Description
Object description
German Jewish child in Munich, Weiden Oberpfalz, Bad Freinenwalde and Berlin, Germany, 1933-1943; escaped to Switzerland, 1943; refugee in Switzerland, 1943-1947; emigrated to GB, 1947
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Munich, Weiden Oberpfalz and Bad Freinenwalde in Germany, 1927-1933: family; education. Aspects of period as schoolchild in Weiden Oberpflaz and Bad Freinenwalde, Germany, 1933-1935: first experience of Nazi persecution of Jews, 12/1935; reasons for move to Bad Freinenwalde, 1936; attending Christian school and having to use Nazi salute; arrest of uncle, 1938; background to how uncle was released from concentration camp; decision to stay in Germany. Recollections of period as schoolchild in Berlin, Germany, 1939-1943: escape of brother and father from Germany; attitude of young Germans to outbreak of war, 9/1939; accommodation.
REEL 2 Continues: links of school with GB; attending a variety of schools including Goldschmidt School; attitude towards restrictions on Jewish life; mother's hiding possessions from authorities; role of Reichsvereinigung der Juden; mother's work; food and clothing shortages; attitude towards restrictions on Jewish life; degree of contact with brother in GB; sight of Adolf Hitler during parade; sheltering from air raids; food and clothing rations for Jews; last visit to synagogue, 1942; first deportation of Jews from Berlin, 1941; reads from letter notifying of impending deportation, 1942.
REEL 3 Continues: move to new address; work in kindergarten; wearing Star of David; meeting Herbert the Communist recently released from a concentration camp; abortive attempts to escape from Germany; move to home of wealthy Abraham family; death of grandmother through neglect by non-Jewish medical staff; visit to cinema; background to her arrest for deportation, 1942.
REEL 4 Continues: arrest by Gestapo and her mother's pleas for release; evading capture with help of Herbert the Communist; arrest of Herbert the Communist and his subsequent suicide; help received from various non-Jews and police; changing identity; staying with cigarette shop owner; mother's taking refuge with German couple; changing of mother's appearance.
REEL 5 Continues: employment by young family; discovery of her Jewish identity and dismissal; hiding with other Jews in office building; hiding in sculptors studio; hiding with wife and son of high ranking officer of 3rd SS Panzer Division 'Totenkopf', Waffen-SS; leaving job after child became ill; working for German friend of Hermann Göring outside Berlin; obtaining identity cards; employment of mother selling flowers; returning to care for son of high ranking Waffen-SS officer; sight of heavy bombing of Berlin.
REEL 6 Continues: devastation of Berlin. Recollections of escape from Germany to Switzerland, 1943: decision to escape to Switzerland; collecting family valuables from Bavaria; description of train journey to Switzerland; crawling through forest over border; refuge with Catholic priest; relationship with mother; degree of awareness of concentration camps.
REEL 7 Continues: Aspects of period in GB, 1947: difficulties of adapting to life in GB; brother's time in GB during Second World War; temporary loss of suitcase during journey to GB; reunion with brother; standard of living. Recollections of period as refugee in Switzerland, 1943-1947: incarceration; initial impressions of Switzerland; conditions in reception camp; mother's illness; provision of clothes by Red Cross; refusal of Jewish agency to pay for accommodation; celebrations at end of Second World War, 8/5/1945; how mother gave information to British consul; visa for GB and employment on arrival, 1947; contracting tuberculosis after arrival in GB.
REEL 8 Continues: Reflections on Holocaust experience: compensation for confiscation of property; Germans who helped family; fate of those that helped her and her mother; question of starting new life in GB; return visit to Berlin, Germany; visit to school to talk about her Holocaust experiences; Jewish friends who also escaped Germany; question of fear during period in hiding.