• Szigetvari
    … Every refugee's experience is alike, and yet unique. When the Russians invaded Budapest in October 1956, thousands of … At the time of our escape, my family was: Father: Janos Szigetvari 26; Mother: Ilona Barath-Szigetvari 25; Brother: Elemer 5; and myself, … and I across the border from Hungary to Austria at the stroke of New Years on 31 December 1956. They didn't have the luxury to choose a …
  • Arnold ja Heli Rakfeldt
    Country of Origin: Sweden Ship Name: Aquitania Date of Arrival: November 22, 1949 Our journey to Canada, myself (Arnold ja Heli), Ilmar, and Miralda Rakfeldt and children, Helle, Tiia and Jaak Rakfeldt began on November 14, 1949 from Stockholm to Goteborg, Sweden from there to London, England where …
  • George S and Geraldine G Zwaagstra
    George (Sjouke, Jr.) arrived from The Tjerkwerd, The Netherlands on April 27, 1951 aboard the Georgic with his parents Sjouke and Anna Zwaagstra and younger brother Broer (Gerald). His older brother Pier (Peter) arrived at Pier 21 on March 29, 1950 aboard the Beaverbrae . See Sjouke and Anna …
  • Canadian Citizenship Act, 1946
    … or Second World Wars were eligible for citizenship after only one year. The new legislation also granted married women greater authority …
  • Love Stories
    … We often say that the War Brides followed their hearts to Canada, and so they did, but they were not the only ones. … find each other years later in Canada we have had the opportunity to hear a lot of love stories. I think of my favourites as snapshots, and … he digressed, and told one of the sweetest stories I have ever heard. Dr. Unger said, “…one very interesting thing is that the CN …
  • William and Christine Stoffer
    … Families September 26, 1956 – Skaubryn Our journey to Canada began with a dream of … Our furniture was put into a large wooden crates under the watchful eye of immigration officials. The box was required to be full to … and the youngest were not. Our journey was not without incident, as you can imagine with six children. For example, we had four-year-old …
  • Helle, Tiia ja Jaak Rakfeldt
    … Arrival: November 22, 1949 Our journey to Canada, myself ( Arnold ja Heli ), Ilmar, and Miralda Rakfeldt and children, Helle, Tiia and Jaak … off schedule and we finally arrived in St. Catharines on November 25-26th 1949. Our reason for coming to Canada and leaving Sweden was … the USA since 1924 and we could be reunited again as a family. We had visa applications to immigrate to the USA since 1945, but in Sweden we …
  • Ilmar ja Miralda Rakfeldt
    Country of Origin: Sweden Ship Name: Aquitania Date of Arrival: November 22, 1949 Our journey to Canada, myself ( Arnold ja Heli ), Ilmar, and Miralda Rakfeldt and children, Helle, Tiia and Jaak Rakfeldt began on November 14, 1949 from Stockholm to Goteborg, Sweden from there to London, England …
  • Erika Hertel Danner
    … Halifax, Nova Scotia Date of Arrival: March 31, 1960 Age on Arrival: 26 Erika Hertel was born Sept 23, 1934, the oldest of four siblings. Walli, the youngest, passed away at eleven years of age … Erika Hertel Danner …
  • Archimede, Dina and John
    … World War II had finally ended and horizons of hope beckoned beyond the mountains and coastlines of Italy. Having been sponsored by Uncle Agostino (Jack) Butticci, my 27 year old father, Archimede Altorio, left the familiarity of his native …