Karpf, Anne Lucille (Oral history)

British civilian author and daughter of Polish Holocaust survivors

REEL 1: Background of parents: story of father Josef Karpf in Ulanov and Galicia; experiences in Russian labour camps; effect of war on health; story of mother Natalia Weissman in Krakow, Poland; family; career as pianist; first marriage and death of husband at start of war, 9/1939; description of experiences during Holocaust in Tarnow, Warsaw and in hiding in Poland; inmate of Plaszow, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Lockterwerden concentration camps; story of playing piano for commandant Amon Goeth at Plaszow camp; post-war marriage to Josef Karpf and emigration to GB, 1947; employment at Polish Embassy in London; opinion of help offered to refugees by Jewish community in London; question of immigration of Jewish refugees to GB; story of father being granted political asylum in GB, 1950; parents attitude to life in GB. REEL 2 Continues: Anne Karpf: attitude to Holocaust in post-war Britain; childhood; effect of Holocaust experiences of parents on emotional development; education; relations with elder sister; role in preserving family memories; further comments on Holocaust experiences of parents; character of parents; emotional relationship with parents; use of Holocaust by father as reference point for suffering; emotional problems and therapy; reaction to leaving parents when going to Oxford University; fear of parents dying; problem of discussing Holocaust with friends; question of 'false self'. REEL 3 Continues: personal relationships; story of meeting non-Jewish partner and reaction of mother; recurrence of childhood eczema; story of therapy identifying Holocaust as cause of distress; beneficial effects of therapy; relationship with parents; renewed interest in Holocaust and writing book 'The War After'; links with children of Holocaust survivors in Israel; role in setting up support group for children of Holocaust survivors in GB; aims of support group; reason for interviewing parents about Holocaust experiences; story of visit to Poland, 1995. REEL 4 Continues: story of search for family graves and addresses in Krakow, Poland; attitude to history and cultural life of Krakow; interest in Yiddish music; question of Jewish identity; relationship with own children and question of discussing Holocaust. REEL 5 Continues: problem of pathologising Holocaust; beneficial results of parents Holocaust experiences; question of stereotyping Holocaust victims; reaction to death of father; increasing awareness of Holocaust and survivors; opinion of Imperial War Museum's Holocaust Exhibition; importance of survivors' personal testimonies.