6 - Sammy Luftspring & the 1936 Olympics

1 sound

Sammy Luftspring was named to Canada's Olympic team for the 1936 Olympics which were taking place in Berlin, Germany. His parents encouraged Sammy to boycott the Games to protest the Nazis treatment of Jews. In his public statement, he protested that "the German government was treating its Jewish brothers and sisters worse than dogs" and that "the German government would exterminate Jews if they had the opportunity." (too much for the little ones?)

Sammy and a fellow Jewish boxer, Norman “Baby” Yack signed up to attend a counter event in Barcelona Spain. The “People’s Olympics” was organized to protest and boycott the Berlin Olympics and Nazi rule in Germany. (Picture of Sammy and Baby on the boat) In this photo you can see Sammy and Baby Yack on a boat to Barcelona, getting in a little extra training. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the People’s Olympics was cancelled before Sammy made it to Spain. Disappointed, he returned home to Toronto without having the chance to compete.

The Winchevsky Kensington Market Tour

Note: You have to be on-location at Kensington Market to hear this soundwalk. Kensington Market was historically one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in Toronto. In the 1920s and 1930s, however, so many Jewish immigrants moved to the Market that it became known as "the Jewish Market". This was the third centre of Jewish life in Toronto, after the East End and The Ward, where today Nathan Phillips Square stands. When they moved into the Market, Jewish immigrants created many communities, congregations, and social centres. They opened dozens of shops from groceries to butcheries, tailors and textiles, and often sold goods imported from Eastern Europe, from which many of them came. At the height of Jewish life in Kensington Market, it became home to about 60,000 Jews and served as the centre of Jewish political, religious, and economic life in the city. It was then that secular Jews came together to form the United Jewish People's Order, an organization that represents secular Jews in Canada to this day. The UJPO's Morris Winchevsky school is also home to the city's Jewish students who learn about the four thousand year Jewish civilization from a secular perspective, focused on Social Justice. In 2021 Winchevsky's teachers created this soundwalk about some of Kensington Market's Jewish history. Special thanks to the MWS educators Sharoni Sibony, Lainie Basman, Miriam Brookman, Iris Benedikt, and Tal R. for writing and narrative this soundwalk. Sound editing by MWS Education Director Lia Tarachansky.

free

6 - Sammy Luftspring & the 1936 Olympics

Part of this walk

The Winchevsky Kensington Market Tour

Get in touch

Echoes creative apps

Echoes labs

About us