Not Just Numbers
Case 13 Conclusion: Dora Wilensky
Fifteen Minutes
![Joseph B. Salsberg and Dora Wilensky, [ca. 1936]. Ontario Jewish Archives, fonds 33, series 4, item 9.](https://wardmuseum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/F33_s4_i009-936x1024.jpg "Joseph B. Salsberg and Dora Wilensky, [ca. 1936]. Ontario Jewish Archives, fonds 33, series 4, item 9.")
Did you find anything surprising about this person’s life?
Did you make any assumptions that were later challenged?
Is there anything specific about this person that you would like to know?
Details
Dora Wilensky was born in Russia in 1902. Her family moved to Toronto in 1907.
After graduating high school with the highest grades in Ontario, she studied at McMaster University, and subsequently at the Ontario College of Education to become a teacher, but antisemitic discrimination prevented her from securing a job.
Dora then attended the New York School of Social Work and eventually returned to Toronto in 1931 during the Great Depression. She became Executive Director of the Jewish Family Welfare Bureau (JFWB), where she coordinated financial assistance and provided counselling support to vulnerable Jewish families.
In 1946, the JFWB merged with other Jewish social service agencies to form the Jewish Family and Child Services (JF&CS), with Dora as its first Executive Director. Soon after, JF&CS provided comprehensive support to help roughly 400 orphaned Holocaust survivors, helping them adjust to life in Canada.
Dora and her husband, Joseph Baruch (JB) Salsberg—a Toronto City Councillor and former member of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC)—were supporters of communism. JB eventually left the CPC and disavowed the Soviet Union, due to the pervasive antisemitism he witnessed during a trip to Moscow, and the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.
Dora and JB were unsuccessful in having children. Their twin boys died shortly after delivery. Dora passed away abruptly from cancer in 1959. JB lived until 1998 and did not remarry.
Dora was mourned by both Canada’s Jewish and social worker communities and praised for her warmth, professionalism, and commitment to helping her clients live fulfilling lives. She has been recognized for advancing the field of social work in Canada, including the use of play therapy when working with children, tailoring services to clients’ unique needs, and raising employee training standards.
For more information:
“JF&CS Toronto’s 150th Anniversary Timeline.” 2018. Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto. 2018. https://www.jfandcs.com/timeline.