Dorothy Dworkin

Fifteen Minutes

Review the details of your Case Study’s life together. Did the class find anything surprising? Did they make any assumptions that were later challenged? Is there anything specific about their Case Study that they want to know?

• Dorothy Dworkin’s maiden name was Goldstick and her family emigrated to Canada in 1907
• After attending medical school in the United States, Dorothy formed a women’s organization that would eventually grow into an orphanage
• Her husband, Henry Dworkin, was a successful Ukrainian businessman who helped found the Toronto Labour Lyceum, a centre of labour activism
• In 1922 Dorothy established the Toronto Jewish Convalescent and Maternity Hospital after the Toronto General Hospital refused to provide kosher meals or attend to the language needs of its Jewish patients. This organization would become Mount Sinai Hospital
• Dorothy took control of her husband’s business empire after he died in 1928
• Dorothy was active with the Jewish Labor Committee and the Canadian Jewish Congress
• During the Holocaust in Europe, Dorothy helped organize relief efforts for persecuted Jews
• Dorothy died in 1976 and has since been designed a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada