Gathering The Voices Scotland

Testimonies of Holocaust survivors who settled in Scotland

You are here: Home / Archives for jba9

jba9

Video of refugee’s life story made available to schools

Gathering the Voices has made a video telling the story of German refugee Martin Anson journey to finding a new home in Scotland, with Education Scotland agreeing to promote the video to Scottish schools.

The film , which lasts for 365 minutes, tells of the anti-Jewish Racal persecutions suffered in Martin’s home town in Germany; the family arrest on Kristallnacht, Mr. Anson’s incarceration in Dachau ; his emigration to Glasgow in 1939; and his life in Scotland.

Read more in the newspaper article below.

Podcast Trailer

Welcome to Gathering the Voices podcasts, this is a limited series of episodes, featuring interviews exploring the stories people have told to escape Nazi persecution and reach Scotland

Jewish Museum Berlin

The Anson family is pleased to report that memorabilia from Steven’s late father Martin Ansbacher (Anson) is now being featured in the just opened and remodeled Core Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB).

https://www.jmberlin.de/en/opening-new-core-exhibition

Here are photographs of the exhibits featured, and an explanation of what is represented.

Exhibit cabinet view

The first photograph of the group below shows the family business in Leutershausen with anti-Jewish graffiti on it dated approx 1932 – the family moved to Landshut as a result shortly afterwards.

This photo has a unique story of how it ended up in the JMB. It was viewed at a car boot sale in Germany, and then featured/auctioned on e-bay and bought by a Leutershausen collector/historian a few years ago, shown to our family when we visited the town’s Burgermeister (Mayor), then shown to JMB, and then donated to the JMB to form part of Martin’s story.

Below it are other photographs of their time before the war.

Left – Martin and his cousin Wilhelm ran the “M & W TextileHaus” Drapery retail business – this is an advertising calendar holder from the business

Right – Martin and Beate (or Pat his future wife from Krieigshaber, Augsburg, married in Glasgow (1946) taken we think near the Jewish Sports Club in Augsburg about 1938.
They were just good friends, and both engaged to other people. The war and emigration ended those relationships or else I would not be writing this!

In the picture Martin is wearing the traditional German Lederhosen and Tracht Jacket. He brought this to him to Scotland, and wore it our shul for the fancy costume services at Purim.

Lower Right – Outside the “M & W TextileHaus” Drapery business in Landshut about 1937. The 2 fathers are on the outside, Wilhelm is center and Martin in the background.

Passport Picture of Martin (far left) taken shortly after his release from Dachau KZ
Martin’s Picture in the display cabinet

Martin’s audio interview featuring his life story can be listened to and read at our website Gathering the Voices, starting with is childhood at
https://new.gatheringthevoices.com/martin-anson-childhood-and-school-days/

We are indebted to Aubrey Pomerance, a curator at the JMB, for featuring Martin’s remarkable life there.

Steven and Hilary Anson

Bob MacKenzie Facebook Interview

On Sunday 26th April, Holocaust survivor Bob MacKenzie participated in a live phonecall interview on Facebook Live with Laura Pasternak, a Holocaust Educational Trust Regional Ambassador for Scotland. You can watch the interesting videos in two parts on www.facebook.com/hetrascotland.

Laura Pasternak talking to Bob Mackenzie over Facebook Live

As a Kindertransportee to the UK in 1939 aged 8, Bob, originally from Chemnitz, Germany was really keen for more people to learn about the Kindertransport while in lockdown.

Bob told of his Jewish father and Lutheran mother’s unimaginable decision to send him to the UK for safety before the war broke out, his arrival at the priory in Selkirk and welcome from the MacKenzie family who took him in with his older sister Isolde.

Bob emphasised the need to remember the generosity of families across Britain who sponsered and looked after refugee children like him. He ultimately showed his gratitude to his foster father by taking the family name (as they had only daughters) when he took British nationality in 1950.

Bob is used to volunteering and socialising, so lockdown presented an opportunity to be creative with technology and spread the work about Kindertransport to people stuck at home.

Sunday’s stream reached 671 people, had 348 views and 199 ‘engagements’ (comments, questions, ‘likes’ shares etc.)!

Laura wants to thank Gathering the Voices for having interviewed Bob back in 2014.

Bob’s testimony helped Laura steer the interview, and she showed the photos on the website on-screen during the call!

Food for Thought

Queens Cross and Glasgow Caledonian University have joined up to host a new series of free talks where people can learn and debate with experts about important subjects in local community venues.

Gathering the voices has collected over 45 testimonies from men and women who came to Scotland to escape from Nazi persecution.

Find out more by attending Food for thought, Thursday 27th February, Windsor Community Hall.

Book: socialregeneration@qcha.org.uk

Holocaust Memorial Lecture Series

Glasgow University has kindly agreed to link their website of Holocaust Memorial Lecture Series with the Gathering the Voices website. Every year these lectures are over-subscribed.

The Holocaust Memorial Lecture Series was initiated in 2001 by Professor Bernard Wasserstein and Emeritus Professor Otto Hutter, and has since become a key fixture in the University’s event calendar, attended by a large and diverse audience. This project is sponsored by The Association of Jewish Refugees. This website can be found at: www.gla.ac.uk/events/holocaustmemorial.

This year’s lecture will be added to the website in the near future.