Life Stories: Holocaust survivor Minna Aspler built new life in Montreal

"She regarded it as being reborn,” said her son about the move to Canada. “She never looked back. She always looked forward.”

A photo of Minna Aspler, taken around 1943, while she was in hiding in Warsaw, pretending to be a Christian. Photo courtesy of Carl Aspler

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“You would think she hadn’t gone through the experiences that she had gone through,” said Carl Aspler of his mother, Minna, who died in June at the age of 100.

“She was active, sociable, engaging.”

Minna grew up in Warsaw, Poland, in the early 20th century and had a fairly normal upbringing until the Second World War broke out when she was 19. The Germans quickly invaded and occupied the city, confiscating her father’s textile business. The family, along with hundreds of thousands of other Jews, was confined to the Warsaw Ghetto, an area of roughly 3.4 square kilometres — the largest Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe.

“The conditions were very difficult because the Germans were basically starving them,” Carl said.

In 1942, a family friend helped smuggle Minna out of the ghetto. For her own safety, she began living as a Christian and was outfitted with fake papers and a fake name, Maria Burczynska. Often, German authorities would test people they suspected of being Jewish by forcing them to recite Catholic prayers. To survive, Minna would spend her nights memorizing Biblical verses.

“This was a way of detecting who the Jews were by putting them under stress,” Carl explained.

In 1944, Warsaw residents united against the Germans in what became known as the Warsaw Uprising. Minna ended up working with the Polish Resistance efforts as a courier. She would send passwords and messages between groups of fighters. Enraged by the rebellion, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered his soldiers to raze Warsaw to the ground. The Germans set fire to buildings and shot people running for safety.

During such attacks, Minna would enter buildings, usually through their basements or sewers, and rescue people trapped inside as the fires raged. Her heroic efforts earned her the nickname “Mad Maria.” Carl asked his mother later about her experiences. She said that because her parents died and her brother, Boris, disappeared during the war, she had nothing to live for.

“She had this adrenaline rush of fearlessness,” Carl said.

Eventually, Minna was captured by the Germans and placed in a camp along the Rhine River. A Dutch soldier noticed her and helped hide Minna and a friend for a while, but that period was short-lived. Minna wound up in another forced labour camp and spent three months in a Gestapo prison.

In 1945, when the war was over, Minna was assigned to various refugee camps. At Landsberg Camp in Bavaria, she met Moe Aspler, who had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and stayed in Europe after the war to volunteer with the United Nations. They got married at the camp in April 1946. Minna’s dress was made of the material used for curtains.

Moe and Minna moved to Montreal a year later. They spent the rest of their lives in the city, and had a profound impact on the community.

“She was very active in a lot of Jewish charitable organizations,” Carl said. “For the next 50 years, she worked tirelessly as a volunteer.”

Minna also enjoyed Montreal’s arts scene and was involved with the Centaur Theatre.

“She was always running to concerts at Place des Arts,” Carl said.

Despite the trauma she experienced during the war, Minna was able to raise a family and live a healthy life. In 1981, she went to Israel to attend a Holocaust reunion. Later on, at the encouragement of others, Minna began talking about her experiences to educate younger generations.

According to Carl, his mother was very positive about what she had endured and remained grateful for the chapter of her life in Montreal.

“She regarded it as being reborn,” Carl said. “She never looked back. She always looked forward.”

Minna Aspler

Born: June 9, 1918

Died: June 20, 2018


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