Ellen Burka (née Danby; August 11, 1921 – September 12, 2016) was a Canadian-Dutch
figure skater and coach. She became Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
in 1978 and was inducted into
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
Personal life
Ellen Danby was born in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, to
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents who met in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
[ She learned German and English at home and Dutch and French in school.][ In the spring of 1943, she and her family were sent to ]Westerbork transit camp
Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, d ...
.[ Ellen had herself registered at Westerbork as the 'Dutch National Figure Skating Champion', at that time such a championship did not exist, the first official one to be held in 1951. Westerbork's commander, , was very interested in figure skating and ordered that Ellen's skates and apparel be sent to the camp. There she was allowed to practice on the frozen pond. Ellen also gave culinary advice at Gemmeker's home and it was the commander's female companion who made sure Ellen was not sent to Sobibor but to Theresienstadt instead. Her parents and grandmother were sent to ]Sobibor extermination camp
Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland.
As an ...
[ only to be killed there.
Danby met Czech-born artist, Jan Burka, at ]Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...
. After liberation of the camp by the Soviet Union Army the two walked from Theresienstadt (near Prague) to Ellen's hometown Amsterdam (about 900 kilometres/560 miles) in just 2 weeks time to get married on non-communist soil.[ The family moved to ]Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada in 1950.[ Ellen and Jan Burka divorced in the mid-1950s.][ She raised her two daughters, Petra and Astra, in the ]Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
and told them of her background when they were in their late teens.[ She died in Toronto on September 12, 2016.][
]
Career
Burka was Dutch National Champion in 1946 and 1947 before becoming a coach in Toronto. Finding Canadian figure skating to be rigid and technical, she decided to blend it with ballet and modern dance, and introduced more imaginative choreography.[
She coached her daughter ]Petra Burka
Petra Burka (; born November 17, 1946) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater and now coach. She won the 1964 Olympic bronze medal in women's figure skating and the 1965 World championship in the sport.
Personal life
Petra Burka was bor ...
to a bronze medal for Canada at the 1964 Olympics and to the gold at the 1965 World Championships. In 1968, she became the coach of Toller Cranston
Toller Shalitoe Montague Cranston, CM (April 20, 1949 – January 24, 2015) was a Canadian figure skater and painter. He won the 1971–1976 Canadian national championships, the 1974 World bronze medal and the 1976 Olympic bronze medal. ...
, who won six Canadian national titles and the 1976 Olympic bronze medal. She also coached Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles.
Early life
Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...
, Elvis Stojko
Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002).
Personal ...
, Sandra Bezic
Sandra Marie Bezic (born April 6, 1956) is a Canadian pair skater, figure skating choreographer, and television commentator. With her brother Val Bezic, she won the Canadian Figure Skating Championships from 1970 to 1974 and placed ninth at the 1 ...
/ Val Bezic, Patrick Chan
Patrick Lewis Wai–Kuan Chan (born December 31, 1990) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. He is a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the men's and team events, a three–time World ch ...
, Tracey Wainman,[ ]Christopher Bowman
Christopher Nicol Bowman (March 30, 1967 – January 10, 2008) was an American figure skater. He was a two-time World medalist (silver in 1989, bronze in 1990), the 1983 World Junior champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. He compete ...
and many other world and Olympic competitors.[
In 1978, Burka was made Member of the ]Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
"For elevating skating to an art form and for imaginative choreography on the ice". In 1996, she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.[ She was also inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (October 2013).]
A documentary about Ellen Burka, ''Skate to Survive'', was directed by her daughter Astra and premiered at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival
The Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is an annual film festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is described as the largest Jewish film festival in the world.
The festival was founded in 1993. One of its founders, Helen Zukerman, is the f ...
in May 2008.[ Virtually unknown in her native Netherlands, her life story was captured in ''Andere Tijden Sport'', a sports history program on Dutch national public TV, in January 2015. For this documentary, she returned to Amsterdam to visit her former family home and the ]Westerbork transit camp
Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, d ...
.[
Burka taught at the ]Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club
The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club is a private sport and social club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club offers a variety of sporting and social programs including aquatics, cricket, croquet, curling, figure skating, fitne ...
and at The Granite Club
The Granite Club (founded as the Toronto Granite Curling Club) is a private social and athletic club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1875, it has a long history of sports competition. It is located at 2350 Bayview Avenue, north of midto ...
in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario.
References
External link
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burka, Ellen
1921 births
2016 deaths
Dutch female single skaters
Canadian figure skating coaches
Canadian people of Dutch-Jewish descent
Dutch emigrants to Canada
Members of the Order of Canada
Sportspeople from Amsterdam
Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors
Female sports coaches