Oral history interview with Anat Grebler - and her families' history - who was born in the U.S.S.R in 1945 to parents who were active in the Polish Underground during the Second World War. Her father was born in Stanislaw (now Ivano-Frankivsk), Poland and her mother was born in Gdansk, Poland. The family emigrated to Israel in 1957 to escape the Hungarian Revolution.

Oral history interview with Betty Nitkin, who was born in Montreal, 1941. He parents studied and met at the University of Lwow. Working in between Montreal and England during the 1960's but due to a combination of Montreal's winters and the political situation in Quebec convinced the family to move to Vancouver in 1968. Mrs. Nitkin was involved in the National Council of Jewish Woman for many years chairing the Committee for Soviet Jewry during the 1970's. Mrs. Nitkin volunteered the Vancouver Jewish Centre helping settle Bosnian refugee families during the 1990's.

Oral history interview with Dr. Hinda Avery who was born 1940 in Vancouver.

Oral history interview with Dr. Richard Rosenberg. He has been an active member of Peretz Centre, including President and teaching. Richard is a board member of the BC Civil Liberties Association and has his doctorate in Physics and Engineering.

Oral history interview with Edwina Heller who was born in 1914 in Warsaw. She taught music for a number of years at the University of British Columbia.

Oral history interview with Esmond Lando who was born in England, 1908. Esmond started his career practicing law, connections with 'Spilsbury and Hepburn ship-to-shore radios' led to partnership. Also involved in logging industry and owned and built a number of golf courses in Greater Vancouver & Lower Mainland.

Oral history interview with Faye Davis who was born in 1935 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Faye worked as a court reporter / typist during the trail of Adolf Eichmann in Israel.

Interview with Jack Huberman for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jack (he/him) is a gay Jewish man born in Calgary, Alberta. Jack talks about his family’s origins in Poland and his parents’ livelihoods as grocers and property owners upon immigrating to Canada. Jack shares he realized he was gay very late in life, and how little dialogue about being queer and Jewish at the time made him reluctant to ‘come out’ within his Jewish community in Vancouver. He discusses the writing and mentorship of Rabbi Gil Steinlauf as a catalyst for understanding his sexuality within a Jewish context, though shares how ‘coming out’ did not make him feel welcomed across all parts of his Jewish community, including his own congregation. Jack talks about his desire to foster a greater awareness and acceptance for queer Jews. He discusses his experiences through school, including how he eventually became lawyer, and volunteering throughout the Jewish community in Vancouver. Jack closes by talking about his immediate family, including his husband, children, and grandchildren, and the importance of treating others equally and maintaining good relationships with those around you.

Interview with Jeff Kushner for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jeff (he/him) is a gay Jewish man, born in Winnipeg and residing in Victoria, B.C. with his partner, Randall. Jeff talks about his parents’ lives as children of immigrants in Winnipeg, telling poignant stories of his family members and their influences on his life growing up. Jeff talks about coming out at the age of 30 and how Jewish culture of family and achievement makes a lot of queer Jews come out later as to not disappoint expectations. Jeff talks about the accepting nature of the Jewish community and Victoria of LGBTQ people, which was different from growing up in Winnipeg. Jeff talks about his education, including becoming an engineer out of the University of Manitoba which led him to a career in Alberta’s oil industry. He tells stories of working for different Canadian oil corporations and the experiences he had being a gay Jewish man throughout, which included experiences of antisemitism and homophobia. He closes by talking about finding the dream home in Victoria, where him and his partner both retired early, and he continues to participate in Jewish organizations as a way to build a legacy based on tikkun olam. This includes how he wishes to work on projects for gay and/or Jewish seniors to have old folks’ homes free of prejudice or having to return to ‘the closet’ in old age.

Oral History interview with John Sitwell. John’s family is from Poland. His grandfather’s house in Poland was a large estate with a registration date of 1136. His family owned a sugar mill and sold bagged sugar. John and Rita went back to Poland and toured around the area his family lived. His parents survived the holocaust and then escaped Uzbekistan. They were on some of the first boats to Israel. In Israel, his grandfather owned a granary. They lived in Israel until John was 8, when they immigrated to Canada. They lived in Regina when they got here. John became a school councillor and moved out to the west coast. His parents followed him after they retired.