Himmelfarb, Victor

Victor Himmelfarb was born on November 7th, 1909, to Jacob Himmelfarb and Annie Himmelfarb, who were both from Poland. Born and raised in Toronto, Himmelfarb received education at Ogden Public School and Jarvis Collegiate. After apprenticing as a pharmacist for two years, he went to the Ontario College of Pharmacy in 1931 and graduated two years later. After graduation, Himmelfarb found a job as a pharmacist on Queen Street near Spadina while at the same time paying close attention to world politics and conflicts. Aiming to get into the war and cracking against Hitler and fascism, Himmelfarb went by himself from Toronto to Spain in 1937. He travelled by way of France, from where he marched over the Pyrenees Mountains into a town of Figueras, and went through Valencia and Barcelona up to Albacete, where the headquarters of the International Brigades was located. He joined the International Brigades as a pharmacist, serving in several hospitals in different localities and finally wound up as a lieutenant.
Himmelfarb left Spain in January of 1939, travelling back to Canada with the Canadian representative and was interviewed by Gregory Clark on the way from Halifax to Toronto. During the Second World War, he worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for over five years. Himmelfarb later joined the Mackenzie Papineau Veterans Association in Toronto.
He passed away in 1985.