Ruby Helen Lees fonds
Helen Ruby [sometimes listed as Ruby Helen] Lees (nee Cassidy) was Arthur Schmon’s private secretary at the Ontario Paper Mill in Thorold, Ontario. She was born on January 10, 1897 in St. Catharines, Ontario and died on October 14, 1944 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She was married to Arthur E. Lees.
This collection contains correspondence, photographs and memoranda relating to Mrs. Lee's time as private secretary to Arthur Schmon. It includes memoranda of Arthur Schmon's trips to Germany and Italy in 1939.
In these, Schmon details his impressions of Italy in 1939, including Mussolini's impact on the people of Italy. Mussolini was viewed as “one of the people”, despite his harsh disciplinary methods. He had rebuilt Italy after the war and transformed it from a defeated nation to one of optimism. Mussolini questioned why the people of America did not have a favourable opinion of him. Schmon also wrote about Italy’s dealings with Ethiopia. He spoke to a Fascist in Rome by the name of Console Casertano who explained Italy’s Jewish policy to Schmon.
In Schmon's memorandum of his trip to Germany, he notes that both he and his wife, Celeste, felt that they were “objects of curiosity” in an atmosphere of tension. He described Germany as a military camp surrounded by homes, workshops and culture. His opinion was that the German people were uninformed about what was happening. Schmon admitted that Hitler was doing well for the people, in that business was doing well and people were generally employed. He wondered at how such a revered man could be so cruel to the Jews.
Some of this material has been digitized and is available in the Digital Repository.
