VE Day and VJ Day in Winnipeg: A Tale of Triumph, Sacrifice, and Enduring Memory
- millerheather
- Jun 13
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 18
By Martin Zeilig
May 8, 1945—a day etched into the collective memory of Canadians as the culmination of years of perseverance, sacrifice, and relentless hope for a better future.
It was 80 years ago. Just a blink in the timeline of history.
Yet, as the joyous echoes of VE Day celebrations filled the streets of Winnipeg, for some, this triumph was laced with a poignant sense of loss.
Dora Rosenbaum, born Dora Paul, was just 16 years old on that historic day, a high school junior at St. John’s High School in Winnipeg’s north end. The news of Germany’s unconditional surrender reached her while she was in class. Amid the cheers of her classmates, Dora’s heart was heavy. Victory in Europe could not erase the profound loss her family had endured.
“My older brother, Lavey Paul, had been killed on May 25, 1944 while serving in Italy (with the British Columbia Dragoons R.C.A.C.),” Dora says during a telephone interview from her home in Garden City. “He was my hero. He was the breadwinner for our family after my father left the picture. By that time, my sister was living away from home.”
Information on “Trooper Lavey Paul” is contained in the Second World War Book of Remembrance. His Military Service Number was H/102284, and his age was 21. He was with the 9th Canadian Armoured Regiment — Son of Rubin and Ida Paul, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
For Dora, the celebration of peace was bittersweet. As others rejoiced, she couldn’t hold back tears, walking home from school with a grief-stricken heart. Her mother, too, was overcome with emotion. The Paul family had already paid the ultimate price for this long-awaited victory, and the pain of Lavey’s absence overshadowed the day’s triumph.
Across the city, Winnipeg had transformed into a jubilant hub of celebration. Flags from allied nations adorned buildings, and people thronged the streets, waving and cheering. The city joined countless communities worldwide in marking the end of the war in Europe, with parades, concerts, and fireworks lighting up the day. Shops closed their doors as residents poured out to Portage Avenue for a spirited parade and gathered at the Legislative Grounds for ceremonies.
Yet, the war’s shadow lingered. While the surrender of Germany marked a monumental victory, the battle in the Pacific continued. Prime Minister Mackenzie King reminded Canadians of the ongoing struggle against Japan in his broadcast address, says the Canadian Encyclopedia.
“The war was not over for the Winnipeg Grenadiers, who had been captured during the defence of Hong Kong in 1941 and were still prisoners of war in Japan,” says Gord Crossley, Wing Heritage Officer at 17 Wing CFB Winnipeg.
Thoughts of these men weighed heavily on the minds of Winnipeggers as they commemorated VE Day. Along with reports and photographs of the celebrations, the Winnipeg Free Press (May 8, 1945) also included the following solemn report on page 2, “16 Manitobans Are Included In 2 Army Casualty Lists.”
Another inside page headline was “Winnipeggers Throng to Church Services—Deep Humility Marks Worship.”
For Dora, the journey of remembrance would continue decades later. In 1997, accompanied by the Canadian Legion, she visited Monte Cassino in Italy, where Lavey was buried. This pilgrimage fulfilled a promise her late husband, Harry—a Second World War veteran—had made to her. Standing at her brother’s grave in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery was a deeply moving experience, reconnecting her with the sacrifices her family had made during those tumultuous years.
“Harry and another Jewish man said kaddish (the Jewish mourner’s prayer) at Lavey's grave,” Dora, a retired Winnipeg School Board office employee, recalls.
“They also did it at every other cemetery we stopped at. The rest of the men on the tour looked for the Mogen Dovid (Star of David) at all the other cemeteries for the two of them to say kaddish. What a wonderful thing that was. I think only Canadian veterans would do this.”
Meanwhile, as VE Day celebrations echoed in Winnipeg, soldiers who had returned home and those in the Royal Canadian Air Force joined in the revelries. Many of these airmen had been placed on reserve, their services no longer required in Europe but held in readiness for the Pacific War. Wearing their uniforms with pride, they became symbols of both sacrifice and hope during the festivities.
This writer’s own father, Morrey I. Zeilig (1912-1998), who was a Signalman during the war and served in Canada, Britain and Northwest Europe, received his “Honourable Discharge” on 2 February 1946 having enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces on 5 August 1942.
“The nightly drone of bombers is a music which only inflames the desire of the anguished but heroic people of Europe to hear the full symphony of freedom,” Morrey wrote in a letter (April 25, 1944) to a sibling, who was living at the time in Urbana, Illinois.
