Samuel ‘Moe’ Hurwitz was a fighter.
Born in Montreal in 1919, he was a fierce and fearless 21-year-old hockey player who was courted by the Boston Bruins, but he declined a career move into professional leagues.
“How can I think about hockey when my brothers are dying in Europe?” Moe told his friends.
The eighth of 13 children born to Russian immigrants Bella and Chaim Hurwitz in Lachine, Que., the youth signed up for service in 1940, when he joined the storied Grenadier Guards. Arriving as a sergeant in Europe in 1942, he served as a legendary tank commander in the regiment—which became known as the 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment.
Landing in France during the Battle of Normandy in July 1944, his unit was thrown into action in the Allied push south from Caen towards Falaise, according to a biography published by Veterans Affairs Canada; “From the beginning, the fiery sergeant made courage his calling card like when he jumped from his tank, which he had nicknamed ‘Geraldine’, to flush out enemy snipers in a German-held French village. Hurwitz followed up that courageous act of bravado during the Battle of the Scheldt when he single-handedly rushed a German machine-gun position in a Dutch farmhouse, knocking out the enemy resistance and taking 23 prisoners.”
He was shot in the back during a tank battle in Holland in October 1944, and died of his wounds soon after in a German field hospital.
He was 25 years old.
A recipient of the Military Medal and the Distinguished Conduct Medal among others, Sgt. Moe Hurwitz won admiration for his service and gallantry and was admired and commended by subordinates and superiors. He was one of Canada’s most decorated Jewish soldiers, and the regiment’s most highly decorated non-commissioned member.
Hurwitz knew what he was signing up for, and reportedly told one of his brothers before he shipped out, “I won’t be coming back. I am going to be killed.”
Buried in the Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery in southwestern Netherlands, he was honoured at a Remembrance Day commemoration in the town of Hampstead on Nov. 7.
The 30-year tradition in the small Montreal suburb took on new resonance and relevance this year with representatives of the Jewish community and the presence of the Hurwitz family, including his niece Debbie, whose father Harry—Moe’s younger brother—served as a gunner in the Royal Canadian Navy and survived the bombing of the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan, which was sunk by a German torpedo in the English Channel in April 1944.
On this cold sunny morning, some 200 people gathered outside the local community centre—including some 50 young students from area schools.
While a bugler and bagpiper warmed up in a nearby parking lot—filling the bright late morning sky with urgent, mournful tones—dignitaries and residents also gathered, as a ceremonial guard drilled nearby.
Hampstead mayor Jeremy Levi told the crowd, “When we speak of sacrifices, we do so with the utmost respect and gratitude for the men and women of the military. Their sacrifices were not only during moments of conflict but also throughout their service to our nation, including their unwavering commitment to safeguarding our liberties, their personal and family sacrifices, and the countless hours spent in training and preparation for the unknown challenges they might face.”
“Sgt. Samuel ‘Moe’ Hurwitz’s life and service exemplify the very essence of what it means to be a guardian of freedom and a beacon of hope to his comrades and fellow citizens,” said Levi. “Moe was not just a soldier, said Levi, “but a symbol of the diversity and inclusivity that define Canada.”
As a Jewish soldier in a predominantly Christian regiment, he says, Hurwitz demonstrated that Canada’s strength “lies in our unity, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs.”
“Most of us have not sacrificed anything for our freedom,” said Levi. “It was bestowed upon us, by those who came before us and who had given so much. So now, it is I who must not forget the service and the sacrifices of so many Canadians in the military services of land, air and sea, over the past armed conflicts and many equally precarious peace-keeping missions.
“They died and their families suffered so that I could have the freedom to stand here, and speak to you, in safety and without fear of repression.”
Remembrance Day ceremonies in the riding “are some of the most important events of the year for me” Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather told The CJN. “Thanking our veterans and remembering those who have perished in our service, like Mr. Hurwitz who was honoured today, is so important and I appreciate that each municipality in the riding does their own ceremony to honour those who have served.”
