Bigotry, antisemitism, bloodshed: A shameful chapter of Toronto’s history plays out in a city park

“Seeing it happen in front of me made me realize this is much more important than I thought,” said Hanah Isse, a Grade 8 student, after watching a live interactive theatrical production about that disturbing chapter in the city’s history.

Isse, who attends Ryerson Community School, was among the students at Christie Pits Park on Thursday watching the performance and was “really surprised” to learn about what transpired on the night of Aug. 16, 1933.

Similarly, classmate Chloe Douglas “had no idea” about the riot, and says a takeaway message is, “People from different backgrounds can work together and make things right.”

The show — “The Riot at Christie Pits” presented by The Hogtown Collective — gives students in Grades 8 and 10 an experiential learning opportunity, with scenes in various parts of the park, which is located at the corner of Bloor Street West and Christie Street, next to what is now known as Koreatown. The riot is taught in Grade 10 and school boards across the Greater Toronto Area have been invited to the show, which runs until June 16. For teachers who can’t take their students, an online component and learning resources are available.

Show sheds light on intolerance

Sam Rosenthal, director, producer and co-writer, says the feedback from students and teachers has been great, and he’d like it shown to the general public, adding “even though it’s a Toronto-based story, we think it’s relevant for any community across Canada.”

Co-writer Drew Carnwath says the show resonates with students “because it’s about intolerance, and every kid in the audience can find themselves in the story.”

The initiative was funded by the province and created in partnership by the Ontario Jewish Archives, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Toronto District School Board’s Jewish and Italian Heritage committees. Prior to Thursday’s performance, representatives from these groups, and politicians, spoke with students, imploring them to learn from history, particularly with racism and antisemitism on the rise.

“The Jewish and Italian young people were not bystanders — they stood up against hate,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “When we see racism and discrimination, when we see the wrong thing happening, the moral necessity for all of us, as Canadians, is to stand up and do something about it.”

Noah Shack, vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, says the production comes at a time when “hate is on the rise, targeting the Jewish community and other communities as well.”

“This is an opportunity to shine a light on one of the darkest chapters in our history, to learn the lessons from that and build up resolve to continue to make this city as welcoming and diverse and vibrant as it can possibly be,” Shack told the Star.

Immigrants were scapegoats

The 1933 riot occurred during the Great Depression, when immigrants were the scapegoat for economic hardships and blamed for taking jobs — in Toronto, unemployment was about 33 per cent. At the time, antisemitism was socially acceptable in Canada — it remained so until the 1960s when new laws were introduced — with Jews prohibited from owning land, employers refusing to hire them and universities limiting their enrolment.

When Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, the Nazis’ campaign against the Jews, and the swastika, made front-page news here, fuelling antisemitism. That summer, tensions boiled over, between Anglo-Canadians, who made up about 80 per cent of the city’s population, and Jews, the largest minority group.

Signs at the city’s beaches said “No Jews Allowed” and there were “Swastika clubs,” which were comprised of swastika-wearing thugs who walked up and down the boardwalk antagonizing and intimidating Jews, often leading to violent outbreaks.

South of Christie Pits Park — then called Willowvale Park — Jews lived alongside Italians, who were also treated as second-class citizens. They supported each other and their boys became fast friends in the boxing gyms on College Street near Kensington Market.

A heat wave that summer forced people outdoors, with crowds drawn to baseball fields for cheap and popular entertainment. On Aug. 14, at Christie Pits, the Harbord Playground team, made up of mostly Jewish players, took on local rivals St. Peter’s, which was a baseball team sponsored by a nearby church. After the game, the notorious Pit Gang — a group of Anglo troublemakers with no affiliation to either team — acted as provocateurs shouting “Heil Hitler” and held up a huge banner with a swastika, almost leading to a brawl. That night, the gang painted the Nazi slogan and a swastika on the clubhouse roof, according to the Toronto Daily Star, which published a photo of it.

Two days later, on Aug. 16, the teams met again, and at the end of the game the Pit Gang shouted “Heil Hitler” and unfurled a swastika banner. Violence broke out between the Anglos and Jews, who were backed by the Italians. Truckloads of reinforcements showed up for both sides, with people wielding bats, bricks and lead pipes. According to a Star report the next day, a crowd of more than 10,000, both participants and spectators, dissolved into a “disorderly mob” and the riot lasted over six hours, during which time “heads were opened, eyes blackened and bodies thumped.” Many required medical attention, but no one was killed. Although police had been warned about the potential for violence, just a handful of officers were there when fighting erupted.

Racism and bigotry were rampant

Outrage followed. Then-mayor William J. Stewart, who had called for calm prior to the riot, banned the swastika and swastika clubs. While racism and bigotry continued after the riot, the event became a symbol of solidarity amongst immigrant communities. Toronto is now one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

On Thursday, Stewart’s grandson Ted Staunton was at the performance, invited because his graphic novel The Good Fight, co-authored with Josh Rosen, was a key source of information for the show’s writers. Staunton, who was young when his grandfather died, says Stewart never spoke to him about the riot, likely because he didn’t fully grasp its significance.

“To the communities that were involved, it was a bellwether moment for them. It took longer for the city itself, and the rest of us in the city, to understand what had taken place,” Staunton told the Star.

“The change was immediately apparent in the immigrant community ... suddenly people realized, ‘We can stand up.’”

The production runs until June 16, with performances from Tuesday to Friday, at 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.