“I am proud that I will be a member of the greatest orchestra of all time.”
Morrey was married to Lillian (nee Bereskin) Zeilig and had a young son, Kenneth (September 19, 1939-August 15, 1990), but he still joined the army.
“I had to go fight against Hitler,” he said to me many years later.
“Nazi Germany and its allies had to be defeated.”
It would be three more months — after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan (Hiroshima on August 6th and Nagasaki on Augst 9th), and the Soviet Union’s August 8th declaration of war against Japan and subsequent invasion of Manchuria on August 9th — before Japanese leaders surrendered on August 15, 1945.
This date marked the end of the Second World War in the Pacific. It brought another wave of celebration to Winnipeg.
“The long-awaited conclusion of the war was met with joy and relief, yet it was also a solemn reminder of the lives lost and the changes wrought by years of conflict,” says the Canadian Encyclopedia.
The aftermath of the war was transformative for Winnipeg and Canada as a whole. Over a million Canadians had served during the conflict, with over 42,000 killed and thousands more wounded.
The scars of war ran deep, but so too did the resolve to build a better future, says the Canadian Encylopedia. Communities across the nation banded together, determined to honor the sacrifices of their fallen and to embrace peace.
For Winnipeg, the end of the war brought changes in employment and social structure. “Soldiers returned to rebuild their lives, aided by a point system that determined their discharge and return home,” Mr. Crossley explains.
“Factors such as family responsibilities, civilian occupations, and length of service played a role in deciding who came home first.”
In the Netherlands, Canadian troops, including Winnipeg’s own Fort Garry Horse, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada contributed to rebuilding towns, leaving a lasting legacy in the communities they helped restore, he adds. This sense of duty and commitment to rebuilding resonated throughout the post-war years, shaping the character of those who had served and the communities they returned to.
The memory of VE Day and VJ Day remains alive in Winnipeg’s history. For individuals like Dora Rosenbaum, these days are a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the enduring impact of loss, and the collective joy of a nation emerging from the darkness of war.
Winnipeg’s streets may no longer reverberate with the cheers of 1945, but the legacy of those momentous days endures—a reminder of both the cost of conflict and the value of peace.
In the words of historian Jody Perrun: “The war fractured the wider community like it did individual families and it brought numerous examples of unjust treatment, supposedly for the good of the war effort; but at heart, the vast majority of Winnipeggers accepted the war’s justice, its necessity, and they worked together to make sure that Canada ended up on the winning side.”
Interviews with Gord Crossley, Wing Heritage Officer 17 Wing CFB Winnipeg; writer/playwright/military specialist Gilles Messier; Dora Rosenbaum.
Other sources of information: Canadian Encyclopedia online; Government of Canada website; Second World War Book of Remembrance; Canadian Virtual War Memorial(Government of Canada website);Winnipeg Free Press online archives; Statement of Service in the Canadian Armed Forces (National Archives of Canada)—from the writer’s personal collection; The Patriotic Consensus: Unity, Morale, and the Second World War in Winnipeg by Jody Perrun (University of Manitoba Press 292 pg.2014)
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A framed wartime photograph of Dora Rosenbaum's brother, Lavey Paul, hangs in a prominent place in her comfortable condominium. A silver Memorial Cross hangs on a corner of the frame by its purple ribbon. A "Commemorative Name Certificate" from the Province of Manitoba shows the exact location, via latitude and longitude and designated with a small red Maple Leaf, of Paul Point in a far northeastern part of the province. It is dated March 24th, 1995. The certificate is signed by Gerald F. Holm, Manitoba Representative and Albert Driedger, the Provincial Minister of Natural Resources.
An accompanying letter, which also rests within the frame, is addressed to Mrs. Dora Rosenbaum: "I am pleased to forward to you the attached special certificate which records the name of Paul Point. This geographical feature was named in honour of your brother Tpr. Lavey Paul on March 24, 1995.
"The Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names has, for some years, honoured service personnel who gave their lives during the Second World War. I feel it fitting that next-of-kin should receive tangible evidence in the form of this certificate.
"I share with you and all Manitobans the lasting recognition which this geographical name will give to one who made the supreme sacrifice so that we may continue to live in peace and human dignity.
''Yours truly,
Albert Driedger
Minister''
There have been 11,812 geographical features named in Manitoba after a wartime casualty from the two World Wars and the Korean War. The province also commemorated UN Peacekeeping, Afghanistan, and all 15 of Manitoba's Victoria Cross recipients. It is an ongoing program by the Manitoba Geographical Names Program.
