The Holocaust Memorial day was very much in my thoughts yesterday. Neighbours of my parents were German Jews and the nearest thing I had to Grandparents. They escaped a camp in an interesting way. Very briefly, Hansi and Walter were taken to a camp where it turned out that one of the officers was an old school friend. He was disillusioned with the Nazi values and arranged transport for himself, some other sympathetic troops, plus a group of interns to come to the UK by lorry and boat. A huge risk obviously. Walter tried hard in the following years to contact his old friend, but he was officially missing in action in Germany, and the British government denied it had happened. It was presumed he was safe somewhere with a new name. My father only told my Brother and myself this story after they had passed away. They didn’t have children of their own, and as they’d lost their whole families, my parents, my Brother and myself very much became surrogates. When I was in my early 20s they passed away within months of each other having been devoted to each other. They were lucky, as was I to know them. And that whole episode in what was considered a civilised part of the world should never be forgotten or repeated. Nasher.
That's a lovely post Simon, I have fond memories of a man who escaped similarly in the nick of time. He was briefly my boss and gave me a lift to and from work. I was still working there when he retired and got to meet his wife briefly, she was just as i had imagined. Must be long gone now - Henry Emden, a role model for me.
Me also: My great grandfather Armin Tyroler and his second wife Rudolfine Popper were transported from Vienna to Theresienstadt in 1942, and from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz on 28 October 1944, where they were murdered. Armin's brother Josef died in Vienna in 1938 and his wife was transported to Izbica in 1942. Of the 4000 Austrians transported to Izbica none survived. Their daughter Francesca survived the war, I am not sure how and the family never talked about it. She married, but never had any children. Armin’s youngest brother Milan, his wife Fanny and their daughter Ernestine were all transported from Vienna to Theresienstadt. Of the 13,778 Austrians transported to Theresienstadt only 1573 survived. Milan, Fanny and Ernestine were three of them. They returned to Vienna after the war. Ernestine married, but never had any children. My mother and her parents fled Vienna in late 1938. My grandfather was a dentist and hadn’t been allowed to work by the Nazi’s since early 1938. The family travelled to relatives in Murska Sobota, Slovenia and in February 1939 they drove to Zurich where my mother’s cousin, who lived there, had arranged a flight for them to London. My mother’s cousin moved to New York in 1940 and later worked on the Manhattan Project.
An interesting aside to this story is that a few days before I left home to go to college Walter gave me a German Army Kitbag with lockable brass handle. I vividly remember my Father taking it off me and going to return it to him with the words "I'm sure he doesn't really want to give that away". But my father returned a short while later and gave it back to me. It became obvious after I heard the story where the bag had come from, and for some reason I'd treasured the bag all through College. I still have it today, wrapped up and protected in a drawer. I also have a few of Walters wonderful old woodworking tools which were found boxed up in his garage with my name on by the Jewish community charity when he passed away with no family. Alongside my Fathers old engineering tools they are some of my most treasured possessions. Nasher
In the late 80’s I met an old married couple. It transpired that the husband had been an army officer during WW2 and was in Berlin after the war ended. The wife was German and Jewish. She told how she had hidden in plain sight throughout the coming to power of the National Socialists and WW2 whilst working as a waitress in a Berlin cafe. The whole time being fearful of the knock on the door if the truth was discovered. They had met at the end of the war in Berlin and then married.
My Grandmother moved from Spain to Amsterdam in the mid thirties, married my Grandfather there, my grandfather was a neighbor to Ann Frank . My (Jewish)grandparents then moved to Paris in WW2 with my dad, my grandfather joined the French army, was an officer, 6 ft blond hair blue eyes!! His regiment was interned by the Germans, Every day of internment he was thinking would be his last , his hair turned white. My Grandmother moved to Southern France and joined the resistance, she got my dad baptised. She was moving every few days as the Germans were always looking for her. She gave downed pilots paperwork to get out of France. Many French sheltered here and my dad. The rest of my Dutch family didn’t end well. Here is the story of my brother in laws auntie , the vast majority of her family did not survive either. Yes it was holocaust day recently, and yes being Jewish I do reflect. BUT I am desperately saddened that terrible death policies are still happening ie Syria, Yemen etc and FUCK ALL is done about it. It is completely unacceptable to have that going on in this day and age. If you have read all of this I thank you. https://www.viasarfatti25.unibocconi.eu/notizia.php?idArt=21948
It's Holocaust memorial day today, and whilst I'm thinking about Hansi and Walter I thought I'd bump this thread.
It always amazes me what one human can do to another in either their line of duty or some form of doctrine or belief. On a different scale obviously but we are seeing that globally more than ever now. Sad times. Dangerous times.
'Thanks for sharing' is a cliché nowadays, but I do thank those who wrote about their family history here. It's so important to remember how cruel and awful that period was. I've just lent my Primo Levi books to a Polish friend, as her daughter is asking about the camps & ghettos of the Nazi era. Horrific and tragic.
Mankinds inhumanity to mankind, as well as most other species and the planet in general just staggers me. I hope we never see such atrocities again.
Thankyou people for sharing some of these very personal stories. In a world that seems hell bent on forgetting the past, I’m a firm believer that if you don’t know where you’ve come from, you’re not going to know where you’re going. That and the fact we can often learn a lot from the past. x
Bump. Nobody should be allowed to forget this, but what a shame parts of the world have not learnt from it.
You are so right Nasher, non of us should ever be allowaed to forget this horror but there are signs that this is happening in some areas.
