(WORLD WAR I).

Montreal, c. 1914

First World War Enlistment Poster aimed at the Jews of Canada. Features bust portraits of Jewish Parliamentarians The Rt. Hon. Herbert Samuel (Home Secretary), Viscount Reading (Lord Chief Justice) and The Rt. Hon. Edwin S. Montagu (Secretary to the Treasury). The whole set against the Union Jack flag. Yiddish language.

“Jews from the world over yearn for freedom, have fought for it and will continue to fight for it.” A central image of soldier cutting a man’s bonds saying: “You have cut my shackles and set me free - now let me help you set others free! “ Poster states that England is waiting for ‘everyone’ to their duty and enlist in the infantry reinforcement for overseas division, under the command of Captain Isidor Friedman, headquartered at 786 St. Lawrence Boulevard, Montreal. The British declaration of war on Germany on August 4th, 1914, automatically brought Canada into the war, because of Canada’s status within the British Empire.