Jennie's Birth Certificate

Montreal, Canada, issued August 23, 1979

Image Slideshow

Typewritten text in French and English from the prothonotary’s office in Montreal. There is a signature in blue and a red stamp at the bottom of the page that reads “Superior court. District of Montreal. Province of Québec.” A full transcript appears on the webpage.
Birth certificate dated "August 23, 1979" for the birth year of 1924, with a red seal of the Superior Court of Quebec at the bottom.
Typewritten text with blanks filled in in cursive. Along the left of the page are two red stamps, one reading “Court house, Montreal,” and the other reading “Province of Quebec. 24 VIII’79. $2/00/149148. Enregistrement – registration.”
Inside view of birth certificate showing official stamps.

Jennie Phillips may be the only Canadian-born survivor of the Holocaust. She was born Jennie Lifschitz in Montreal in 1924. She and her mother moved to Liepāja, Latvia shortly after Jennie was born.

Jennie escaped from massacres in Liepāja. She survived camps in Latvia, Poland and Germany. As a Canadian citizen, Jennie was permitted to return to Canada in 1946. This was long before European Holocaust survivors were allowed to enter Canada.
 

Donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre by Rachel Mines. RA013-02-00-00-01

Transcript

[Transcription of the original French and English]

[Front side]

COUR SUPÉRIEURE
SUPERIOR COURT 

Bureau du Protonotaire 
Prothonotary’s Office 

PROVINCE de / of QUÉBEC
DISTRICT de / of MONTRÉAL

EXTRAIT, AU VERSO, CONFORME AU 
True extract, on the reverse, from 

REGISTRE DE L’ÉTAT CIVIL
The register of civil status 

de of City of MONTREAL 
Pour l’année 1924
For the year

MONTRÉAL, August 23, 1979 [signature of authorized officer] 
[SEAL OF THE SUPERIOR COURT, PROVINCE OF QUEBEC]

[Back side]

On this twenty second day of October
Nineteen Hundred and Twenty Four [sic], I
This undersigned Michael O’Brian Ward, 
Registered the birth of Jennie 
Born in the City of Montreal on the Eight day of July Nineteen
Hundred and Twenty Four daughter 
Of Abraham Lifschitz, merchant
Who has signed, and of Paola Bloomberg
His wife. Act read. 

[signatures]

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