Emigration in the 1920s
The Kudinskys began their migration to Canada in the first decade of the 20th century with the arrivals of the Herschel branch. But then the First World War halted immigration into Canada. The Kudinsky migration resumed and was completed in the 1920s with the arrival of the Miriam, Leib, Nesanel and Raful branches.
Emigrés faced hurdles at both ends of the journey. This article examines the processes for leaving the USSR and for gaining entry into Canada in the 1920s.
RUSCAPA
Jews could not leave the USSR without the required documents and permits. RUSCAPA was one of several organizations that arose to facilitate the departure of Soviet émigrés. The full name of this company was Russian-Canadian-American Passenger Agency. The partners in RUSCAPA were several passenger carriers including Canadian Pacific Steamships, Cunard, and Holland-America Line. RUSCAPA’s head office was in Moscow. It had branches in Kiev and agents in smaller towns.
Several Kudinskys were clients of RUSCAPA including Raful and Chaia Bluma Kudinsky and their adopted daughter Bessie, Bertha (Bobble) Kudinsky, the Rabinovitch family, and Beryl Bakalinsky.
The Cost of Emigration
In 1926, Raizel and Bentsie Rabinovitch embarked from Antwerp bound for Quebec City on the SS Melita. Their 3rd class (“steerage”) fare was about $90. All of the Kudinskys crossed the Atlantic in 3rd class.
Raisel and Bentsie were accompanied by their daughters Sarah, age 5, and Dwasa (Dolly), age 3. Children 9 years old or younger were charged half the adult fare. It’s likely that parents sometimes understated the ages of their children in order to qualify for the discounted fare. A total of 18 children emigrated with their Kudinsky parents in the 1920s. According to the ship manifests, none of them were 10 or 11 years old, but seven were said to be 8 years old.
Ship fare was only one of many expenses incurred by the émigrés. For example, the USSR required them to pay for both an internal and a foreign passport. In 1926 the Soviet state charged a working family 225 rubles for an internal passport. This was equivalent to about $115 (CAD). For nonworkers, the cost was 340 rubles. In 1925, Beryl Bakalinsky paid 48 rubles and 50 kopecks for (about $25) for a foreign passport.
The real cost of passports could be more as officials sometimes required bribes before issuing them.
The Soviet government required émigrés to travel to Moscow before leaving the country. This necessitated the expense of a fare to Moscow. The Kudinskys, Rabinovitches and Bakalinskys also paid RUSCAPA for its services.
Emigrés incurred the expense of rail fares from Moscow to their departure ports. Some Kudinskys embarked from British ports – Liverpool, Southampton, Glasgow. Others sailed from continental ports – Rotterdam, Antwerp, Danzig, Hamburg. Passengers needed to arrive at least a day early because a ship could leave the day before its scheduled departure date. And of course, every emigrant Kudinsky had to pay a fare for the long train journey from their port of arrival on the east coast to Winnipeg.
Soviet Red Tape
Emigrating from the USSR was a heavily bureaucratic process. Timelines for the required steps were tight. In September, 1925 Beryl Bakalinsky was nervously waiting at home in Bilylivka for the Moscow head office of RUSCAPA to send him a certificate. He needed this certificate to qualify for a foreign passport. The Moscow office finally sent the certificate to him on September 7. But Beryl was facing a deadline of September 17 for obtaining the passport. He couriered the certificate to the Kiev RUSCAPA office with a note imploring them to “immediately deliver this Certificate to the foreign department of the Provincial executive committee.” To underscore the urgency he added, “I hope that you fully recognize that my case does not tolerate the slightest delay and that you will do everything that depends on you so that I can get my passport in time, for which I am very grateful to you in advance.” Happily for Beryl, the required steps were taken on time and he was able to board his ship at Southampton on October 10.
Health and Literacy Requirements
Prospective émigrés to Canada had to meet rigid health standards. Adults could be disqualified if they were not literate. A standard questionnaire asked about infectious diseases, epilepsy, mental disorders, tuberculosis, heart disease, venereal diseases, skin and eye diseases, deformities, crippled parts of the body, hernias and pregnancy. Passengers were examined by doctors before embarkation and could be prevented from boarding if they were found to be in ill health.
Raful Kudinsky had a congenital hand tremor, and his wife Chaia Bluma was illiterate. RUSCAPA arranged two medical examinations of Raful to look into his hand tremor and made inquiries to determine if the tremor or Chaia Bluma’s illiteracy would be an obstacle to her entry into Canada. Fortunately, the authorities decided that they could be granted a Canadian travel visa.
Preboarding procedures included sanitary measures. Before being allowed to board the SS Ausonia, Beryl Bakalinsky was deloused and his clothing and baggage were disinfected.
At the Canadian End
After World War I, Canadian immigration policy shifted to emphasize ethnic criteria for determining the eligibility of prospective immigrants. North Europeans (“Nordic Races”) were most highly valued and could enter freely. Jews from eastern Europe were in the lowest category. Between 1921 and 1931 less than 16,000 Jews were allowed to enter Canada. They could enter Canada only with a government permit. Except in special cases, permits were restricted to close relatives of earlier arrivals.
The permit system meant that the Kudinskys already in Canada were critical to the successful immigration of those who remained in the old country. The earlier arrivals applied for entry permits for their sisters, brothers and parents with the assistance of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Service (JIAS). The applicants paid a $3 annual membership fee in order to use the services of the JIAS.
In 1925, only 10 months after arriving in Canada, Leib Coodin (son of Nesanel and Rachel) successfully applied for an entry permit for his sister and brother-in-law Rose and Bentsie Rabinovitch and their children, and his sister Bertha (Bobble) Coodin.
In 1926, Mottel Coodin obtained an entry permit for his sister and brother-in-law, Mania and Eli Gershuny and their two sons. In his application, Mottel agreed to “assume full responsibility for the intending immigrants and guarantee that they will be properly received, looked after, and will not become public charges.” As security for his obligations, Mottel provided a Bond of Indemnity for $600. He was joined in the bond by Sam Bakalinsky and Herschel Coodin as sureties.
Applicants had to cover the cost of maintenance of the immigrant family for one month while they were in transit. Mottel Coodin paid $20 for the Gershuny family’s maintenance. Leib Coodin paid $32 for the Rabinovitch family and his sister Bertha.
Since applicants could only apply for an entry permit for close relatives, they sometimes exaggerated their relationship. Two applications made by Berel Kreger in 1926 illustrate this practice. When he applied for an entry permit on behalf of the Roitman family, Berel stated that Rachel Roitman was his sister. This was not true. Berel and Rachel were not closely related. The real relationship was through Berel’s wife Chaykeh. She and Rachel were cousins.
When Berel applied on behalf of the teenage orphan Pesach Tabachnick, he described Pesach as his nephew. Again, this was an exaggeration. While the exact relationship is unclear, they were no closer than cousins.
Settling into Life in Winnipeg
The assistance provided to the immigrant Kudinskys by their relatives did not end on arrival. They helped the newcomers find work, in some cases giving them their first jobs in the buckwheat mills operated by Herschel and Leib Coodin. They also opened their homes to the newcomers. In the 1920s, that often meant squeezing in more beds into their rented second floor flats on Flora Avenue, Charles Street and the surrounding streets in Winnipeg’s north end.
From these humble beginnings the Coodin family has, in three or four generations grown to include hundreds of descendants living across Canada and the U.S.A.
Story by Mark Kreger