of international development agencies.

In particular, she felt strongly about young women and girls. Once their basic food, shelter and clothing needs were satisfied, Lotta and USC were at the forefront of ensuring that they were offered meaningful educational opportunities, skills training and leadership training.

She also mobilized and empowered a whole generation of Canadian women (including my own grandmother Mary Rain in Winnipeg), who joined her cause and indeed made it all possible, through the thousands of volunteer hours that they put in for USC.

Here is how Lotta’s biographer, Clyde Sanger, so aptly put it:

“Before many other agencies, [Dr. Lotta] was particularly concerned with the improvement of the position of women….

“I doubt that Dr. Lotta would ever have described herself as a feminist at any stage of her life….

“But it is intriguing that the staff she worked with in Ottawa for 25 years were all female, that most of the USC representatives she chose in Asia were women…and that a surprisingly high number of project leaders were also women.

“As well, the USC branches and working groups across Canada were mostly women, while men cheerfully headed for the background and basement where the packing cases were. It is not that men found it difficult to work with such a strong-willed ascetic woman….

“Rather, it seems to have been an instinctive desire on her part to bring out the leadership qualities she knew were in so many talented women she met, and an intuition that their ideas on human development would match her own.”

Thank you Lotta, for your inspirational and ground-breaking leadership, and Happy International Women’s Day!

David Rain

 

by

Video: Bob Carty celebrating the life of Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova in Word and Song

“I never met Lotta, but I do remember 56 Sparks Street, I do remember that voice.”

In 2009, more than 50 events were held coast to coast to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-2009). In Ottawa, USC Canada (now SeedChange) organized a special “Lotta 100” event to honour their founder.

The M.C. for this event was Bob Carty (1950-2014), an award-winning CBC documentary producer and justice-seeking singer-songwriter.

As a tribute to Lotta during his introduction, Carty leads the audience in the singing of his haunting anthem of hope, “Desert Eyes.”

Continue reading →

by

56 Sparks Street — a new song is born!

A new song is born today, in celebration of the 111th birthday of humanitarian Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova C.C. (1909-1990), who was recently nominated to appear on the new Canadian $5 banknote.

Thanks to her heart-felt TV and radio PSAs in the 1950s through to the 1970s, Lotta single-handedly made 56 Sparks Street in Ottawa the most famous address in Canada.

Happy birthday Lotta!