Albert Gomberg was born November 29, 1923 in Montreal. His parents emigrated from Russia to escape the antisemitism and pogroms that were prevalent at the time. They emigrated to Halifax and then Montreal, where they lived in the Outremont neighbourhood. They had a large family with seven boys and one girl, of which Albert was the second youngest. Several of Albert’s brothers served in the Second World War, and Albert volunteered soon after he graduated from high school. He was assigned to the artillery and he went into training and eventually made his way to Nova Scotia. They were on a training shoot there when it began to rain, and Albert slept under his vehicle and got a very bad case of poison ivy that took him out of the rotation. He also endured antisemitic taunts at times in the army. On the positive side, when his service was over he returned to Montreal and McGill University, where he took advantage of his benefits to advance his education. He also reignited a high school romance and married and together he and his wife built their family and their lives in postwar Canada. Albert Gomberg was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec in March 2026.
