Grunia Movschovitch Ferman

Grunia Movschovitch Ferman (1916-2004) was a WWII resistance fighter, nurse, businesswoman, and Holocaust remembrance activist.

Early life

Grunia Movschovitch was born in Novogrudek in 1916. As such she was pressed into service as a fitness trainer by the Russian army during its occupation of Western Poland (1939-41). She briefly found shelter on a farm but had to leave as she posed a danger to the farm family. She found refuge in Naliboki Forest, in current-day Belarus, where she joined one of the organized camps of Jewish resistance fighters led by Tuvia Bielski. though various governments and administrations of the day rejected 12,000 individual applications from Jewish would-be refugees to Newfoundland and Labrador. In St. John's, Lewis Ferman bought a truck, had "Lewis Ferman and Co." painted on the side, and worked as an itinerant merchant. - "The Store for Style and Value" - on the northwest corner of Water Street and Adelaide Street in St. John's:The family's store on Water Street was both a place of business and a community meeting place. "They would come in to have a cup of coffee, or say hello, or talk about the weather," said [Alan] Ferman, who remembers working in the store as a child. "It was like a melting pot, the store. People from all over the Avalon would come there and talk and my father used to say, every one of the customers are really our friends." On 11 February 1955, Grunia Ferman was sworn in as a full Canadian citizen.

The Fermans eventually had agent stores in Freshwater, as well as in Carbonear by 1959.

Ferman spoke nine different languages and, like her husband, acted as a translator in the community, often volunteering at hospitals to assist with visiting sailors.

The store closed in 1988 and the Fermans moved to Toronto to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Grunia died in 2004.

Holocaust remembrance As Holocaust survivors in the 1970s, the Fermans were involved in initiating Holocaust remembrance events in St. John's. At the event, she was quoted as saying,We have to try to erase racism in this world. We have to be more tolerant of other people, other races, no matter what colour skin they have, what kind of religion they have. They are human beings, and we should never forget that. The degree was given to her on the afternoon of 28 October 1995, as part of Memorial University's Fall Convocation. Her oration was given by Professor Shane O'Dea.

Lewis Ferman & Co. sign discovery and conservation

On 1 October 2018, Twitter user Brad Collins shared a photo of an old sign bearing the words "Lewis Ferman & Co." which had been uncovered during renovation work on a Subway restaurant franchise on Water Street in St. John's. News of the discovery made headlines locally and nationally.

Museum conservators faced several challenges with the sign, which had been cut into seven pieces: it needed to be acclimatized to the lab's temperature and humidity, dirt had to be removed without damaging the paint, and flaking paint had to be re-glued to the wood. It was planned that the sign would be added to a future Jewish exhibit at The Rooms.