Memories of my Dad

When we can reminisce and memories sustain our smile and laughter, we know that the period of acute grief has subsided, and we now can regain a sense of lightness.

Our dear father lived for over 90 years. He was born November 19th 1923 and died August 1st, 2013. Experiencing my Aba’s dying days was indeed life altering. Seeing death arriving and witnessing it, paradoxically explained to me the greatness of the life force.

After mourning the entire year as Jewish Law guided me, it now commands me to move forward. I have acquired a stronger stride, and a great acknowledgment of the gifts my father Leon Broitman (z”l) gave to me, to my family, and to the communities he touched.

My father proudly served in the Russian Army fighting the Nazis. All his family perished in the Holocaust except one surviving brother. Zeidi, or Mr. Broitman, as he was known to many, walked with a cane and with a very proud gait. He incessantly proclaimed, as he participated and frequented at many Jewish community events in Vancouver, “I am a committed Jew!”

I wanted to honour my father and commit to an organization that my father would approve of. Almost a year to the date of his Yarzheit, I began to volunteer weekly for the Jewish Museum & Archives of BC, transcribing oral interviews and assisting in giving guided walking tours of Jewish Strathcona and Gastown.
I remember taking my father to his oral interview in April 2013. His interview is still waiting in the queue ready to be transcribed. I am deliberating if I have the emotional strength to transcribe it, or even to listen to it. I am however extremely proud that his story along with 700 others, will be archived in the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia.

I certainly can declare that my father Leon Broitman’s memory will go from strength to strength, as he lives on forever in our hearts, in our minds and in our souls.

Yours in MOMentum,
Debbie ‘Broitman’ Havusha