Kalmen Kaplansky

Labor organizer, human rights activist

• Born: January 5, 1912
• Birthplace: Bialystok, Poland
• Place of death: December 10, 1997

Significance: Kalmen Kaplansky, known as the Zaideh (Grandfather) of the Canadian Human Rights Movement, was a Jewish Polish-Canadian labor organizer and human rights activist. He became known throughout Canada for his tireless promotion of rights and protections for workers, immigrants, minorities, and people in general.

Background

Kalmen Kaplansky was born on January 5, 1912, in Bialystok, Poland. Not much information is publicly available about his childhood, other than he grew up in Poland and graduated in 1929 from D. Druskina High School. During his youth, Poland was in a state of near-constant change. The Bialystok region had been part of the Russian Empire prior to World War I (1914–1918), when it was occupied by Germany; after the war, Poland became an independent country. During this time, life for Poland’s Jewish residents was often a serious struggle, with many having to combat discrimination and violence. Shortly after Kaplansky graduated high school in 1929, he decided to leave Poland, and in December 1929 headed to Canada.

Work in Unions and Rights Organizations

As a young man, Kaplansky learned about the printing industry and used his knowledge in his new home. In 1932, he found work as a typesetter and linotype operator in Montreal. During his eleven years in that field, he became heavily involved in labor unions, which were growing quickly in Canada at the time. He joined Local 176 of the International Typographical Union, the Montreal Typographical Union, and became a board member. As such, he participated in larger gatherings in the region, including the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada and the Montreal Trades and Labor Council.

Kaplansky’s involvement with unions increased his interest in the wider effort toward labor rights. He approached this goal in various ways as a labor leader, such as by joining the Workmen’s Circle of Montreal in the early 1940s. He also took a political approach; for example, he became secretary of the Quebec Section of the Montreal District Council of the Labour Party of Canada. Around the same time, Kaplansky also served in the military during World War II (1939–1945); he was in the Canadian Army from 1943 to 1946. This shift did not derail, or even greatly disrupt, Kaplansky’s focus on social affairs and labor rights. In fact, even while in the military, he attempted to run for a political post in Quebec.

Following the war and his return home, Kaplansky reapplied his full efforts to labor causes. In 1946, he assumed the national directorship of the Jewish Labour Committee, a position that would further expand the reach of his goals. In this position, he was able to address another area of labor concerns, namely the special struggles endured by many minority groups of laborers including immigrants; Jewish workers; and First Nations, Asian, and Black workers. Many workers from these backgrounds faced additional challenges, such as job discrimination, lower wages, and reduced ability to participate in labor unions.

Focusing on the needs of these groups expanded Kaplansky’s vision into advancing not only labor rights, but also human rights on a broader scale. In the postwar society of the late 1940s, the Kaplansky-led Jewish Labour Committee promoted groups in numerous Canadian cities known as Joint Labour Committees to Combat Racial Intolerance. These groups served as advocates for minority workers, offering assistance and advice and investigating their grievances and concerns. Kaplansky pushed for these groups to do even more, such as spread public education about human rights and how to respect and defend them and put pressure on government officials to pass relevant legislation.

During his time leading the Jewish Labour Committee, Kaplansky also tried again to enter politics, though he was unsuccessful and returned his focus to his advocacy projects. He concluded his time as Jewish Labour Committee director in 1957 and moved into wider areas of advocacy. He served as an International Labour Organization ambassador and took a leading position in the Canadian National Committee on Human Rights.

In the 1960s, he helped to coordinate many efforts in Canada that ran parallel to the civil rights movement then changing the face of the United States. One of the standout events of that decade for Kaplansky was the announcement that 1968 would be known as the International Year for Human Rights, and Kaplansky was a visible figure during the celebration. He also used the opportunity and public attention to push for further legislation and organizations in support of labor rights, minority rights, and human rights in general.

Impact

Kaplansky’s work and dedication earned him the nickname of “Zaideh of the Canadian Human Rights Movement”—zaideh being the Yiddish term for “grandfather.” Kaplansky received many honors and awards for his lifetime of work. In 1980, he won the prestigious Order of Canada, that country’s highest civilian award. In 1983 he gained an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Ottawa and the next year won the CLC Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity.

In the 1990s, he won the Canadian Anniversary of Confederation Medal in 1992 and the United Nations Association in Canada Medal of Honour in 1995. In 1998, the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation created the Kalmen Kaplansky Scholarship in Economic and Social Rights in honor of the rights reformer. This award is meant for graduate students studying economic and social rights.

Personal Life

Not much information is publicly available about Kaplansky’s personal life. He died on December 10, 1997.

Bibliography

“Kalmen Kaplansky.” Canada’s Human Rights History / Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, 2023, historyofrights.ca/encyclopaedia/biographies/kalmen-kaplansky/. Accessed 3 July 2023.

“Kalmen Kaplansky.” Capital Heritage Connexion / Patrimoine Capitale, www.capitalheritage.ca/virtual-exhibits/face-to-face/kalmen-kaplansky/. Accessed 3 July 2023.

“Kalmen Kaplansky.” Jewish Virtual Library / American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2023, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kaplansky-kalmen. Accessed 3 July 2023.

“Kalmen Kaplansky.” Juifs D’Ici, www.juifsdici.ca/en/kalmen-kaplansky/. Accessed 3 July 2023.

“Kaplansky, Kalmen.” The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network, 2023, www.cjhn.ca/en/permalink/cjhn206. Accessed 3 July 2023.

“Kalmen Kaplansky—20 Sept. 1985.” Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Sherman Campus, search.ontariojewisharchives.org/Permalink/oralhistoriesoral-103. Accessed 3 July 2023.

“The Kalmen Kaplansky Scholarship in Human Rights.” The Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation, www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/kalmenkaplansky. Accessed 3 July 2023.