 The early members of Habonim (literally "the builders") were Holocaust survivors or refugees from Central Europe, who arrived in Canada after World War II.One of its founders and first President was George Spitz, a Jewish refugee from Berlin, who unsuccessfully attempted to bring over his family from Germany in 1939 on the ill-fated MS St. Louis.Paul Alexander, also a refugee of Berlin, was an early Vice-President of the synagogue - his twin brother Hanns was most famous for capturing Rudolf Höss, the Kommandant of Auschwitz.