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Author: Ellin Bessner
"Double Threat is an important book. More than 17,000 Jewish Canadians served in World War II. Many never came home and instead lie in the ground of Canadian war cemeteries across Europe with the Star of David carved into the stone above them. They fought the Nazis with a passion that allowed them to move past antisemitism they had faced, first at home, and then, too often, right beside them on the battlefield. Besner's writing brings this part of our history out of the shadows. All of us owe it to those remarkable men and women to read their stories."
- Peter Mansbridge O.C.
"Like a million of their fellow citizens in World War II, they put life aspirations aside, left family, friends and lovers behind, and departed the relative safety of Canadian shores. The difference? Canadian Jews in the armed forces faced antisemitism in the ranks, politicians, and commanders who doubted their effectiveness, and certain death if captured in Nazis-occupied Europe. Their unique contribution was never acknowledged. Until now. In Ellin Bessner, these Canadian-Jewish servicemen and women have found a documentarian who has dug deep, listened long and fought hard to tell their stories."
- Ted Barris, author of The Great Escape: A Canadian Story
"In this comprehensive rendering, Ellin Bessner vividly depicts the valour, the trauma, the willingness to risk life and limb, and the impressive resilience of the Canadian Jewish men and women who served alongside their non-Jewish comrades during World War II. Encompassing Jewish participation from Dunkirk to Alaska, Ortona to Normandy, Hong Kong to Bergen-Belsen, Double Threat describes the massive involvement of Canada's Jewish community in the war effort. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and extensive research, Bessner captures the texture and feeling of a chapter of Canadian history that deserves to be commemorated.
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