"This is Lotta Hitschmanova. Please give generously to the Unitarian Service Committee, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa 4."
While ensuring that "56 Sparks Street" reigned as one of the best-known addresses in Canada, Dr. Hitschmanova was also feeding and clothing children in desperate need around the world. Does hearing that iconic public service announcement still trigger strong memories?
Born in Prague to a well-to-do family, Lotta received a first-class education and began a career as a journalist, outspoken in her opposition of Nazi Germany. When Hitler's troops invaded Czechoslovakia, Lotta was forced to flee penniless and never again see her parents who would end up perishing in a German concentration camp.
Arriving in Canada as a refugee herself, Lotta founded the USC Canada (Unitarian Service Committe of Canada, now called Seeds of Change) in 1945, while still a landed immigrant. Over the decades the USC would raise over $100 million for those in need in strife-torn countries around the globe. Working tirelessly, Lotta was well known by the home-made military-type uniform she wore, patterned after those worn by army nurses. Her uniform is now preserved at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Dr. Hitschmanova was bestowed countless much-deserved honours over the years including Companion of the Order of Canada. After a lifetime of humanitarian pursuits, Lotta Hitschmanova passed away in Ottawa in 1990.
The Historical Society of Ottawa's James Powell shares the story of Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova:
