Michael Mason was born in Czechoslovakia in 1928 and grew up in Hungary, with the name Miklos Friedman. He has three siblings, Laci, Magda and Freddi. His life was interrupted by the reality of World War Two, when Germany’s occupation saw his family lose its business and its rights of citizenship. A tough kid, Michael endured the hardships of deportation, and he was able to survive the rigours of Birkenau and a series of other camps, where he was forced into slave labour. In 1948, he immigrated to Canada taking on the identity of Miklos Moskovits, later changing his name to Michael Mason. In Canada, Michael worked in a variety of businesses before becoming a denturist in 1973. Michael Mason lives in Toronto, and he came to Crestwood via the Azrieli Foundation.
Michael was interviewed twice in the fall of 2016, first at Crestwood and later at his home. The students who took the lead on this project were Yoshie Ishikawa, Hailey Blum, Peter Keane, Jacob Newman and Nary Zhang.
Videos
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- 1. Michael Mason - Introduction.mp4
- 2. Family and Early Life.mp4
- 3. News about the War.mp4
- 4. Anti-Semitism.mp4
- 5. Before the German Occupation.mp4
- 6. Changes after the German Occupation; The German Army.mp4
- 7. From the Labour Battalions....mp4
- 8. ...to Deportation; The Yellow Star.mp4
- 9. Identity, Family, and Hiding
- 10. Birkenau
- 11. Dachau and Muhldorf
- 12. The Depths of Humanity
- 13. Raoul Wallenberg
- 14. Canada and Canadians
- 15. Postwar Effects
