Toronto

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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 →

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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 →

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“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 →

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Celebrating Lotta’s legion of loyal supporters: John Buss (1923-2012)

“Dr. Lotta and I became very close friends. She was a great human being and worked night and day for years. When she died in 1990, I lost a true friend. She was a living saint, if such a person can exist.” – John Buss

Few Canadians got to know humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova as well as John Buss, and like Lotta herself, he lived a most remarkable life.

Born and raised in Toronto, at the age of 17, he joined the Canadian Navy, serving in numerous harrowing WWII combat situations. As his friend Allan Martel noted in a Globe and Mail tribute to John Buss:

“He rose to the lowly level of Stoker 2nd Class, which was as near to the bottom of military rankings as one can get. He was not cut out for leadership in the military, though all who had the privilege to work for him would have gone to hell and back several times for him at the drop of a hat.”

Continue reading →

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Globe and Mail letter to the editor: “A force for humanity”

This wonderful testimonial about Lotta Hitschmanova was published today in the Letters section of the Globe and Mail:

Re One Man’s Continuing Quest To Honour A Humanitarian (Jan. 23): The attempts to honour Lotta Hitschmanova on a commemorative postage stamp brought back memories of how she made the Unitarian Service Committee famous in Canada in the years after the Second World War, when so many were trying to survive in brutal circumstances.

I was a high school principal and invited her to address the student body in the late 1970s on one of her cross-country fundraising tours. She was a diminutive figure in her unique uniform and I heard some of the “cool” students snicker as she headed to the stage. She soon had them eating out of her hand, and the student council voted to donate the whole proceeds of the next school dance to the USC. Dr. Lotta was a force for humanity and deserves to be commemorated.

Kerry Johnston, Toronto

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Mike Myers, Lotta Hitschmanova, and on being Canadian

Mike Myers, Shelagh Rogers, CBC radio photo

“What does it mean to be Canadian? Well, for one thing, if you’re of a certain age (Mike Myers is 53), it means you have stored away in your memory banks one of Canada’s most famous addresses, 55 Sparks Street, Ottawa 4 – or was it 56 Sparks?” Continue reading →

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Lotta and the Unitarian Connection – Part I

How did a World War II refugee, born into a Jewish family in Prague, Czechoslovakia, become a revered figure for Unitarians, a small liberal religious faith in Canada?

The following is a brief response to this question, taken from Clyde Sanger’s 1986 biography, “Lotta and the USC Story.” Continue reading →