After the ceremony, Debbie Hurwitz presented Levi and the museum with copies of Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII, the 2019 book by The CJN Daily host Ellin Bessner, which will be presented to the Grenadier Guards regimental museum. She also brought along a collection of Harry Hurwitz’ notes and journals from his days in Marlag und Milag Nord PoW camp near Bremen, including meticulous sketches of the bombing of the Athabasca, notes from fellow prisoners and photographs of his German captors.
Debbie recounted some of the stories and humour that characterized her father and her family’s tradition of service. “The guards knew his German was more Yiddish than German” she told The CJN. “They told him ‘We know you’re Jewish,’ despite the fact that he gave a modified non-Jewish-sounding name when captured. “But they liked him and said they would protect him ‘if he would put in a good word for them upon liberation’,” she laughed, tears welling in her eyes.
When liberation did come, it came via a unit of Scottish soldiers, an officer asking for any Jewish prisoners to be brought forward. “When my father was brought—alone—to the Scottish officer, he was greeted with a big smile and a loud ‘Great to see you! I’m Sergeant Rabinovich!” she laughs.
Harry Hurwitz died in Montreal in 2020, at age 99.
As one young child told the crowd, “Wearing a poppy is a great way to start a conversation and a minute of silence in their honor is the least that we can do. It’s respectful and it gives us time to think about what all the people did for us; we can also think about what we can do for the veterans.”
The 22 Canadian Armoured Regiment Museum has loaned a collection of artifacts of the history of the Regiment, as well as that of Moe Hurwitz, which will remain on display at the Hampstead community centre until Nov. 10.
Debbie and her family have seen more of these ceremonies than many other Canadians, “but this one today was just absolutely remarkable, the presence of the children, it was absolutely remarkable, the respect.
“The exhibition that’s being shown today, everyone’s knowledge of who my uncle was, was so inspiring. I always felt that Remembrance Day should be a national holiday, and I always believed that those who volunteer to serve, never know what they’re going to be asked to do, but they are from the start, selflessly serving their country and deserve the greatest honor and respect through the generations.”
Senator Leo Housakos said Hurwitz’ memory should be “an inspiration to all of us gathered here today. And may it serve as a critical reminder of our collective responsibility to preserve the peace and the freedoms that Moe and every other soldier fought so hard to achieve.”
Remembrance Day is always a solemn occasion said Housakos, “but this year, it feels more ominous and more cautionary than usual.” As Canadians gather to pay respects to those who gave so much, and those who continue to serve so that they may live a life of freedom and dignity, where we value human rights, democracy, and rule of law” he said, “I believe those values are under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the second World War.
“Certainly, the treatment of Jewish people the world over, including right here at home in Canada, is the likes of which we haven’t seen since the 1930s.” He recounted the group of anti-Israel protestors swarming Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue earlier this week, chanting “Intifada! Intifada!” and other slogans, “with Jewish Montrealers targeted at their place of worship simply because they’re Jewish,” and “saw it last week when I listened to Jewish students from McGill and Concordia describing the mistreatment and abuse they face, not only from other students but also from administrators.
“For decades since the end of that war, we have said ‘Lest we forget’ and ‘never again’ as a pledge to never let our guard down in fighting tyranny and great evil in this world. But we have let our guard down; we have become too complacent in our freedom, too naïve about the true evil that does exist.”
So many others gave life and limb, he said, “and may we truly reflect on why they did so. Moe Hurwitz enlisted to fight overseas, knowing he would never return alive to Canada. He said that at the time. He did it for us. And it is incumbent on all of us to ensure he did not do so in vain.”
Asked how eras have changed, thinking about the typical young person today considering giving up incredible opportunities at home to go and fight far away knowing that they might not return, Debbie didn’t miss a beat. “My nephew serves in the IDF,” she told The CJN, adding her sister volunteered years ago. “My family still fights.”
As a daughter and niece of fighters, soldiers and heroes, who sacrificed so much in the large, bloody moments that transformed the world, she says there’s another message, much simpler, to consider: “The cliché, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, is probably really apropos.
“What I have learned through listening to my dad’s stories and knowing what Moe experienced, and what my family is going through now, you just have to come together as a community and try and make things better and have mutual respect and respect for life, and the life of others.” And sometimes she agrees, that requires the most robust, muscular response.
“It does, unfortunately, but all you can do is hope.”
